College 100
Our Appreciation
Each year, the Center for Guided Pathways recognizes 100 higher education leaders for their commitment to excellence, student success and equity.
Our Vision
To bring inspiration, innovation and humanity to every person pursuing their pathway in life.
Our Mission
To lead, curate and support an international network of colleges, leaders & organizations who are driving change, transcending learning & making a meaningful impact on the planet.
Our Winners
We are pleased to announce the 2021-22 recipients of the College 100:
Julian Aguon
Author & Activist of the Year
Julian Aguon is an Indigenous human rights lawyer and writer from Guam. He is the founder of Blue Ocean Law, a progressive firm that works at the intersection of Indigenous rights and environmental justice. He serves on the Global Advisory Council of Progressive International. No Country for
Eight-Spot Butterflies
Memoir | Manifesto A collection of essays on resistance, resilience, and collective power in the age of climate disaster from Chamorro human rights lawyer and organizer Julian Aguon. Part memoir, part manifesto, Julian Aguon’s No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies is a coming-of-age story and a call for justice—for everyone, but in particular, for Indigenous peoples.
Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Ambar-Edith Martinez-Escobedo
Consultant
Since 2019, she has worked as a Racial and Educational Equity Strategy Partner and Developer. Ambar collaborates with executive and/or informal leaders within non-profit and for-profit organizations to develop an equity-minded culture and vision. She supports organizations on creating strong networks and relationships in and out of their structures for meaningful co-creation and community building. She collaborates with organizations to developed specialized professional development for their members in order to deepen understanding of systemic and community needs. Ambar has co lead the Constellations & Instruction team for DEIWACTCS since 2020.
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Ariana Anjaz
Afghan Health Initiative
Ariana is the Senior Director of Afghan Health Initiative, a community-based nonprofit organization committed to addressing social determinants of health. She is passionate about working with people of color, particularly, new immigrants and refugees. She graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Public Health-Global Health and a minor in Nutritional Sciences. Currently she is enrolled in the Master of Public Health program at UW with expected graduation in 2023.
Beabe Akpojovwo
Bellevue College
Beabe Akpojovwo a native of Seattle has been employed with Bellevue College for 11 years. Before this position, she served as the Office Manager in the Regional Scales Node department at the University of Washington, and 11 years as the Field Office Manager for Casey Family Programs, a nonprofit System Improvement, and Child Advocacy organization. Beabe has over 20 years of executive management and support skills. Beabe served and chaired several diversity and pluralism committees over the years, and has a great passion for the work. Beabe Akpojovwo has a B.A. & M.A in Theology; Beabe is also a Certified Diversity Professional. She co leads the WA State Faculty and Staff of Color Conference and the Social Justice Leadership Institute.
Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Bree Kalima
Portland State University
Bree Kalima (she/her) is a Kānaka Maoli scholar and practitioner from Hawaiʻi. She currently serves as the Program Coordinator for the Pacific Islander, Asian & Asian American Student Center at Portland State University. I hold a BA in Psychology, a BA in Administration of Justice, and a minor in Hawaiian Studies from the University of Hawai'i at Hilo; and a MA in Postsecondary Educational Leadership, with a specialization in Student Affairs from San Diego State University. She is the co founder of the Northwest PISA CON focused on Pasefika people in the diaspora.
Joey Adams
Pierce College District
Joey serves as the Director of Student Life at Pierce College District. Previously, he worked as an IT Specialist for 6 years. He earned his IT degree from Central Washington University in 2010. Joey has served on the WA State Faculty and Staff of Color Conference since 2018. Joey now serves on the WA state Multicultural Student Services Directors Council.
Kendra Aguilar
The Evergreen State College
Kendra is a Native Pathways Program Faculty at The Evergreen State College. Kendra has a B.A. in Liberal Arts and an MPA in Tribal Governance from Evergreen. Kendra is an experienced Consultant, Researcher and Educator with a focus on Urban and Reservation-based Native communities
Her research specialties: education, program development, project management, policy, liaison work
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Marwa Almusawi
Green River College
Marwa works as the Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (ODEI) at Green River College. She has a Bachelor’s in Political Science and Liberal Studies from Western Washington University. Marwa has served as President and Vice President of the WA State Multicultural Student Services Directors Council. She is the former chair of the Green River Diversity and Equity Council (GDEC) and fouding advisor to the Muslim Student Association.
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Dr. Vik Bahl
Green River College
Vik Bahl received his Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Texas at Austin, with a focus on ethnic and post-colonial literature, cultural studies, and social movements. He has taught in the English Division at Green River College since 1998. He is co-founder of Diversity & Equity in Hiring & Professional Development (DEHPD), a statewide organization that addresses the low numbers of under-represented staff and faculty in the community college system; founder of DEI in WA CTCs, a statewide collection of work teams that emerged in 2020 in the wake of COVID and the movement for Black Lives in response to the murder of George Floyd; and co-founder of the Green River Diversity & Equity Council (GDEC) and the Instructional Diversity Committee (IDC). He serves on the boards of the Toyin Falola Center for the Study of Africa (TFCSA); the Center for Convivial Research and Autonomy (CCRA); and formerly University Beyond Bars (UBB), a Seattle nonprofit that provides higher education to prisoners. He is also co-author of a collection of poetry entitled Scoundrels of Deferral: Poems to Redeem Reflection, which explores his experiences, barriers, and aspirations as a 1.5 generation Indian American.
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Patricia Barnes-Sam
Seattle Central College
Patricia Barnes-Sam is a Seattle native, a mother, a survivor of systemic racism and trauma, and a second-generation Seattle Central alumna who uses her education and life experiences to mentor students at Central’s TRIO Student Support Services.
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Elaha Bashizada, DDS
University of Washington
Elaha Bashizada earned her Doctorate of Dental Surgery (DDS) from University of Washington in 2021. As a war refugee herself, Elaha has always been passionate about equitable healthcare. Having limited access to healthcare growing up really helped build her passion for helping increase access to healthcare as a professional. Today, she is in a privileged position where she can be the provider and make the change she wants to see in this world.
Keith Beasley
Author & Journalist
Keith J. Beasley is the author of his first novel Bone Flake: A Poetic Maniac. He likes to travel, go hiking with friends, run and compete in amateur sports. He graduated from Seattle University with an undergrad in Communication & Media. Beasley noted " It helps to learn the true meaning of multi-tasking, while learning the true to multi-task. Being able to learn teamwork in classrooms, Cadets in the ROTC program and with the teammates on the track team helps with building character. Working in the military part-time in the Army National Guard uplifts the confidence, and work with being well rounded in all agendas."
