Upstairs in the 1600 building. Past the glass doors. Tucked behind the front counter of easily the most important office on campus. A woman sits quietly. Out of the way, as if she’s avoiding a spotlight, making a front-facing position feel like it’s in the shadows.
But really, Angelica Cazarez is the guardian of the door, the one that leads to President Dyrell Foster.
She peaks up when she hears people entering. She handles all the first greetings. All first impressions. Prepared for any question. Her voice is soft, but her presence brings order to everything for this critical space. The Office of the President.
That makes Cazarez, senior administrative assistant of Dr. Dyrell Foster, one of the most integral people on campus.
“She is the right hand to the president,” one administrator said. “She does the job with style and grace.”
Cazarez is one example of the many women of Las Positas who are highly regarded for their influence and impact. Their fingerprints are all over campus. In August, Niche — a popular website that provides in-depth information about American schools — ranked Las Positas the No. 2 community college in California and No. 4 in the nation. Part of what makes this campus worthy of such recognition is the work of talented, important and dedicated women.
We surveyed two dozen employees — administrators, faculty and staff — to get a picture of the most powerful women on campus. We asked each for 10 women on campus who were the most impactful. Some gave more than 10. They were granted anonymity, so they could be transparent with their answers.
The aim was not to rank the women but to find out who really makes this school go.
The results revealed some clear powerbrokers on campus. Foster, the third male of the eight presidents in LPC history, is the face of the campus. But the people who run the school pulled back the curtain on others significant figures who get things done, who executes the work that matters most. The silent hands with pivotal tasks.
Of all the respondents, two were most regularly at or near the top: Jeanne Wilson and Nan Ho.
“Seeing women in these positions of power is like — woah,” one respondent said. “It trickles down directly to the students. And I feel like Nan and Jeanne are very intentional in those spaces. They understand just how much being present makes a difference. Just physically being in the space shows the students they care. People notice that.”
This list is not exhaustive. These aren’t the only women on campus who affect change, support students and make this school what it is. But the women listed are identified because their names and work were mentioned frequently.
Jeanne Wilson
Vice President of Student Services
“She’s a great listener. She thinks before she acts. Very humble and I’ve watched her and people just gravitate towards her. You have to have a lot of patience and I see that in her.”
Admission. Registration. Financial aid. Counseling. Admission. Tutoring centers. The Health and Wellness Center. DSPS. Standardized Assessment placement. Even the outreach programs.
Everything you can think of that directly impacts the student life at LPC, Wilson is all over it. From the minute students enroll at LPC, they are under Wilson’s wing. Her role is crucial in impacting how students feel directly. She takes it seriously. Wilson quickly responds to student emails. She’s known for showing up at events and talking to students. Her desire for their success is visible and tangible. She listens intently in meetings with the bosses that create crucial change.
She designs and orchestrates the student service program like a conductor.
It’s all aimed at getting Las Positas College students to the other side of where they want to be — while making it an enjoyable college experience.
Nan Ho
Vice President of Academic Services
“Admins like Nan Ho hold themselves to extremely high standards — thus, expectations are raised for everyone.”
Standards must be met.
Ho makes sure that everything students are hearing in the classroom fits with Las Positas’ standard of quality. She paves the road to graduation and transfer by constantly analyzing and enhancing what Las Positas offers and how it offers it. New programs and certificates. Curriculum revision. Transfer pathways. She manages the dispersal of the academic budget.
She enforces the opportunities for students. Ho oversees the other captains on campus. The deans and other academic services managers report to her. She supervises the overall structure of all the educational pathways at LPC. Every course students enroll in is part of her a calculated plan to prepare them for their next step.
Her expertise understands the landscape and the latest tools to provide what’s best for the success and equity of every student. She oversees the schedule. She supervised the continued growth and improvement of online learning to remain reachable by every student — including the new winter intersession. The writing and tutoring centers, the new STEAM building coming — that’s her work.
She is the mastermind behind how students build their minds. Nan Ho leads the leaders.
Amy Mattern
Dean of Arts and Humanities
“Amy goes the extra mile to support the programs she oversees. And she’s dean over a lot. She is invested enough to know what her people are doing and listens well enough to know what they need.”
