Amy Gardels CEI Board of Trustees

11/08/2022

Have you voted yet? Polls close at 8pm! Share a selfie with your "I voted" sticker below!

11/08/2022

Today is voting day! Polls are open until 8pm. Not sure where to vote? Just enter your address here: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/f226f3961b5147b3b283724038cc3d36/page/Info/

I appreciate your support and vote!

10/30/2022

My name is Amy Gardels, and I’m running to be Trustee of CEI. I love CEI. I have had the opportunity to serve as interim trustee, and and I want to continue serving the school.

College of Eastern Idaho is on a roll, rapidly growing since voters approved it in 2017. Future leadership is key, and I feel that I am the best choice for the Board of Trustees, Zone 1. I'd appreciate your vote.

I deeply understand the value CEI provides to those of us in Bonneville County. I have lived in Idaho my entire life, and Southeast Idaho for most of my life. I obtained my nursing degree from BYU-Idaho (Rick's College) and now I'm a nurse manager in Idaho Falls. I understand the critical roll CEI plays in training skilled employees for our local employers, which allows local business the opportunity to thrive.

My daughter, Lindsay, was the first CEI-high school concurrent enrollment graduate in May 2019.

Then, my husband, Matt, returned to college at CEI and retrained into Cybersecurity. He graduated in 2020, nearly 23 years since his last degree. He is currently the technical director at a local school district.

My commitment and goal for CEI is to:
- Keep CEI affordable
- Have CEI deliver degrees, certificates, and training that lead to good paying jobs
- Help CEI fill the critical needs of local companies such as agriculture, construction, technology, and medical communities

10/23/2022

"Some elections are more important than others.

Mario Hernandez here, and I voted early this year, because I wanted to make sure I could vote for Amy Gardels for CEI Trustee.

Amy is one of the best candidates we have, because she was born and raised here in Eastern Idaho. She understands our values. She understands our proposition. Her daughter attended and graduated from CEI. Her husband went back and got a certificate from CEI.

Amy has been involved in the industry and understands the need for nurses in addition to all the other programs that are there. She’s a natural conservative, and she’s got my vote."
- Mario Hernandez

10/23/2022

Hi, I'm Amy Gardels, and I'm currently serving as a CEI Trustee.

What are some of the responsibilities of a Trustee?

While no individual trustee is responsible for the overall governance of the college, each trustee, acting as a board member, is critical to the direction of the college by preparing for and attending monthly meetings, serving on committees and as liaisons to specific areas, and overall serving in the best interests of the student body, employees, and surrounding community members.

I'd appreciate your vote on November 8th!

10/23/2022

Hi 👋 I'm Amy Gardels. I'm currently serving as a CEI Trustee. It would be an honor to continue my role, and I'd appreciate your vote on November 8th.

CEI has a special place in my heart. My daughter became CEI’s first successful concurrent enrollment graduate, having completed her Associates of Science while attending Skyline High School.

My husband also graduated with a cyber security degree from CEI in 2019, returning to college 20 years after receiving his initial bachelor’s degree.

I'm proud to have two CEI graduates in my immediate family. The College has changed and improved their lives and mine!

10/23/2022

"College of Eastern Idaho needs your help with an upcoming trustee election on the November ballot... The BCRCC is following the GOP anti-education strategy of northern Idaho, where the extreme right-wing Kootenai County Republican Central Committee got three of its candidates onto the northern Idaho college trustee board.

They fired the college president without cause and then hired the school wrestling coach as the interim president.

They disrupted the college so badly it was forced to undergo an accreditation review. Indeed, the State Board of Education had to step in and appoint three new trustees.

The KCRCC Chair Brent Regan is also chair of the Idaho Freedom Foundation. He is closely aligned with locals Doyle Beck and Bryan Smith, both of whom serve on the Freedom Foundation board.

Let’s not give the right-wing extremists a foothold at CEI.

Last spring, one of CEI’s trustees, Stephanie Mickelsen (Stephanie 4 Idaho) had to resign her seat due to a win in the primary election. The trustees solicited applications for the vacant seat, then received several and selected Amy Gardels, who has a background in health care. She has been an excellent addition to the trustees and has their full support.

Gardels is opposed by Barbara Miller, the BCRCC candidate. Miller has authored several commentary articles in the Post Register with the BCRCC stamp of approval graphic. Her articles are hard to read because there is no evidence of cohesive thought. Miller’s rambling complaint at the Aug. 11 Idaho Falls City Council meeting is a disturbing example of her cognitive deficiencies and her tendency to micromanage issues she knows nothing about. One example, 'Nationwide searches for city employees in key positions.'

