Meeting Summary

CALCCTA had a very productive meeting at the Community College League of California (CCLC) 2023 Annual Convention in Indian Wells last week. The conference was sold out, and we hosted a record number of attendees at our caucus meeting.

This meeting marked an important milestone in CALCCTA’s history. It featured a presentation of our findings from executive interviews, providing crucial feedback in our year-long effort to re-energize CALCCTA. Additionally, attendees participated in a focus group survey based on these interviews. The data from our executive interviews and the focus group survey will be used to design a statewide survey, which will be distributed to all members the week of December 4th. As previously mentioned, your responses will help CALCCTA deliver better resources, events, and results to our members statewide.

Action Items

Attached to this communication is a preliminary database that includes names and titles for CALCCTA caucus members we have identified. We ask that you review the members from your institution and respond to Michael Mejia (michael.mejia@ramirezco.com) with any changes or additions you believe should be included. For this communication, we ask that you include all individuals who should be added, regardless of their paid membership status. Our goal is to cast the widest net possible to generate a robust dataset of survey responses, encompassing a diversity of opinions and suggestions.

Re-Introduction of CALCCTA E-Board

At our recent meeting, we had an opportunity to introduce the executive board to those in attendance. I would also like to take a moment here to introduce the team:

Jose Fierro, CALCCTA President
President/Superintendent, Cerritos College

Martha Garcia, CALCCTA Vice President
President and CEO, Mt. San Antonio College

Margaret Quiñones-Perez, CALCCTA Treasurer
Trustee, Santa Monica College

Janet Rivera, Immediate Past President
Trustee, San Joaquin Delta CCD

Nan Gomez-Heitzeberg, Member at Large
Trustee, Kern CCD

Mariana Pacheco, Member at Large
Trustee, Cerritos College

Francisco Rodriguez, Member at Large
Chancellor, Los Angeles CCD

John Arriaga, Executive Director

Bonny Garcia, General Counsel

Andrea Wittig, Support
Manager, Office of the President, Cerritos College

Maria Veloz, Support
Legislative and Governmental Relations Officer, Los Angeles CCD

CALCCTA Committees

We congratulate and thank each committee volunteer for your dedication and willingness to drive change for our students throughout California. Your committee lead will be in touch with you soon. Moving forward, the committee chairs will work closely with the e-board to move forward on your recommendations. The three CALCCTA committees are as follows:

1. Legislative Committee

• Jose Fierro, President/Superintendent – Cerritos College (Committee Lead)
• Andrea Wittig, Manager, Office of the President Cerritos – Cerritos College
• Maria Veloz, Legislative and Governmental Relations Officer – Los Angeles CCD
• Vicky Santana, Trustee – Rio Hondo College
• Enrique Perez, Vice Chancellor, Educational Services – Rancho Santiago CCD
• Yovani Jimenez, Trustee – Kern CCD
• Maria Fuentes, Trustee – San Jose Evergreen CCD
• Jhalister Corona, Trustee – Mt. San Jacinto College
• Rachel Pérez, Trustee – Gavilan College
• Isabel Solis, Trustee – Imperial Valley College
• Rosaelva Lomeli, Trustee – Rio Hondo College
• Rubén Pérez, Trustee – College of the Desert

2. Membership Committee:
• Margaret Quiñones-Perez, Trustee – Santa Monica College (Committee Lead)
• Laura Casas, Trustee – Foothill-De Anza CCD

3. Communications Committee
• Michael Mejia, Managing Director – Samuel A. Ramirez & Co., Inc. (Committee Lead)
• Marisela Rubio, Chief Transformational Executive – Empowered Admissions
• Marisa Perez, Trustee – Cerritos College
• Ines DeLuna, Trustee – Napa Valley College