Eight years of results

Expanded free tuition. Championed and grew our free tuition program, so thousands of local students start college without a bill.

Made textbooks free. Backed free and low-cost textbook programs so course materials don't price students out of a class.

Backed students' basic needs. Food pantries, housing grants, and emergency funds, because a hard month shouldn't end a college career.

Grew the college clothing drive. Interview clothes and everyday essentials, free to any student who needs them.

Welcomed refugee students. Backed the Welcome Corps on Campus partnership connecting our colleges with refugee students.

Stood up for every student. Flew the Pride flag when others said no, answered acts of hate on campus quickly, and advanced equity and inclusion work across the district — because students finish where they know they belong.

Put our students first in line for union careers. Won the district's 2021 project labor agreement, so our campuses are built by district students and graduates, local residents, and veterans — good jobs, protected by a union contract, that lift whole families.

2021

Expanded training where a certificate means a paycheck. Grew programs that lead straight to work: nursing, EMS, early childhood education, construction, culinary, and automotive.

Kept paychecks coming through the pandemic. District construction continued safely through COVID, supporting local trades when work was scarce.

Closed a $2 million shortfall. When the shortfall hit, cut administrative overhead — not classrooms, not counselors. Balanced budgets, open books, no drama.

Cut administrative overhead. Brought the district's outside legal spending down from more than $2 million a year to about $200,000 — putting that money back toward students and classrooms.

Won more state funding. Led the charge to update the state funding formula so the Contra Costa Community College District is eligible for more state funding.

Brought home state and federal dollars. Made the case in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. for the funding that keeps these programs alive.

Steered the district through COVID. Elected Board President in December 2019, helped lead the district through the pandemic — a fast move to online learning, emergency scholarships, and expanded food assistance.

Steadied the board. Helped stabilize district leadership after a period of dysfunction — colleagues elected her Board President in December 2019 and again in December 2023.

A statewide leader. Elected to the board of the statewide association of California community college trustees — a bigger platform to fight for the funding our local colleges deserve.