Santa Rosa Junior College

Dr. Angélica Garcia is an educational leader who is passionate about issues of access, equity, and student success in higher education. Dr. Garcia serves as the 6th Superintendent/President of Santa Rosa Junior College, which has served the Sonoma County for over 105 years and recognized as an Hispanic Serving Institution since 2014. A Central Valley native, she believes community colleges provide liberatory educational experiences that disrupt the status quo and support upward social mobility of students and the broader community. She is Co-Founder and Executive Board member of COLEGAS, a statewide organization focused on advocacy and development of Latinx professionals in the California Community Colleges. Dr. Garcia serves on the Puente Project Advisory Board and Pepperwood Preserve Board. Appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, she served as the Vice-Chair for the Student-Centered Funding Formula Oversight Committee, charged with reviewing the legislation, data, and its impact on the California Community Colleges. She has been a fellow with the Aspen Institute for New Presidents, the National Community College Hispanic Council, and the UC Davis Wheelhouse Institute, all of which are leadership programs focused on producing equitable student outcomes.  In April 2023, Dr. Garcia was appointed to President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) by President Biden.  PCAH advises the President and the heads of U.S. cultural agencies on policy, philanthropic and private sector engagement, and other efforts to enhance federal support for the arts, humanities, and museum and library services. Dr. Garcia is a proud second-generation born Chicana and first-generation college graduate, who earned a doctorate in educational leadership at San Francisco State University, a Master's in Social Work at San Diego State University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in liberal and civic studies at Saint Mary’s College of California.