Speakers

Dr. Edward Bush

President, Cosumnes River College

Dr. Edward Bush has over 22 years of experience in higher education. Since 2015, Dr. Bush has served as the President of Cosumnes River College in Sacramento, Ca. Prior to his position as College President, Dr. Bush served as a tenured associate faculty member in student life and leadership, Director of the Educational Talent Search federal TRIO grant, Dean of Student Services and Vice President of Student Services for seven years.

Dr. Bush’s leadership experience further includes his involvement on statewide committees and initiatives. Dr. Bush currently serves as the Area 2 representative for the California Community College League CEO Board, the CEO Representative for the state’s Chancellor Office Faculty Diversity Committee and the Chancellor’s Office Student Success Metrics Taskforce. Moreover, Dr. Bush is the co-founder and Board Member of African American Male Educational Network & Development Inc. (A2MEND), which is nationally recognized non-profit dedicated to improving the educational outcomes for African American men and other men of color enrolled in the California Community College system.

Dr. Bush is also a scholar practitioner and has served as an adjunct faculty members for several graduate programs. Moreover, Dr. Bush academic achievements includes; the co-authorship of 2 books, 2 book chapters, and 12 peer reviewed publications appearing in a variety of journals. Moreover Dr. Bush is a sought after speaker on issues relating to student success, equity, diversity, and leadership. He has been an invited presenter for numerous local, statewide, and national organizations.

Dr. Bush received his Bachelors of Arts degree in Political Science from University of California, Riverside, and Master’s Degree in Public Administration from California State University, San Bernardino, and his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Claremont Graduate University in Urban Educational Leadership. He and his wife Dr. Jenise Bush have a daughter who is a graduate of Spelman College and is now a second year law student at UC Irvine and a son who is a recent graduate of Morehouse College.

Dr. Brian King

Chancellor, Los Rios Community College District

Brian King has served as Chancellor for the four colleges in the Los Rios Community College District since 2013. Los Rios is one of the largest and most diverse districts in California. The District includes American River, Cosumnes River, Folsom Lake and Sacramento City colleges, and currently enrolls approximately 77,000 students each semester.

Founded in 1965, Los Rios has served more than 1.2 million students in its more than half century of existence. Los Rios graduates are key contributors at virtually every business and organization in the capital region. The strength and vitality of the Sacramento area is strongly connected to the success of Los Rios and its four colleges.

King is the current Chair of the Valley Vision Board of Directors and a member of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council Board of Directors, the Align Capital Region Executive Committee, the Sacramento Metro Chamber Board, the Dignity Health Sacramento Service Area Community Board, the Los Rios Foundation Board, the Wells Fargo Community Advisory Board, and the Comstock’s Magazine Editorial Board. King is a past president of the Community College League of California’s Chief Executive Office Board and a past chair of the boards of the Community College League of California and the California Community College Athletics Association. He has also received a Fulbright Fellowship to Russia with a group of community college leaders from across the United States.

King received his B.A. in History from the University of Missouri-Columbia, his J.D. from Duke University School of Law, and his Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Arkansas.

Ryan Connally

Professor, Construction Technology
Department Chair, Cosumnes River College
BPI Certified Building Analyst, Envelope Professional, & Proctor CGBP, Advanced I &II

Ryan Connally has been working in the residential construction industry since 1989, and in 2001, became the Lead Faculty for the Construction Technology Program at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento. Here, Ryan has developed industry recognized training programs for the Construction and Home Performance industry. Ryan is currently the Department Chair for the programs of Construction, Architecture, Construction Management, Architectural Design Technology, and Building Inspection and is a co-chair of the CRC Sustainability Committee.

Since 2005, Ryan and his students have contributed greatly to the construction of over 40 homes, including 12 LEED certified homes, and have provided energy auditing, diagnostic testing, and energy efficient retrofit work on dozens of remodels, working in conjunction with the local Habitat For Humanity affiliate, and Rebuilding Together Sacramento, as well as working on utility sponsored Habitat for Humanity builds in Stockton. CRC Construction students have helped the San Juaquin HFH affiliate build multiple new homes at Zero Net Energy that are being monitored for 2-year studies in conjunction with PG&E, the California Energy Commission, and the Public Utility Commission.

