Get ready to Vote!

We are happy to share with you the nominees for the CCCAOE 24/25 open board positions. Voting will open on March 25 and close on April 5th.

Ballots will be emailed to all voting members on March 25th. A voting member is anyone who is a California Community College employee and has attended 2 of the last 3 conferences.

Nominees for Regional Vice Presidents

Central Mother Lode Region

Autumn Gardia

Director of Special Projects and Grants at Merced Community College

Incumbent

I am honored to currently serve as the Central Valley Mother Lode Regional VP, a term vacated by Anthony Cordova, formerly CCCAOE’s president-elect and now the vice chancellor of Economic and Workforce Development at the CCCCO’s office. Knowing I have big shoes to fill in the RVP role, I remain a stalwart supporter of career education with over 16 years of experience as a community college professional working in contract education, community education, and career technical education. I’m a proud community college alumna holding a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communications and an MBA. I’ve been an active member of CCCAOE and the Central Valley Mother Lode Regional Consortium for over 10 years. As the Director of Special Projects and Grants at Merced Community College, I oversee Strong Workforce and Perkins funding in addition to actively participating in work that positively impacts our students such as work based learning, apprenticeship, LAEP, and credit for prior learning.

I know the importance of building strong relationships within our region, with industry, community-based organizations, K12, universities, and workforce development boards. When we lift each other up in the work we do, students benefit. I enjoy serving my colleagues and my region as RVP, and I hope to continue to bring my passion to the role as an advocate for the social and economic advancement of career education students at the local, regional, and statewide levels as a CCCAOE board member.

Octavio C. Patiño

Director K14 TAP at Kern Community College District

I have over 23 years of experience with the Kern High School District and held various administrative positions during those years. The experience of working in a K12 district has helped me tremendously with my current position, Director K14 TAP for the Central Valley Mother Load Regional Consortium.



I want to be on the CCCAOE Board because I believe in the work of the Consortium and CCCAOE. Both organizations are moving the needle regarding helping high school and community college students reach their full potential. The two organizations are also positively changing the financial trajectory of underrepresented students in the Central Valley. By being on the board, I can bring my experience and knowledge to keep moving the needle in a positive direction.

Inland Empire Desert Region

Daniel Word

Dean of Career Education and Human Development at Crafton Hills College

Incumbent

I am honored to currently serve as the Regional Vice President (RVP) for the Inland Empire/Desert Region. It has been my pleasure to bring the region’s voice, optimism, concerns, and energy to state-wide conversations related to our programs and students.

Many of you know my story, I was hired at Crafton Hills College as a tenure-track faculty in Emergency Medical Services in 2001. As a faculty member, I eventually had the opportunity to serve my peers as Faculty Chair, and later as Program Director. I have been the Dean of Career Education & Human Development (and CCCAOE member) since 2017.

My interest in serving as RVP is motivated by the rapid changes across our system. I wish to make a significant commitment to this organization as an officer and serve as an advocate for the community college system, our students, and our faculty. I have a sustained interest in building relationships both inside and outside of CCCAOE. I believe we must continue to develop relationships and partnerships with the legislature, the Board of Governors, the Chancellor’s Office, the ASCCC, Employers and Industry, and all other parties with whom we can work to advance the standing of Career Education.

I am grateful for the opportunities I have been afforded to learn, grow, and serve the Inland Empire/Desert Regional Consortium. I am dedicated to advancing our work in areas like noncredit instruction, credit for prior learning, dual enrollment, and early college credit, Bachelor’s Degree programs, professional development, and bridge programs for seamless career development and advancement.

Thank you for your consideration!

Charlotte Allen

Manager Regional Employer Engagement at Victor Valley College

I am excited to have been nominated to run for the CCCAOE's 24/25 Inland Empire Desert Region, Regional V.P. Having worked with the Region for the last 6 years, I have a strong passion for promoting innovation and collaboration, and I am committed to leveraging my experience and skills to drive positive change and growth within the region. I believe that by fostering a culture of inclusivity, transparency, and excellence, we can continue to achieve great success together. I look forward to representing our region on the CCCAOE Board.

Orange County Region

Elizabeth Arteaga

Dean, Apprenticeship Programs at Santiago Canyon College

I welcome the opportunity to continue serving on the CCCAOE Board as your Regional Vice President for Orange County, and I will commit to advocacy and support further the Orange County regional goals. With my 20 years of working experience in higher education, I will contribute to the development of actionable plans for the alignment and leveraging of resources as well as enhance ways to advocate for the community colleges and their work in paving the future of workforce and economic development.

