Speakers

Jennifer Baszile

Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Success and Inclusive Excellence

Dr. Jennifer Baszile was named the CSU’s inaugural associate vice chancellor for Student Success and Inclusive Excellence in May 2023, providing leadership and strategic vision for the CSU’s efforts to advance student success and equitable student outcomes. With more than 15 years of higher education experience, she has served as an award-winning instructor and researcher, as director of a higher education consortium focused on inclusive excellence, and in leadership roles at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. She has served for the past three years with UC Santa Cruz, most recently as associate chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Educational Partnerships, where she helped to hone the university’s focus on student success, educational partnerships and improved transfer pathways.

Erika Beck

President, California State University, Northridge

Dr. Erika D. Beck began her leadership of California State University, Northridge in January 2021 and proudly serves as the fourth consecutive female president. A strong advocate for the power of higher education to improve lives, transform communities and promote social mobility, President Beck champions the academic success of students in the attainment of their highest educational aspirations and as future leaders prepared to excel in today’s rapidly changing economy and society. Immediately prior to coming to CSUN, Dr. Beck served as President of CSU Channel Islands from 2016 to 2021. She was Provost and Executive Vice President at Nevada State College from 2010 to 2016 where she previously served as the Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences and a tenured member of the psychology faculty. President Beck was a research associate at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. President Beck was named one of the Most Influential Leaders in Education by the Pacific Coast Business Times and Woman of the Year by the California Women’s Caucus, and has served on numerous boards and commissions.

Amy Bippus

Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, California State University, Los Angeles

Dr. Bippus is interim provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Cal State LA, ranked number one in the nation for the upward mobility of its students. She assumed the role of Cal State LA's chief academic officer in June 2023 and has been part of the division's leadership team since August 2015, most recently serving as vice provost for Academic Affairs.

Before joining Cal State LA, she was the associate dean of Enrollment Management and Outreach in the College of Liberal Arts at California State University, Long Beach. Prior to that, she served as chair of the Department of Communication Studies at CSULB. A native of Pittsburgh, she earned her B.A. at Pennsylvania State University, her M.A. at Wake Forest University, and her Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin. She has an active research record in conflict management, interpersonal humor, and instructional communication. As interim provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, Dr. Bippus oversees eight colleges and the University Library and works in collaboration with divisions across campus to ensure student success.

Oscar Sosa Cordova

Civil Engineering Student, California State University, Fullerton

Oscar Sosa Cordova is an undergraduate Civil Engineering student from California State University, Fullerton who transferred from Cypress and Fullerton Community College back in 2021. Oscar is a first-generation DACA student and the son of two immigrant parents who worked in the fields throughout their childhoods and left everything behind in hopes of a better life. As a civil engineer, Oscar plans to obtain his PE, CM, and SE licenses to be able to build his own house that will not only be a representation of his dedication, but will create generational wealth and showcase to future generations what hard work can get you. To accomplish those goals, Oscar is actively applying to grad school and has taken strides to affiliate himself with programs and associations like the McNair Scholars program, ASCE, ITE, CTF, HACU, HSF, BRDGE Bridge to Connect, and CMAA. He remembers where he started and is committed to helping his community as he is a mentor at the Titan Dreamers Resources Center to help the undocumented community and is a Peer Advisor for Project Raise which helps transfer students transition into their 4-year university. Oscar stands as the current president to the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and serves on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee for the college of Engineering and Computer Science.

Nathan S. Evans

Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic and Student Affairs Chief Academic Officer

Dr. Nathan Evans was appointed deputy vice chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs in April 2023 and co-leads the division with Dr. Dilcie Perez through June 2024 while the CSU conducts a national search for an executive vice chancellor. Through this co-leadership structure, the division centers its support for student success by maximizing the knowledge and expertise of both Academic Affairs and Student Affairs and creating space for collaboration and innovation. Evans most recently served as associate vice chancellor and chief of staff, acting as senior designee in the Executive Vice Chancellor's absence, as well as principal advisor on policy development, strategic planning, interdivisional collaboration and organizational development to accomplish division goals and objectives.

Yahir Flores

ASI President, California State University, Los Angeles

Yahir Flores is a fourth-year student at Cal State LA, majoring in Political Science & Chicana(o) Latina(o) Studies. He immigrated to the United States at a young age, diving headfirst into the K-12 education system days after his arrival. As a Spanish-speaking student, he had to overcome barriers and obstacles to excel academically. He often put in extra effort to barely reach the level of his peers, which discouraged him from ever thinking higher education would be an option for him. He is first-generation, with four younger siblings, and aspires to obtain a master's degree in public administration after undergrad, and ultimately attend Law School to be able to start a non-profit organization working in immigration law to give back to his and other communities. Yahir is a Passionate Student Advocate currently serving as the student body president; as the President/CEO of Associated Students, Incorporated (ASI). At California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA), he leads the student government representing, advocating, and serving more than 28,000 students. He provides strategic direction on student-related issues, policies, and services that affect Cal State LA students and the broader community. He also closely works with the Executive Director of ASI and the University President for guidance and support.

