Colegas Institute & Talleres

Participants will be able to:

• Develop vocabulary and conceptual frameworks related to equity-mindedness;
• Summarize and apply validation theory (Rendon, 1994) as a way to foster student academic and interpersonal development;
• Learn basics of culturally relevant pedagogy (Ladson-Billings) as a way to honor students’ backgrounds and experiences.

Recommended Audience: Chief Instructional Officers, Division Deans, Department Chairs, Faculty Leaders, Instructional faculty in all areas, Adjunct Faculty, Academic Senate Presidents, Professional Development Leaders, First Year Experience Leaders, Learning Community Leaders, HSI Grant & Activity Leaders, Student Development Leaders

Description: The “Developing an Equity-Minded Lens: Validating and Honoring Our Students” workshop will allow participants to learn how race consciousness is central to a discussion of equity-mindedness. Participants will engage with various race-conscious, asset based lenses to acquire the vocabulary and conceptual frameworks necessary to closing racial, ethnic equity gaps. Participants will brainstorm approaches to enacting an equity-minded lens respective to their academic disciplines.

Facilitators: Dra. Cristina Salazar-Romo

Facilitator Bio: Dr. Cristina Salazar-Romo is a proud product of the California Community College System. She received her AA in Humanities from Cerritos College then successfully transferred to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and earned her BA and MA in English. She later pursued her EdD from USC’s Rossier School of Education to prove to all first year  “push outs” that success is indeed possible. Dr. Salazar-Romo has been teaching English at Pasadena City College since 2003 and resides in Whittier, California with her husband, two boys, and miniature schnauzer.

Practitioners will be able to:

• Define equity-mindedness and culturally relevant pedagogy as it relates to course syllabus.
• Apply lenses to a key pedagogical tool: the classroom syllabus.
• Analyze curriculum development and policy interpretation to best serve Latina/o/e student success.

Recommended Audience: Chief Instructional Officers, Division Deans, Department Chairs, Faculty Leaders, Instructional Faculty in all areas, Adjunct Faculty, Academic Senate Presidents, Professional Development Leaders, First Year Experience Leaders, Learning Community Leaders

Description: The equity-minded syllabus workshop will engage participants in using frames of equity-mindedness and culturally relevant pedagogy to address their course syllabus. We will first work on defining these very important lenses and then work to apply them to a key pedagogical tool: the classroom syllabus. Discussion will cover curriculum development and policy interpretation to best serve Latina/o/e student success.

Facilitators: Dra. Cristina Salazar-Romo

Facilitator Bio: Dr. Cristina Salazar-Romo is a proud product of the California Community College System. She received her AA in Humanities from Cerritos College then successfully transferred to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and earned her BA and MA in English. She later pursued her EdD from USC’s Rossier School of Education to prove to all first year  “push outs” that success is indeed possible. Dr. Salazar-Romo has been teaching English at Pasadena City College since 2003 and resides in Whittier, California with her husband, two boys, and miniature schnauzer.

Practitioners will be able to:

• Practitioners will develop/ refine asset-based lenses in liberation pedagogy, and other models of validation and affirmation, in an effort to address Latina/o/e student success;
• Practitioners will summarize critical consciousness and implement critical consciousness to empower students;
• Practitioners will evaluate liberatory pedagogy in curriculum by implementing assessment mapping

Recommended Audience: Chief Instructional Officers, Division Deans, Department Chairs, Faculty Leaders, Instructional faculty in all areas, Adjunct Faculty, Academic Senate Presidents, Professional Development Leaders, First Year Experience Leaders, Learning Community Leaders, HSI Grant & Activity Leaders, Student Development Leaders

Description: Originally coined by Paolo Freire, leading advocate of critical pedagogy and Brazilian educator, liberation pedagogy is an anti-oppressive educational approach designed to liberate minds. This session will help practitioners develop/refine asset-based lenses in liberation pedagogy, and other models of validation and affirmation, in an effort to address Latina/o/e student success. Practitioners will learn how to help students develop critical consciousness, the means by which students are empowered to identify, question, and solve relevant problems in society, through intentional curriculum.

Facilitators: Dra. Cristina Salazar-Romo

Facilitator Bio: Dr. Cristina Salazar-Romo is a proud product of the California Community College System. She received her AA in Humanities from Cerritos College then successfully transferred to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and earned her BA and MA in English. She later pursued her EdD from USC’s Rossier School of Education to prove to all first year  “push outs” that success is indeed possible. Dr. Salazar-Romo has been teaching English at Pasadena City College since 2003 and resides in Whittier, California with her husband, two boys, and miniature schnauzer.

Practitioners will be able to:

• Identify Key Issues in Centering Equity and Diversity in Full-Time Faculty Hiring
• Understanding EEO Best Practices
• Identify Institutional Policies and Practices for Equity and Diversity Minded Hiring
• Identify Steps you can take to Center Equity to Diversify Hiring in your Institution

Recommended Audience: Faculty, Hiring Committee Members, Hiring Committee Chairs, Academic Senate Presidents, Administrators, Human Resources, Staff

Description: While the benefits of having a diverse and equity-minded faculty are well-researched, centering equity and diversifying the faculty continues to be a controversial issue. This session will help practitioners understand and develop strategies for equity and diversity in the full-time faculty hiring process with an examination of current statewide policy and efforts.  Participants will critically examine local institutional hiring policies and practices to develop new approaches to center equity and diversity in hiring.

Facilitator: Dra. Vicenta Arrizon Maffris

Practitioners will learn:

• Gain insights into the institutional transformative potential of race-conscious and culturally grounded student advisory groups.
• Explore the application of guiding frameworks, including Yosso's Community Cultural Wealth and Gina Garcia's Concept of Servingness and Liberatory Outcomes.
• Acquire practical strategies and actionable insights for fostering Latine/x student leadership, advocacy, and representation.
• Learn strategies to integrate student feedback effectively and involve students in campus-wide initiatives.
• Leave equipped with the knowledge and tools necessary to drive institutional transformation, create more student-centered environments, and foster inclusive campus cultures.

Recommended Audience: Chief Student Services Officers, Students Services Professionals, Faculty members, DEI coordinators, HSI leaders, grant writers, project managers, and anyone interested in advancing Latine/x student representation and leadership within academic settings.

Description: This session will explore how to establish, develop, and maintain a Student Advisory group that actively involves Latine/x students and other minoritized student populations in campus-wide initiatives. By utilizing critical pedagogies and culturally responsive frameworks, participants will learn how to build a supportive and inclusive advisory team for institutional transformation.

Facilitator: Dr. Desiree (Dez) Zuniga, Associate Professor/Faculty Counselor at Pasadena City College

Facilitator Bio: Dr. Desiree (Dez) Zuniga is an Associate Professor/Faculty Counselor at Pasadena City College. She serves as an HSI Activity Director for a Title V grant and is committed to enhancing the educational experiences of Latine/x students and other historically minoritized student populations. Her scholarship and practices aim to challenge and reform outdated educational practices that fail to meet the needs of the current community college population. Dr. Dez is dedicated to dismantling systemic barriers and advocating for educational practices that liberate and empower students. She advocates for equity, justice, and servingness and focuses her efforts on uplifting students in Hispanic-serving community colleges, ensuring their voices, experiences, and needs are heard and valued. She is a proud product of the California Community College system and three HSIs, including Pasadena City College, California State University Long Beach, and California State University Dominguez Hills. She earned her doctorate in education from the Univerity of Southern California, where she focused her research on part-time enrolled Latina students at a Hispanic Serving Community College. Dr. Dez is the proud daughter of two Mexicanos.

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