2025–26 LFM Team  

Ethan received his PhD in communication from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2016. His research examined political identity and perceptions of credibility and bias in news media.

Toni received her EdD in community college leadership from San Diego State University in 2020. Her dissertation focused on the degree aspirations of STEM majors who begin their postsecondary education at a community college. Outside of the professional realm, Toni is a mother of two, Nicolas and Maralyn, and enjoys riding in the desert and watching all sports.

Ghada is a passionate leader in advancing student success through equity and social justice and continues in her life-long commitment to create opportunities to serve students, faculty, and staff in their educational and professional goals. As an undocumented child immigrant to the US, she grew up in fear after crossing the Mexico-US border with her parents and siblings. Her dream of education as an essential path for freedom and justice was instilled in her by her mother.

As a first-generation student, Ghada was eventually able to study biology and anthropology at University of California, Irvine, and later earned her master’s degree in anthropology and her PhD in geography from University of California, Davis.

Brandi believes that success is achievable by students and staff and will come as a result of demonstrated reciprocity and by highlighting the importance of collaboration and professional development through consistent, focused work and commitment to the overall mission of our education system.

Brandi began her participation in LFM as a member of the Laney College team in 2017 and joined the coaching team in 2018. She enjoys working in education and considers collaborating with LFM a rewarding experience because it gives her a new perspective on how the overall work of education can intentionally benefit both staff and students.

Steve’s LFM journey includes serving as the team lead for Mission College’s participation in the 2023-2024LFM Academy I. His team spearheaded the development of an Anti-Recidivism Community of Praxis and a training program designed to support incarcerated and justice-impacted students. Leveraging his LFM experience, Steve has been instrumental in expanding the Rising Scholars Program from offering a single course to 22 students in jail to delivering 20 courses to over 450 students within a year.

In addition to his advocacy for educational equity, Steve is actively collaborating with the Mission College president to develop a comprehensive wellness program for students and staff, fostering a culture of well-being on campus.

Steve is a dedicated father of two amazing kids and is a HUGE Kobe Bryant fan and avid Los Angeles Lakers fan. When he's not working, you can find him at the gym, prioritizing health and wellness.

As the Student Learning Outcomes Coordinator for six years, WENDY led the college’s institutional outcomes assessment program, earning an accreditation commendation. During her five-year tenure as Curriculum Co-Chair, she introduced a technical review process, ensuring the highest standards for curriculum development.

Wendy most recently served as the Faculty Senate President for over two years, supporting shared governance and collaborative decision-making. She also co-led the college’s Guided Pathways initiative, developing META majors, mapping degrees and certificates for the Palomar Pathway Mapper, and helping launch the College’s first student success team to support Black and African American students.

Samantha participated in the 2023–2024 Leading from the Middle cycle and is excited and grateful to be back at LFM as a coach. She is interested in equity, diversity, and inclusion work, expanding her leadership skills, and community college teaching. Outside of Chaffey, Samantha enjoys playing pinball, crocheting, reading, snowshoeing, and cooking. She is excited for this next step in her professional journey.

Diva is currently the Director of Grant Initiatives with the San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD) and the Lead Facilitator of the SMCCCD Antiracism Council. Diva is a proponent of change leadership and believes in the power of middle leaders as a powerful resource that can be used to support improved implementation of initiatives that can create change and institutional health. Diva is passionate about modeling equitable and sustainable interventions and initiatives at the systemic, organizational, and individual levels.

Select awards include state-level recognition as a holistic student support Leader by Guided Pathways 2.0 and the Ada Center, as well as the 2021 OER Faculty Award, the 2019 Robert J. Cardoza Excellence Award, and the 2018 Online Instructor of the Year Award at MJC. Recent scholarly awards include National Endowment for the Humanities Institute fellowships to study South Asian culture in New Delhi, India, and to study Islam in Asia at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii; a fellowship from the Korea Society at the Academy for Korean Studies in Seoul, South Korea; and the Dar al Islam Teachers’ Institute. In 2019, he was an organizer of the “Establishing Indonesia’s Place as a Global Center by Updating Ideas About Its Past” conference and presented at three Indonesian universities: Universitas Mataram, Lombok; Universitas Sebelas Maret, Suryakarta; and Universitas Muhammadiyah.

Rob began his participation in LFM in the 2018 as a member of the MJC team and became a coach the following year. He has coached for Grossmont College, Fresno City College, and the Hoopa Higher Education Program. In 2025, he will be serving LFM in a different capacity as a Facilitator.

Using his experience at LFM, Michael is now part of the official workgroup that will manage the campus-wide implementation of Guided Pathways.

He has led the charge for pre-collegiate course acceleration, including membership on the FCC Pilot team for the RP Group’s Multiple Measures Assessment Project (MMAP) and Common Assessment Initiative.

