Christy Valencia

GAIN Board Co-Director of the Annual Conference

GAIN Email: conference@gainhighered.org

Board Member Responsibilities: GAIN Annual Conference, conference planning committee, and conference volunteers

Institution: Oregon State University

Position at Institution: College of Business Advising Admin

LinkedIn: Christy Valencia

Hi, I'm Christy! I was born in Long Beach and raised in Greater Los Angeles, California and moved to Oregon in 2013. My educational journey is non-traditional. Despite being accepted into Oregon State University my senior year of high school, I ended up attending a local community college right out of high school. I had no clue what I wanted to do, but I managed to get a decent number of credits before leaving college in 2011 to figure out life & life sure happened fast! I had a child and went through various jobs and experiences before I landed a career at a multi-billion-dollar corporation in sales/marketing and supply chain. I proudly co-founded the IDEA Council at this corporation but, unfortunately, was restructured out a few years later. Diversity and Inclusion, etc. have always been important to me and are all things that I that am intrinsically motivated/passionate about. I decided to go back to school, at the school I had dreamed of going to, but before that, I landed a job there! You can consider me a double beaver! I should graduate in 2026 with my B.S. in Business Management. I currently work in the OSU College of Business Advising Office doing administrative work and I love helping my advising team help students succeed, while also being a student myself! I love networking so please connect whenever you see me! I am so looking forward to making the conference even more amazing than before!