Deborah G. Blue, Ph.D.

COO/Co-Principal

Dr. Deborah G. Blue is the Chief Operating Officer/Co-Principal of Arterberry Blue and Associates, LLC. Deborah G. Blue and her spouse Stan R. Arterberry, CEO/Principal bring extensive experience leading and conducting Executive Searches.  They bring the distinctive experience of having served simultaneously as CEOs in California Community Colleges during their tenure. They now provide Executive Search Services and Educational Consulting as a team.

Dr. Blue has 25 years of experience in California Community Colleges including: 22 in California Community College Districts, and 3 as the Vice President for Policy and Research for the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, Western Association of Schools and Colleges (ACCJC/WASC), the US Department of Education’s institutional accreditor for community and junior colleges in the Western Region. 

Dr. Blue was the first African American woman to serve as: Chancellor of the State Center Community College District in Fresno, CA; Vice President/Assistant Superintendent for Educational Programs and Services for the Sierra Joint Community College District in Rocklin, CA; President of Laney College in Oakland, CA; and Vice President for Policy and Research for ACCJC/WASC.  

Dr. Blue’s previous administrative positions include Vice Chancellor of Districtwide Planning and Educational Services for the Contra Costa Community College District in Martinez, California; Associate Dean of Instruction/Humanities Division, Fresno City College in Fresno, CA; Assistant Dean for Community Education, Office of Instruction, Contra Costa College in San Pablo, CA; Director of Learning Skills Services, Educational Support Programs, Student Affairs at Sonoma State University, in Rohnert Park, CA; and Program Manager and Program Specialist, Special Education, Sonoma County Office of Education in Santa Rosa, CA. 

Dr. Blue’s full-time higher education teaching experiences include: Assistant Professor and Instructor, Department of Audiology and Speech, College of Communication Arts & Sciences, Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI; Assistant Professor & Director, Communication Disorders Program/Speech Language Center, Department of Education and Human Development, Holy Names College in Oakland, CA. Her adjunct teaching experiences include: Child Development at Lansing Community College in Lansing, Michigan; Special Education for Teachers, Learning Strategies, and Health and Culture at Sonoma State University. She taught courses in Speech Pathology and supervised Field Projects and Theses in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of San Francisco, where she served as the thesis advisor for four students who completed their Master of Arts Degrees. At Holy Names College she served as the advisor for nine graduate students who completed research projects and theses for completion of the Master of Arts degree in the Department of Education and Human Development.  She also served as a resource and committee member on three doctoral dissertation committees at Michigan State University, Fielding University and the University of Texas at Austin.

Deborah G. Blue is a collaborative leader.  She has extensive experience overseeing the recruitment and hiring of administrators at the entry, mid-level and executive level in community colleges. She has also led the development and implementation of administrative policies, procedures, strategic and operational plans, educational master plans, and integrated planning processes at several educational institutions to achieve enduring organizational change and transformation. As a former accreditor for ACCJC/WASC she has chaired and trained several accreditation teams, and guided team chairs in the writing of team reports. Over the course of her four-decade career as an educator, students, staff, faculty and administrators describe Dr. Deborah G. Blue as a Mentor, Visionary, Innovative, Collaborative, Process-Oriented, Honest and Forthright, Egalitarian, Ethical, Fair-Minded and Equity-minded.

Dr. Blue retired as Chancellor Emerita from the State Center Community College District in 2015.  In 2018, she was awarded Trustee Emerita status by the Board of Trustees, University of the Rockies in Denver, CO.  She has received several honorary awards including the Assemblyman Henry T. Perea African American Heritage Award; African American Wall of Honor Inductee, State Center Community College District; Distinguished Alumni Award, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; and Manager of the Year, Sierra Joint Community College District. 

Deborah G. Blue earned a Ph.D. and A.M (M.A.) in Speech and Hearing Science from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign; and a B.S. in Speech Pathology and Audiology, with a minor in Elementary Education from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan.   

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