The Literary Arts Festival. The globetrotting Talk Hawks. Theater productions and choral concerts. Art shows and student media. Some of LPC’s shining programs are under Mattern’s care.
As dean of the one of the largest academic divisions on campus, she governs a wide swath of departments and disciplines — many of them produce tangible work that allows the school to boast about the productivity and development that happens at LPC.
Mattern is hands-on with her programs, which require a solid understanding on her part as she navigates funding, hiring and extracurriculars. Mattern is versed in everything from newspaper printing to film festivals, from Steinway pianos to linguistic justice. She manages some of the most-coveted facilities on campus, including everything in the Mertes Center for the Arts. She is active in the building and renovation projects for her division, including the massive upgrade of the media lab coming in 2026.
Emails about accomplishments and happenings are constantly coming from her division. She is also chair of the Art on Campus Taskforce, beautifying the campus with public art. So in more ways than one, Mattern does a lot to help make LPC look good.
Sarah Thompson
President of the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges
Chair of The Think Tank
Co-Chair of the Legislation and Budget Committee
“She is a force to be reckoned with. I’ve seen her develop from a faculty leader at LPC to a statewide leader. She has a nuanced view of politics and the state education budget that allows her to work effectively for change to benefit the faculty, the students and the entire California Community College System.”
Sarah Thompson, a faculty member in LPC’s Sociology department, sits at the throne of community college faculty in California. The FACCC is her baby. She runs the meetings and influences the budget for all faculty. Her job is to strengthen their teaching conditions and shape the policies that affect the entire California community college system.
Another notch on her belt is Co-Chair of the Legislation and Budget Committee. In simple terms. She leads the group that reviews proposed laws affecting California Community Colleges and recommends whether FACCC should support or oppose them.
Thompson, a former long-time Academic Senate president, also helps organize advocacy efforts here at LPC by influencing the research, planning and communication to change statewide policies.
As chair of The Think Tank, she essentially leads a small study group dedicated to finding out ways to improve community colleges. She discovers what’s not working and finds the solution. Whether that be introducing new policies, talking with lawmakers or changing the funding formula.
Tamica Ward
Dean of Enrollment Services
“Tamica Ward is the only thing in between when a student says, “I’m thinking about applying,” to then saying, ‘I start classes in the fall.’ ”
Admission & Records. Financial Aid for students. Support in enrollment and registration. Ward breaks down those barriers that might prevent students from enrolling.
Ward governs the entire enrollment ecosystem and implements strategies that get students coming back. From application to graduation day, Ward sees students through.
Waitlists can be daunting. So can dropped classes. Ward’s job is to pick students up. Her team communicates directly with students, ensuring they are on track to complete their desired plan — whether earning an associate’s degree, a transfer degree or certificates of achievement or completion. All of these paths are awarded under Ward’s care, enabling students to move to the next part of their journey.
Ward’s aim is for LPC to be a springboard for students. Whatever they’re doing next, success is more likely because of her work.
Heike Gecox
Full-time Faculty in Counseling/Psychology
President of the CLPCCD Faculty Association
“She is a woman of many hats. The first faculty from LPC to ever hold the position of president of Chabot-Las Positas College Faculty Association — and she just happens to be a woman.”
Heike Gecox is a backbone.
She is first a full-time counselor. She helps students coordinate the path to get where they’re going. Her guidance and structure are central to getting students through classes efficiently and responsibly.
She is also president of the district’s Faculty Association.
She sets the agendas for all faculty at Las Positas and Chabot. When contracts come up, she advocates for the faculty. She provides leadership to give faculty a voice in critical domains. As part of her team, the faculty grievance officer protects faculty rights. The other team members participate in many shared governance committees to support faculty, such as curriculum development, professional development and setting campus policy.
Compensation. New teaching strategies. Equity and inclusion. New technology. Modernized curriculum. Working conditions. Gecox is at the top of the totem pole of support for critical components of the campus.
Kristy Woods
Mathematics Professor
“She is the queen of Guided Pathways. Her mantra, ‘This is an Us thing.’ “
Perhaps the best way to explain Woods’ relentless support of students is that she’s a dyslexic math professor. Perhaps nothing sends the message of LPC’s Caring Campus initiative like a math teacher being open about her learning disability.
