Chriztopher Johnson has worked as a professional in the field of higher education since 2008. He started his career with the University-Student Union at California State University, Los Angeles, where he coordinated on and off campus art, music, entertainment, and community service events. In this role, he discovered his passion for working with first-time freshmen to help close their retention gap, and developed the Freshman Activities Board to program community-building events specifically for this population. From there, Chriztopher helped to create a new department, New Student and Family Engagement, where he currently serves as its founding director and is able to focus his efforts on equitable retention programs designed to support first-year students. In addition to overseeing new student orientation, Chriztopher and his team also coordinate the university’s family engagement efforts, implementing a year-long workshop series for parents and family support members, as well as social events and volunteer opportunities. He also coordinates a peer mentoring program that provides social and academic support for first-year Black freshmen and transfer students and their allies, and leads a cross-divisional workgroup that focuses on the success of young men of color. Chriztopher completed his undergraduate degree at Duke University and his graduate degree at the University of Southern California. Chriztopher previously served as the Awards Coordinator, Member-at-Large, and Director of Membership for CCPA, and is a recipient of the ACPA Innovative Practice Award.

Jose L Medina III (he/him) is a Central Valley Native born and raised in Merced, a city in the center of California. His commitment to the region and higher education forms his personal mission to promote college access for those who come from the surrounding rural communities. Prior to his current role in the Division of External Relations at the University of California, Merced (UC Merced), Jose served as a Graduate Student Services Advisor with the School of Engineering (2022-2023) at UC Merced, inaugural Admissions Outreach Specialist in the College of Osteopathic Medicine at California Health Sciences University (2022) as well as various roles within the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management and the Division of Academic Affairs at Fresno State (2018-2022).

Prior to his current role as President-Elect, Jose served as Director of Membership (2022-2023) and Graduate Student Representative (2020-2022). Jose also serves as the Co-Chair of Outreach for the Staff and Faculty of Color Association at UC Merced. Jose is committed to the Central Valley region and is proud that his scholarly and professional work has been invested in promoting college access to students in the region. Jose received a BA in History and an M.S. in Counseling – Student Affairs and College Counseling option (with distinction) from Fresno State. He is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) in Higher Education Administration from St. Cloud State University. With deep ties to the Valley and a strong connection to the Merced community, he is committed to continuing to support, mentor, advocate, and research best practices to serve the students of the Valley.

Samantha Bautista (she/her/hers), is a first-generation college graduate student, and an aspiring higher education professional. Samantha received her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a minor in Criminology in Spring 2021, and anticipates to graduate with her Masters degree in Counseling- Student Affairs and College Counseling in Spring 2023 from California State University, Fresno. She is currently serving as the AANAPISI (Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander- Serving Institution) Work-Based Learning Experiences Project Coordinator for the AANAPISI Initiative at Fresno State, which is a support program for Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Criminology students. She has dedicated over 5 years of experience of working with students from diverse backgrounds, and seeks to continue to provide support for students throughout their college journey. Samantha is passionate about serving students, seeking professional development opportunities, and making connections across campuses to increase equity-minded practices.

Dr. Belisle has a BA in Sociology with a minor in Education from UC Santa Cruz. After taking some time to work with elementary youth in the Bay Area, she went on to pursue her MA from Teachers College, Columbia University in Sociology and Education with an emphasis in Education Policy. She also graduated with her Ph.D. from the joint program at San Diego State University and Claremont Graduate University in Education with an emphasis in Student Affairs and Higher Education. She has over eight years’ experience working in higher education and over fifteen years’ experience in education overall. In her current role, she directly supports the implementation of the university strategic plan, and campus wide diversity initiatives. In addition to being the instructor for the Presidential Scholars program, she oversees the following areas: career services, program evaluation, compliance and assessment and digital marketing and creative services. Dr. Belisle’s research interests extend to supporting all marginalized students whether through multicultural education and other diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and/or through effective collaboration across and within academic and student affairs.

Janrey Javier is a first-generation student, cis-het male, Asian American, Filipino American, and child of immigrants. He finished his undergraduate studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston and his master’s at University of San Francisco, completing the MA Organization & Leadership program with a focus in Higher Education Leadership. His research interests centers around the experiences of Asian American student leaders and explores how race, education, and community engagement impacts their development. Janrey’s first exposure to ethnic studies was through the Asian American Studies department at UMass Boston, influencing him to co-trip lead an alternative spring break trip dedicated to Asian American mental health in response to anti-Asian hate incited during the COVID-19 pandemic. Inspired by his collaborative work with other Asian American student leaders, he studied Asian American student leadership development in Massachusetts public higher education institutions for his undergraduate honors thesis. After a harmful graduate school experience, Janrey took a leap of faith and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to work full-time at California College of the Arts. Transferring to the University of San Francisco urged him to reflect on his previous experiences more critically, which led to his master’s thesis exploring the gaps of his previous research. Janrey currently works at the University of California, Berkeley and seeks to pursue a doctorate education to further study the phenomenon of Asian American student leadership using comparative racialization analysis.

Julia Stanton received her master’s in Higher Education and Student Affairs from Indiana University and has worked in orientation, first-year experience programs, residential life, student conduct, and student activities. After moving to California, Julia got involved with CCPA in 2013, supporting the annual CCPA Institute planning. In 2017, she won the award for Outstanding Service to the Association, served as CCPA’s Director of Professional Development from 2017-2018, and most recently served as President of CCPA from 2019-2021. She has worked for three different universities in California and currently works as the Director of Orientation Programs at Loyola Marymount University. 

I am a first-generation, Queer, Chicano/Latino man from Bell Gardens, California. I did my undergrad at UCLA where I majored in Chicana/o Studies and had a minor in Disability Studies. I was involved in multiple student organizing efforts, particularly related to student-run programs to support students from marginalized backgrounds. These efforts led me to pursue a career in student affairs, leading me to the Student Affairs in Higher Education program (SAHE) at Colorado State (CSU), which I will be graduating from in May 2023. I have worked in Housing for 2 years as an Assistant Resident Manager, and also was the Graduate Student Coordinator for the Symposium for Inclusive Excellence. I also am completing a practicum as a Graduate Student Advisor for the Associated Students of Colorado State University (ASCSU), working closely with the organization’s two advisors.I have recently accepted a position as Project Coordinator for MEChA Calmécac back at UCLA, where I will be starting by summer 2023.

Ashley Gutierrez has passionately supported first generation students across the elementary, middle school, high school, and college levels. She attended Reedley Community College for 4 years and transferred to Fresno State where she obtained her BA in History in 2018. After taking 3 years off of school, she returned back to Fresno State to pursue her master's degree and has worked in different Fresno State programs such as Academic Success Coaching, the Transfer Success Center, and Dog Days Orientation. In 2023, Ashley was nominated for the Graduate Dean's Medalist Award for her contributions to the Fresno State campus community, as well as successfully earning her Master's in Student Affairs & College Counseling. She is currently the Counselor/Coordinator for the Dual Enrollment/High School Enrichment program at Reedley Community College where she has taught college and life skills courses, while also providing equitable college access across the Central CA rural communities. She is hopeful that her presentation, "Forever Changed: The Lasting Impacts of COVID-19 on Latinx College Students & High Education", will help others understand how the pandemic is still affecting higher education campuses and college students.