As the Dean of Business and Career Education, and most recently as the Dean of Apprenticeship Programs at Santiago Canyon College, I understand the importance of collaboration, partnership, and community. As an administrator, I have experience overseeing a diverse collection of Career Education credit programs as well as successful flagship apprenticeship programs.

San Diego Imperial Region

Nichol Roe

Associate Dean, Workforce Development & Extended Studies at Palomar College

It would be a privilege to continue serving in a leadership position on the CCCAOE Board. I have served Palomar Community College as the Associate Dean for Workforce Development and Extended Studies since June 2017. Prior to my work in the Community College system, I served as a Program Director in the Department of Extended Learning at California State University San Marcos. I have a variety of experience in developing and managing credit, noncredit and not-for-credit programs, which provides me a unique ability to look outside the box for fresh and creative solutions. I bring this experience to my current projects which include the development and launch of a new Early Childhood Education apprenticeship program as part of the CA Apprenticeship Initiative, and the creation of a regional and statewide framework for Credit for Prior Learning.

As a Community College graduate myself, I connect personally with CCCAOE’s vision for an education and career for everyone at any time. This is why I value innovation, because it provides the opportunity to better meet the needs of a student population that is diverse in origins, experiences, needs, abilities, and goals. If selected again as the Regional Vice President (RVP) for the San Diego / Imperial Region, I would be honored to serve as a champion for education and workforce success!

Exciting Announcements!

Spring 2024 Speaker and session line-up!

9 Pre-Conference sessions, 2 Dynamic Keynotes, Student Panel, CCCCO Update, 6 Plenary sessions, and 30 Breakout sessions!

The Spring 2024 Conference will be held in Sacramento at the Safe Credit Union Convention Center and Hyatt Regency Sacramento.

Pre-conference sessions and all breakfasts will be held at the Hyatt.

Lunch, snacks, and all Keynote, Plenary, and Breakout Sessions will be held at the Convention Center. Also all sponsors and the Sponsor Networking Happy Hour are at the Convention Center.

The Wednesday reception will be held at Cafeteria 15 L!

Are you wondering where to go when you arrive in Sacramento for the Spring 2024 Conference? This should help.

Click the play button below to watch the full video of where to go!

Haven't Registered yet? Don't miss out!

Hyatt rooms are sold out!



Book your Sheraton rooms by April 5th

for the discounted CCCAOE rate!

Click the button below for a simple full spring line-up live document.

Announcing the Keynote Speakers

Embark on a transformative journey to redefine educational paradigms for California's diverse and dynamic workforce. Dive into leveraging lifelong learning as a recruitment strategy and sustaining engagement for long-term career growth. We'll uncover student-centered techniques for improved engagement and retention, highlight the importance of diverse learning strategies, and discuss integrating practical work experiences to align education with current job market needs. Emphasizing clear goals, positivity, and a success-driven mindset, this presentation aims to build a supportive academic community, vital for student perseverance, achievement, and access. Join us for an insightful exploration into shaping California's workforce for a sustainable future, where diversity drives innovation.

Mr. Juan Torres is the Associate Laboratory Director for Energy Systems Integration at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. In this role, he oversees NREL’s research on power systems, cybersecurity, energy security and resilience,  decision science, and systems analysis. Torres is Co-Chair for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Modernization  Laboratory Consortium (GMLC), a partnership of 14 national laboratories to advance modernization of the U.S. power grid. He co-leads the Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems (ARIES) research platform and oversees its cyber range. ARIES matches the scale and complexity of real energy systems to accelerate pathways for a clean, secure, and resilient energy future.  