Ryan has continuously engaged his students in construction and design projects like the SMUD Solar Regatta, and the SMUD Tiny House Competition 2016, and is also involved with the development and implementation plans for the CRC Makerspace project. Ryan also maintains current credentials as an OSHA Outreach Trainer and Certified Forklift trainer.

Ryan received his BS from the University of Oregon in '95 with a major in Sociology and a minor in Architecture, and continues his studies in recent courses at CRC in Building Inspection and Architectural Design Technology, as well as Educational Leadership courses at CSUS.

Favorite Quote: Man in the Arena, by Theodore Rosevelt

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

Susanna Cooper

Managing Director, Wheelhouse

Before joining Wheelhouse, Ms. Cooper served as an independent consultant and as longtime advisor on pre- K-to-14 education issues for the leader of the California State Senate. In that role, she shaped and shepherded the Pro Tem’s education agenda, provided counsel on education budget matters, and led multi-year campaigns to increase quality pre-kindergarten opportunities for low-income children, reduce the number of high school dropouts, and strengthen high school-post-secondary pathways.

Ms. Cooper is a Senior Fellow at the Stuart Foundation, President of the Board of Directors of the nonprofit EdSource, and brings deep experience in project management, policy advocacy, communications, government relations and philanthropy.

Jason Ellis, AIA | LEED AP

Professor, Architecture Department, Cosumnes River College

Jason Ellis enjoys teaching and mentoring the next generation of architects as a professor in the Cosumnes River College Architecture Department – the same place he got his start in Architecture thirty years ago.

He is a LEED accredited, California licensed architect that has been practicing architecture in Sacramento since 1996 after receiving his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Oregon.  Prior to joining the faculty at Cosumnes River College in 2016, Jason honed his design, technical, and leadership skills with 20 years of experience at the largest architecture firm in Sacramento where he designed several award-winning projects. Among Jason’s high-profile, American Institute of Architect’s award-winning projects are the Sacramento River Water Intake Structure, Modesto Junior College Science Community Center, Mission College Student Engagement Center/Gillmor Center, and the Soil Born Farms Culinary Center and Amphitheater. 

When he’s not teaching, he is often coaching his two daughter’s soccer teams, helping in his wife’s architecture firm, or playing with his treeing walker coonhound.

Tadael Emiru

Associate Vice President of Equity, Institutional Effectiveness and Innovation

Tadael Emiru currently serves as an Associate VP of Equity, Institutional Effectiveness and Innovation. Tadael received a bachelor’s degree in Business and Information System and Master’s in Business Administration from St. Cloud State University. Tadael has been in higher education for 16 years. He has been serving in various capacities as an administrator for the past 8 years. He has worked successfully in programs and services that provide support for students, particularly students of color. His passion is to work together with faculty and staff to breakdown institutional barriers so that every student can be successful.

Yolanda Garcia

Dean, Student Services and Enrollment Management

Yolanda Garcia serves as the Dean of Student Services and Enrollment Management. This year will be her 23rd year at Cosumnes River College (CRC)! Yolanda is a graduate of CRC. After getting married and having her first child, she returned to school and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Human and Community Services from St. Mary’s and Master’s degree in Educational Counseling from the University of La Verne. She has served in a variety of roles here at CRC—from student assistant, Supervisor, adjunct Counselor and Professor and now Dean. She feels incredibly lucky to oversee programs that are close to her heart and where she has the opportunity to work with students from the onset of their journey through the completion of their educational goal.

Yolanda has fond memories of her time as a student at CRC and she has seen lots of change over the years as a CRC employee, but nothing compares the great work that is currently happening! She is excited to be part of such innovation, commitment to student success, and most of all, honored to be part of a team examining practices and implementing change to address issues around inequity and reduce barriers for our students.

Steve Geiger

Solar Installation Training Officer, Technical Academy Manager, GRID Alternatives

Steve begun his relationship with GRID Alternatives serving on the North Valley Board of Directors. Before coming on board to join GRID as North Valley’s Solar Installation Training Officer, Steve worked as an Advanced Solar Photovoltaic Systems Instructor and served as Professor and Chair of the Construction & Energy Technology Department at Sierra College. Steve is a BPI (Building Performance Institute) Building Analyst Professional certified energy efficiency auditor, as well as an OSHA Construction Outreach Trainer, and a Pre-Apprenticeship Instructor for the Dept. of Labor. His desire to directly help people through training and mentorship, as well as GRID's mission to help underserved populations with the triple bottom line of “People, Planet, and Employment” attracted him to GRID. In his spare time, Steve enjoys spending time with his son and family, as well as music, biking, and outdoor activities.

