Twenty Austin Community College faculty, staff, students, and community partners have been appointed by ACC President/CEO Dr. Richard Rhodes to serve on a new Equity Leadership Advisory Team charged with developing strategies for advancing success equity.

Dr. Mark Gooden presents at an orientation session for the Equity Leadership Advisory Team.

The group will spend the next two years developing and proposing policies, practices, and tools that can be adopted collegewide and integrated with other college initiatives for recruitment, retention, and completion. They also will lead subcommittees focusing on the following areas:

• Leadership development for equity
• Data collection, analysis, and use
• Institutionalizing cultural proficiency and culturally responsive teaching
• Engaging underserved communities
• Institutional assessment and evaluation of equity efforts

“Inclusion and success equity have always been part of ACC’s mission,” says Dr. Molly Beth Malcolm, vice president of ACC’s Community Engagement and Public Affairs Division, which oversees the Office of Equity and Inclusion, led by Dr. Stephanie Hawley, associate vice president of equity and inclusion. “This committee will work to advance efforts to achieve equity in recruitment, retention, and completion.”

The group will participate in a February 3 Regional Equity Summit at Eastview Campus, an event for the college and community. Details about the Summit will be shared in the coming weeks.

Equity Leadership Advisory Team members are:

ACC faculty and staff

• Chris Cervini, director of public affairs
• Steve Christopher, executive director of special populations
• Loretta Edelen, director of community engagement
• Heather Elias, coordinator of high school research and outreach
• Haydeana Gaviria, leader, Cultural Competence Work Group, member of TACHE
• Mary Harris, vice president of institutional planning, development, & evaluation
• Rennison Lalgee. professor of sociology
• Willie Martinez, associate vice president of student success and analytics; member of TACHE
• Giao Phan, department chair of educational instruction
• Frank Reid, professor of management

ACC students

• Brayden Brechler
• Ellen de Castro
• Juan Zuniga

Community partners

• Raul Alvarez, executive director, CAN (Community Advancement Network)
• Laura Brady, director, Opportunity Youth Collaborative
• Mark Gooden, professor, Department Of Educational Administration, College of Education, The University of Texas at Austin; director of Principalship Program, and PSEL coordinator
• Christopher Kennedy, executive director, Leadership Austin
• Victor Obaseki, education policy analyst at University of Texas at Austin; CAN Board member; member of the Greater Austin Black Chamber of Commerce
• Jeremy Solomons, International Diversity and Inclusion Consultant
• Angela Ward, specialist, cultural proficiency & inclusiveness, Austin Independent School District

Tags: Equity Leadership Advisory Team, Equity Summit