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Dr. Tammeil Gilkerson
Chancellor of the Peralta Community College District
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For nearly two decades, Dr. Tammeil Gilkerson has actively served in roles engaged in meeting the educational needs of community college students. She continuously seeks new ways to imagine and create learning environments and services supporting student success and has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to social justice, equity, and inclusion.
Dr. Gilkerson is currently the president of Evergreen Valley College in San José, CA. Prior to her current role, she served as President of Laney College, Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs at Contra Costa College, and the first Diversity, Inclusion, and Innovation Officer for the Contra Costa Community College District. In addition to her community college work, Dr. Gilkerson served as the Academy and Education Policy Director at The Greenlining Institute and UC Berkeley in the Office of Student Life and Early Academic Outreach Program.
Dr. Gilkerson is a leader in several statewide efforts to find solutions that address students’ basic needs, support undocumented and mixed-status students, and improve the quality of distance education. She has developed policy recommendations and practical strategies for practitioners through her leadership on the Affordability, Food & Housing Access Taskforce, the Dreamers Advisory Group, and the Distance Education & Educational Technology Advisory Committee.
As an equity avenger and founding member of The Coalition, Dr. Gilkerson is passionate about building learner-centered institutions that reflect students’ lived experiences, provide hope, and practice love. Core to this vision, she recognizes the need to nurture leadership and community-building at all institutional levels. Through her work, she creates spaces where individuals can be supported and affirmed as they engage in the vulnerable act of learning and leading with authenticity, courage, and humility.
The first in her family to graduate from college, Dr. Gilkerson holds a bachelor’s in history, a master’s in counseling, and a doctorate in organizational leadership.