Dr. Denise Bill
Muckleshoot Tribal College
Dr. Denise Bill is the Executive Director of Adult & Higher Education at Muckleshoot Tribal College. Denise Bill completed her Ed.D. at the University of Washington College of Education on the Seattle campus in 2012. “I was actually the second Muckleshoot to get a doctorate degree from UW in Seattle,” she said. “My dad was the first and he was also the first Muckleshoot to earn a doctorate.”
Felix Braffith
WSU Vancouver
Felix Braffith, director of student equity and outreach, has a deep understanding of the challenges historically underserved students face while attending college. The oldest of 16 children from a family with deep military roots, he was raised in Lakewood and Tacoma, Washington. Both of these ethnically diverse and culturally rich communities are where he provided transformative experiences for students who strived to become the first in their families to graduate from college. He is the editor of Breathing Stories 2 Life: Tacoma's First Generation College Students. Braffith is a founding mentor for the Men of Culture Academy (2016) and Center for Guided Pathways (2012). He now serves at King Kamehameha Schools in Honolulu, HI.
Robert Britten
Lake Washington Institute of Technology
Robert Britten is the Executive Director for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Lake Washington Institute of Technology. He is also a native of Louisiana, and an accomplished writer/author, educator, advocate, mentor, and trained facilitator in Dependable Strengths. In 2017, Robert wrote and published two books: “No Time Like the Present,” and “When Leadership Matters.” He has a Bachelor's in Business Management from University of Phoenix, a Bachelor's in Organizational Leadership from Brandman University, and a Master's in Educational Leadership and Administration from the American College of Education.
Jaynina Smith-Prince
The Evergreen State College
Jaynina is the Director of Upward Bound - Tacoma Programs at The Evergreen State College. She loves to draw, both at work and outside of work. She loves drawing people and names. And drawing connections between people and learning the stories and meanings of people’s names. She is the first CHamoru female director in Washington colleges and universities & a 2001 PIONEER scholar. Her work is published in MATAMAI: The Vasa in Us (2010).
Dr. Third Andresen
University of Washington &
Green River College
Dr. Third Andresen is nationally renowned professor, researcher, activist and artist. He chairs American Minority and Ethnic Studies at Green River. is a Lecturer, Director of the Philippines Study Abroad Program, Principal Investigator of the 4th Hip Hop archive at University of Washington. He is a former faculty with PINOY TEACH.
Dr. Toni Castro
North Seattle College / Highline College
Her commitment to access, equity, and diversity began in the Educational Opportunity Program at CSU Sonoma. She celebrates 22 years at Highline, where she served as Multicultural Director, Associate Dean for Diversity and Student Development, and the Vice President for Student Services/CSAO from 2006-2018. At NSC, she served as Special Assistant to the President conducting a SWOT analysis and cultural scan charting local and national trends and building recommendations for responsive changes in NSC’s Student Services Division. In August 2019, she assumed her Interim VPSS position and will remain in this role until a permanent VPSS is hired.
Kauka de Silva
Kapiolani Community College
Professor Kauka de Silva, a master Native Hawaiian ceramic artist and sculptor, who has taught art at Kapiʻolani CC since 1988. He played a vital role in increasing the number of Native Hawaiians employed at the college and throughout the UH System.
“I have strived for the last thirty years to make Kapiʻolani Community College a place where Hawaiian culture is celebrated, championed, and reflected in the curriculum, pedagogy, support services and activities, students, faculty, staff, and administration and the community,” Professor de Silva said. He retired from the college in 2020. A master and leader in his fields of ceramics and sculpture, de Silva is an inspiration. His students say that he is friendly, patient and positive, genuinely encouraging, and willingly gives his time to them. They add, "His ability to communicate inspires us to achieve our goals and some to pursue our studies in art." "Kauka has touched each of our lives. He is the essence of aloha."
Dr. Rhonda Coats
Davidson County Community College
Dr. Rhonda Coats currently serves as the Vice President, Student Affairs at Davidson County Community College in Lexington, North Carolina. She is known for her advocacy work and giving voice to issues related to diversity, inclusion, equity, social and economic justice. She has received numerous awards recognizing her dedication to supporting faculty, staff, and students of color in higher education, including the first Dr. Rhonda Quash Coats Award from MSSDC. She is one of the founders of the Washington State Faculty & Staff of Color in Higher Education Conference and is an active, Golden Life Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Rhonda lives in Greensboro, NC with her husband Ray and they have four children Jalen Victoria, Miles, Valerie, and Wesley.
Jodie Collins
Olympic College
Jodie Collins works as a Program Coordinator at Olympic College. A renowned Native Hawaiian mentor to generations of students, she is one of the longest serving Pacific Islander educators in the Washington CTC system.. She has co lead The Multicultural Student Services Directors Council. Her twenty years of service has advanced the recruitment, retention and successful completion of educational programs for students of color.
Dr. Carlos Adams
Green River College (Retired)
Dr. Carlos is a retired adjunct professor from Green River College. He taught American Minority and Ethnic Studies courses. He helped design and implement diversity outcome and assessment strategies, tactics, and goals. Advisor for numerous student organizations. Dr. Adams has taught dozens of ethnic, gender and American cultural studies courses, literature, and composition.
Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Haley Cummins
Discovery Center
Haley Cummins is a Bill & Melinda Gates Discovery Center Associate, a World Relief Executive Assistant, and a storyteller at heart. She studied sociology at Highline College and lead her cohort of the UMOJA Black Scholars. She earned her Bachelors in Communication and Media and Strategic Communications at Seattle University. She is being recognized as one of our student alumni of the year.
Gillian Duenas
Coach & Consultant
Gillian Duenas is a mixed-race CHamoru woman who was born and raised in Bremerton, WA. Self-taught, she began acrylic painting when she started college as a means of healing and improving her mental health. During her first quarter of college, she battled with severe depression. Using creativity as an outlet was essential to her healing and success as a first-generation college Student of Color. Her art centers her stories and perspectives as an Indigenous woman told through traditional legends, motifs, and aesthetics brought into a modern context. She also began to explore traditional artforms of her culture, such as weaving with pandanus leaves and jewelry making/carving with clam and spondylus shells. As her art journey progressed, Gillian saw how art could be used to connect with her ancestors and homeland while in the diaspora as well as practice storytelling and relationality with her community.
Pavielle Dawson
The Evergreen State College | Shoreline Community College
Pavielle Dawson is a humanities professor at Shoreline and Associate Director of College Access Programs / Upward Bound - Clover Park Programs at Evergreen. Professor Dawson has also taught middle school and high school students for over a decade. She is the author of MER
Mari Acob-Nash, PhD
North Seattle College
Mari is Dean of Student Leadership at North Seattle College. Dean of Student Support Services North Seattle Colleg Dr. Acob-Nash was the Associate Vice President for International Education
at Skagit Valley College. She was the
Dean of International Programs at Cascadia College. Dr. Acob Nash was the
Executive Director, International Programs at
North Seattle College and the former
Edmonds Community College Director of International Student Services.
