The Peralta Community College District’s Board of Trustees, at its annual organizational meeting held on December 9, 2015, elected new officers for 2016.
William “Bill” Riley, Ed.D., who represents Area 5, was elected President of the nine-member board, and Julina Bonilla, representing Area 7, was elected Vice President. Jowel C. Laguerre, Ph.D, Chancellor of the District, was elected Board Secretary. Outgoing president, Meredith Brown, who represents Area 2, was honored at the meeting for her work leading the Board in 2015.
Nicky González Yuen, Area 4, Cy Gulassa, Area 6, Linda Handy, Area 3, Bill Withrow, Area 1, and Meredith Brown, continue to serve on the Board. Student Trustees Adrien Abuyen and Justin Hyche also serve on the nine-member board.
“I look forward to working with my fellow Trustees, and Chancellor Laguerre, in the coming year to ensure that the Peralta Colleges continue to provide educational opportunities to our community’s students,” said President Riley.
“The key initiatives I will personally be committed to this year are closing the achievement gap, addressing accreditation matters and providing scholarships for our students to ensure everyone who wants to can go to one of our four community colleges,” President Riley added.
President Riley was first elected to the Board of Trustees in 1998 and represents an area that includes Oakland’s Rockridge District and the City of Piedmont. He has served as President of the Board twice and also as Vice President. He is a Merritt College alumnus and served as Student Body President. Dr. Riley has worked in public education for over 40 years, including at the Alameda County Office of Education, the Oakland Unified School District, the East Palo Alto/Ravenswood and the San Ramon School Districts. He earned an Ed.D., in Educational Policy and a B.A. in Sociology and Physical Education from the University of San Francisco and an M.A. in Educational Administration from San Francisco State University.
Vice President Bonilla is a Solano Community College graduate and received her B. A. from U. C. Berkeley. She is a former Oakland elementary school teacher and eventually moved into workforce development providing education and job training to young adults in Northern California. Her community work and active memberships include serving as the Board Vice President of Tradeswomen Inc. and in the National Women’s Political Caucus-AN. She has served as a member of the Oakland Workforce Investment Board and co-chair of the Oakland Youth Council. Currently, she is the Program Director of the West Oakland Job Resource Center. She was first elected to the board in 2014.
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