Tuesday, April 30, 2024
The RP Group

Isela Ocegueda

Strategic Advisor, Chief Instructional Officers of the California Community Colleges (CIOCCC)

Isela Ocegueda, Ph.D., is an equity-minded educational leader who has been committed to supporting the success of college students for over 25 years. Dr. Ocegueda is currently the Vice President of Instruction at Coastline College, within the Coast Community College District. In this role, she provides leadership in planning, organizing, administering, and improving all academic programs, curriculum evaluation and development, instructional support services, and library services. She is committed to offering academic programs and experiences that optimize student learning and student achievement, with the goal of closing equity gaps for students of color and other disproportionately impacted student groups.

Before joining Coastline College, Dr. Ocegueda served as a dean for four and half years at Pasadena City College (PCC). As the Dean of English, she guided the implementation of AB705 and supported the development of equity-minded curriculum and pedagogical practices. As the Dean of Academic Affairs, she oversaw Dual Enrollment, Success Centers, the Mathematics, Engineering, and Science Achievement (MESA) program, and a Title V HSI grant that focused on integrating career exploration and preparation into gateway courses. Prior to her role at PCC, Dr. Ocegueda worked at the Graduate School at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) for four years, first as the Director of Professional Development and then as the Assistant Dean. In these roles, she supported master’s and doctoral students through professional development, academic support, and grants and fellowships preparation. 

Dr. Ocegueda has taught at El Paso Community College, South Mountain Community College, and at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). She taught in the community college for 12 years in the areas of English composition, research writing, literature and literary analysis, and Chicana/o Studies.

Dr. Ocegueda grew up in El Paso, Texas, a city that stands on the Rio Grande across the Mexico-United States border from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Princeton University, her master’s degree in Education, focused on Language and Literacy, from Harvard University, and her Ph.D. in Literature from the University of California-Santa Cruz.