4CSD 2022 Conference Sessions
Wednesday | October 12
2:00 - 4:00 PM
The Nuts and Bolts of Being a Professional Development Practitioner: Almost Everything You Need to Know!
Presenters: Claudia Montoya-Andrews, Chair 4CSD Board and Director of Career Education at Coastline College and Leslie Carr, 4CSD Board Member and Director Professional Development at College of the Canyons
Location: Sycamore Maple
Whether you are new to the Professional Development practitioner role or have years of experience, this session will provide practical tips on almost everything you need to know, including: - All Things FLEX: o Annual Reporting to the Chancellor’s Office o What Counts as FLEX? o Tracking FLEX Hours - Needs Assessment Surveys and Focus Groups - Committee Structures - Developing an Annual Professional Development Program Plan - Training Ideas for All Employee Groups - Assessing the Effectiveness of Trainings - Working with Administration to Garner Support for Professional Development We welcome your questions!
2:00 - 3:30 PM
Collaborative Working Session: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access
Presenters: Janue Johnson, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Professional Learning Coordinator, Learning Opportunities for Transformation, San Diego Mesa College and Nashona Andrade, Human Resources Director, Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District
Location: Sequoia
In this collaborative working session, PD Practitioners will discuss the opportunities, challenges, and needs related to DEIA focused Professional Development in the CCC system from a PD perspective. Participants will work in small groups to discuss practices, identify goals, and draft actionable plans for addressing DEIA PD for all employees in their Campus community. The participants' action plans and recommendations will be shared via the 4CSD site after the conference as a resource for other partner campuses in the CCC.
4:15 - 4:45 PM
California Community College Chancellor’s Office Presentation on the State of Professional Development
Presenter: Marty Alvarado, Executive Vice Chancellor, Equitable Student Learning, Experience, and Impact Office
Location: Sycamore Maple
In this session, Executive Vice Chancellor Alvarado will provide updates on the structural changes enacted by the Board of Governors, the key reforms that are currently in process, and the implications for the role of professional development support across campuses and regions. Session participants are invited to join in the conversation about how the state can strengthen the support for professional development professionals.
Thursday | October 13
Breakout Session 1 | 10:15 - 11:15 AM
Collaborative Working Session: Updating and Equitizing FLEX Guidelines and Title 5 (Part 1) (This workshop will run over Sessions 1 and 2)
Presenters: Shannon Krajewski, Professional Development Coordinator, Los Angeles Pierce College and Jessica Martin, Program Coordinator, Professional Development, Diablo Valley College
Location: Sequoia
As a Professional Development practitioner and leader, you have likely used the FLEX Guidelines or Title 5 language in your work. Have you ever thought they could use some updating to clarify the expectations and be more equitable for all employees? We have! The FLEX Guidelines were originally developed in 1993 and the most recent update is from 2007, and Title 5 language dates back to 1991 with some parts as recent as 2007. Let’s stop talking about the possible changes and roll up our sleeves, pull out our red pens, and get to work! The group’s recommendations will be given to the 4CSD board who will share them with the Chancellor’s office and engage in collaborative dialogue that will result in an updated version of the FLEX Guidelines document.
Unconscious Bias: Understanding Bias to Unleash Potential
Presenter: Theresa Prelitz, Senior Consultant, FranklinCovey
Location: Mahogany
Every day, your people are faced with countless bits of information while making decisions that range from the pragmatic to the strategic. And they do so while working with increasingly diverse teams and stakeholders. As they confront more and more information and have to act quickly while considering varying perspectives, your leaders and team members are primed to rely on biased thinking. Why? Because unconscious biases are how our brains compensate for overload. But bias can also inhibit performance and lead to poor decision-making. So how do we counteract the potentially harmful impacts of unconscious bias? How can we create a workplace in which everyone feels valued and able to offer their best? At this session, participants will learn how to: •Identify bias by recognizing the impact of bias on behaviors, decisions, and performance; •Cultivate connection, and choose courage by increasing empathy and curiosity in personal interactions to surface and explore bias; •Choose courage and explore ways to face bias with courage and create the space where everyone is respected, included, and valued.
