Dr. Chris Bustamante serves as the Executive Director of the Arizona Community College Coordinating Council (AC4). In this position, he leads the statewide council of presidents/chancellors of the ten community college districts in their work to advance the mission and interests of Arizona’s community colleges. He is also the former president of Rio Salado College (Rio) and the Maricopa Corporate College (MCOR), both located in Tempe, Arizona. The institutions are part of the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) which serves approximately 200,000 students annually. Rio is the largest of the District’s ten individually accredited colleges and serves nearly 50,000 students each year. Dr. Bustamante retired in August 2018 after forty years of public service in Arizona, including over twenty-six years in MCCCD. 

Dr. Bustamante is a well-known advocate for increasing access to higher education and degree completion. In addition, he is highly regarded for forging transformational partnerships with business, government, and educational providers. 

He was appointed President of Rio in June 2010 and President of MCOR in August 2016. Prior leadership roles at Rio include: Vice President of Community Development and Student Services and Dean of Academic Affairs. Previously he served in senior level government affairs positions for MCCCD and as Assistant to the Superintendent for Community and Government Relations for the Phoenix Union High School District, and as a Legislative Assistant in the Arizona House of Representatives. 

A native to Arizona, he holds both a doctorate and master’s degree in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Arizona and attended Pima Community College as a transfer student. 

Dr. Bustamante’s commitment to higher education is noted by his leadership roles nationally and locally. He currently serves as the Board Chair for Higher Learning Advocates (HLA), a Lumina funded advocacy organization, and served as Chair of the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) Board of Trustees (2016-17), and as a CAEL Senior Fellow (2020-21); currently serves as a CAEL Advisory Board member (2018-Present) and ED2Work Advisory Council member (2021-). In addition, he served as a board member for the American Council on Education (ACE) (2016-2018) and Chair of ACE’s Commission on Education, Attainment, and Innovation (2014-15). He served on the Board for the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) (2015-2017) and its Executive Committee (2017), and as President of the National Community College Hispanic Council (NCCHC) (2014-15). In 2018, he completed service as a member of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), the Presidents’ Forum Advisory Board, Credential Engine Board, and the Advisory Board for the Higher Education Research and Development Institute (HERDI). In addition, Dr. Bustamante served as President of the Continuous Quality Improvement Network (CQIN/AFIT) and member of its Executive Committee (2012-2018). He currently serves on the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) and its Executive Committee. Locally, he was co-chair of the Arizona-Mexico Commission’s Education Committee (2016-2018), Friends of Public Radio Arizona Board Member (2010-2018), and currently serves on the local boards of the Boy Scouts of America and the Be A Leader Foundation in Phoenix. 

Chris and his wife, Mary, live in Tempe, Arizona, where they are raising their three daughters.