But it fits Woods, who is so much more than the standard mathematics professor.
Woods exists on campus at the heart of student success — whether it be transferring, degree achievement or just getting a job. She provides leadership on the Student Equity and Achievement committee and Guided Pathways. She is essential to the school’s mission to meet students where they are, whatever the situation, and strategically close the gap between them and their goals.
Woods also helps with the college’s Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) grants and works with the STEM Guided Pathways team to improve support for science and math students.
She also runs LPC’s Math Jam and Concurrent Supports programs. Giving weekly help, extra practice and homework support in mathematics.
Carolyn Scott
Executive Assistant to the VP of Academic Services
“An absolute gem. She is pretty spectacular.”
Being Nan Ho’s assistant would be enough to make Scott integral on campus. Things get done, and done right, because Scott is reputed for being excellent at her job. She exudes warmth and friendliness, yet is universally understood for not being one to play with.
“When someone wants to make sure something gets done, they’ll give it to me,” Scott once told The Express.
But here influence isn’t just about being connected to power. She’s a force all her own.
She played a pivotal role in getting the Black Cultural Resource Center on campus. She served as president of the Black Education Association. She was honored as Classified Employee of the Year Award in 2022 by the California Community Colleges’ Board of Governors for her “care and compassion toward all” and being a “respected voice for equitable outcomes” for students from underserved populations. Scott prefers the background but isn’t shy about advocating for diversity and access.
Aubrie Ross
Senior Administrative Assistant for the Business, Social Science and Learning Resource Division
President of Classified Senate
“Our campus cannot run without her. We need our classified team. She operates on behalf of them.”
The Classified staff at Las Positas represents everyone on campus who isn’t an administrator or professor. Technical support. Instructional assistants. Office support. Maintenance and operations. These voices need to be heard when deciding about college governance.
Ross is their voice.
As president of the Classified Senate, Ross ensures that policies and changes reflect input from everyone on campus. Not just the higher-ups. She is the bridge of communication between the classified staff, administration and faculty leaders.
She’s also a cog in a critical division. The BSSL division joins together a range of different academic departments. Ethics Studies and Sociology. Global Studies. Political Science. Business. Marketing. The list goes on. Ross directly supports her dean, Michelle Simotas, new to the position, and makes sure this pivotal division runs smoothly. The daily tasks of the division are managed by her talents.
Vicki Shipman
Career Technical Education Project Manager
“There’s that old saying: If you want to find the power, follow the money. That’s her.”
Career Technical Education (CTE) funds are critical to much of what happens on campus. One of the strengths of Las Positas is its ability to prepare students for careers through hands-on experience and professional-quality elements. But that costs money.
And Shipman provides.
She runs the operational side of the CTE grants that fund a lot of the programs and workforce initiatives. When a program needs money to make something happen, Shipman’s expertise is finding a way.
“What I love about Vicki is that she has the purse, and she wants to open it. She not only finds the money, she helps you cut through the red tape to get it.”
More Powerful Women
These women were also consistently recognized by their colleagues as integral on campus
Michelle Gonzales
She heads the Journalism and Media Studies program, which produces the student-run newspaper, magazine, literary journal and podcast network.
Savannah Richardson
She runs the Black Cultural Resource Center, a vibrant community hub on campus and a beacon for LPC’s diversity efforts.
Yvette Nanihu
She is VP Jeanne Wilson’s assistant, her right hand when it comes to prepping students’ futures.
Ashley Young
She is a mathematics professor and Academic Senate President, an incredibly influential leader among her colleagues.
Ashley Mchale
A mathematics professor on campus while also VP to Academic Senate for Ashley Young, always stepping up to lead to support her president.
Melissa Korber
She runs the Journalism and Media Studies program, which includes all student-run publications, where she encourages and guides them towards their passion for storytelling.
Sheena Turner August
A psychology professor and practicing therapist, she teaches and offers professional insight on campus.
***
TOP PHOTO: Hawks freshman Zepora Tia soars in for a push over the net against Cabrillo College on Oct. 31 at The Nest. (Photo illustration by Envato Elements)
Camille Leduc is the Editor-in-Chief of The Express. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @CLeduc7603.