Plenary Sessions

Wednesday, April 24th

• Student Panel on Wednesday at 1:30 pm

• CCCCO Update with Vice Chancellor Tony Cordova, Executive Vice Chancellor Dr. Aisha Lowe, and Vice Chancellors David O’Brien, Wrenna Finch, and Valerie Lundy-Wagner on Wednesday at 4:30 pm

Thursday, April 25th at 8:30 am

• Youth Apprenticeship Panel with Bob Lanter, CalWorkforce Association, VC Tony Cordova, Stewart Knox, and Ben Chida on Thursday at 8:30 am

• Empowering Diversity: Women Leading the AI Revolution with Karen Silverman, UCLA, Jeannie Mitsch, Cypress College Counselor Christy Douglas, Moorpark College Instructor, Renah Wolfzinger, EON Reality, Chief Learning Officer, Polly Allen, AI Career Boost (former Amazon Alexa Product Manager), Kristina Horn (CEO Leadership Alliance) (CLAOC), AI Education Initiatives Manager

• Advocating for the Future of Career Education with Austin Webster

Friday, April 26th at 8:30 and 9:30 (rotating plenary - able to attend two of the three)

• Roadmap – Funding Matrix Braiding Crosswalk Part 2 with Dr. Alex Davis and Tina Recalde

• USC Race Equity Briefs follow up from Fall 2022 with Adrian Trinidad, Laura Graciela Lara-Brady, Ph.D, and more

• Community Colleges, The Missing Piece in Climate Action with Foundation for CCC's Jeff Clary, Rajinder Sahota, CARB Executive Leader of Climate Policy, Keynote Juan Torres of NREL and more... Moderator: Tim Aldinger

CCCAOE is thrilled to release the full Breakout session Schedule!

30 sessions, five in each of the six strands.

Mark your calendars

Announcing the Nine Pre-Conference Sessions

Be on the lookout for the flyers with RSVP instructions in the next week!

Each pre-conference session requires full conference registration

AND a separate RSVP.

Once the flyers are released, to attend a pre-conference session, select the session or sessions you wish to attend and scan the QR code or click the link to RSVP.

All pre-conference sessions will be held at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento.

Building Pathways to Economic Mobility for Low-Wage Adult Learners - with WestEd: Randy Tillery and more...

The Chancellor’s Office Vision 2030 initiative includes a renewed push for the community colleges to support economic mobility for families and communities by strengthening their capacity to more effectively serve adult learners who have traditionally not been successful in the community college system. This includes two associated principles: 1) That the colleges need to develop their capacity to respond to the specific needs of different adult learner populations such as low-wage incumbent workers, immigrants, opportunity youth, or justice-involved adults; and 2) That the colleges need to build deeper partnerships with labor unions, community-based organizations, and other service systems to better engage and support these populations.

To realize this vision, the Chancellor’s Office has developed a partnership with the United Domestic Workers to provide education and training to union members in low-wage in-home supportive services (IHSS) and early-care occupations. Twenty colleges have indicated a desire to participate in this first demonstration project by building and offering pathways that will help UDW members increase their earnings and advance their careers. More details to come...

Colleges interested in attending this workshop are encouraged to send teams that include faculty, counselors, outreach, community partners, or other stakeholders. The session will be highly interactive focused on design and learning activities that can support design of adult learner pathways at your own college.

8:00 am - 12:00 pm

Must RSVP - separate from registration

Free session

Providing Equity in Support Using Vision-Aligned Reporting - with California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office: Gina Browne

In fall 2024, the Chancellor’s Office will begin implementing a new program reporting process called Vision-Aligned Reporting (VAR) which will, in its first year, impact data collection and reporting related to 11 statewide student support programs, including Strong Workforce – Local Share. With a focus on equity in student support, attendees will learn about this new process. They will see a demonstration of the online reporting tool and hear from the Chancellor’s Office about the new data being collected and how they plan to use it in their own work.

Attendees will then have the chance to discuss the opportunities and challenges created by VAR and begin planning how to collect the new data and use it to inform their existing and planned evaluation and institutional effectiveness efforts to close the equity gaps on their campuses.

8:30 am - 10:00 am

Must RSVP - separate from registration

Free session

Catalyzing your campus-based internship program, including LAEP - with San Diego Mesa College: Alex Berry, Shawn Fawcett, Pavel Consuegra, and FCCC: Leti Shafer, Sonia Anchundo-Reynoso

This workshop will provide a platform for attendees to gain insights and draw inspiration from success stories at other campuses, (reaching out to 4 different campuses to partner), and how they successfully garnered leadership support to catalyze a culture shift in addition to how they have approached LAEP. We will also discuss how campuses can leverage the Title V work experience changes as well as sharing strategies for securing general fund investments.

Attendees will leave this pre-conference session with practical tools on how to start, build, and sustain campus-based internship programs to help reduce equity gaps in employment outcomes.