She was disturbed about a school board originally selecting a candidate outside of Idaho. Maybe the applicant’s resume fit the job description best. Here’s a new possibility: How could anyone that was not born, bred and indoctrinated in Idaho possibly make a valuable addition to our educational workforce?

Amy Gardels has been an integral part of leading this success for the last six months and hopes to continue. She is a team player. The GOP candidate, Barbara Miller, did not even apply for the interim position and is not remotely qualified. I have served as a large foundation trustee, and it is serious business — not political. Please Google the definition of a trustee and vote accordingly."
- Jim Key
Former manager of Idaho National Laboratory Materials Research Department who lives in Idaho Falls.

10/23/2022

"College of Eastern Idaho needs your help with an upcoming trustee election on the November ballot. CEI has had outstanding success given it only received its funding from a bond election in 2017 to transform EITC into a full-fledged community college serving Bonneville and surrounding counties.

Although the bond passed with strong bipartisan support (71.4% approval), including Gov. Otter, the ultra-right wing Bonneville County Republican Central Committee opposed the bond with their standard arguments like a tax increase of $13/year is going to do serious economic damage.

As soon as the funding was in place, the board of trustees, together with business and community leaders, went to work setting academic priorities, hiring more instructors, repurposing some infrastructure and offering new programs of study. Nursing had an immediate need for more trained staff, businesses needed more information technology staff and INL had a continuing need for people with STEM education. Programs that allowed high school students to graduate and enter college early helped employers and students alike.

CEI has partnered with Brigham Young University-Idaho in the Rexburg Outreach Center, which features classes and credits that transfer to BYU-Idaho and other regional colleges.
CEI also has advanced technology opportunities, such as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education, recognized by the National Security Agency.

So, why does CEI need help in the upcoming election? The BCRCC is following the GOP anti-education strategy of northern Idaho, where the extreme right-wing Kootenai County Republican Central Committee got three of its candidates onto the northern Idaho college trustee board. They fired the college president without cause and then hired the school wrestling coach as the interim president. They disrupted the college so badly it was forced to under- go an accreditation review. Indeed, the State Board of Education had to step in and appoint three new trustees. The KCRCC Chair Brent Regan is also chair of the Idaho Freedom Foundation. He is closely aligned with locals Doyle Beck and Bryan Smith, both of whom serve on the Freedom Foundation board. Let’s not give the right-wing extremists a foothold at CEI.

Last spring, one of CEI’s trustees, Stephanie Mickelsen (Stephanie 4 Idaho) had to resign her seat due to a win in the primary election. The trustees solicited applications for the vacant seat, then received several and selected Amy Gardels, who has a background in health care. She has been an excellent addition to the trustees and has their full support.

Gardels is opposed by Barbara Miller, the BCRCC candidate. Miller has authored several commentary articles in the Post Register with the BCRCC stamp of approval graphic. Her articles are hard to read because there is no evidence of cohesive thought. Miller’s rambling complaint at the Aug. 11 Idaho Falls City Council meeting is a disturbing example of her cognitive deficiencies and her tendency to micromanage issues she knows nothing about. One example, 'Nationwide searches for city employees in key positions.'

She was disturbed about a school board originally selecting a candidate outside of Idaho. Maybe the applicant’s resume fit the job description best. Here’s a new possibility: How could anyone that was not born, bred and indoctrinated in Idaho possibly make a valuable addition to our educational workforce?

Amy Gardels has been an integral part of leading this success for the last six months and hopes to continue. She is a team player. The GOP candidate, Barbara Miller, did not even apply for the interim position and is not remotely qualified. I have served as a large foundation trustee, and it is serious business — not political. Please Google the definition of a trustee and vote accordingly."
- Jim Key
Former manager of Idaho National Laboratory Materials Research Department who lives in Idaho Falls.

College of Eastern Idaho needs your help with an upcoming trustee election on the November ballot. CEI has had outstanding success given it only received its funding from a bond

10/23/2022

Hi! I'm Amy Gardels. I'm currently serving as a CEI Trustee. The college has grown exponentially in recent years, and I want to use my position to continue to lead the college in its current trajectory while keeping it affordable and locally applicable.

CEI is key to our local economy and key to fulfilling needs that our employers have, and I want to make sure that CEI remains affordable.

I want to make sure that CEI addresses local needs and has degrees that are usable and functional and that allow our students to go out and get local jobs with livable wages.

I'd appreciate your vote on November 8th.

The Nov. 8 midterm election will have three College of Eastern Idaho trustee seats on the ballot, only one of which is contested.