Question 1. Please provide a brief biography that explains how you believe your educational and professional background will benefit Dallas College.
I am a first-generation college student, first in my immediate family to
graduate from high school and from college. I am also an adult who returned to
finish my college degree.
· While my experience graduating from high school and enrolling in
college for the first time goes back a few decades, I know the difficulties of
a first-generation college student because of a lack of knowledge about how the
higher education system works and the lack of my parents’ understanding of the
college-going experience.
· Since there was no support for me from the institution to help
me persist, I did not complete my college education those decades ago; I left
with about 40 credit hours.
· It was years later, as a divorced mother, that I realized the
need to complete my education in order to have a better-paying job, a career,
where I could earn more money in order to better support my family.
· So, I know what it is like for a first-generation student
attending college out of high school and I know what it is like for a returning
adult wanting to earn a college degree.
· I earned my bachelor’s degree when I was 42 and I am now in a
master’s program in public leadership.
· My experiences benefit Dallas College because of the first-hand
knowledge I have about programs and strategies to help students enroll, persist
and graduate from our college.
· In my professional experience, I know that it is necessary to
work with others to set goals and work as a team to accomplish them.
· I know how to tactfully maneuver through challenging situations
to keep the focus on the goals of the organization and the outcomes – to keep
the eyes on the prize, so to speak, and the prize, in this case are the
students and the community.
· I truly believe in the mission that the Board of Trustees has
set for Dallas College which is to transform lives and communities through
higher education.
· My life and that of my family was transformed because of my
degrees.
· I have seen so many other lives and the wellbeing of their families
transformed because of a college education.
· My biography, my educational and professional background combine
to keep me laser focused on our mission – to transform lives and communities
through higher education because a college education does just that!
Question 2. What is the role of the elected Board of Trustees from your perspective? How does that role relate to your individual input as an elected trustee?
· The role of the elected Board of Trustees is to set policies for
the institution, as well as set tuition and tax rates.
· The role of the board is to set the strategic priorities to
guide the work of the chancellor as he/she implements the programs and
initiatives to meet the strategic priorities. The strategic priorities are set
to assure that Dallas College fulfills its mission of transforming lives and
communities through higher education.
· The role of the board is to assure that Dallas College is
closely connected to the many communities it serves and is responsive to the
educational and workforce needs of those many communities.
· The board allocates the funding necessary to operate Dallas
College and that funding is aligned with the strategic priorities.
· The board must also fulfill its fiduciary responsibilities and
assure that the taxpayer’s hard-earned dollars are used effectively and
efficiently as is evident by Dallas College operating within the annual budget
the board approves.
· As an individual trustee, I have one voice and one vote. It is
important for me to use that voice and that vote to work together with my
fellow trustees to do what is best for the college, its internal and external
stakeholders.
· It is important that trustees, remain focused on fulfilling
Dallas College’s mission and to assure equity and inclusion in all that we do.
That is why I created the first-ever Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee
of the Board of Trustees, to begin this important work for the benefit of
employees, students, and the small business community (equity and inclusion in
procurement).
Question 3. What is the role of Dallas College in
the educational marketplace in Dallas County? What is your agenda to continue
to improve the quality and availability of educational programs to the citizens
of Dallas County?
The role of Dallas
College in the educational marketplace in Dallas County is to continue to serve
as an open access institution which provides all individuals with the
opportunity to get an education with us, whether that be a GED, to learn
English, to earn a workforce certificate, or to earn an associate’s degree for
transfer to a university to complete a bachelor’s degree.
· We take a student where they are and help them get to where they
want to be educationally. That is why it is necessary to have diverse voices
provide input into the programs and initiatives we have to serve diverse students
and to serve diverse communities.
· Also, that is why it is important to have diverse faculty and
staff because their diverse, lived experiences help them better relate to and
understand the students they teach and/or serve.
· My agenda to continue to improve the quality and availability of
educational programs to the citizens of Dallas County is to continue to work
with my board colleagues to set the strategic priorities which will assure that
we are meeting our mission to transform lives and communities through higher
education.
· One of those priorities is to impact income disparity in Dallas County.
Education alleviates poverty. I am living testament of that. That is why I am
so passionate that Dallas College has relevant, 21st century
educational programs to equip our students for 21st century
professions and careers and also has student services that are bar none in
helping provide an ecosystem of support which helps students through the bumps
they may face in completing their education with us.
· It is up to the student to decide if they prefer the route to
obtain a workforce certificate or to obtain a transfer degree. Whichever route
they choose, it is our job to assure that we have the relevant, up-to-date programs,
initiatives, faculty development programs and student support services which
help students accomplish their educational goals with us.
Question 4. If elected, how will you advocate for
Dallas College students, employees, and colleges, in your dealings with
business, the community, other public servants, and voters?
I will do what I have always done, be an ambassador
for Dallas College students, employees and campuses.