Jacquie Curry
Olympic College
Jacquie Curry is the deputy Director of HRS at Olympic College. She serves on the Washington State Faculty and Staff of Color Conference. She has also been a member of the African American affinity group.
Gurleen Deol
Green River College | Rejection Warrior
Gurleen was part of the inaugural cohort of the Bachelor's of Applied Science (BAS) program in Marketing & Entrepreneurship at Green River College. For work, she does freelance writing, editing, marketing, and podcast management. For fun, she loves books, puzzles, languages, social media, and Netflix. She is is being recognized as one of our student alumni of the year.
Dr. Sy Ear
Seattle Central College
Dr. Sy Ear holds an Educational Leadership doctoral from the University of Washington-Tacoma with a focus on leadership and organizational change management. Also completed a master’s degree in education with a focus in student development theory and practice from Seattle University. Currently he is the Dean for Basic and Transitional Studies at Seattle Central College.
Dr. Edward Esparza
SBCTC (retired) | Edwards Non Profit Associates
Dr. Edward Esparza is a retired policy associate from SBCTC but continues serving the underrepresented student populations through Edwards Non Profit Associates. Dr. Esparza served at Central Washington University, Yakima Valley Community College and Tacoma Community College. He continues his work and commitment to Diversity Equity and Inclusion that will allow me to utilize my leadership, education, and work experience to support recruitment and retention, professional development, and social justice, within the community and workplace.
Shondea Chapman
Bates Technical College
Shondea Chapman works as a Testing Coordinator at Bates Technical College and has a Bachelor's in Business Administration from the City University of Seattle. Since 2018, she has served on the Washington State Faculty and Staff of Color Conference.
Roger Fernandes
University of Washington | Northwest Indian College
Roger Fernandes is a Native American artist, storyteller, and educator whose work focuses on the culture and arts of the Coast Salish tribes of western Washington. He is a member of the Lower Elwha S’Klallam Tribe and has a B.A. in Native American Studies from The Evergreen State College and an M.A. in Whole Systems Design from Antioch University. He currently teaches courses on storytelling and art at the University of Washington, Northwest Indian College, and other learning institutions.
Dr. David Palaita
City College of San Francisco
Dr. David Palaita is an interdisciplinary studies professor at the City College of San Francisco. He began his career co-teaching Pacific Islands Studies courses at the University of Washington as an undergraduate in 2002. Later, he taught courses for the UC Berkeley Upward Bound program, Camp Unity and San Francisco county jails. Palaita started teaching at City College in 2007. He gradually established the Bay Area’s first Critical Pacific Islands Studies program in 2013, which was later adopted by College of San Mateo as well. His students are given the opportunity to be published in “Matamai,” a Pacific Studies anthology book series.
Karen Arlette Gamez Lopez
WA Department of Children, Youth, and Families | Institute for a Democratic Future
Karen Arlette Gamez Lopez is a Career Pathways Navigator at WA Department of Children, Youth, and Families, & a 2022 Fellow at the Institute for a Democratic Future (IDF). She is a former LEAP WA and LSU leader with the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She is a former specialist with Northwest Education Access. Her education includes an Associates in Arts from Green River College and a Bachelor of Arts from University of Washington.
Dr. Stephanie Gardner
Sova
Dr. Stephanie Gardner is a life-long educator, change agent, and advocate. She has spent 20 years of her career focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion and belonging (DEI) initiatives while working with multiple sectors and individuals, including K-12, postsecondary education, workforce development, industry, state and federal agencies, elected officials and legislative bodies, and community-based organizations. Dr. Gardner currently serves as a Director at Sova. In her current role, she works to improve the quality and accelerating pace of complex problem solving in higher education and workforce development.
Jordan Beltran Gonzalez
Editing Mechanic.Com
Jordan Beltran Gonzalez experience with graduate courses in Ethnic Studies, Education, History, and Anthropology at UC Berkeley, as well as taught more than 20 undergraduate and graduate Ethnic Studies and Education courses, including college writing, research methods, early U.S. history, and twentieth-century Asian American history. I have also mentored McNair Scholars at UC Berkeley for more than eight years, as well as been a Gates Millennium Scholarship reader and Mellon Mays planning committee member.
Emeka Udenze
Yakima Valley College
Emeka Udenze is a chemistry professor at Yakima Valley College. Emeka Udenze has taught chemistry, general chemistry, biochemistry and science at different levels across two continents to variety of students of different backgrounds. He is currently a professor at the Physical Science department of Yakima Valley College in Washington state, where he continues to teach, nurture and coach students in STEM. He focuses on culturally responsive teaching and strives to provide level playing ground for all learners. He does this by providing well curated videos and in person instructions in simple form so that students at all levels will appreciate science
Carolina Forero
Seattle Central Community College
Carolina is an ESL Instructor at Seattle Central Community College. She earned her Bachelor's in Global Studies and Human Rights from UW Bothel and Master's in TESOL from the School for International Training. Carolina is a founding faculty leader of the DEIWACTCS network and co author of the DEI Constellations & Instruction framework.
Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Charles Jeffreys
Seattle Central Community College
Charles Jeffreys is psychology professor at Seattle Central College since 1987. He is a renowned African American faculty leader with over 35 years of service. He has also taught for Highline College and Green River College. In 2015, he received special lifetime recognition award at the African American Leadership Conference at Green River.
Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dr. Toni Castro
Highline College
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Dani Trimble
Lower Columbia College
Dani Trimble is the Director of Workforce & CareerServices at Lower Columbia College. Dani focuses on helping job-seekers improve their skill-sets and training credentials so that they may enter, re-enter, or advance in the workforce as qualified employees. She holds an M.Ed. from Central Washington University. Dani is a co founder and co lead for DEI WACTCS, chairing the Undocumented Students Work Team. Dani is one of the first Samoan Directors in the CTC and serves on the Faculty & Staff of Color Conference Pacific Islander affinity group.
PwC
Edwina Fui
Highline College
Edwina Fui is the Interim Director of the Center for Cultural & Inclusive Excellence at Highline College. Edwina is experienced professional with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. She is skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Service Learning, Team Building, Public Speaking, and Facilitation. She is a former PIONEER student alumni.
Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Datyous Mahmoudian
Highline College
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Dr. Dimpal Jain
CSU Northridge
Professor Jain Critical race theory and the transfer function: Introducing a transfer receptive culture
(2011)
The multiple dimensions of transfer: Examining the transfer function in American higher educ
Critical race theory and community colleges: Through the eyes of women student leaders of color
D Jain
Community College Journal of Research and Practice 2009
DeLon Lewis
Everett Community College
DeLon Lewis grew up between Seattle, Kent, and Federal Way areas of Washington state. DeLon currently works as a Program Manager at Everett Community College in the Diversity & Equity Center. Graduated from Portland State University with a Bachelor of Science in Communication and is currently working on a Master in Information Technology Management with Regis University. De Lon co cahirs the Black Suport and Solidarity team for the WA State DEIWACTCS
Donna Miguel
Bellevue College
Donna is an English professor at Bellevue College. As a proud Filipina-American born to immigrant parents, her experiences and learned knowledge of racial literacy and gender inequities allow her to integrate issues of empowerment, intersectionality, privilege, and power in the classroom. Professor Migeul is a member of the Pacific Islander affinity group at the WA State Faculty & Staff of Color Conference and WA State Students of Color Conference. She co leads the Faculty of Color Mentorship program.
Doris Martinez
Highline College
Martinez has worked at Highline since 2014 and currently serves as the Interim Associate Dean for Student Life. Among those nominating her, one colleague noted her campus leadership. A child of immigrant parents, Martinez is a Honduran American of Garifuna descent who was raised to value education, which included knowing her family, language, and heritage. This resulted in living in Honduras with her maternal grandmother during her elementary years, meeting extended family, and becoming trilingual. After graduating from Highline College in 2007, she continued her studies at Seattle University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in strategic communications in 2009 and a master’s degree in student development administration in 2011.
Dr. Angel Reyna
Madera Community College
Dr. Angel Reyna is the President of Madera Community College. He has a Bachelor's and Master's in Education from Washington State University and an EdD in Organizational Leadership from Northeastern University.
Dr. David J. Roberts
University of Toronto
Dr. David J Roberts is Associate Professor and Director of the Urban Studies Program at University of Toronto. He is an experienced Associate Professor with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. Skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Report Writing, Policy Analysis, Sustainability, and Data Analysis. Strong community and social services professional with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) focused in Geography from University of Toronto.
Dr. Claudine Richardson
SBCTC
Dr. Claudine Richardson is the Student Success Center Policy Associate with the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. Dr. Richardson is the former Director of Student Development, Diversity at Spokane Falls Community College based in Spokane, Washington. She has served on the DEIWACTCS state wide leadership team since 2021.
Dr. Dana Parker
Texas Tech University
Dr. Dana Parker has a a record of success in Student Development Programming, Training, and Mentoring
Enthusiastic, dedicated, and goal-driven education professional with 10+ years of experience in High School and College environments. Highly regarded for developing and executing programs to ensure that students have resources and access to a quality and well-rounded education. Leads Student Development and First-Generation programming, and collaborates with administrators, faculty, staff, and students. Excels at motivating and building rapport with diverse individuals using strong communication skills. Respected for projecting future educational trends, and for consistently demonstrating excellent problem solving, multi-tasking, and prioritization abilities.
Dr. Danny Najera
Green River College
Danny Najera, a biology professor at Green River College in Auburn, has dedicated his career to researching honey bees, which captured his attention as a student because of their complexity and intelligence. Thanks to his research, he is intimately familiar with the varroa mite and the havoc it can wreak on a colony.
Dr. Debi Jenkins
Clark College
Debra (Debi) Jenkins, Ph.D. (she/her) is an award-winning antiracism/racial equity/racial healing/justice-equity, diversity-inclusion abolitionist who is an educator, credentialed coach, author, and consultant with a background in developmental, liberation, and transformational psychology, working with Black, Brown, and Indigenous women experiencing racialized trauma and minoritization at the intersections. Dr. Debi (a nickname given to her by her clientele) also works with those who desire to support these women in their workspaces, their relationships, and in society. She insights, ignites, and inspires individuals and groups including academic, non-profit, and corporate organizations towards their next best selves!
Dr. Ernest Johnson
Shoreline Community College | University of Washington
Ernest B. Johnson II (Dr. J.) is currently a professor of critical multicultural studies in the Equity and Social Justice program, and Assistant Dean of Social Sciences at Shoreline Community College. He is also adjunct faculty in American Ethnic Studies at the University of Washington, where he earned his Ph.D. in linguistics. He earned an M.A. from the University of Khartoum (Institute of African and Asian Studies). He has lectured and conducted workshops in multicultural competency, social justice, religious studies, and ethnic studies at numerous conferences and several institutes, community colleges, and universities.
Dr. Farhana Loonat
Skagit Valley College
Dr. Farhana Loonat is a high-spirited feminist philosopher and political scientist who is passionate about social justice, and who infuses that passion into students who take her courses in Philosophy, Ethics, Political Science, American Government, International Relations, Comparative Government, Sociology and Ethnic Studies. Dr. Loonat holds a MA degree in Philosophy from the University of Virginia, a Graduate Certificate in Women's and Gender Studies from Vanderbilt University as well as a Ph.D. in Political Science, also from Vanderbilt University.
Dr. Gilbert Villalpando
Premera Blue Cross | Inclusion Avenue
Gilbert is Senior Manager of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Premera Blue Cross and also Organization & Human Development Consultant at Inclusion Avenue. He holds a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction, Master's in Counseling Psychology, Bachelor's in Graphic Design, and various certificates in Women Studies, LGBT Studies, and Chican@ Studies, all from University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dr. Johnny Hu
Bates Technical College
Dr. Johnny Hu is the Vice President of Instruction and Chief Academic Officer at Bates Technical College. Previously, he served as Dean and Associate Dean of Academic Programs at South Seattle College. Johnny believes relationships are the key to college success and he enjoys taking the time to get to know students, faculty, and staff across campus, making himself as accessible as possible.
Dr. Lori Hunt
Community Colleges of Spokane
Dr. Lori Hunt first joined CCS in 2013 as the CCS District Multicultural and Outreach Director. Currently she is the Acting Provost. Dr. Hunt earned her Doctorate and Master of Science degrees in Educational Leadership from WSU and Bachelor of Arts from GU. She’s active in community, regional, and national student services organizations and is a frequent presenter.
Dr. Lulani Tomaszewzki
Pacific Northwest Testing and Assessment Services
Dr. Lulani Tomaszewzki is the Executive Director at Pacific Northwest Testing and Assessment Services. Previously she was the manager of testing services at Renton Technical College. She holds a Master's in Education and Curriculum from University of Washington and EdD in Administration in Higher Education from Concordia University-Portland.
Dr. Dana Parker
Highline College
Bio
Dr. Mark Mitsui
Portland Community College
Dr. Mark Mitsui became President of Portland Community College in September 2016. He currently leads Oregon’s largest higher education institution and is focused on equitable student success.
