Financial Entrepreneur & Mentor Debbie Parigian Honored with a Portland Business Journal CFO of the Year Award in Small Private Company Category
CONTACT: Lauren Shapiro
TELEPHONE: 503.244.0726
EMAIL: [email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, OR— May 23, 2016 — American College of Healthcare Sciences (ACHS) Chief Financial Officer Debbie Parigian has been awarded a 2016 Portland Business Journal CFO of the Year award in the Small Private Company category. Parigian was honored at the PBJ CFO of the Year Luncheon on May 19, 2016 and is profiled in the PBJ CFO print publication, released on May 20, 2016.
The annual CFO of the Year awards honor Oregon and Southwest Washington’s “most-gifted money minds,” for their roles as corporate financial stewards. Award honorees must demonstrate innovation, outstanding performance, and a proven track record of community involvement.
A senior financial executive with more than 30 years’ experience, Parigian says the greatest professional risk of her career was leaving her secure CFO job in Silicon Valley to start a part-time consulting practice in Portland.
“My experience in Silicon Valley showed me there was a need to assist young, growing companies,” says Parigian. “I have never looked back. I love to see entrepreneurs succeed, especially when they create job opportunities in our local economy. That’s why being a CFO is so fantastic.”
Parigian, a Certified Public Accountant, has served as a board member, founder, and consultant with several emerging growth companies. She currently serves as the ACHS Chief Financial Officer and is the Board Treasurer.
“My experience in both health and finance allows me to successfully contribute to strong, sustainable growth and development of the College,” Parigian says.
Pictured: Parigian (center) with ACHS CSO Erika Yigzaw (right) and PBJ publisher Craig Wessel (left) at the 2016 PBJ CFO of the Year Awards Luncheon.
Parigian joined ACHS in 1997 and has played a critical role in the institution’s growth and development, including fostering the College through multiple regulatory processes required by higher education compliance agencies.
“Debbie has played a critical role in the development of our growth strategies and establishing the internal systems required to handle our expansion,” says Dorene Petersen, ACHS founder and president. “She has been an invaluable business and mentoring resource. Her guidance and wise counsel have helped to sustain the quality and integrity of ACHS and our ability to serve our students with excellent education opportunities in holistic health.”
Parigian’s feature can be found by PBJ subscribers in the May 20 print issue and online, and more information about the luncheon and awards can be found here: http://www.bizjournals.com/
portland/blog/2016/05/
meet-the-pbjs-2016-cfo-of-the-year-finalists.html
For more information about the American College of Healthcare Sciences, visit www.achs.edu.
To schedule an interview with Debbie Parigian or Dorene Petersen, email [email protected].
About ACHS
American College of Healthcare Sciences has been educating industry leading holistic health professionals since 1978. View our Alumni in Action online at https://achs.edu/alumni/in-action. ACHS is an accredited member of the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), which is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency, and is a recognized member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). ACHS is one of the only accredited holistic health colleges offering fully online graduate and undergraduate degrees, diplomas, career-training certificates, and continuing education courses in integrative medicine fields, such as aromatherapy, herbal medicine, holistic nutrition, and wellness coaching. For more information about ACHS programs visit www.achs.edu.
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