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The mission of the SJCA Institute is to provide a practitioner’s and educator’s grounding in social justice and identity training that is paired with strategies, development and the establishment of a peer network, aimed at career advancement and growing equity-based institutional effectiveness across the system.
The program’s content is focused on the individual’s understanding and development of their own identity, and strategies for impacting anti-racist and socially just structures through constructive management practices that will be replicated throughout community colleges in California.
The Institute is the result of a collaboration between the California Community College Chancellor’s Office and ACCCA. The goal of this effort is to directly support the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility [DEIA] focus of the Vision 2030, by assisting in the development of administrators who foster more equitable and diverse institutional practices at their campuses within the California community college system.
INSTRUCTORS
Dr. Alejandro Covarrubias is the President and Founder of Foundations for Hope & Justice Consulting. He is an organizational development consultant grounded in equity, diversity, inclusion, and justice.
His professional experiences include serving as the Executive Director of Equity, Access, and Belonging at California Polytechnic University, Pomona; and serving as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Leadership Studies at the University of San Francisco. He is currently faculty for the Social Justice Training Institute; and has over 15 years of experience as a Social Justice consultant working with universities, tech start-ups, and non-profits across the country.
Dr. Covarrubias completed his B.A. in psychology at Gonzaga University; he received an M.S. in Student Affairs in Higher Education and a graduate certificate in Women’s Studies from Colorado State University. Alejandro earned his Ed.D. in International and Multicultural Education with an emphasis in Human Rights Education from the University of San Francisco. Alejandro is grounded in the power of critical hope and approaches social justice work through an intersectional and analytical lens that bridges the power of storytelling with theoretical foundations. He is dedicated to challenging himself and others to think critically about liberation and justice through the head, the heart, and the body. www.covarrubiasconsulting.com
dr. becky martinez is the President of Infinity Martinez Consulting. She identifies as a Mixed-Race Woman of Color and Class Straddler, both of which inform how they show up in this work. Her approach as a consultant the past 25 years is to provide people and organizations the opportunities for learning, healing and transformation. dr. martinez navigates with the understanding that systems are created and maintained by people, people have the capacity to change, and that change has the capacity to shift systems. With that in mind, I create spaces that are purposeful for critical self-reflection, authentic dialogue, learning, and
practice for engagement and change.
Her career portfolio includes being an organization development consultant, trainer and coach, and she has also worked as a student affairs administrator within the California State University and the University of California systems and private liberal arts colleges. dr. martinez works with a range of organizations and provides services including coaching, keynotes, workshops, training sessions and retreats, and long-term organizational change processes. She is a faculty member with the Social Justice Training Institute, a Co-Leads Facilitator for LeaderShape, a Foundation Board member with the American College Personnel Association, and an Intercultural Development Inventory qualified administrator. As a first-generation white-collar professional, she is incredibly proud of contributing to inclusion work focusing on social class identity and class(ism), particularly in the context of higher education. dr. martinez holds a Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership from the University of La Verne with research focused on transformative learning, social justice and racism, a Master of Science in Student Affairs in Higher Education from Colorado State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from the University of La Verne. To learn more about dr. becky martinez and her work, visit Infinity Martinez Consulting at www.infinitymartinez.com.
INSTITUTE COMPONENTS
A 3-day residency will be facilitated that is focused on social justice theories, practices, and the exploration of individual and intersectional identities. Participants will develop a shared language as the cohort moves forward to begin this collective experience.
While other ACCCA programs incorporate DEIA themes, the SJCA Institute is grounded in these principles, and they form the core of our content which also includes a deep exploration of personal identities and engagement strategies.
By exploring individual, interpersonal and systemic level barriers, as well as the opportunities and strategies that exist, the cohort will be equipped to envision how and where they want to be as exemplary leaders.
At the Academy the cohort will explore concepts of power, privilege, access and impact through various large and small-group sessions facilitated by nationally recognized trainers. By fostering a network of diverse colleagues across the state, the Institute seeks to further the Vision 2030 goals by investing in individual leaders whose work will have a ripple effect on students and other campus constituents.
The institute also aligns with similar equity-driven programs by other organizations, yet it differs by gathering a diverse and intersectional cohort to engage in inter-community conversations, intra community building, and awareness of other system-wide resources available. Specifically, participants will have the opportunity to connect with other identity-based organizations serving the California Community College system and find ways to support their individual and intersectional identities as they do the work ahead.
Following the Academy, cohort participants will engage in 6 independent, monthly workshops and trainings that are facilitated primarily virtually, and focus on the individual’s career advancement within the strategies and practical applications of socially just administrative practices [i.e., skills assessment, resume development, job search techniques, mock interviews] in the context of successfully performing within systems and working through existing structures to improve practices through an equity lens.
In addition to the two elements of the 2024 Institute, development is underway on a third component that will provide the opportunity for cohort participants to continue to engage and grow as mentors by coaching future cohort participants.
The peer mentoring/coaching component [DIAL a Colleague] is now being designed and is estimated to be added to the Institute in year 3 of the pilot program. It will allow selected cohort participants who have participated in years 1 and 2 to access further development by engaging as a mentor or coach to year 3 participants.
By sharing their earned wisdom and lived experiences, and guiding future participants through their cohort journey, these mentors can actively participate in building and sustaining a strong leadership pipeline within the system.
Once incorporated into the Institute in year 3, this element will feature training and guidance sessions to ensure standardization and alignment with program outcomes.
- Participants will explore and gain confidence in mastering dialogue skills in sensitive conversations around identity, bias, power, privilege, and their intersections.
- Participants will explore trauma-informed care principles that center healing, wellness, and self-care around marginalized identities.
- Participants will gain skills in recruiting, supporting, retaining, and developing historically excluded [meaning marginalized groups based on race/ethnicity, indigenous status, ability/disability, gender and sexual orientation] job candidates for success in their careers.
- Participants will develop the ability to successfully navigate their next steps professionally while nurturing practices that will scale across their institutions. This skill development can be applied to achieve higher levels of responsibility and professional success in their careers within the California community colleges.
- Participants will gain increased levels of confidence and a sense of belongingness, inclusion, and support across communities and in their career pathway as they help to create transformational change system-wide. Their confidence will further ensure they share their experiences and knowledge with others and elevate others to develop self-awareness of dominant and marginalized identities and how they intersect to create unique leadership styles and opportunities.
WHO?
The Institute is designed for Community College Administrative and Management Professionals. The program is targeted to historically excluded constituencies [meaning marginalized groups inclusive of race/ethnicity, indigenous status, ability/disability, gender and sexual orientation] and the ally community that supports them.
It will be open to those within that spectrum who are seeking a deeper understanding of, and expanded engagement in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility environments, including those requiring a better understanding of the scope of integrating established social justice standards into institutional structures.
Special consideration will be given to those who currently work directly with students, and also for those working in positions having a potential to impact campus culture, or who occupy other spheres of influence with the campus community or at the state level.
WHEN?
June 26-28, 2024
WHERE?
ORANGE COUNTY, CA
HOW?
APPLY ONLINE BY MAY 10, 2024
FULL & PARTIAL SCHOLARSHIPS
Because this is a pilot program being phased in over three years, all participants that are ultimately selected for the first year of the Institute, will be provided with a scholarship to cover the entire registration fee.
Participants will only be responsible for covering their travel and accommodations for the initial 3-day residency of the program.