In addition to his academic responsibilities at Fresno City College, Michael has co-organized a series of annual events to celebrate Asian culture. In his current role as President of the Asian American Faculty and Staff Association, he has fought for the disaggregation of demographic identifiers for Asian students, and founded events to celebrate achievements and connect the campus to the community.

Currently, as a Curriculum Specialist, Shireen collaborates with faculty to enhance academic programs, incorporating diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility into course design. She earned her master’s in education: higher education in 2020, furthering her efforts to advocate for student equity and educational innovation.

Shireen actively participates in various campus committees aimed at enhancing the student experience and promoting systemic equity changes. She has served as a BLOOM facilitator, training campus constituents on diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and antiracism, while applying this knowledge in both her career and daily life.

Shireen was an LFM participant in 2020 and is excited to support the amazing work ahead!

Liz holds a Master of Arts in rehabilitation counseling and a Bachelor of Arts in career & technical studies from CSU San Bernardino as well as an Associate of Arts in liberal studies from Santa Ana College. She participated in the LFM Academy and gained valuable change-focused tools to courageously close equity gaps and boost student success on campus post-pandemic. She looks forward to collaborating with more community college colleagues to move collective work forward for students, to increase equitable outcomes in an ever-changing and complex environment.

As a first-generation college student, Caterina began her higher education at Modesto Junior College before earning her Bachelor of Science in psychology from University of the Pacific and later earning her Master of Arts in educational psychology from Ball State University.

Caterina began participating in LFM as a member of the Modesto Junior College team in 2023 for a project focusing on increasing the job attainment and transfer rates of MJC’s Latinx population through the development and implementation of a mentorship program. She joined the coaching team in 2025.

Curtis passionately believes that higher and career technical public education are instrumental in helping create a more just and equitable society, and he believes in facing challenges head-on by promoting engagement and advocating for actionable policies and initiatives. Curtis grew up in Cuba and migrated to the United States at age 18, first attending community college in Oakland Navigating the cultural, linguistic, and social differences in the United States was the most challenging part of integrating and adapting to his new surroundings. He transferred to University of California, Berkeley, where he completed a history degree, and later became a doctoral candidate in history at University of California, San Diego. Throughout his long journey to complete those degrees, he worked to help pay the bills.

Curtis first participated in LFM in 2015, helping his institution organize a transformational four-day retreat around equity and student success in Asilomar. One hundred faculty attended in 2015, and one hundred fifty in 2016. A few years later, he again joined LFM to discuss possible ways to use data to inform decisions at his institution.

Curtis is a people person and enjoys deep and vibrant conversations, especially while sharing a meal with colleagues and friends.

Ben’s research interests include how LGBTQ students are influenced by college spaces and how those spaces help shape their multiple intersecting identities. Ben recently completed his EdD through San Diego State University and dedicated his dissertation to understanding and uplifting the lived experiences of queer Latino men in California community colleges and how colleges play a role in activating their salient identities. Ben is a queer activist, husband, father of two daughters, and a co-conspirator in building sustainable, transformative change at scale within learning spaces for students to thrive toward meeting their personal, scholarly, and professional goals. In his spare time, Ben enjoys hiking, running, the ocean, food, the gym, and binge-worthy television.

Prior to SCC, Holly led the Mexico wing of an international cross-cultural education grant between Mexico, Canada, and California. In recent years, she taught study abroad in Italy in 2019 and, in 2021-22, she was a Global Studies EPIC Fellow with Stanford University. In an effort to connect students to community public history, Holly has just begun serving on the Education Advisory Committee for the Sacramento Historical Society. In addition to this rewarding work, Holly’s eyes really light up around her two young boys and the prospect of traveling again!

Over the years, Josh has also served in a variety of leadership roles at the college, district, and state levels. He served as the chair of the English Department at SCC, on their Academic Senate, and on multiple district-level committees for the Los Rios Community College District. In 2014, he was appointed by the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges to serve as the statewide representative for English faculty on the Common Assessment Initiative, and he served on the Faculty Association for California Community Colleges’ Legislation and Advocacy Committee.

Josh first joined LFM in 2018 as a member of SCC’s Guided Pathways team. He has served as an LFM coach since 2019.

She also holds the position of CCCCO Region 5 Transfer Center Director Representative where she assists the region in legislative updates, streamlining processes and practices with the goal of increasing transfer rates among disproportionately impacted students.

Jessica has her master’s degree in counseling, with an option in marriage, child & family therapy. She was a practicing LMFT, and this background has given her the ability to navigate difficult and much-needed conversations. In her spare time, you can find Jessica teaching at California community colleges in the subjects of psychology, interdisciplinary studies, and counseling or running around with her 10-year-old son. She is also a graduate of LFM Academy I and looks forward to giving back.