Catalyzing the Campus Culture for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access Readiness: Coordinated Efforts Across Employee Groups
Panel Facilitator: Lisa Rodriguez, Ph.D. Acting Director, Professional and Organizational Development
Panelists: John Lewallen, Classified Senate President, Co-Chair, Classified Professional Development Committee; Rosa Asencio, Former Co-Chair, Campus Equity and Diversity Committee, Co-Chair, Classified Professional Development Committee; Tania Anders, Ph.D., (Former) Co-Chair, Faculty Professional Development Committee, Co-VP of the Academic Senate and Sustainability Coordinator; Lianne Greenlee, M.S., Associate Dean, Accreditation and Strategic Planning; Mica Stewart, Ph.D., Faculty Coordinator for Equity Certification, Title V and Department Chair, Ethnic Studies
Panel Facilitator and all Panelists are from Mt. San Antonio College.
Location: Sycamore Maple
Participants will gain strategies for building effective coalitions to ensure the campus centers DEIA work. Examples for documenting and advancing DEIA work will be shared and participants will understand complex and simple coalition building across campus to advance DEIA work and ensure impact at their college. This session will conclude with the reviewing of alignment models and maps to ensure DEIA is included in documents such as employee evaluations, campus equity plans, and grant applications to name a few.
Praxis: Institutionalizing a Comprehensive Professional Development Plan Based on Academic Research
Presenters: Dr. Jessica Krug, Faculty Co-lead for Center Development Plan and Cyrus Fernandez, Professional Development Coordinator, Santa Monica College
Location: Cedar
In this session, participants will learn how Santa Monica College institutionalized a comprehensive professional development plan. This session will showcase theory- to- practice applications of creating a comprehensive Professional Development plan. Dr. Krug will share her original multi-case study examining best practices in faculty development entitled Building Community and Capacity: Institutionalized Faculty Development in Community Colleges. Then, Dr. Krug and her colleague, Cyrus Fernandez, Professional Development Coordinator, will demonstrate how the theories and findings in her work have informed a larger reimagining of professional development for all employee groups at Santa Monica College.
Caring Campus
Presenters: Ken Sherwood, Vice President, Caring Campus, Institute for Evidence-Based Change (IEBC); Michelle Francis, TEACH Center Coordinator/ Child Studies Faculty, West Valley College
Location: Magnolia
Students come where they are welcome and stay where they feel cared about. Caring Campus is based on decades of research documenting that students who feel connected to their college are more likely to complete and succeed in their courses, persist from semester to semester, and achieve their educational goals. As the nation shifts toward recognizing society’s continuing and pervasive racism and inequities that continue to result in loss of life and lack of opportunity, IEBC is committed to our engagement to rectify this, to ensure that all students are able to fulfill their dreams. Our work in all areas reflects this commitment. Come to this session to learn more about Caring Campus and how you can become involved to further these efforts at your college.
Breakout Session 2 | 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Collaborative Working Session: Updating and Equitizing FLEX Guidelines and Title 5 (Part 2) (This workshop will run over Sessions 1 and 2)
Presenters: Shannon Krajewski, Professional Development Coordinator, Los Angeles Pierce College and Jessica Martin, Program Coordinator, Professional Development, Diablo Valley College
Location: Sequoia
As a Professional Development practitioner and leader, you have likely used the FLEX Guidelines or Title 5 language in your work. Have you ever thought they could use some updating to clarify the expectations and be more equitable for all employees? We have! The FLEX Guidelines were originally developed in 1993 and the most recent update is from 2007, and Title 5 language dates back to 1991 with some parts as recent as 2007. Let’s stop talking about the possible changes and roll up our sleeves, pull out our red pens, and get to work! The group’s recommendations will be given to the 4CSD board who will share them with the Chancellor’s office and engage in collaborative dialogue that will result in an updated version of the FLEX Guidelines document.
Understanding the Vision Resource Center and What It Can Do for You!
Presenters: Liz Avila-Delgado, Engagement Specialist, Ted Olivos, Vision Resource Center Manager, Selene Kinder, Sr. Communications Specialist, Vision Resource Center
Location: Magnolia
The Vision Resource Center is an online learning and communication platform that offers all California community college employees equitable access to professional development opportunities. In this presentation, classified staff, faculty and administrators will gain a better understanding of the Vision Resource Center and its features, resources and tools to sharpen their skills, collaborate with professionals from across the state, and find more professional development opportunities throughout the year.
