John J. Hetts, PhD
Executive Vice Chancellor for the Office of Innovation, Data, Evidence and Analytics
As executive vice chancellor of the new Office of Innovation, Data, Evidence and Analytics, John J. Hetts, PhD, leads the development and delivery of information technology and security services, student-centered technology-focused initiatives, and evidence-based reporting and evaluation.
Hetts joined the Chancellor’s Office in 2019 as visiting executive for research and data in the California Community Colleges Office and has helped to reimagine the role of data, research, and evidence, working to rebuild that capacity within the system office to better serve colleges and their 1.8 million students.
A nationally recognized leader in intersegmental educational pathways in higher education, Hetts has spent the last two decades working to better understand and recognize student capacity to make certain that all students receive fair credit for their skills and the full opportunity to put those skills to use to achieve their educational goals and aspirations. He currently represents the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office as a Board Member of the Governing Board of the State of California Cradle to Career System, leads the statewide Student Metrics Advisory Committee, and has served as a member of the Multiple Measures Assessment Project research team, the Cradle to Career Research Subcommittee, both the University of California’s Standardized Testing Feasibility Steering Committee and Work Group, the California Guided Pathways Advisory Committee, and the AB 705 Implementation Workgroup, and has been both a California Education Policy Fellow and a Complete College America Fellow.
Formerly, Hetts served as the senior director of Data Science for Educational Results Partnership, which under the leadership of the Chancellor’s Office manages CalPASS Plus, California’s voluntary intersegmental data system, and the improvement and accountability tool known as LaunchBoard. Before that, he served as the director of institutional research at Long Beach City College, where his collaborations on modeling student assessment helped lead to system-wide reforms of remedial education.
Hetts earned a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University followed by a doctorate in social psychology with specializations in measurement and psychometrics as well as political psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Valerie Lundy-Wagner, PhD
Vice Chancellor for Digital Innovation and Infrastructure
As vice chancellor of the Digital Innovation and Infrastructure Division, Valerie Lundy-Wagner, PhD, oversees technology and research for the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and leads a variety of internal and external initiatives overseeing information technology systems, implementation of system-wide technology investments and application of research into evidence-based policy.
Lundy-Wagner is a nationally recognized leader on equity in higher education, including how it connects to K-12 and workforce development. A former assistant professor and faculty fellow at New York University, Lundy-Wagner has also worked at the Community College Research Center, the leading authority on community college research and reform, Jobs for the Future, a national nonprofit focused on education, workforce development and economic mobility, and California Competes, a policy research and advocacy organization. In each post she has relentlessly pursued work prioritizing equity for postsecondary students and the institutions that serve them.
A Richmond, California, native, Lundy-Wagner earned her bachelor’s degree in civil and environmental engineering at UCLA, her master’s degree in education at Stanford University and her Ph.D. in higher education at the University of Pennsylvania. She also was a postdoctoral scholar in engineering education at Purdue University.
Erik Cooper, EdD
Vice Chancellor of Workforce and Research
As the new vice chancellor of Workforce and Research, Erik Cooper, EdD, supports both the IDEA Office and the Workforce and Economic Development unit of the Equitable Student Learning, Experience and Impact Office, planning and directing the design of research, data elements and infrastructure, and data visualization, availability and use in statewide reporting to and by the Chancellor’s Office, with critical support for workforce-related Vision 2030 demonstration programs, workforce-related initiatives and improvement in the measurement and representation of not for credit/contract education officially within the system’s MIS data.
Cooper joined the Chancellor’s Office in 2022, serving as the associate vice chancellor for Data, Visualization and Research where he helped expand the research team; oversaw the development of the DataVista; and supported a variety of projects related to transfer, equitable placement, common course numbering and Vision 2030. Prior to coming to the Chancellor’s Office, Vice Chancellor Cooper worked at Sierra College as dean of Planning, Research and Resource Development; interim dean of the Library and Learning Resources; oversaw the staff development office; and was the college accreditation liaison officer during its most recent accreditation cycle. In addition to his regular duties, Cooper served on multiple IEPI Partnership Resource Teams, Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) site visit teams and was one of the contributors to the proposed new ACCJC standards.
Outside of his work at Sierra College, Cooper served on the Assessment Committee, Common Assessment Initiative Advisory Committee and the AB 705 Implementation Workgroup. He also served on the RP Group Board of Directors and was board president from 2020-2022.
Prior to working at Sierra College, Vice Chancellor Cooper worked at Yuba College, Western Washington University and the Oregon Social Learning Center. He attended multiple community colleges in the Sacramento area, earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology at Sacramento State, earned a master’s degree in psychology (neuroscience) at the University of Oregon, and completed a Doctor of Education Leadership at Sacramento State. His dissertation, Efficacy of the California Basic Skills Initiative, earned the Sacramento State and RP Group awards for excellence.
Ernest Shih
Vice Chancellor of Information Security and Technology
Ernest has more than 15 years of experience working within the state government, where he has been instrumental in leading several large-scale technology initiatives. His deep understanding of the intricacies of government regulations, policies, stakeholder governance, enterprise architecture, information security, operations, project engagement and vendor management, coupled with his forward-thinking mindset and ability to evaluate and implement emerging technology make him an ideal fit for our agency and IDEA as we continue to innovate and grow in safeguarding digital assets and driving innovation.
In addition to his state career, Ernest has taught for more than 20 years and is currently an adjunct professor for computer science at two of our community college districts. Throughout his tenure, he has inspired countless students and stayed at the forefront of technological advancements.
Terrence Willett
Associate Vice Chancellor for Data, Visualization and Research
Terrence Willett has more than 25 years of experience in institutional research and planning. Before joining the Chancellor’s Office, he was dean of Research, Planning and Institutional Effectiveness at Cabrillo College, where he had been a math and science tutor when a student there. Assistant Vice Chancellor Willett also worked at Gavilan College and for the California Partnership for Achieving Student Success (Cal-PASS) as director of research and a senior researcher with the Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges (RP Group) on the Multiple Measures Assessment Project (MMAP) and other efforts including Student Support (Re)Defined. He has also been a strategic enrollment management (SEM) coach for several colleges, and served on multiple committees and work groups, including the accreditation teams for Ohlone and Rio Hondo colleges; the AB 705 Implementation Workgroup; as an alternate on the Matriculation Advisory Committee; and on the CTE Outcomes Survey Advisory Committee. His recent publications include a chapter titled “Assessing Equity with Traditional and Novel Metrics in Times of Change” in Exemplars of Assessment in Higher Education, Volume Two, and co-author of a chapter on remediation reform in Empowering the Community College First-Year Composition Teacher.
Assistant Vice Chancellor Willett earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a master’s degree in environmental studies from San José State University with his thesis research "Spiders and Other Arthropods as Indicators in Old‐Growth Versus Logged Redwood Stands" conducted in and around Big Basin Redwoods State Park.