Dr. Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap
South Seattle College
Dr. Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap became South Seattle College’s 7th president in July 2018. Rosie has been serving the students and community of colleagues at South since 2000, when she started as a Student Success Specialist in the TRiO Educational Talent Search and Upward Bound programs, working with first-generation college-bound youth in the area. Rosie is a South Seattle College Otter through and through, and also a proud WSU Cougar. She has earned a B.A. in English and Ethnic Studies from Washington State University, a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington, and a Doctorate of Education from WSU.
Dr. Tómas Ybarra
Yakima Valley College (retired)
Tomás Ybarra has served as Vice President of Instruction and Student Services at Yakima Valley College, since 2006. Previously, he served on the staff at the Washington State Board for Community College Education, from 1974-77. At Yakima Valley College, Tomás led institutional reforms in instruction and student services. These reforms led to Yakima Valley College becoming the first Washington higher education institution to adopt Guided Pathways reforms.
Dr. Touetu Fa'aleava
College
Dr. Toeutu Faaleava is a Director of TRIO McNair and professor in the International Studies department at Portland State University. He has co lead American Samoa Community College has been a partner in BUILD EXITO, an undergraduate research-training program that supports students on their pathway to become scientific researchers and aims to increase the diversity of the biomedical research workforce of the United States. BUILD EXITO is based at Portland State University (PSU), which receives a major grant from the National Institutes of Health to serve as a center for innovation to help undergraduates, including those from diverse backgrounds, succeed in health research careers. The acronym BUILD stands for Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity, and EXITO for Enhancing Cross Disciplinary Infrastructure and Training at Oregon.
Dr. Trayvon-Conrad Webster
Seattle Public Schools | Pierce College District | Oregon Institute of Technology
Dr. Trayvon-Conrad Webster is an adjunct professor at Oregon Institute of Technology and Pierce Colleges. He is also a Racial Equity Project Manager at Seattle Public Schools. He earned his Associate's in criminal justice from Green River College, Bachelor's of Sociology and MPA from Seattle University, and EdD in Educational Leadership and Administration from UW Tacoma. Dr. Webster is a founding faculty of the MOCA Men of Culture Academy (& Brotherhood Initiative). He is a former leader of the GRCC ODEI.
Dr. Joanne Rondilla
San Jose State University
Dr. Joanne Rondilla's research interests have always explored the complex ways in which colonial legacies exist in our everyday lives. "I do not take current events for granted because I believe that the world we live in today is connected to a larger chain of events that occurred decades ago. My current research focuses on colorism – a looks based system of discrimination, where lighter skinned individuals are seen as more favorable than dark skinned individuals – among the Filipinx community. "
Research Connections to Current Events
As an interdisciplinary ethnic studies and cultural studies scholar focusing on Filipinx, Asian American and indigenous Pacific Islander communities, my research highlights the intricate ways in which U.S. colonial legacies are present in our everyday lives. Specifically, I examine how these legacies are inscribed on the body by focusing on colorism. In the current political moment, Indigenous, Black, and Brown bodies are still seen as savage and deviant; an individual’s physicality determines the structural inequalities including citizenship status, access to water and land rights, and fundamental right to live freely.
Dr. Xyanthe Neider
Whatcom Community College
Dr. Xyanthe Neider received her Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration with a strong focus in Cultural Studies and Social Thought in Education from Washington State University in 2010. She has more than 15 years of experience educating k-12 elementary and secondary teachers, principals and superintendents, and higher education student affairs professionals. She currently serves as the director for teaching and learning at Whatcom Community College. Dr. Neidar is a founding member of the DEIWACTCS network.
Dr. Yoshiko Harden
Seattle Central College
Dr. Yoshiko Harden has worked as vice president for Student Services at Seattle Central College since 2016, providing leadership for areas such as student development, enrollment and registration, and the Guided Pathways initiative. She served as the acting president for Seattle Central College and is now the President of Renton Technical College. Dr. Harden is the former Director of the Center for Cultural and Inclusive Excellence at Highline and co founder of the DEHPD Diversity & Equity in Hiring and Professional Development network.
Dr. Yvonne Terryl-Powell
Edmonds College
Dr. Yvonne Terryl-Powell is the Vice President Equity, Inclusion and Belonging at Edmonds College. Before coming to Edmonds CC, Terrell-Powell served as the Associate Dean of Equity, Engagement, and Counseling for her last two years at Shoreline Community College, where she worked for more than 20 years. She holds master’s degrees in psychology and psychological counseling from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Pennsylvania State University. She is also a licensed mental health counselor.
Eileen Yoshina
Puget Sound ESD
Eileen Yoshina is a fourth-generation Japanese American and Irish American, and the daughter of Byron and Joan Yoshina, two lifelong public educators. She was born and raised in Hawai’i and attributes her deep value for community and justice to the many relatives, teachers, and community members who continue to model collectivism, equity, resilience, pride, and justice. Eileen has taught in the North Thurston and Olympia School Districts, SPSCC, and is currently working as the Director of Equity in Education Services at Puget Sound Educational Service District, which serves the schools and students of King and Pierce County.
Felisciana Peralta
Puget Sound ESD
For the past 25 years, Felisciana has worked in equity-type roles in the education field that span across Early Learning to the college level. Before coming to PSESD as the Executive Director, she has held various leadership roles in the community college system until returning to her love of the K12 public education system. She lead the ODEI at Clark College and served as the past President of the Multicultural Student Services Directors Council (MSSDC) for the Washington State Technical and Community College system. Her role was to help navigate and retain students from non-dominate populations in the college system.
Dr. Tracy Lachica Buenavista
CSU Northridge
Dr. Tracy Lachica Buenavista is Professor of Asian American Studies and a core faculty member in the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership. She also serves as the co-principal investigator for the CSUN DREAM Center, Asian American Studies Pathways Project, and Ethnic Studies Education Pathways Project; and is a member of the Project Rebound Community Advisory Committee. Professor Buenavista teaches courses on race and racism, immigration, and research methods, and in her research uses critical race theory to examine how education, immigration and carcerality shape the contemporary experiences of Filipino/a/x and other People of Color in the U.S. She is originally from the Bay Area, and loves to read, run, and jump rope
Dr. Sarina Saturn
Oregon State University
Sarina Rodrigues Saturn, Ph.D.,is an assistant professor at the School of Psychological Science at Oregon State University.
She received her Ph.D. in neuroscience from New York University under the mentorship of Joseph LeDoux. Her dissertation focused on molecular, cellular, and behavioral studies of the amygdala, the key brain structure for emotional processing. She was a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University, under the guidance of Robert Sapolsky, where she investigated the role of stress hormones on the brain's emotional circuitry. At the University of California, Berkeley, Saturn was a postdoctoral fellow in Dacher Keltner's lab and here she began her attempts to bridge neuroscience and social psychology. Her current research investigates the biology underlying positive emotions, and her goals are to illuminate the roots and development of social well-being. Her research has been featured in the New York Times, National Public Broadcasting’s (NPR’s) Science Friday, Scientific American Mind, and other international outlets. She is excited to be a part of the ADVANCE team so that she can play a role in creating a supportive climate to help women scientists thrive at Oregon State University.