·
During normal times, I attend many community events
where it is possible to network with individuals from the public and private
sector, from neighborhoods and local schools, from large corporations to small
businesses.
·
During COVID-19, I have set up the virtual trustee
town halls so that we can continue to reach out to the community, to our
stakeholders to let them know about the important work that is being done at
Dallas College to serve them and to fulfill our mission of transforming lives
and communities through higher education.
·
During COVID-19, Instead of solely relying on what
was previously done, I rose to the moment, innovated to use online platforms to
directly reach Dallas County communities. This is an innovation that we can
continue to use when we return to whatever normal will look like post-COVID.
·
I am available, accessible and responsive.
·
For first-generation families who do not know how to
navigate our system, I open the door for them by referring them to the
chancellor’s office so they get direct attention and connection to the
appropriate staff who can address their questions and provide the information
they are seeking.
·
For small businesses seeking to do business with
Dallas College, I connect them to the CFO’s area for them to get direct
response to their inquiries.
·
For corporate representatives, if their company is
not already engaged with us, I encourage them to become involved with our
P-Tech high schools, with our college campuses for recruitment, apprenticeship
or internship opportunities for Dallas College students.
·
For the 2019 $1.1B bond election which was
successfully approved by about 71% of voters, I was available to all who wanted
more information. That direct contact paid off among some voters!
·
I have worked with Dallas ISD trustees to establish specific
programs in the Early College High Schools, the PTech High Schools and the
Career Institutes, the public safety track being one example and the skilled
trades track of the Career Institutes being another example.
·
Elected and appointed officials in the city and the
county that I interface with know that I am open, accessible and responsive to
needs or ideas they may have to better serve students and communities. That is
why many of them have endorsed me.
·
For employees, during this time of significant
transformation, I have stated many times during board meetings that it is
important for the chancellor to be open and transparent, to communicate clearly
and often with staff at all levels so that one of our most important assets,
our staff, know the why and the how of the transformation to Dallas College.
·
Admittedly, it has been a difficult process; change
is never easy. A recent quote I came across in my master’s study states it so
well: “Without change, there is no innovation, creativity or incentive for
improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage
the change that is inevitable.” (William Pollard, Quaker minister, 1828-1893)
·
The process of restructuring and the hiring of
levels has been especially difficult because of the unknown – employees who do
not yet know whether they will still have a job or not. I understand that and I
empathize with that. That is why I have also pressed the chancellor for a
target timeline by which the layering process will be finalized so that
employees have finality and can know if they remain with our system or if they
will exit.
·
For those who will exit, together with my board
colleagues, we asked the chancellor to come up with an exit plan that would be
as generous as possible and that was accomplished.
·
It is unheard of in higher education to have
employees who must exit receive up to six months of salary and to have support in
their job-seeking efforts.
·
For those employees who continue, I have placed
emphasis in relevant, sustained professional development so that all employees
can be at a state-of-the art level in job proficiencies. By having highly
trained employees, the students win, the institution wins and the community as
a whole wins. I want Dallas College to be known as one of the best places to
work in North Texas.
Question 5. How would you propose to make Dallas
College the premier employer for prospective faculty and staff, in order to
recruit and retain a diverse and inclusive workforce that mirrors the community
we serve?
As previously stated, I want Dallas College to become known as
one of the best places to work In North Texas. Employees must feel satisfied,
fulfilled and feel that they are part of something bigger that makes real
impact in people’s lives and in the community. That can only happen if we are
intentional in communicating and demonstrating that all of our employees are
valued. Being an employee myself, I know the importance of feeling valued and
of how that is demonstrated through actions and not only through words.
·
After a presentation made to the board a couple of
years ago on diversity that stated Employee Resource Groups are a best
practice, I advocated for the establishment of ERGs to help cultivate a
diverse, inclusive work environment that helps employees feel valued from their
perspective and gives them voice as we work to have alignment with Dallas
College’s mission, soon-to-be-defined values, strategies, and practices.
·
I formed the first-ever Diversity, Inclusion and
Equity Committee of the Board of Trustees to help engender these values in
Dallas College – it is time to get past talking about wanting to do this; it is
now time to take concrete, purposeful, sustained action.
·
The intention in these efforts is not to exclude
anyone or to make any of our employees feel like outsiders in their own
organization, so we must be focused to assure that all employees feel valued,
feel they are heard and feel they can be their authentic selves in giving voice
to their views on how to meet our mission and on components of employee
satisfaction.
·
It is through individual voices/ideas that the
collective voice is formed and that gives genesis to best ideas and strategies for
meeting our mission of transforming lives and communities through education.
·
Dallas College believes in Every Student. Every
Place. Every Time. I believe we should extend that to Every Employee. Every
Place. Every Time. Will we have 100% employee satisfaction? No. However, we
should make that our goal.
·
I will work to advocate for the best benefits
program and salaries that are possible within our funding.
