John J. Hetts, PhD
Executive Vice Chancellor for the Office of Innovation, Data, Evidence and Analytics Office
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
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research, Visualization, and Analytics
As the assistant vice chancellor for Research, Visualization, and Analytics, Erik Cooper, EdD, will help lead the development, implementation, visualization and support of systemwide research and data.
Cooper joined the Chancellor’s Office in 2022 and brings more than a decade of leadership experience within the research, planning and institutional effectiveness community in the California Community Colleges. This includes 10 years of service on the board of directors for the RP Group, and as its board president from 2020 until 2022.
Prior to joining the Chancellor’s Office, Cooper served Sierra College as the dean of Planning, Research, and Resource Development for a decade, while also supporting the college in multiple roles throughout that period including interim dean of the Library and Learning Resources; college accreditation liaison officer; and in overseeing the staff development office. During that time, Cooper also served on multiple Institutional Effectiveness and Partnership Initiative (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. He also served on multiple statewide committees including the Assessment Committee, the Common Assessment Initiative Advisory Committee, and the AB 705 Implementation Workgroup. Prior to working at Sierra College, Cooper worked at Yuba College, Western Washington University and the Oregon Social Learning Center.
Cooper attended multiple community colleges in the Sacramento area. He earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Sacramento State, a master’s degree in psychology (neuroscience) at the University of Oregon and a doctorate degree in education leadership at Sacramento State. His dissertation, Efficacy of the California Basic Skills Initiative, earned the Sacramento State and RP Group awards for excellence.