Developing a New Faculty Orientation
Presenter: Heather Paul, English Professor, Reedley College
Location: Cedar
Onboarding of new faculty is frequently a haphazard undertaking and yet, is pivotal to creating a welcoming environment and setting new faculty up for success. Reedley College has successfully created and implemented a required New Faculty Orientation with compensation to meet the needs of this population.
Cultivate the Mind and Let Equity Flourish!
Presenters: Anna Stirling, Associate Dean Distance Education & Professional Development and Mayra Gomez, Professional Development Coordinator, Mt. San Jacinto College
Location: Mahogany
Join us to learn about Mt. San Jacinto College's Student Empowerment, Equity, and Diversity series (SEEDs), a series of equity course offerings built out in partnership with the USC Race and Equity Center. SEEDs was designed for campus administrators, faculty and staff members and is intended to increase individual competencies and organizational effectiveness to enhance equity, diversity, and inclusion. Participants are introduced to topics, frameworks, evidence-based readings, books, and practical tools in racial equity.
Innovations in Teaching & Learning: Cultivating Inclusive Excellence in Transfer Level Math & English through System-Wide Communities of Practice
Presenters: Tonya Williams, Ph.D., Visiting Dean, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Leadership Development, Institutional Effectiveness Division; Kim Middleton, Academic Strategist, The Association of College and University Educators (ACUE); Elsie Rivas Gomez, Associate Professor, English, Pasadena City College & Professional Development Coordinator, The Puente Project
Location: Sycamore Maple
The California Community Colleges System, in the wake of a global pandemic, national movement for racial reckoning and ongoing system wide reforms to reduce and eliminate racial equity gaps in student achievement, is answering the Call to reimagine and build more resilient, student ready and anti-racist teaching and learning ecosystems. With commitment to system wide goals outlined in the Vision for Success, the California Community Colleges Chancellors’ Office of Institutional Effectiveness has engaged thought partners, campus leaders, and capacity building providers to design and facilitate no-cost, virtual, highly specialized professional development to support the integration of evidence-based and equity-informed teaching and learning practices. Furthermore, we recognized that meaningful investments in professional development opportunities for faculty teaching “completion gateway courses” such as transfer level Math and English could dramatically improve equitable completion rates and accelerate the academic progress of our system's diverse learners. In this presentation, speakers from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office of Institutional Effectiveness, the Puente Project and the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) will provide an overview of the Communities of Practice that were designed to cultivate inclusive classrooms and anti-racist curriculum, shared learning and community building and development of pedagogical strategies to demonstrably impact student outcomes and equity goals. We will also share lessons learned, faculty outcome data (engagement, learning, implementation), opportunities for future innovations in teaching and learning in Math and English and forthcoming system-wide Communities of Practice.
Breakout Session 3 | 1:45 - 2:45 PM
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access (DEIA) Professional Development in Grant Initiatives: Creating an Equity Minded Campus Culture to Improve Student Outcomes
Presenter: Lisa Rodriguez, Ph.D., Acting Director, Professional and Organizational Development; Cathy Stute, Senior Research Analyst, and Title V Faculty, Staff and Student Presenters, Mt. San Antonio College
Location: Sycamore Maple
At this session, participants will gain models for embedding DEIA on campus beyond grant initiatives through scalable project plans. The presenters will also empower participants to navigate skepticism around DEIA professional development efforts and gain insights into documenting DEIA work and strengthening coalitions.
Customer Service Excellence Series
Presenter: Pilar Huffman, Professional Development Manager, Compton College
Location: Mahogany
Excellent customer service builds connections through positive engagements by utilizing emotional intelligence and a broad communication skill set. This workshop focuses on the three vital components of customer service in higher education: 1.Identifying the "why" and value of our roles 2.Humanizing student interactions 3.Making authentic connections with colleagues The presentation will provide practical tools for participants to use within their organizations.
Professional Development Strategies for Closing Equity Gaps: Multiple Approaches for Your Community College
Presenters: Dr. Daylene Meuschke, Associate Vice President Institutional Research, Planning and Institutional Effectiveness and Student Experience Redesign; Dr. Diane Fiero, Deputy Chancellor and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer; Alene Terzian - Zeitounian, English Professor; Pamela Williams-Paez, Sociology Professor; and Flavio Medina-Martin, Director Diversity and Inclusion
All Presenters are from College of the Canyons.
