Rarely do leaders of like minds and strong solutions come together. Still, more rare is the opportunity for this convergence among exclusively female leaders. This is currently the case at Pierce College, which is led by a trio of impressive women; Puyallup interim president Colette Burnette, Steilacoom president Denise Yochum and Chancellor and CEO Michelle Johnson.

Together, presidents Yochum and Burnette have a history that spans decades, crosses the nation and switches career paths more than a few times. Both are first-generation students who gained respect for the work done by community colleges as a result of time spent teaching and exploring various facets of education and leadership. The two also share a passion for students and the unique struggles they overcome every day.

Raised around farmlands, Yochum participated in 4-H and FFA in high school and originally hoped to become a high school agriculture teacher. She worked from the age of 16 and explored the college application process independently.

In college, she interned in the agricultural field and noted that “all the men in the program were getting jobs as managers, but all the women were only getting jobs as salespeople because it was agriculture and it was in the 1980s.” Originally an animal science major, she was inspired by her aptitude for debate and ended up with a degree in speech and communication instead.

After receiving her Masters degree, Yochum taught in Florida, Oregon, rural Idaho, eastern Washington and Aberdeen before joining Pierce. She discovered her love of community college ideals after experimenting with distance learning and continuing education on several campuses. “Where else do you get to go to work where you get to see hope every day?” Yochum shared enthusiastically.

Burnette attended Ohio State for engineering and eventually oversaw Crest products at Proctor & Gamble manufacturers. She worked as a Department of Transportation IT project manager, taught information systems classes at Pierce, lived in Turkey and spent over a decade at Central State University in Ohio before taking her current position at Pierce.

Yochum cited a high school boyfriend’s mother, speech teachers and coaches, and a department chair as the female influences who have taught her significant lessons that pushed her to succeed. She recounted her male mentors as well, adding, “I try to make sure that I’m not only mentoring females…because I think sometimes we get caught up in really thinking about gender.”

She and Burnette have role models as various as Colin Powell’s wife, Alma, and Marilyn Monroe to animal scientist and autism activist Temple Grandin, all of whom demonstrate to them of the capability and grace of women worldwide.

“My experience growing up in my family taught me things that helped me to persevere and stay focused,” added Burnette, who also cites her daughter as one of her “sheros.”

Both presidents have endured gender discrimination, and focus on doing their best and shrugging it off while still noting the importance of acknowledging the existence of sexism. Burnette recalled a time when she would do her college boyfriend’s homework identical to her own, yet he would receive a better grade. Yochum was recently told gender might have played a role in a job she did not get.

Burnette, who won the National Diversity Council’s 2010 Glass Ceiling Award, rejoices at the historically high number of American women in decision-making positions and has high hopes for the future of equality. “No goal is unreachable,” she said. “Life can be big at times but you have to stay focused and be patient and be kind to yourselves.”

Both of these capable women understand that inequalities still exist, but live and lead by the belief that determination and passion have the strength to outweigh circumstance.