Jan Yoshiwara
SBCTC
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Jan Yoshiwara, executive director for the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, today announced her plan to retire July 31 after 44 years in the college system, including 38 years at SBCTC. Yoshiwara was appointed executive director of the State Board in 2017. The Board sets policy for the college system and allocates operating and capital funds to the state's 34 community and technical colleges that together serve 278,000 students across Washington state.
“I have been proud and grateful to work with such dedicated students, faculty and staff at all of our 34 colleges and the State Board,” Yoshiwara said. “Our colleges change lives for people of all ages, backgrounds and education levels across Washington. I’ve been fortunate to have a career that carries out this amazing mission.”
Dr. Christopher Knaus
UW Tacoma
Dr. Christopher Knaus is a race scholar, critical race theory practitioner, educator, and community advocate. A professor in the School of Education at the University of Washington Tacoma, Dr. Knaus leads multidisciplinary, education-focused systems-transformation efforts. He was the founding director of the EdD in Educational Leadership Program, which focuses on fostering leaders who transform health, education, and community services. Dr. Knaus additionally works with schools, districts, and community-based organizations to design community-led, student of color-oriented programs, and centers student voice as the foundation for radical, healing school systems.
Dr. Knaus served as a Fulbright Scholar to South Africa, where he maintains active research studies examining post-apartheid educational policy and practice. Dr. Knaus previously served as professor of Educational Leadership at California State University, East Bay, where he developed an urban leadership program to prepare community-oriented school leaders. Dr. Knaus has also taught in the African American Studies Department at the University of California, Berkeley, in the College of Education and School of Social Work at the University of Washington, and in high schools in Seattle, Oakland and Berkeley, CA.
In addition to numerous articles, presentations, and talks around the globe, Dr. Knaus has written three books on racism and schools.
Dr. Anita Borja Enriquez
University of Guam
Dr. Anita Borja Enriquez is the Senior Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs at the University of Guam. A former Dean of the School of Business and Public Administration, corporate planning and development manager, and management consultant, Borja Enriquez established her first business at the age of 19. She secured over $1 million in technical assistance grants from the US Dept. of Commerce Economic Development Administration to establish the UOG Pacific Center for Economic Initiatives, the Defense Logistics Agency to establish the Guam Procurement Technical Assistance Center, the US Small Business Administration to establish the new Guam Veterans Business Outreach Center, and the Department of the Interior Office of Insular Affairs to launch the “Buy Local Guam” marketing educational campaign.
Borja Enriquez is founding Vice President of the Guam Women’s Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Vice President of Guampedia Foundation, Inc. Board of Directors, and Director of Foundations for the Rotary Club of Tumon Bay Board of Directors, and serves on the Pacific Islands Small Business Development Center Advisory Board, Guam-Micronesia Mission Education Board, Guam Visitors Bureau’s Administrative and Legislative Affairs Committee, and Guam Procurement Advisory Council. She holds professional memberships with International Economic Development Council, US Women’s Chamber of Commerce, and the California Association of Local Economic Developers. She has served on the Junior Achievement Board of Directors, the Guam Chamber of Commerce Small Business Focus and Development Committee, and founding Vice President of Guam Marketing Association.
Adrienne Maree Brown
Author of the Year
adrienne maree brown grows healing ideas in public through her multi-genre writing, her music and her podcasts. Informed by 25 years of movement facilitation, somatics, Octavia E Butler scholarship and her work as a doula, adrienne has nurtured Emergent Strategy, Pleasure Activism, Radical Imagination and Transformative Justice as ideas and practices for transformation. She is the author/editor of seven published texts and the founder of the Emergent Strategy Ideation Institute, where she is now the writer-in-residence. adrienne is the author of Holding Change: The Way of Emergent Strategy Facilitation and Mediation, We Will Not Cancel Us and Other Dreams of Transformative Justice, the NY Times Bestseller Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good, the radical self/planet help book Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds published by AK Press in 2017. She is also the co-editor of the anthology Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction from Social Justice Movements with Walidah Imarisha, published by AK Press in 2015.
Keino Robinson
College
Keino Robinson is a Medical Student at the
UConn School of Medicine.
He is also a graduate of the
University of Washington and Green River Community College. He is former mentee in the MOCA Men of Culture Academy (Brotherhood). He is being recognized as one of our student alumni of the year.
Elijah Gumaotaotao Tuncap
College
Elijah Tuncap serves as the Student Trustee on the Puget Sound ESD Board. Tuncap recently completed the DSHS Summer Internship with Adult Protective Services. He is a graduate of the Tan Fan Apatte Chamoru Immersion camp at UCLA. He studied Hula and Tahitian drumming at Ke'ala O Kamaileilau'ie'li'e. Tuncap enjoys basketball, cross country and soccer. He serves as drumline captain for Lakes High School and passionate guitar player. He has maintained a 4.0 at Pierce College . Tuncap is being recognized as one of our students of the year.
Michelle Alexander
Scholar of the Year
Michelle Alexander is a highly acclaimed civil rights lawyer, advocate, legal scholar and author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness — the bestselling book that helped to transform the national debate on racial and criminal justice in the United States. Since The New Jim Crow was first published in 2010, it has spent nearly 250 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list and has been cited in judicial decisions and adopted in campus-wide and community-wide reads, and has inspired a generation of racial justice activists motivated by Alexander’s unforgettable argument that “we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it.” The book has won numerous awards, including the 2011 NAACP Image Award for best nonfiction. Alexander has been featured in national radio and television media outlets, including MSNBC, NPR, CNN, Bill Moyers Journal, The Colbert Show, Real Time with Bill Maher, Tavis Smiley, Democracy Now!, and C-SPAN. Over the years, Alexander has taught at a number of universities, including Stanford Law School, where where she was an associate professor of law and directed the Civil Rights Clinic. In 2005, Alexander won a Soros Justice Fellowship that supported the writing of The New Jim Crow and accepted a joint appointment at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity and the Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University. Currently she is a visiting professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York City and a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times.
