Janet Coon
Dental Assisting Department Head
Janet Coon earned her Associate’s Degree in Dental Hygiene from Tulsa Community College in 1998, her Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Leadership from Rogers State University in December 2015, and then her Master’s in Business Administration degree at Rogers State University in December 2021. Prior to beginning her instructor position with Community Care College, she spent eighteen years working as a clinical Registered Dental Hygienist in both private and corporate settings. Before and while attending TCC, Janet worked as a dental assistant for five years. It was this professional foundation that brought her to our dental assisting program as an instructor in 2016. The love of dentistry and passion for educating others about it is a daily goal for her and time is always taken to talk about the importance of oral health to everyone.
Julie Benson
Medical Assistant Department Head
Being a traditional college student herself by attending a university upon her graduation from high school, Julie Benson recognizes that today’s typical college students have different challenges. She believes that it is critical to make a connection with students in her class right away. To achieve this, she utilizes creative and innovative activities to intrigue them. She describes her teaching style as “edu-tainment” college level, career-focused entertaining education. To keep students attending class every day, she provides fun, interesting, AND educational sessions, making school a safe and enjoyable place. Her career includes 25+ years teaching medical assisting, she has developed an enormous catalog of teaching techniques to engage students in active learning.
Julie is a graduate of the University of Toledo with an AAS degree in Medical Assisting. She has also earned a CMA-AC (AAMA Administrative and Clinical specialty) and Registered Phlebotomist credential.
Michelle Greear
Surg Tech Dept. Head
Michelle graduated from the Great Plains Surgical Technology program in 2012. Prior to beginning her instructor position with Community Care College, she spent almost 6 years working as a CST at the only Level 1 Trauma Center in Oklahoma, OU Medical Center. Specializing in aneurysm clippings and tumor resections, Michelle fell in love with neurosurgery and trauma. Level 1 Trauma Centers provide total care for every aspect of injury, it is for the most serious injuries that require a fast response time. This experience made her a well-rounded surgical tech before she started working with a travel agency in 2018. In the clinical setting, Michelle enjoyed being a preceptor for surgical tech students, and this sparked her passion for education. Michelle has done many roles in the ST department at CCC. Michelle started as a site coordinator in 2019 and quickly moved on to teaching in the classroom and lab. While teaching at CCC, Michelle finished her Associate’s degree in Surgical Technology in 2020. Michelle is passionate about this career and loves to inform people about the awesome responsibility of being a surgical technologist.
Dr. Lisette Wigton
Veterinary Assistant Department Head
Lisette Wigton, DVM, is a 1996 graduate of the Center for Veterinary Health Sciences at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. She earned her undergraduate degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. For over 21 years in the Tulsa area, she has focused her medical practice mainly on small animals though she also has experience in equine medicine. While Dr. Wigton enjoys caring for all animals, her major interests include exotic pets and internal medicine. Throughout her career, she has spent countless hours educating clients about animal health care and this has enabled her to make a seamless transition to teaching our veterinary assistant students.
Emily Russo
Accounting Program Department Head
Emily Russo earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees (both with honors) in Business Administration from Oklahoma Wesleyan University. Before joining Community Care College, she worked in Corporate Finance as a Senior Financial Analyst for seven years. This position included working with diverse industries such as: Healthcare, Telecommunications, Aerospace Manufacturing, and Oil & Energy. Emily has been in Business Administration and Management for over 12 years, including strategy, operations, and service branches. She is trained and certified in Lean Six Sigma, Agile, and Structured Query Language (SQL).
Taking her professional skills out into the community, Emily volunteers her time by helping women and young adults build resumes and prepare for job interviews. She is part of an advisory committee for LinkedIn Advisors.
Emily and her husband operate a waste management business and a car repair and restoration business. They have a young daughter, and they enjoy traveling around the country in their renovated 1970s motorhome.
Bob Pineiro
Business Programs Department Head
Bob Pineiro’s extensive corporate work experience spans over 30 years working with well-known companies such as Kraft-General Foods, International Corporation, Williams Communications, Melton Truck Lines, Bama Foods, and John Crane. His 15 years in Higher Education and Corporate Training gives him extensive experience in Online and residential classrooms that students need in today’s workforce. Bob’s experience does not end there, as he has been a 40-year entrepreneur/business owner of his own professional photography business as well as a few more “side-hustles” in Radio/Television Broadcasting and investment strategies. Bob joined Community Care College 5 years ago as a Business Programs instructor before recently promoted to Department Head of Business Programs. Bob has also been successful in mentoring students who are eager to start their own businesses, provide them insights to getting promoted to higher end positions within their firms, and encourages students to get started now in effective investment strategies to help our students prosper in their chosen field of work.
Bob is a prominent graduate of the John Massey School of Business with Southeastern Oklahoma State University where he earned a master’s degree in Business Administrative Studies in 1989. Bob is a Tulsa native and has 3 grown boys and 8 grandchildren.
Misty Green
Healthcare Administration Dept. Head | Medical Billing and Coding Dept. Head
Misty Green first joined the Community Care College family in 2009 as an instructor for the Medical Billing and Coding program. Her passion for helping others achieve their educational goals has kept her here for 12 years and she is currently the department head of Medical Billing and Coding, AOS MBC, and AOS Healthcare Administration. 234 students graduated from the MBC program in this last year alone, and she looks forward to growing that by another 175 this year. Misty is a graduate of the AOS MBC program from CCC herself. She also holds a certificate in Medical Billing and Coding through the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC). Misty has lived in the Tulsa area for 24 years. She and her husband have been married for 23 years, have three grown sons, one daughter-in-law, and one grandson. Misty loves to travel, read, crochet, make epoxy tumblers, and just about anything outdoors. She absolutely loves the sunshine!
