Commissioners

Dr. Lori Gaskin began her service in 2016. She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Nevada, and an M.A. in Geography and a B.A. in Geography from the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Gaskin retired in August, 2016 as Superintendent/President of Santa Barbara City College after four years. She previously served as the President of West Valley College for three years, and as Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Services, Acting Superintendent/President, and Dean of Instruction at Lake Tahoe Community College for 17 years. She began her career in higher education as a faculty member at Barstow College. Dr. Gaskin has experience in institutional planning, fiscal oversight, bond oversight, educational policies and practices, participatory governance, and institutional accountability. She has served on a total of six comprehensive evaluation and follow-up teams as chair and as a member.

Dr. Kathleen Burke began her service in 2019. Currently, she is the Interim President at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, which focuses on programs in career education, including Advanced Transportation and Manufacturing; Construction, Maintenance, and Utilities; Culinary Arts; Fashion and Media Design; Cosmetology and Barbering; and Health and Related Sciences. Prior to her current position, Dr. Burke was the Chancellor of the South Orange County Community College District. Dr. Burke has over 42 years of experience in the California Community College System, including service as college president, vice president, and academic dean for 17 years in the Los Angeles Community College District, and as a faculty member for over 20 years at Glendale Community College. She has chaired three comprehensive review teams and served as a team member on seven additional peer review teams for ACCJC. Dr. Burke holds a Doctorate of Education in Institutional Management from Pepperdine University; a Master of Arts in Art, from California State University, Northridge; a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art, both from the University of California, Irvine; and an Associate of Arts in Humanities from Glendale Community College.

Mr. Michael Claire began his service in 2019. He is the Chancellor of the San Mateo County Community College District, where he works with the Board of Trustees and all stakeholders to develop and implement strategic, tactical, and operational plans to achieve the district mission and to improve student access and success. He supervises district staff and the college presidents of the district’s three colleges: Cañada College, College of San Mateo, and Skyline College. Prior to becoming interim Chancellor in 2019, Mr. Claire worked at College of San Mateo for most of his 30+ year career, serving as the President for thirteen years. He also served as Vice President of Instruction, Dean of the Technology Division, and as a faculty member, teaching accounting, business, and computer application courses. Mr. Claire has experience in strategic planning, fiscal management, educational master planning, and facilities planning. He has served on seven accreditation reaffirmation visits, chairing five of those visits, and on a number of follow-up visits. Mr. Claire holds an M.B.A. and a B.S. in Business Administration, both from California State University, East Bay; and an A.A. in Business Administration from Cañada College. He is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Mr. Jeffrey K. Ball (“Jeff”) began his service in 2022. He is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Orange County Business Council where he represents the interests of local businesses and organizations in promoting the region’s economic prosperity. He is the Founder of Friendly Hills Bank in Whittier where he previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer and is currently Vice Chair of the Board. Prior to opening Friendly Hills Bank he held several officer positions with BankAmerica Corporation focused on both Commercial and Investment Banking. Mr. Ball is a leading advocate for the importance of Financial Education in all communities and was the lead petitioner in the establishment of Kinetic Academy, a K-8 charter school located in Huntington Beach, California where he currently serves as Vice Chair. Mr. Ball is a Past Chair of the California Bankers Association and Kinetic Academy, Past President of the Whittier Host Lions Club and Past Founding Chair of the Whittier Union High School District Foundation. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, Mobility21 and Data Center, Inc. as Chair of the Audit Committee. Mr. Ball is also a member by appointment of the Legal Services Trust Fund Commission of the California State Bar to which he previously served as Co-Chair chaired and is a Public Member of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. Mr. Ball frequently guest lectures on Financial and Economic principles at colleges and universities across the nation. He has a Masters in Business Administration from Whittier College and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration/Finance from the University of Puget Sound.

Mr. John Randy Beach began his service in 2018. He is Professor of English and Education at Southwestern College. He holds an M.A. in English from the University of Charleston, a B.A. in English from the College of Charleston, and a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of South Carolina.  He has served on three comprehensive evaluation teams since 2015 and has been involved in the creation of Southwestern College’s ISERs since 2009. He served three years as a member of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) Executive Committee and is a past chair of the ASCCC Accreditation and Assessment Committee. He has served as the Academic Senate President and the Institutional Program Review and Student Learning Outcomes Coordinator for Southwestern and is currently the Southwestern Curriculum Committee faculty co-chair.

Dr. David Broad began is service in 2022. He is the retired Vice President/General Manager of Oceanside Product Operations at Genentech, Inc., a biotechnology corporation. During his career in biotechnology, Dr. Broad became a biopharmaceutical process development and manufacturing expert providing strategic and technical guidance related to the development, scale-up, manufacturing, and outsourcing for a wide range of biologics. He served in high-level management and executive positions working under Food and Drug Administration regulations and employee Good Manufacturing Practices to ensure Quality Assurance and continual improvement. In addition to his career in biotechnology, Dr. Broad is an outgoing Trustee at MiraCosta Community College where he  ended his service in May 2022 after 11 years, six of which as President. He based his trusteeship on the belief that good governance and leadership are critical to ensuring community colleges can fulfil their mission to serve all members of the community. During his time as Trustee, he used his executive and leadership experience to help develop and stabilize trustee and CEO relations and was actively involved in the college’s reaffirmation of accreditation process. Dr. Broad also volunteers as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), advocating for youth going through the foster system, and is a Commissioner on the Oceanside Manufactured Homes Fair Practices Commission. Dr. Broad holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology and a B.Sc. in Microbiology, both from the University of London.

