Did you always want to be a college president? What is your leadership approach and philosophy? How has it felt to be the first Filipina American president of both Berkeley City College and San José City College?
These are only a few of the questions I have been asked since serving as president of Berkeley City College (BCC) from 2016 to 2020 and at San José City College (SJCC) since 2020. In the last six years, I have been invited to share my kwento and leadership journey in a variety of venues, from higher education-focused news media, conferences and convenings, leadership institutes, and ethnic-based staff associations. Inclusive of my presidencies, I have been a multicultural educator in the California Community Colleges system for more than 27 years. Prior to SJCC and BCC, I served in multiple roles at De Anza College, as faculty, dean and associate vice resident.
This article concludes a series this month focusing on women who lead community colleges as part of our celebration of Women’s History Month.
Social and cultural focus
When asked about my identity as an educator and leader, I talk about myself as a Pinay and Asian American president because these descriptors speak to my political engagement with the social justice issues Filipina/o/x and Asian Americans continue to face.
I am a first-generation immigrant born in the Philippines. My parents came to the United States in 1972 in pursuit of the American Dream, which included access to a quality public education for their four children. I am drawn to Pinayist pedagogy/praxis as a leadership framework due to its focus on the empowerment of Filipina American women and its application of Paulo Freire’s idea of transformative agency through theory (co-created and derived from everyday lives), practice and personal reflection.
In valuing the cultures, lived experiences and voices of all in the institution, I practice humanizing education, which I consider an outgrowth of…
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