March 16, 2023
Contact: Melissa Villarin
Office: 916-327-5365
Office E-mail: MVillarin@CCCCO.edu

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Community Colleges Board of Governors President Amy M. Costa and Interim Chancellor Daisy Gonzales, PhD, issued the following statements on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s appointments of Adrienne Brown, Harry Le Grande, and Mary Salas and the reappointment of Hildegarde B. Aguinaldo to the California Community Colleges Board of Governors:

“We are pleased that Vice President Aguinaldo has been reappointed to our board, and we are excited to welcome members Adrienne Brown, Harry Le Grande, and Mary Salas to our system as we work toward the transformative goals of the Vision for Success,” Costa said. “We look forward to working together to continue to center our work on our students and their needs.”

“The leadership, experience, perspectives and insights of this group will be of great value to our system and the lives of our students, their families and communities,” Gonzales said. “We will work closely to continue to build on the work we’re doing to advance equity and student success across our system and build a culture of unconditional belonging for every student.”

Costa and Gonzales also thanked Board of Governors members Kevin J. Holl, Roy Shahbazian and Valerie Shaw for their years of service on the board.

Adrienne Brown has been a faculty member for the Los Angeles Community College District since 2013; served as HSI-STEM mentor and outreach coordinator for California State University, Fullerton from 2012 to 2013; was program coordinator for the University of California TRIO Upward Bound Math-Science program from 2010 to 2012; and she was a site coordinator for Think Together from 2008 to 2010. Brown earned a master of education degree in Education Counseling from California State University, San Diego.

Harry Le Grande is vice chancellor emeritus of the University of California, Berkeley. He was interim vice president of Student Affairs at the California Institute of the Arts from 2021 to 2022; vice president of Student Affairs at California State University, Fullerton from 2019 to 2020; interim vice president of Student Affairs at California State University, San Bernadino from 2018 to 2019; interim vice president of Student Affairs at California State University, Sonoma in 2018; served on the California Student Aid Commission from 2012 to 2017; and was vice chancellor of Student Affairs at the University of California, Berkeley from 2007 to 2016. Le Grande earned a master of education degree in College Student Services Administration from Oregon State University. He is a member of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, American College Personnel Association, UCI Alumni Association and the BluPeak Credit Union.

Mary Salas served as the Mayor Chula Vista from 2014 to 2022; served on the City Council from 2012 to 2014; served as a California State Assemblymember from 2006 to 2010; was a corporate communications coordinator for Community Health Group from 2001 to 2004; and an economic development specialist at the California Trade and Commerce Agency from 1994 to 2001.

The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation, composed of 73 districts and 116 colleges serving 1.8 million students per year. California community colleges provide career education and workforce training; guaranteed transfer to four-year universities; and degree and certificate pathways. As the state’s engine for social and economic mobility, the California Community Colleges supports the Vision for Success, a strategic plan designed to improve student success outcomes, increase transfer rates and eliminate achievement gaps. For more information, please visit the California Community Colleges website or follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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