Dr. Kimberley Harrell

Associate Vice President, Economic & Workforce Development, Cosumnes River College

Dr. Kimberley Harrell has worked at Los Rios for the past 25 years. Having had her own personal training business, at Folsom Lake College she worked with local fitness facilities in Folsom to create industry recognized personal training and group fitness instructor programs to supply the gyms with a solid workforce.

In 2014 she was hired as Dean of Kinesiology, Health, Athletics and Career Technical Education at Folsom Lake College where she led development of an advanced imaging program working with Dignity Healthcare, successfully authored a $134,000 state grant to support the program, and managed numerous other grant programs.

In 2016 she was hired at CRC as the Dean of Careers and Technology, overseeing 21 programs including those in the building trades. To support the faculty’s vision of a Northeast campus development that would include sustainable agriculture, irrigation and net zero energy model tiny homes, she obtained $200,000 in Prop 39 grant funds. She successfully authored a SMUD Shine Award for $48,000 and leveraged the college’s Strong Workforce funds to bring plans for a model Tiny House Village to the Department of State Architects for approval.

In her new role as Associate Vice President for Economic and Workforce Development she continued to work with construction faculty to gain approval for a new solar installer certificate. She looks forward to supporting the instructional innovation of project-based learning that will tie together the five building trades programs CRC offers to design and erect the model tiny homes, complete with energy monitoring and solar technology. The site under development will provide a solar installation and construction training space to meet the workforce demands of construction and solar installation companies in the region.

Kate Hutchinson

Executive Director, Lutheran Social Services

Kate Hutchinson brings a unique background in social services, mental health and entrepreneurship, to her role as Deputy Director of the LSS Inland Programs, which include services for homeless adults, families, young adults and college students. She spent 20-plus years in hands-on case work and leadership of mental health and social services programs, including senior management of the Yolo Community Care Continuum and Meals on Wheels, Yolo County.

Ms. Hutchinson and her husband ran a restaurant in Davis, CA for many years, and they still cater events and sell baked goods at local farmers markets. She earned degrees in psychology and counseling from University of California, Berkeley and California State University East Bay.

Paul Meinz

Information Technology Business/Tech Analyst

Paul Meinz has worked in the field of institutional research for five years. Prior to his work in higher education, he spent ten years as a researcher in the field of developmental psychology. He earned his Ph.D. from Western University, Canada, and his M.A. Degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Claire Oliveros

Vice President, Student Services & Enrollment Management, Cosumnes River College

Dr. Claire Oliveros has over 25 years of experience in higher education. Currently, Dr. Oliveros serves as the Vice President of Student Services and Enrollment Management at Cosumnes River College (CRC) with the Los Rios Community College District. Prior to joining CRC, Dr. Oliveros served as the Assistant Provost for Student Success Initiatives at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA, and the Executive Dean of Student Development and Learning Resources at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, OR. In Portland, OR, Claire spent eighteen years at Portland Community College serving in various leadership roles as the TRIO Student Support Services Director, Interim Director of Equity and Inclusion, and founding coordinator of the Multicultural Center.

Born and raised in Portland, OR, Dr. Oliveros is Filipina American and first in her family to graduate from college earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Western Oregon University, Master of Science in Education Policy, Foundations and Administrative Studies at Portland State University, and Doctorate degree in Education with a specialization in Community College Leadership from Oregon State University.

Hong Pham

Interim Dean, Counseling and Student Services

Hong Pham serves as the Interim Dean of Counseling and Student Services. She has worked in higher education for over 10 years, with a focus on increasing access to postsecondary education. Hong is a Cosumnes River College (CRC) alum, and earned her Bachelor of Arts in English at San Diego State University and her Master of Arts in Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies at California State University, Sacramento.

Prior to working joining the CRC family, Hong served as the Student Support and Success Program Manager at San Joaquin Delta College, and the Director for the Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP) at UC Davis, where she worked with middle and high schools in the south Sacramento area to build and support a college-going culture.

Hong is a second daughter to Vietnamese refugees, the first in her family to finish college, and an enthusiastic dog owner.