SJCC Faculty, Classified Professionals, and Administrators to Lead Sessions at Statewide COLEGAS Conference

Five SJCC employees will present three sessions at the COLEGAS Conference, Nov. 4-6 in Los Angeles, on Latiné student support, financial aid and leadership.

SAN JOSE, CA, UNITED STATES, November 3, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Five San José City College employees will present at three breakout sessions during the fifth annual COLEGAS Conference, held Nov. 4-6 in Los Angeles.

COLEGAS, the California Community Colleges Organización de Latina/o/x Empowerment, Guidance, and Advocacy for Success, brings together faculty, staff, and administrators from community colleges across the state. This year’s theme is “¡Presente! Giving Voice to Our Collective Power,” and it centers on how Latiné professionals use their lived experience and cultural knowledge to change their institutions and open doors for students.

“Our students see these colleagues every day, in the Metas Centro, in the financial aid office, and in the classroom,” said SJCC President Dr. Marilyn Flores. “They’ve built this work by listening to students and reaching across departments. I’m proud they’re sharing what we’ve learned at SJCC with colleagues from across California.”

Xiomara Martinez, supervisor of Sí Se Puede and the Metas Centro; Fatima Casas, Metas Centro program specialist; and Iliana Rodriguez, staff assistant for Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) and ALMASS, will present “Comunidad Starts With Us: Creating a Culture That Students Can Feel.” The session looks at how four SJCC efforts, ALMASS, METAS, Sí Se Puede, and the Latinx Education Association (LEA), work together to support Latiné students. Each program has its own focus, but together they follow students from their first semester through leadership development and graduation. LEA adds a key component by recruiting and retaining Latiné classified professionals, faculty, and administrators who mentor students and lead on campus.

Jesus Del Real, SJCC financial aid outreach specialist, and Victoria Cooper, financial aid advisor at Long Beach City College, will lead “Leading with Comunidad: Cross-Campus Financial Aid Advocacy for Undocumented and Mixed Family Status Students.” The workshop is built for faculty, administrators, and classified professionals who want to help undocumented students and students from mixed status families outside the financial aid office. Participants will learn basic financial aid terms, review the barriers these students commonly face, and leave with practical steps to build support across their own campuses.

Maristella Tapia, SJCC dean of humanities, social science and arts, and Larissa Favela, dean of arts and social sciences at Ohlone College, will present “Descubriendo el liderazgo que llevamos por dentro: How Teaching Prepared Us for Leadership.” Both taught for years before becoming deans, and they’ll share how leading a classroom prepared them to lead a division. They’ll cover what the classroom taught them about leading with others, building teams, and handling complex institutional settings while staying grounded in their values. The session also covers the harder parts of moving from faculty to administration, including working within a hierarchy and adjusting to a new professional identity. Participants will talk through their own experiences, identify the skills that carry over, and consider where those skills could take them. The workshop is meant for faculty and direct-service staff who have wondered what it would take to move into administration.

About San José City College
San José City College is a comprehensive community college located in the heart of Silicon Valley, serving more than 15,000 students each year. As part of the San José–Evergreen Community College District, SJCC offers associate degrees, career education certificates, and transfer pathways that empower students to discover their Student Pathway to Opportunity and Transfer (SPOT). For more information, visit sjcc.edu.

Daniel Rivera Garza
San José City College
+1 408-288-3163
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