Location: Sequoia
This workshop will highlight some of the most successful professional development strategies and tools we have developed for closing equity gaps at our community colleges. We will focus on our college's multifaceted Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Antiracism (IDEAA) efforts by featuring our cross-campus engagement, ranging from data-informed programming to implementing new Professional Development opportunities. In this session, we will share our approaches to professional development training and will explore the complexities of training faculty and staff with various levels of experience in IDEAA work.
Redesigning New Faculty Orientation Through an Equity Framework
Presenter: Cindy Walker, Faculty Success Center Facilitator, Chaffey College
Location: Magnolia
One of the best ways to change the culture of our college is through the influence of our new faculty. New faculty bring innovative ideas and new perspectives; they change the dynamics of departments and programs, and they are open to new approaches. Infusing our semester-long new faculty orientation with equity-minded and inclusive approaches optimized an already robust mechanism for integrating cultural values with our new full-time faculty. Come to this session to learn about the underlying principles, design framework, and logistics of creating an equity-minded new faculty orientation program.
Bringing Student Voices into the Design of Professional Development Work
Presenters: Nicholas Hatch, Assistant Professor, Kinesiology Health & Athletics; Jason Robinson, Director, Professional Development; and Desiree Zuniga, Counselor, Pasadena City College
Location: Cedar
Bringing Student Voices into the Design of Professional Development Work - No matter where we sit in an academic institution, the root purpose of our work is to better serve our students by becoming better practitioners. Although it has long been a goal in our Office of Professional and Organizational Development to receive student input on the professional learning opportunities provided to the campus community, the recent barrage of external experiences our students are facing has underscored the necessity of more deeply understanding what our students need from us. In this session, representatives from multiple constituency groups on our campus will introduce a structural approach/model for centering student voices, and demonstrate how that approach/model has been used to inform the design of professional development programs on campus.
Breakout Session 4 | 3:15 - 4:30 PM
Creating a Culture that Promotes and Supports Campus-Wide and District-Wide Professional Development
Presenter: Dr. Diane Fiero, Deputy Chancellor and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, College of the Canyons
Location: Sycamore Maple
In his report titled Report on the California Community Colleges Student Success Initiative Professional Development Committee Recommendations, Dr. LeBaron Woodyard wrote “Ongoing professional development is a fundamental component of supporting the systemic change that will improve student success. Without a sustained and focused approach to professional development, individual institutions, let alone an entire educational system, cannot expect to change attitudes, help faculty and staff rethink how their colleges approach the issue of student success, and implement a continuous assessment process that brings about iterative improvement.” Indeed, Professional Development programs in California’s community colleges play a vital and strategic role in training faculty, classified professionals, and administrators that enable and empower them to respond to the evolving needs of the students we serve and remain up-to-date in the areas of teaching and learning, technology, leadership, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Come to this session to learn about challenges and opportunities and the ways YOU can create a culture that promotes and supports campus-wide and district-wide professional development.
The Race Conversation
Presenters: Janelle Williams Melendrez, Executive Officer of Equity and Engagement; Patricia Hinck, Programs Coordinator; and Andre Ortiz, Training Services Coordinator, Southwestern College
Location: Sequoia
The Race Conversation (TRC) is a monthly respectful cross-cultural exchange of views on race and race relations that has occurred at Southwestern College over the past year. Recognizing district readiness and the need to delve more fully and personally into issues of race that impact us in our organizations and across the nation, TRC is meant to be a regular dialogue that is intended to normalize racial discussions and offer an opportunity for participants to pose questions about race and hear responses from their colleagues. Through this open dialogue, participants will be able to build understanding of each other’s experiences, learn from different perspectives, and find our humanity in one another. The structure of how the dialogues are set up to create the conditions for safety for all who participate.
Friday | October 14
Breakout Session 5 | 9:15 - 10:15 AM
Elevate Your Virtual Professional Development Experiences with Zoom Events
Presenters: Anna Stirling, Associate Dean Distance Education & Professional Development and Mayra Gomez, Professional Development Coordinator, Mt. San Jacinto College
Location: Mahogany
Moving your in-person event to an online or hybrid event may seem like uncharted territory. But, with the right technology and preparation, you can make online events informative, interactive, and engaging. In this session, we will provide a compare and contrast of Zoom Meetings and Zoom Events, by exploring how Mt. San Jacinto College elevated users' virtual PD experience by hosting their Classified PD Day in Zoom Events.
