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UKIAH, Calif. – On Monday, the Mendocino County Board of Education named Damon Dickinson as the interim county superintendent.
“The board was impressed with Mr. Dickinson's experience, qualifications, and the support he received from persons involved in education around the county. He will begin in the role on Feb. 1,” said MCOE Board President Donald Cruser.
Dickinson has a Ph.D. in education policy and management from the University of Oregon and has worked in education since 1973.
He began as a school psychologist and counselor before moving into administration as a school principal, a director of special education, and a county deputy superintendent of schools. After retiring, he became an educational consultant.
He has extensive knowledge of education in Mendocino County and 35 years of administrative experience, having served as the principal of Anderson Valley Elementary School, the assistant superintendent of educational services for Ukiah Unified School District and the deputy superintendent for the Mendocino County Office of Education (MCOE), among other roles.
“During my 45-year career in public education, I have served in administrative roles in three county offices of education and five school districts, four of those districts in Mendocino County,” Dickinson said. “I have also worked with the California Department of Education. During my three years with CDE, I helped to develop and provide professional development programs for teachers, administrators, classified staff and parents in an eight-county region in Northern California. The only break in employment during my career was when I enrolled in a residential doctoral program at the University of Oregon.”
Dickinson began consulting in 2011 after retiring from MCOE, using his expertise in professional and program development, special education, educational rules and regulations and leadership to assist Ukiah Unified School District, School and College Legal Services and MCOE.
Most recently, he served as interim superintendent for Leggett Valley Unified School District in 2014-15 and for Potter Valley Community Unified School District from 2015 through January 2018.
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Dr. Daisy Gonzales, a former foster youth whose extensive professional experience includes posts as principal consultant for the California Assembly Appropriations Committee and as associate director for the nonpartisan research center Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), is the California Community Colleges’ new deputy chancellor.
Christian Osmeña, a principal program budget analyst at the California Department of Finance, is the California Community Colleges’ new vice chancellor for finance and facility programs.
Dr. Alice Perez, the former Dean of Educational Programs at Santa Barbara City College, is the California Community Colleges’ new vice chancellor for academic affairs.
“As the largest higher education system in the nation that is serving some 2.1 million students, the California Community Colleges demands the best and the brightest in its leadership positions, and that is exactly what we have in Dr. Daisy Gonzales, Christian Osmeña and Dr. Alice Perez ,” said Chancellor Oakley. “All three bring a wealth of experience and diverse backgrounds, and we are happy to welcome them aboard as we work toward the goals articulated in our Vision for Success.”
Deputy Chancellor Dr. Daisy Gonzales is responsible for coordinating the divisions of Academic Affairs, Student Services and Special Programs; Economic Development and Workforce Preparation; and Institutional Effectiveness Partnership Initiative (IEPI). Her primary duties involve implementing and tracking the Commitments and Goals in the Vision for Success.
Prior to joining the Chancellor’s Office, Dr. Gonzales was the principal consultant for the Assembly Appropriations Committee for the California State Legislature. In that role, she was responsible for subject matter expertise, analysis and political strategy in the areas of higher education, K-12 education and jobs and economic development. At PACE, Dr. Gonzales was responsible for presentations and briefings at statewide taskforces, technical advisory committees and State Board of Education meetings while serving as associate director of the organization.
Other previous posts include serving as a budget consultant for the California State Assembly Budget Committee, where she was responsible for overseeing $11.2 billion in state and federal funds and negotiating the state Assembly’s funding priorities for 45 state departments, boards and commissions. Dr. Gonzales earned her bachelor’s degree in public policy from Mills College and her master’s degree and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Vice Chancellor for Finance and Facilities Planning Christian Osmeña will oversee the division responsible for formulating policies that determine the distribution of local assistance and capital outlay funds for the state’s 72 community college districts, along with the construction and remodeling of new buildings and centers. Osmeña will be responsible for aligning budget policy with the Vision for Success.
He comes to the California Community Colleges from the California Department of Finance, where he served as a principal program budget analyst responsible for the office’s analyses of issues related to higher education.
Osmeña has worked at the Department of Finance since 2011 as an analyst responsible for various education programs and as a liaison to the Legislature. Prior to joining the Department of Finance, he served in the California Office of the Governor, first as the assistant to the governor’s chief of staff and later as a deputy cabinet secretary.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in education at the University of California, Davis.
Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Dr. Alice Perez will lead and oversee the Academic Affairs division and its state level review of community college curriculum and instructional support activities.
In this role, Perez will provide leadership and technical assistance to enhance the capacity of the community colleges in the areas of academic planning, review and approval of credit degrees and certificates, library and learning resources, technology strategic planning, basic skills/ESL intersegmental policies, program development and coordination, credit/noncredit adult education, and the Fund for Student Success (that supports the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement program, Puente Project and the Middle College High School program).
Dr. Perez will also be leading the Chancellor’s Office efforts to eliminate the silos that exist between academic affairs, student services and career education.
Perez earned a bachelor’s degree in humanities from the University of California, Berkeley, a master’s degree in English with a concentration in poetry from San Francisco State University and a Ph.D. in English at the University of California, Davis.
She was named dean of Arts and Humanities at Santa Barbara City College in July 2006 and left the college as dean of Educational Programs.
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Classes began on Monday but students may still enroll.
The Residential Electric course (SCT 186) is taught by longtime Lake and Mendocino County electrician, Craig Bach.
To register, students should visit https://www.mendocino.edu.
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Dozens of governors and hundreds of city and county leaders nationwide have issued similar proclamations.
In California, more than 2,300 events have been planned to raise awareness about educational opportunity.
The rallies, roundtable discussions, coffeehouse meet-ups, festivals, school fairs, and more are aimed to spark conversations about school choices that parents have, or want to have, for their children.
Nationwide, 32,000 School Choice Week events will take place.
“We are grateful to the California Senate for this resolution,” said Andrew Campanella, president of National School Choice Week. “It’s amazing to see the momentum and enthusiasm that California parents have for choice. We hope they will use this opportunity to find the best schools for their kids.”
Held every January, National School Choice Week is an independent, nonpartisan, nonpolitical public awareness effort designed to shine a positive spotlight on effective education options for every child.
Through thousands of independently planned events across the country, National School Choice Week raises public awareness of all types of educational choices available to children.
These options include traditional public schools, public charter schools, public magnet schools, online learning, private schools and homeschooling.