Marolyn Maxey
Early Childhood Education Department Head
Marolyn Maxey earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Northeastern State University in December 2003 and a Master’s Degree in Education from Northeastern State University in 2012. Marolyn worked in the public school setting for 12 years as an instructor and then as the Reading Specialist and Testing Coordinator. It was this professional foundation that brought her to our Early Childhood Education program as an instructor in 2021. The love of children and passion for educating others is a daily goal for her. She is an advocate for Early Childhood education and welcomes help to anyone needing assistance in this area.
Cherity Walker
Paralegal Department Head
Cherity Walker is the Department Head of Community Care College’s 100% Online Paralegal Program. She has been in the legal field for over 20 years and has been a certified Paralegal for over 15 years. She graduated from Rogers State University in 1994 with an Associates in Business and again in 2004 with a Bachelor’s in Paralegal Studies.
She takes great pride in passing on legal knowledge and experience to her students. She truly values her time with her students and works hard to help them build their foundation to become successful Paralegals.
God blessed Cherity with her husband, Bobby, her daughters Kelsie, Hailey, and Hannah, her son Jeremiah, and 3 beautiful granddaughters Kynleigh, Avery, and Aubrey.
In her spare time, Cherity enjoys attending church, spending time with family and friends, camping, boating, and riding Harleys.
Dr. Raye Mahlberg
President
Dr. Raye Mahlberg has over 22 years of experience working higher education. She has a passion for helping students graduate and find success in their new careers. Dr. Mahlberg has an M.Ed in Adult and Higher Education with an emphasis in Student Personnel Services from The University of Oklahoma, an MBA from The University of Central Oklahoma, and a PhD in Higher Education Leadership with an emphasis in Enrollment Management from Capella University. Throughout her 11+ years with the colleges Dr. Mahlberg has served in a variety of roles and has been responsible for curriculum development, faculty training, and new program research. Dr. Mahlberg served as the Campus Director at Clary Sage College for 6 years prior to becoming President.
Pallavi Agarwal
Chief Financial Officer
Pallavi “Polly” Agarwal serves as the Chief Financial Officer for Community Care College, Clary Sage College, and Oklahoma Technical College. Polly is a true servant leader and loves the college’s CARES culture. Polly has her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting with a major in Accounts/Finance. While pursuing her bachelors, she worked as an intern at a CPA firm for several years. A few years later she earned her Master’s in Business Administration at Oral Roberts University (ORU), Tulsa OK. During her M.B.A. program, she started working at Community Care College as an Accountant, and was then promoted to the Accounting Manager position. Polly has been serving as the CFO of the colleges since January of 2016. Throughout her 10+ years with the colleges Polly has been dedicated to serving others and developing leaders.
Karissa Marcangeli
Director of Financial Aid
Karissa Marcangeli has been a part of our financial aid team for over 20 years. She started her career at Community Care College over 21 years ago after attending Oklahoma State University. Karissa has a passion for helping students create financially responsible educational plans that make their career goals a reality. College is a large investment and can be an overwhelming process for students. Karissa and her team work hard to make the financial aid process as painless as possible during the enrollment period. Karissa grew up in McAlester, OK and loves Italian food. Karissa lives with her fur child, Duke and enjoys spending time with her nieces and nephews.
Sara Breland
Director of Career Services
Sara graduated from Northeastern State University with a degree in Marketing and joined Community Care College in Admissions in 2007. She fondly recalls when both OTC and Clary Sage opened their doors for the first time to students. In 2010, Sara took on a new role as Evening Team Leader at Clary. She was able to use the skills that she learned from her Marketing degree to read people in order to really get to know how to help them.
In 2011, Sara married and moved to Texas to begin a career in banking. While there, she ultimately decided that she truly missed the connection with the students that she had, so she returned to Clary Sage in 2020 as a Career Services Representative. Her favorite part of what she does is watching someone pursue what they truly want in life, and then watching that dream become reality.
Sara was promoted to Career Services Director in 2022, where she continues to use her talents to help students achieve their career goals with her servant’s heart and love of giving to others.
In her spare time, Sara enjoys spending time with her husband and animals, crafting, listening to live music, and she’s never met a patio she didn’t like!
Brenda Knox
Director of Human Resources
Brenda Knox is the Human Resources Director for Community HigherEd Institute which includes Community Care College, Clary Sage College, and Oklahoma Technical College. Brenda is a Medical Assistant by trade with many years in the healthcare field. As one of the first graduates of CCC Brenda had the opportunity to teach in the Medical Assisting Program in 1997. In 1998 Knox Laboratory became an extension of CCC for student drug testing and Occupational Medicine. Brenda managed the laboratory until the purchase of the building that is now the CCC campus in 2002. Brenda’s passion has always been in education, Career College changed her life as a single mom and she wanted to help others succeed in the same way. Brenda developed what is now the Human Resources Department for the three campuses. Brenda has an Associate’s degree in Applied Science and Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Management & Ethics from Oklahoma Wesleyan University. Brenda is a native Tulsan and proud to have been with the company for 25 years!