UTICA, N.Y. — Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC) Trustee Anthony J. Colón was recently elected Northeast regional director of the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) board of directors.

In this role, Colón will serve as a conduit to information among the states in his region. Based in Washington, D.C., ACCT is a nonprofit educational organization of governing boards that represent more than 6,500 elected and appointed trustees who govern more than 1,200 community, technical, and junior colleges.

Colón previously served as chair of the ACCT board’s diversity, equity, and inclusion committee, which provides leadership for the involvement of historically underrepresented diverse populations within the governance activities of the board. While in this role, he worked to encourage dialogue that explores inclusion beyond race and ethnicity, MVCC said in a news release.

“It is vital to be inclusive of those managing mental illness, physical challenges, or other characteristics that may prevent equitable access to a successful community college education, and I will continue to champion this message,” Colón said.

He is the immediate past chair of MVCC’s board of trustees, which he first joined in 2008, and served as vice chair from 2018-2020. Colón also holds leadership positions within the New York State Association of Community College Trustees and was the 2015 winner of the New York Community College Trustees Marvin A. Rapp Award for distinguished trustee service.

Colón worked for a decade at California–based Mitchell International as a senior account executive and director of Latin American sales and marketing. Since 1999, he has provided bilingual services to a variety of entities including the federal and state court systems. He is also contracted to provide family-support services through the Integrated Community Alternatives Network (ICAN).

Colón has also served on the Oneida County Vision 2020 initiative, chaired the City of Utica’s access and inclusion Committee and police reform advisory committee, served on the Boy Scouts of America Area 3 board, was a recent member of South Gate Ministries and Church, and is a current member of the city’s planning board. Colón is also co-founder of the Mohawk Valley Latino Association, Inc.