Wenda Fong

Chair of the CSU Board of Trustees

Wenda Fong began her 40-plus-year career in television as the producer and host of her own live talk show series in Los Angeles. Fong is the producer and director of music and variety specials, awards shows, reality specials, sitcoms, talk shows, documentaries, PSAs and live events. She holds the dual distinction of being the first person of color and first woman to have produced the Emmy Awards. She has launched productions across the United States and around the world, including China, Canada, Europe and Africa.

Mildred García

CSU Chancellor

Dr. Mildred García is the 11th chancellor of the California State University and the first Latina appointed to oversee the CSU's 23-campus system. She previously served as president of California State University, Fullerton and California State University, Dominguez Hills and most recently as president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). A tireless advocate for public higher education and equity, Dr. García was raised in New York City by her parents, who moved from Puerto Rico. A first-generation college student and the first in her family to earn a degree, she received her associate degree from New York City Community College, a bachelor's in business education from Bernard M. Baruch College and a master's in business education from New York University. At Teachers College, Columbia University, she earned a master's and a doctorate in higher education administration.

Jeff Gold

Assistant Vice Chancellor, Student Success

Dr. Jeff Gold is the assistant vice chancellor for Student Success at the CSU Chancellor’s Office. In this role, Gold provides leadership for Graduation Initiative 2025, the CSU’s signature strategic effort to facilitate the path to a high-quality college degree for an additional half million students by the year 2025. In support of this work, Jeff oversees a variety of mission-driven projects that provide faculty, staff and administrators with innovative analytical tools to better understand the impact that their programs have on student success and equity.

Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval

President, Fresno State

Dr. Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, Ph.D. was named the ninth president of California State University, Fresno in May 2021. Jiménez-Sandoval has a deep history with Fresno State and an even longer association with the Central Valley. He first joined the university as a member of the faculty in 2000. Over two decades of service, he has served as professor of Spanish and Portuguese, coordinator of the Spanish master of arts degree, chair of the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, interim associate dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, and provost. His relation to the Central Valley reaches back to his early years, as he grew up in nearby Fowler after his family moved to the area from Mexico and maintained the family farm.

Chris Medellin

Director, Native Resource Center, San Diego State University

Raised in San Diego, Chris Medellin and his family are from the Tule River tribe of Yokuts of Central California. As a first-generation college student, he earned his bachelor's degree in Television, Film and New Media and American Indian Studies from San Diego State University as well as his master’s degree in Postsecondary Educational Leadership with a Specialization in Student Affairs. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Education at SDSU and Claremont Graduate University. His research has focused on Native American identity formation, masculine identity formation, issues of access to higher education and decolonization methodologies. Medellin currently serves as the inaugural director of the SDSU Native Resource Center. He also serves as the president of the American Indian Alumni Chapter of San Diego State, and founding member of the Native American and Indigenous Faculty Staff Association as well as the Men of Color Alliance at SDSU.

Jamie Merisotis

Lumina Foundation’s President and CEO

Jamie Merisotis, an internationally recognized leader in higher education, human work, philanthropy, and public policy, has been Lumina Foundation’s president and CEO since 2008.

Frequently sought as a media commentator and contributor, his writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Washington Monthly, Politico, The Hill, Roll Call, and other publications. He is currently a regular Forbes contributor.

Previously, Merisotis was president of the nonpartisan, D.C.-based Institute for Higher Education Policy, which he co-founded. He also was executive director of a bipartisan national commission, appointed by the president and congressional leaders, to study college affordability. Merisotis is the author of America Needs Talent, named a Booklist Top 10 Business book of 2016, and Human Work in the Age of Smart Machines, an Amazon bestseller released in 2020.

Merisotis is an experienced board leader. He serves as trustee and governing board member of The Ditchley Foundation in the UK and on the boards of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership and ACT. Merisotis also advises companies that rely on artificial intelligence and machine learning to address complex challenges related to work and learning.

Merisotis is past chairman and trustee emeritus of the Council on Foundations and currently leads a task force highlighting philanthropy’s ethical responsibility to the greater good. He also is past chairman and investment committee chair of The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the world’s largest such entity offering exceptional learning experiences to transform the lives of children and families. A distinguished graduate and trustee emeritus of Bates College, he has been awarded honorary degrees from colleges and universities worldwide.

Sang June Oh

Associate Dean, College of Engineering and Computer Science, California State University, Fullerton

Sang June Oh has served as the associate dean for the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Cal State Fullerton since 2016, working with the college leadership in supporting students, staff, and faculty with all aspects of college operations, academic programs, enrollment management, and initiatives. He has also led numerous college strategic goals to increase retention and graduation rates while narrowing the opportunity gaps between underrepresented and non-underrepresented students. Before his current role, he was the mechanical engineering department chair and professor at Cal State Fullerton. His happiest moments with his job are when his previous students return to campus, sharing their success stories and explaining how Cal State Fullerton shaped their career path. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from Columbia University.