Dr. Daisy Gonzales began her service in 2019. She is the Deputy Chancellor for the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, the state agency responsible for setting policy and guidance for 73 districts and 116 colleges. She coordinates the divisions of Academic Affairs; Student Services and Special Programs; Economic Development and Workforce Preparation; and the Institutional Effectiveness Partnership Initiative (IEPI). She is also responsible for tracking and implementing the Vision for Success, the systems comprehensive plan to improve student outcomes at California’s 116 community colleges. Prior to joining the Chancellor’s Office, Dr. Gonzales was the principal consultant for the Assembly Appropriations Committee for the California State Legislature where she was responsible for subject matter expertise, analysis, and political strategy in the areas of higher education, K-12 education, and jobs and economic development. She earned her bachelor’s degree in public policy from Mills College and her master’s and Ph.D. degrees in sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Dr. Erika Lacro began her service in 2019. As Vice President for Community Colleges since 2019, she oversees the University of Hawaiʻi’s (UH) seven community colleges. Dr. Lacro has served in the UH system since 2002. She was the first woman Chancellor and served as Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs at Honolulu Community College. She held executive and managerial positions at UH Mānoa School of Travel Industry Management and at Hawaiʻi’s largest resort. Dr. Lacro has chaired several ACCJC comprehensive review teams and is a former Commissioner for the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. She is active nationally in Achieving the Dream, Complete College America, Global Community Colleges Leadership Network, and Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. Internationally, she is on the board for Community Colleges for International Development. Dr. Lacro holds a Ph.D. in Communication and Information Sciences; an M.S. in Travel Industry Management; and a B.S. in Travel Industry Management, Hotel Management Emphasis, all from the University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa.

Dr. Cynthia Napoli-Abella Reiss began her service in 2018. She is an Art History Professor at West Valley College in Saratoga. She has served on three comprehensive evaluation teams since 2012 and has been involved in accreditation at West Valley where she has also served as Vice-President of the Academic Senate. Dr. Napoli-Abella Reiss holds two B.A. degrees in Comparative Literature and in Art History from the University of California, Irvine; a Master’s in Art History from San Francisco State University; a Doctorate in Art History from the University of California, Irvine; and a Certificate in Educational Leadership from Harvard University.

Dr. Ángel Reyna began his service in 2022. He is President of Madera Community College. In May 2019, Dr. Reyna was hired as founding president to lead the institution through Initial Accreditation to become the fourth college within the State Center Community College District (SCCCD). As President, he worked with faculty, staff, and students to establish Madera Community College’s inaugural Mission, Vision, Values, Educational Master Plan, Strategic Plan, and Governance Structure, and re-imagined the organizational structure to support an equity-minded campus culture. He has taken on leadership roles related to equity and anti-racism within SCCCD and the California community college system, for which he serves on the statewide CEO Racial Equity and Inclusive Excellence Taskforce. Dr. Reyna’s career includes nearly 8 years as an elected official for the City of Mabton (Washington State) including three and a half years as mayor. His prior roles in higher education include Vice President of Instruction at Renton Technical College where he also chaired the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council; Dean of Workforce Education at Walla Walla Community College; and Director for Workforce Education and ESL Adjunct Instructor at Yakima Valley Community College. He served on the Washington State Community and Technical Colleges’ Cross-Institutional Faculty of Color Mentorship Advisory Board, Washington Workforce Education Council, and Washington State Board of Health, and he founded a statewide leadership program for aspiring administrators of color. Dr. Reyna holds an Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership, from Northeastern University; and a Master’s in Education Leadership and a B.A. in History Education, both from Washington State University.

Dr. Katherine Thorossian began her service in 2022. She is the retired Superintendent of Monrovia Unified School District. As Superintendent she oversaw a district comprised of approximately 5,400 students and 700 employees serving students in one pre-school, five elementary schools, two middle schools, one comprehensive high school, one continuation high school, one k-12 independent study program, and a robust adult education program. Dr. Thorossian’s career in education also includes service as an adjunct professor, at the University of California, Irvine; assistant superintendent and principal at the Glendale Unified School District; and assistant principal, grade level coordinator, and English teacher at Walnut Valley Unified School District. She is currently the Association of California School Administrators representative on the Accrediting Commission for Schools (ACS-WASC) and has served on school accreditation committees and visiting teams. Dr. Thorossian holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern California; an M.S. in Counseling with option in Administration from California State University, Los Angeles; and a B.A. in English Literature from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Dr. Jennifer Vega La Serna began her service with the Commission in July of 2020. She is Assistant Superintendent/Vice President of Academic Services and Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO) at College of the Sequoias. Dr. Vega La Serna’s career also includes positions as Academic Dean at College of the Sequoias, Director of the Ronald E. McNair Post baccalaureate Achievement Program at California State University, Dominguez Hills, and Senior Project Coordinator (Education Specialist) for the City of Los Angeles among other esteemed roles. She served as the President of the California Community College Chief Instructional Officers. Dr. Vega La Serna’s accreditation experience includes serving as ALO at College of the Sequoias since 2012, in which she has provided leadership at the College and District level through the sanction and reaffirmation process. She has served as an ACCJC team member on three visiting teams, including two comprehensive evaluation teams. Dr. Vega La Serna holds a Ph.D. in Education Policy, Planning and Administration and an M.S. in Teaching English as a Second Language from the University of Southern California, an M.A. in Education Counseling and Guidance from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, a B.A. in Liberal Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an A.A. in Liberal Studies from the College of the Sequoias.

Mr. Michael Zimmerman began his service with the Commission in October of 2019. He has been with Campus, formerly known as MTI College, since 2009, and began serving as the institution’s president in 2017. In addition to his responsibilities at Campus, he is a member of the board of directors for the California Association of Private Postsecondary Schools and is Vice Chair of the Golden Sierra Workforce Development Board. He served previously as a peer reviewer. Mr. Zimmerman holds a B.A. in Business Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.