Dr. Lilia Soto
San Diego State University
Lilia Soto is an associate professor in the Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies (CCS) at San Diego State University. Prior to joining CCS, she was an associate professor of American Studies and Latina/o Studies at the University of Wyoming (UW) with affiliations in the Gender and Women’s Studies Program, International Studies Program, and Creative Writing. From 2019-2022, Soto served as the Director of the Latina/o Studies Program from 2019-2022 and Associate Director of the School of Culture, Gender, and Social Justice at UW. She received her Ph.D. in Comparative Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Berkeley in 2008. From a historical and ethnographic position, her research focuses on comparative/relational race and ethnic studies, transnational migration, identity formation and the interconnectedness of time, place, age, gender and sexuality. Soto’s first book titled, Girlhood in the Borderlands: Mexican Teens Caught in the Crossroads of Migration (New York: New York University Press, 2018), couples the temporalities of migration with age, gender, and sex as intersecting categories of analyses and the bearing these have on the lived experiences of Mexican teenage girls raised in transnational families. She has begun to work on her second research project that centers unlikely characters in four different movements in the Napa Valley narrative. This gendered, raced, and classed account alters official narratives of land, migration, wine, and of climate change. Soto has been the recipient of the NEH Summer Seminar, the Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, and the University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Lua Pritchard
Asia Pacific Cultural Center
Pritchard is the Executive Director of the Asia Pacific Cultural Center (APCC) and a member of the Sound Transit Citizen Oversight Panel, and the governor recently appointed her to the Washington State Arts Commission. She is also the former Executive Director of the Korean Women’s Association and has long been an advocate for Lakewood and CPTC.
Makerusa "Mak" Porotesano
Portland Community College
Makerusa “Mak” Porotesano serves as the Sylvania Multicultural Center Coordinator at Portland Community College. Mak is also co-founder of the Men of Color Leadership Program. Makerusa grew up in Portland by way of St. Johns, North Portland. He has been student organizing since early in his college days. He is the founder of the Pacific Islander Student Alliance (PISA), which started in 2007 when he was an undergraduate student. He is also the founding coordinator of the Men of Color Leadership Program at Portland Community College, and before that, he was the coordinator of the Pacific Islander, Asian and Asian American (PIAAA) Student Center at Portland State University, the Manager of Continuing Education at the University of the South Pacific, Majuro Campus, and the Director of the Office of Student Activities and Leadership at Chaminade University. Makerusa is a second-generation American Samoan from the village of Fogagogo. Mak started his college education at American Samoa Community College. He later received his BS from Portland State University, and a Master’s in Education from Chaminade University of Honolulu. Away from his day job, Mak is an organizer with the Pacific Climate Warriors of 350 Pacific, and is the former Chair of the Samoa Pacific Development Corporation, a 501(c)(3) organization for Samoans in Oregon.
Dr. Nolan Cabrera
Faculty of the Year
Dr. Nolan Cabrera is an Associate Professor in the Center for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Arizona. He studies the racial dynamics on college campuses, with a particular focus on Whiteness, and was the only academic featured in the MTV documentary White People. Dr. Cabrera is also involved in the controversary surrounding the Tucson Unified School District's former Mexican American Studies program. He is a recipient of the prestigious education early career award, the Spencer/National Academy of Education postdoctoral fellowship. Dr. Cabrera's publications have appeared in the leading education and higher education journals such as American Educational Research Journal, Review of Higher Education, Journal of College Student Development, and Research in Higher Education, and his work has been used extensively in education, policy, and legal environments. Dr. Cabrera is a UA College of Education Erasmus Scholar, Emerging Scholar for the American College Personnel Association, Faculty Affiliate with UT Austin's Project M.A.L.E.S., and Faculty Fellow for the American Association for Hispanics in Higher Education. He completed his graduate work at UCLA in Higher Orgranization & Organizational Change and Dr. Cabrera earned his BA from Stanford University in Comparitive Studies in Race and Ethnicity (Education focus). He is a former Director of a Boys & Girls Club in the San Francisco Bay Area, and is originally from McMinnville, Oregon.
Maribel Jiménez
Administrator of the Year
A seasoned educator with 15 years of experience designing, facilitating, and leading collaborative work at a federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and early adopter of a guided pathways approach. Experience forging partnerships across sectors and with surrounding communities with equitable transfer in mind. Forward-thinking professional coordinates work to serve students across the institution and across sectors with budget and expectations. Background in social work, counseling, culturally responsive pedagogy, and equity-minded frameworks.
Matika Wilbur
Artist of the Year
Matika Wilbur (Swinomish and Tulalip) is one of the nation’s leading photographers, based in the Pacific Northwest. She earned her BFA from Brooks Institute of Photography where she double majored in Advertising and Digital Imaging. Her most recent endeavor, Project 562, has brought Matika to over 300 tribal nations dispersed throughout 40 U.S. states where she has taken thousands of portraits, and collected hundreds of contemporary narratives from the breadth of Indian Country all in the pursuit of one goal: To Change The Way We See Native America.
Rashad Norris
Consultant of the Year
Rashad received his BA in Marketing Communication with a Minor in English from the University of Puget Sound where he also played basketball. He earned his Master’s in Public Administration from the Evergreen State College. As the founder of Relevant Engagement Consulting LLC, he partners with the State of Washington (DYHS) Department of Child, Youth and Families Services Community, Reentry and Parole Programs Juvenile Rehabilitation by conducting culturally relevant healing sessions with incarcerated teens as a part of the youth's re-entry process.
Rashida Willard
Executive of the Year
Dr. Rashida Willard, who has more than 20 years of experience in risk mitigation—including more than seven years in higher education at one of the largest community colleges in the Pacific Northwest—will be providing strategic leadership for and overall management of Ball State’s Office of Inclusive Excellence. The unit is dedicated to the recruitment, retention, and celebration of diverse faculty, staff, and students who possess a variety of worldviews, identities, and experiences. It also assists Ball State’s colleges in integrating diversity, equity, and educational quality efforts into their missions and institutional operations
Jamie Ardena
Staff of the Year
James (Jamie) Ardena works as a program manager within the Multicultural Center at Shoreline Community College. Jame also serves on the Multicultural Student Services Directors Council (MSSDC). His work as a self-taught artist often explores notions of the state of Filipino America, the effects of colonization, and the emotional constructs which we imprison ourselves. Over the past twenty years I have been working with resin and developing my own techniques. I conceptualize a piece with images found in old travel and anthropology books, which were the mass media of their time. Photography was used to help categorize, and show off America’s newest possessions and make sense of the cultural landscape of a particular era. These ethnographic images often removed the subjects of the camera from their context , and a new one was created for them. These images along with other objects and text are placed in between layers of resin over a series of several days. After completion the final assemblage is permanently cast yet changes depending upon the perspective of the viewer.
contact: jamesardena@gmail.com
Rosalba Pitkin
Staff of the Year
Rosalba Pitkin, an Aztec-Mexican immigrant, has played a key role on the State Commission on Hispanic Affairs and helps international students at Clark College adjust to the U.S. school culture. Her contributions to Clark County and the state were inspired by her grandmother's advice that she should "plant a seed" wherever she goes. At Clark College, she helps teach foreign-born students about the U.S. school system, counsels them on their educational options, and connects them with services such as English as a Second Language instruction.