Paz Oliverez

Vice President for Student Affairs, California State University, San Bernardino

Dr. Paz Maya Olivérez was appointed vice president for Student Affairs at California State University, San Bernardino in August 2019. In this role, she leads a team of more than 300 staff and nearly 1,300 paraprofessionals in programs that support students. An accomplished administrator and educator, Dr. Olivérez brings a wealth of higher education and CSU experience to CSUSB, having served as interim vice president for student affairs as well as senior associate vice president and dean of students at Stanislaus State. Prior to that, she spent eight years at CSU Dominguez Hills, where she held several administrative positions including associate vice president for student success.

Dilcie Perez

Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic and Student Affairs Chief Student Affairs Officer

Dr. Dilcie Perez was appointed deputy vice chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs in April 2023 and co-leads the division with Dr. Nathan S. Evans through June 2024 while the CSU conducts a national search for an executive vice chancellor. Through this co-leadership structure, the division centers its support for student success by maximizing the knowledge and expertise of both Academic Affairs and Student Affairs and creating space for collaboration and innovation.

Perez joined the Chancellor’s Office as associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs, Equity and Belonging in June 2022, with more than 23 years of experience in many facets of student affairs. In this role, she served as the Chancellor's Office liaison to the CSU campuses' vice presidents of student affairs and senior diversity officers.

Yammilette Rodriguez

CSU Trustee

Yammilette “Yami" Rodriguez is the senior director of the Central Valley's Youth Leadership Institute (YLI), where she advocates for the inclusion of youth in community issues such as policy-making and sustainable social change. She has more than 20 years' experience in policy advocacy and higher education.

As senior director, Rodriguez has expanded the youth development program, launched its Merced office and extended programming within the region. Some of YLI's youth-led projects have focused on the prevention of underage drinking, healthier corner stores, healthy advertising and eating campaigns, and providing access to parks. Nationwide, she trains organizations on how to create strong partnerships between young people and adults to make communities healthier. She also has a credential in working with urban youth from Fuller Theological Seminary and has a doctorate in public administration from West Chester University.

Michael Spagna

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, California State University, Dominguez Hills

Dr. Michael Spagna was appointed provost and vice president for Academic Affairs for California State University, Dominguez Hills in July 2017. Prior to this role, he served as dean of the Michael D. Eisner College of Education at CSUN, as consultant to the California State Department of Education, coordinator of the Services to Students with Learning Disabilities program at UC Berkeley and a learning disabilities specialist and lecturer at Chabot College. He was also a special education teacher at Landmark West School in Culver City, and at the Stewart and Lynda Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA. Spagna is recognized for his commitment to improving student access, retention and success in higher education, employing evidence-based practices in his work, and his involvement in forging internal and external community partnerships.

Beth Steffel

Chair, Academic Senate of the CSU

A longtime faculty leader, Beth Steffel has served as chair of the Academic Senate of the California State University (ASCSU) since 2022 and as associate professor of Design at California State University, San Bernardino since 2007. Representing 28,000 faculty, ASCSU is the official voice of CSU faculty on academic matters of systemwide concern. The Academic Senate’s 53 senators are elected by the faculty at the 23 individual universities comprising the CSU system. The chair is elected from and by the ASCSU senators.

Dominic Quan Treseler

President, Cal State Student Association

Dominic Quan Treseler was elected president of the Cal State Student Association (CSSA) in June 2023. Now pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Government from San José State University, Treseler has served as an intern and field representative for California State Assemblyman Ash Kalra, an intern for Congressman Ro Khanna and an orientation leader and Associated Students legislative affairs director for his university. CSSA is a student-led organization that strives to improve the lives of the CSU’s 482,000 students by serving as their official voice and advocating for student needs and engaging students in systemwide, state, and federal higher education policymaking. It is by CSSA’s work that student voices are included in decisions made by the CSU chancellor, CSU trustees and the state legislature. CSSA works to ensure that students are at the forefront of higher education policy in California.

Kathleen Wong (Lau)

University D​iversity Officer, California State University, East Bay

Dr. Kathleen Wong (Lau) was named university diversity officer for California State University, East Bay in January 2023. Wong joined Cal State East Bay from San José State, where she served as the chief diversity officer. She brings over 20 years of experience managing and developing diversity training in the sciences, humanities, public and community service and corporate settings at the University of Oklahoma, Western Michigan University and Arizona State University. She also served in a consulting capacity at Michigan State University, Purdue University and the University of Florida. In her role, Wong works to ensure that diversity, equity and inclusion are embedded and addressed as core values throughout the university.

Darlene Yee-Melichar

CSU Trustee

Darlene Yee-Melichar has been a Professor at San Francisco State University since 1990 teaching in five academic units, with a focus on workforce development for an aging society. She enjoys working with students in lecture-seminar courses and supervision courses that allow for high impact practices such as curricular innovations, internship experiences and research opportunities. She is committed to the important work of the CSU in providing access, affordability and quality for inclusive excellence and student success enhanced by faculty, staff and administrator supports.

Dr. Yee-Melichar has also served as an active faculty leader on the Executive Committees of the San Francisco State Academic Senate and the Academic Senate CSU, as well as a member of several statewide advisory committees related to the healthcare industry.