8:30 am - 12:30 pm

Must RSVP - separate from registration

Free session

A Sustainable Approach Using Perkins Core Indicators for Programs Improvement - with California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office: Jean Claude Mbomeda, Lupe Maldonado

Perkins V recipients will receive helpful guidance for Perkins V Core indicator reports, as well as have time to ask questions and be able to engage in their own reports as we move throughout the anatomy of the report. By the end of this session, attendees will be able to understand the value of the core indicators, how core indicator reports can be used to revisit their focus of their local activities, as well as build sustainable systems for continuous improvement.

10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Must RSVP - separate from registration

Free session

Pioneering Pathways: Launching California Community Colleges Apprenticeship Pathways Demonstration Project - with Foundation for California Community Colleges: Michelle Vaughn-Lopez

We invite Apprenticeship Pathway Demonstration Project selected participants to join us for an invigorating pre-conference session as we kick off this project. This session serves as a pivotal moment for grantees to converge, strategize, and commence the journey towards credit certificates and degrees for apprenticeship program students within the California Community College system.

This session will be facilitated by the Workforce and Economic Development Division (WEDD) of the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, the Grow Apprenticeship California team of the Foundation for California Community Colleges, and Dr. Marvin Martinez, Chancellor of the Rancho Santiago Community College District and lead of this project.

1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Must RSVP - separate from registration

Free session

How Kern CCDs California Renewable Energy Laboratory (CREL) and the 21st Century Energy Center is integrating the classroom into the community; bringing stakeholders together - with CREL: Sara Sullivan, Dave Teasdale, James McCall, Jeff Clary, and a student

We will hear from CREL's program director, 21st Century's executive director, a scientist from NREL, the senior director for the Center for Climate Change at the Foundation for California Community Colleges, and a community college student. Each will discuss their work and their collaborative role in community education and workforce development in climate change in Kern County, including the development of renewable energy technology as living laboratories designed for student research and community education by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory that will serve as a model for workforce development for other community colleges across California and the United States.

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Must RSVP - separate from registration

Free session

Advocating for Student Access and Success using Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) - with Norco College and the California MAP Initiative: Sigrid Williams

The mandate, need, and amazing opportunities associated with credit for prior learning (CPL) are well established and often discussed in public higher education. Unfortunately, the talk rarely results in CPL offers or awards for students. This presentation will feature actual CPL offers and awards made by colleges in the MAP Cohort and discuss how college teams are developing capacity, procedures for incorporating CPL in the student lifecycle including outreach to admission, to ed planning, to degree audit, and finally to transfer/completion.

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Must RSVP - separate from registration

Free session

California Adult Education Program (CAEP) State Update - with California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office: Gary Adams and Mayra Diaz

This session will provide participants with a state policy update on the California Adult Education Program (CAEP), including funding for FY 2024-25, AB 1491 carryover compliance, and other state policy updates. Join state leadership as they provide an overview on the English Language Learners (ELL) Healthcare Pathways funding.

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Must RSVP - separate from registration

Free session

20,000 Educators Needed by August 2025: Significant Updates and Upcoming Opportunities for California’s Diverse Early Learning Workforce - with CA Commission on Teacher Credentialing Leadership, CA Department of Education leadership, CCCCO: Amy White. member of CTC’s child Development Permit workgroup, CCC faculty representation: Kate Williams-Brown, Skyline faculty, and CTC Commissioner

Leaders from California’s Department of Education and the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, along with representation from the Community College Chancellor’s Office, will share about California’s largest expansion in education in decades. Within this expansion, California’s schools need 10,000-15,000 additional classroom teachers and 10,000-15,000 additional certificated staff by August 2025. Teacher training programs are in development now. This session will help to connect the dots for attendees on California’s early learning educator workforce and the role, impact, and unique opportunities that lie ahead for California’s Community Colleges. Attendees will leave this session with the resources needed to get involved in Governor Newsom’s $2.7 billion universal education rollout.

3:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Must RSVP - separate from registration

Free session

Keep an eye out for newsletters in the

next few weeks with more Spring 2024 Conference details!

You don't want to miss this event!

The first place to be updated will be our website!

Fall 2023 Interviews will be posted to YouTube

at the beginning of April 2024!

Are you a California Community College Champion?

Click on the video below to see all the recorded stories!

See our Member Education webpage to learn more about submitting your own story.