Collaborative Working Session: Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Professional Development Programming
Presenters: Nashona Andrade, Human Resources Director, Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District and Shannon Krajewski, Professional Development Coordinator at Los Angeles Pierce College
Location: Sequoia
With funding coming from the Chancellor’s office to foster and support a diverse workforce throughout the system – from recruitment and interviewing to onboarding and retention – Professional Development Practitioners will play a key role in program development. We don’t need to figure this all out alone! Join your colleagues for a collaborative work session led by Nashona Andrade, Human Resources Director at Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College, and Shannon Krajewski, Professional Development Coordinator at Los Angeles Pierce College, to create a vision for the professional development practices that will be needed to ensure this initiative’s success. The group’s work product and recommendations will be made available on the 4CSD website after the conference.
Technology in the Classroom: Using Aframe to Develop Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Experiences for Almost Free!
Presenter: Airek Mathews, Manager, Distance Education, Compton College
Location: Cedar
With funding coming from the Chancellor’s office to foster and support a diverse workforce throughout the system – from recruitment and interviewing to onboarding and retention – Professional Development Practitioners will play a key role in program development. We don’t need to figure this all out alone! Join your colleagues for a collaborative work session led by Nashona Andrade, Human Resources Director at Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College, and Shannon Krajewski, Professional Development Coordinator at Los Angeles Pierce College, to create a vision for the professional development practices that will be needed to ensure this initiative’s success. The group’s work product and recommendations will be made available on the 4CSD website after the conference.
My Life as a Professional Development Practitioner: Developing a Better Understanding of Social/Cultural Identities
Presenter: Flavio Medina-Martin, Director, Diversity and Inclusion, College of the Canyons
Location: Sycamore Maple
Please join us as we embark on an eye-opening professional development experience! Relevant to all professional development practitioners in the community college setting and employees at all levels of your organization, this session is designed to allow all learners to gain insights into the perspectives and realities of individuals. This session will highlight personal and cultural identities. A very important layer of professional development growth is to understand oneself and to unravel the layers that exist within each person. Cultivating spaces for the mind, enhancing one’s own knowledge and embracing self-exploration is critical to how we influence professional development activities on our campuses. As professional development practitioners, it is important to understand self-identities and have an open mind to understand the different identities of others as they explore their experiences in the same work spaces. This session will be interactive and ask that you join us with an open mind, expect to learn a little more about yourself, and develop a higher level of awareness about others in the professional development field.
Keynote Presentation | 10:30 - 11:30 AM
Harvesting the Fruits of Our Labor: Nurturing Equity from the Seeds of Justice
Presenter: Abdimalik Buul, Ed.D., Visiting Executive of Educational Excellence, California Community College Chancellor's Office
Location: Sycamore Maple
Dr. Abdimalik Buul is currently serving a two year visiting executive of educational excellence role at the California Community College Chancellor’s office. He overseas and provides guidance to the equal employment opportunity initiatives and a budget of $20 million. During this tenure, he will assist in ensuring equal employment opportunities and initiatives are connected to the classroom via professional development and policy recommendations, and infusing diversity equity and inclusion in all elements. He is also an award-winning professor, antiracist activist, and emancipatory educator. He is an innovative dynamic leader within the San Diego community and throughout the state of California. He completed his bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a master’s degree in education with an emphasis in community based counseling and social justice, both from San Diego State University (SDSU). He completed his doctorate work in Educational leadership with an emphasis in Educational Psychology from the University of Southern California (USC). He is a Professor and Transfer Center Director in the counseling department at San Diego City College. Dr. Buul is also a lecturer at San Diego State University (SDSU) where he teaches Restorative Practices and Conflict Transformation to students in the Advanced Graduate Certificate in Mental Health Recovery & Trauma-informed Care MA in Education with concentration in Counseling program.
Professional Development Update | 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM
California Community College Chancellor’s Office Professional Development Update
Presenter: Rebecca Ruan-O’Shaughnessy, Vice Chancellor, Equitable Student Learning, Experience, and Impact Office and Tonya Williams, Visiting Dean, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Leadership Development, Institutional Effectiveness Division
Location: Sycamore Maple
Description forthcoming