December 18, 2023
Contact: Melissa Villarin
Office: 916-327-5365
Office E-mail: MVillarin@CCCCO.edu
Anthony Cordova will be joined by four others in leading Chancellor’s Office division
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office has welcomed an experienced leader to head its Workforce and Economic Development Division to help move the system of 116 colleges forward with its new strategic framework, Vision 2030.
Anthony Cordova will serve as the division’s vice chancellor, responsible for the development, implementation and management of policies advancing economic and social mobility for Californians served by community colleges. He will provide leadership in strategic planning in the areas of business development, small business technical assistance and workforce and community development.
“We are pleased to welcome Anthony Cordova to the Chancellor’s Office leadership team,” said Chancellor Sonya Christian. “His extensive background and knowledge will be critical to the implementation of Vision 2030, specifically our strategic direction to build robust workforce development initiatives that will equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in today's ever-changing economy.”
The Workforce and Economic Development Division, which is part of the Equitable Student Learning, Experience and Impact Office, is focused on preparing individuals with flexible and manageable workforce training and career pathways that result in high-skill and high-wage employment and propel the local and regional economies of the state of California.
“Workforce development programs offered through our community colleges are advancing workers’ socio-economic mobility and moving people into family-sustaining jobs. Today’s announcement shows career education and training continue to be at the top of Chancellor Christian’s priorities,” said Stewart Knox, Secretary of the California Labor & Workforce Development Agency. “We are thrilled to work alongside Chancellor Christian, Vice Chancellor Cordova and their team on delivering on Gov. Newsom’s ambitious career education agenda.”
“Our world is constantly shifting, and communities are facing constant technological and economic change. Chancellor Christian’s focus on partnering with business and industry leaders to develop a workforce ready to meet those changes will help ensure that California remains a center of economic growth, investment and innovation,” said Dee Dee Myers, Senior Advisor to the Governor and Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz). “GO-Biz is looking forward to working with the new leadership team the Chancellor has assembled.”
Before joining the Chancellor’s Office Cordova served as the dean of instruction for industrial technology and transportation at Bakersfield College where he provided guidance and support for the development of a bachelor’s degree in industrial automation. He also served students at Taft College as an adjunct faculty of industrial safety and director of career and technical education. Cordova is the president-elect of the California Community College Association of Occupational Education and the Chair of the California Community Colleges Baccalaureate Degree Program Steering Committee.
Joining Cordova in the leadership ranks is Don Daves-Rougeaux, who will serve as a senior advisor on workforce development and strategic partnerships, and Lucia Robles, LaCandice Ochoa and Gary Adams who serve as deans.
Senior Advisor Daves-Rougeaux most recently served as the K-14 technical assistance provider for the Bay Area Community College Consortium where he championed equity-driven workforce development initiatives, oversaw funding, development and assessment of college and career pathways across more than 400 school and college districts. Additionally, he serves as an ambassador for Battery Powered, a philanthropic group supporting local and global social justice nonprofits.
Dean Robles was previously the vice president of equity and institutional effectiveness at Madera Community College. She has previously served as workforce development dean for the Los Angeles Community College District and dean of business, computer science and CTE for Solano Community College District. Robles started her career in higher education at the California Community Colleges State Chancellor’s Office as a program assistant.
Dean Ochoa has more than 11 years of experience in program and grants management, fiscal stewardship, program evaluation, strategic planning and policy work aimed at increasing access for California’s underserved and underrepresented communities. She previously worked with the California Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities at the Department of Rehabilitation and has worked in the non-profit sector advancing independence and access for persons with disabilities.
Dean Adams has previously worked as a policy and budget analyst for the West Virginia Legislature and California Legislature, an assistant to the chancellor of the statewide higher education governing board in West Virginia and as a senior budget consultant in the Governor’s Office of Policy and Planning in California. He’s also held roles as statewide administrator, director of grants and contracts management at a state university and as teaching faculty at two California community colleges.
The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation, composed of 73 districts and 116 colleges serving 1.9 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 2030, 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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