New Yavapai College District Governing Board members, Mr. Chris Kuknyo and Mr. Mitch Padilla, were sworn in today at a ceremony conducted by Tim Carter, Yavapai County School Superintendent, during the Board's regular monthly meeting.

Both Kuknyo and Padilla will serve six-year terms on the Board. Kuknyo will represent District 4, which was previously held by Dr. Pat McCarver, whose term expired on December 31, 2020 and chose not to seek re-election.

District 4 includes Antelope, Ashfork, Big Chino, Camp Wood, Chino Valley 1 and 2, Country Park, Cougar, Coyote Springs, Deep Well, Drake, Granite, Perkinsville, Pinon Oaks, Sandretto, Seligman, Shadow Valley, Spruce, Williamson Valley, West Chino, and Willow

Padilla will represent District 5, which was previously held by Mr. Steve Irwin, who resigned from the post in April of 2020.

District 5 includes Castle, Diamond Valley, Glassford, Granville, Groom Creek, Horseshoe, Lynx Creek, Mountain View, Prescott Valley 1/Navajo, Prescott Valley 2, Pronghorn View, Roundup, Superstition, and Yavapai Hills.

Kuknyo was born in Chicago and moved with his family to Prescott in 1978 and is a class of '84 graduate of Prescott High School.

In 2000 Kuknyo co-founded Patriot Disposal, a leader in trash removal and recycling in the area.

Through the years, his service to the community includes Chairman of the Board for the Prescott Valley Chamber of Commerce, Board Member of the Prescott Valley Economic Development Foundation, Mayor Pro-Tem for Prescott City Council Board, Member of the Prescott Downtown Partnership, Chairman of the Board Central Yavapai Metropolitan Planning Organization, Secretary for the Yavapai County Industrial Development Authority, President of the Citizens Tax Committee, and President and co-founder Prescott AZ- Zeitz Germany sister city group.

Padilla, a Southern California native, joined the United States Navy out of high school and later received a Bachelor of Science in Business from Chapman College and a Master's of Business Administration from Thomas Jefferson Law School.

He moved to Prescott in 2008 and currently serves as a Criminal Defense Attorney in town.

In 2016, Padilla founded My College Roadmap, LLC, which includes seminars, college fairs, and personal roadmaps for students who need help preparing, applying, and paying for college.

The Yavapai College District Governing Board's role is to act as a link between the taxpayers of Yavapai County and College executive leadership. They fulfill this accountability by developing policies that govern the College's operations and then hold the College accountable for the delegated areas through a structured monitoring process.

The Board consists of five community members elected from their districts in Yavapai County to serve for six-year terms.