Scott (Sal) Salaguinto
Lifetime Achievement Award
Scott (Sal) Salaguinto worked at Green River from 1996 until his death in 2021. He started out as a facilities coordinator for Student Programs and worked his way up to Stage Technician for Conference Services. While working for Green River, Scott found a passion for student clubs and organizations; ASGRC, First Nations, Latino Student Union, Latin Rhythm’s, Asian Student Union, and GRC Dancing Studio. In the 2006-2007 academic school year, Scott was voted Advisor of the Year by the students. Scott was better known as Sal on campus, because he is so darn Sweat And Lovable…or it could just be the first three letters of his last name.
Shaline John
Alumni of the Year
Shaline holds a Bachelor’s in healthcare management from University of Washington and currently works as a healthcare and life sciences consultant at Slalom. Healthcare & Life Sciences Associate Consultant at Slalom. She was a Teaching Assistant - Public Health & Health Systems Management and the Institute for Diversity and Health Equity (IFDHE) Summer Enrichment Program Intern American College of Healthcare Executives. Shaline is a former peer navigator with the ODEI at Green River College.
Dr. Dory Nason
Faculty of the Year
Dory Nason (Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley) is Anishinaabe and an enrolled member of the Leech Lake Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. Her areas of research include contemporary Indigenous Feminisms and related Native women’s intellectual history and literature. At UBC, Professor Nason teaches Indigenous Literature and Criticism; Indigenous Theory and Research Methods; and Indigenous Feminisms.
Dory Nason joined the First Nations and Indigenous Studies Program in August 2008. Dory comes by way of the University of California’s Ethnic Studies Department at Berkeley. Specializing in Indigenous feminism and literature, Dory holds a joint position with the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice. In 2013, she was awarded a prestigious Killam Teaching Prize in recognition of her contributions to teaching excellence at UBC.
Dory recently co-edited the volume Tekahionwake: E. Pauline Johnson’s Writings on Native America (Broadview Press, 2016) along with Dr. Margery Fee (UBC English). She is currently at work on her book manuscript, Red Feminist Voices: Native Women’s Activist Literature. She and Dr. Glen Coulthard were also featured contributors to the groundbreaking anthology, The Winter We Danced: Voices from the Past, the Future, and the Idle No More Movement (ARP Books), which was released to great acclaim in March 2014.
Sili Savusa
Trustee of the Year
Sili Savusa, of White Center, was appointed to the Highline Board of Trustees on June 17, 2013, and reappointed to a second term in June 2018. Savusa has more than 20 years of experience in leadership and community service positions involving policy development, cross-cultural coalition building and community organizing for social justice issues. She is currently the executive director of the White Center Community Development Association, which promotes the development of White Center through leadership opportunities and community-led, neighborhood initiatives.
Tevin Gladney
Alumni of the Year
Born and raised here in the Pacific Northwest, Tevin has extensive knowledge of local neighborhoods in the Greater Seattle area and understands the fast-paced market. Tevin makes sure to make the experience for his clients personable and enjoyable and create lifelong relationships with whomever he meets through Every Door Real Estate. He is being recognized as one of our student alumni of the year.
Tina Young
Lifetime Achievement Award
Tina Young is a retired Director of Seattle Central Community College. She is an Asian American legend and was one the longest serving director in Washington State CTC history. She is the former president of the Multicultural Students Services Director Council and chaired the WA State Students of Color Conference. She is also the co founder of the DEHPD Diversity and Equity in Hiring & Professional Development network.
Thanh Binh (Trysteen) Tran
Faculty of the Year
Trysteen Tran is an English professor at Shoreline Community College. She is also a former faculty member at Green River College and Seattle Central College. Trysteen has a Bachelor's in English and a Master's in English/Language Arts in Teacher Education from University of Washington. Thanh is an alumni of the UW Summer Bridge Program and UW LEADERS inaugural cohort.
Tyron Faaneva
Students of the Year
Tyron earned his Bachelors of Animal Science at Washington State University in 2020. Faaneva was is one of the first Samoans & Polynesians to attend the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Arizona. He is an alumni from the TRIO Upward Bound Program (Tacoma and Clover Park) and was featured in the Pacific Islander Photo Voice Project. He is being recognized as one of our student alumni of the year.
Professor/Auntie Antoinette CHarfauros McDaniel (Gui’/Ña/Hers)
Mentor of the Year
Antoinette CHarfauros McDaniel
Break Out Group Webinar Facilitator & Active Member at Ohio Progressive Asian Women's Leadership (OPAWL). Profesót/“Auntie” Antoinette CHarfauros has long centered the struggle for liberation in her contentious journey through academe. As an indigenous CHamoru Feminist Scholar, the totality of her teaching and research has highlighted grounded forms of resistance in communities navigating intersections of colonization, militarization, white supremacy, misogyny, homophobia and global capital. In her new role as a Scholar-Community Organizer, she’s found true joy working with unapologetically progressive collectives including our own OPAWL and Masakåda, a CHamoru Famaloa’an (women) & Non-binary-centered group which addresses the over militarization of the Marianas Islands.
Dr. Tyrone Porter
Faculty of the Year
Dr. Tyrone Porter serves as the Department Chair, and with the Donald J. Douglass Centennial Professorship in Engineering at UT Austin. His Department Research Area: Biomedical Imaging and Instrumentation
Cellular and Biomolecular Engineering, Image-guided drug delivery, ultrasound, acoustics.
Research in the Porter lab focuses on ultrasound technologies with chemical and biomolecular engineered vesicles for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Porter’s overall goal is to push the application of ultrasound technology in new and exciting directions, including immunomodulation and reversible opening of the blood-brain barrier.
Vicki Howell-Williams
Pierce College Puyallup
Vicki Howell-Williams is a Faculty Counselor/Advisor at Pierce College Puyallup. Howell-Williams is a co lead of the DEIWACTCS network and serves on the Constellations & Instruction teams.
Resma Menakem
Scholars of the Year
Resmaa Menakem: Healer, New York Times Best-Selling Author, Trauma Specialist
Moving from race to culture to creation is important, transformative, and takes work. And a lot of reps. I help people, communities, and organizations find strength in healing that is holistic and resilient. Together let’s set a course for healing historical and racialized trauma carried in the body and the soul. I am a healer. I help people rise through the suffering’s edge. I am a cultural trauma navigator. I am a communal provocateur and coach. I am a Senior Fellow with The Meadows Institute. I consider it my job in this moment to make the invisible visible.