ACCJC SMC Team
Dr. Keith Flamer was named President/Superintendent of College of the Redwoods in 2016. He holds a Bachelor's Degree from Eastern Washington University, a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Eastern Washington, and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University. Over the course of his higher education career, he has served in positions as President/Superintendent, Vice President, Executive Dean, Dean, and Director at College of the Redwoods, McHenry County College, and Eastern Washington University. This breadth of experience has provided him with expertise in enrollment management, instruction, student development and support services, facilities development, capital projects, and strategic and fiscal planning. His has also given him insight into the changes needed in institutional policies and programs to meet both short-term and long-range goals. He has served on several peer review teams as an evaluator and as team chair.
Dr. David Wain Coon has been immersed in accreditation throughout his 30+ years in higher education administration at six different institutions including seeking initial accreditation, leading the institutional self-evaluation process, and preparing the ISER and midterm progress reports. While in Washington state, he participated in several peer reviews. While in California, he has consulted with and/or coached multiple district CEOs in the accreditation process. He also served on one of the CEO committees that focused on the improvement of processes and relations with ACCJC. For the past nearly 18 years he has served as a CEO with the California Community Colleges including the past 12 years as superintendent/president at College of Marin.
Joshua Adams is originally from Cloverdale, CA and began his career in the Information Technology field in 1993, working for a local doctor’s office while in high school, helping them build their first Novell network. In 2001, Josh found his passion for education as an instructor for Empire College. This eventually led him to teaching as a civilian at the United States Coast Guard Information Technology School in Petaluma from 2003 - 2011. In 2011 Josh started his career at SRJC as the Manager of Instructional Computing in the Information Technology Department. In 2014, Josh became the Dean of Business & Professional Studies overseeing the Business, Computer Studies, Industrial Trade Technology, and Consumer Family Studies departments. Currently Josh the Dean of Academic Affairs for Santa Rosa Junior College covering the Public Safety Training Center, Older Adults Program, Curriculum Office, Scheduling Office, and is the Chief Negotiator for the District.
Josh’s education includes an Associate Degree from SRJC, a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Master Degree in Business Administration from Columbia College. Josh also completed coursework in a Doctorate of Education studying organizational leadership at Brandman University. In addition, Josh has obtained the following industry certifications; A+, Network+, Linux+, CWNA, CNA, MCSA, and MCT.
Josh has participated in two accreditation cycles at Santa Rosa Junior College. The latest this past year as a team lead and author for Standard IIA. This will be Josh’s first time on an peer review team.
James Crooks is an English instructor at Shasta College. He recently completed his term on the local academic senate, representing Shasta College twice at ASCCC’s plenaries. In the past, he has served his college as the faculty co-chair of the Student Equity Committee and as a member of the Curriculum and Student Learning Outcome committees. At the department level, James has written or co-written program reviews and course outlines of record, and he has participated in designing student learning outcomes at the course and program level. Currently, he is re-envisioning his professional practice as part of the Equity-Minded Teaching and Learning Institute. James looks forward to his first time as a peer reviewer for ACCJC.
Dr. Vinicio J. López is Vice President, Instruction at Skyline College in San Bruno, California. He has more than 20 years of experience as a California community college ESL faculty and administrator. His administrative experiences include Instruction/Academic and Student Affairs, Noncredit and Workforce Education, High School Dual Enrollment, and International Education Programs. Dr. López is deeply committed to serving and partnering with our most vulnerable students. He believes that leading with grace and integrity is the foundation for an inclusive and welcoming learning environment that is informed by the lived experience and voice of our students. He is passionate about mentorship and the development of a future generation of servant leaders. Dr. López is a native Spanish speaker and attended the San Diego Community College District before transferring to the University of California, San Diego. He later completed a Master of Arts, Education Degree, and TESOL and Human Resource Management Certification. He culminated his formal studies by completing a Doctor of Education Degree in Educational Leadership, Administration, and Policy from Pepperdine University.
Dr. Vinicio J. López has participated in various institutional accreditation activities in his various administrative roles. At Coastline College he was the Standard 2A Chairperson for their accreditation visit in 2012. At City College of San Francisco (CCSF), Dr. López served on the Standard 2B committee team, helping to prepare for their 2023 mid-term report. In addition, Dr. López, led the School of International Education with their F1-visa accreditation renewal, which allowed CCSF to continue enrolling and serving F1-visa international students.
Margarita Pillado is a Professor of Spanish at Los Angeles Pierce College. She serves as Chair of the Modern Languages Department and as Second Vice President and Curriculum Committee Chair of the Pierce Academic Senate. She is certified as a Peer Online Course Reviewer (CVC-OIE Course Design Rubric). She has ample administrative and governance experience, having served in numerous campus and district committees, such as Academic Senate, Accreditation Steering, Enrollment Management, Educational Planning, Distance Education, Curriculum, Outcomes, College Planning, and District Accreditation and Planning. She also served as a member of the ASCCC Accreditation Committee (2018-2019).
She was the Faculty Accreditation Coordinator for Los Angeles Pierce College from 2013 until 2018. She coordinated the campus-wide dialog about accreditation, preparation, and production of the 2014 Follow-Up Report, the 2016 ISER, and the 2017 Follow-Up Report. She has represented the ACCJC in four accreditation site visits both as Team Assistant and team member with assignments in Standards 1. A., I.B., and the Policy on Distance Education. She is delighted to be part of the Santa Monica College ACCJC Peer Review Team for the review of Standards II.A, II.B, IV.A, and IV.B.
A native of Argentina, she received her B.A. in English from Colorado State University, her M.A. in Comparative Literature from the University of Washington (Seattle), and her Ph. D. in Spanish Language and Literature from Washington University (St. Louis).
Before joining Pierce College in 2009, Dr. Pillado taught at Grinnell College (Iowa) and served as Chair of the Department of Spanish, Chair of the Humanities Division, and Interim Chair of the Department of Chinese and Japanese.
Dr. Postrozny-Torres spent over 30 years in the education field. This is her second time serving as a peer reviewer for ACCJC. Currently, she is teaching a full load of education and early childhood courses to include the placement and supervision of practicum students. As a certified online teacher, she also has over fifteen years’ experience delivering courses via various online/hybrid modalities. She’s been at Guam Community College (GCC) for over twenty years serving as an adjunct associate dean, department chair, curriculum committee chair, and full-time faculty. She initiated the revamping and adoption of various programs such as early childhood, cosmetology, forensic science, sign language interpreting, practical nursing, and recently the College’s first bachelor’s program in Career & Technical Education. Dr. Postrozny-Torres has extensive background in early childhood education and drafted Guam’s first Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS) and conducted assessments as an anchor level observer for the Environmental Rating Scales for childcare facilities. Prior to working at GCC, she worked as a training/curriculum specialist for US military childcare, school-age, and youth programs on Guam and in Europe, a special education teacher in the US public schools, and an elementary teacher at a bilingual school in Guatemala.
This is Dr. Postrozny-Torres’ second time serving as a peer review team member for ACCJC. In 2021, she served as a team member for the College of the Marshall Islands (Majuro); the visit was done remotely due to the covid pandemic.
Virginia has served as the Executive Dean of Institutional Effectiveness and Research at Victor Valley College for 16 years. Before this post, she established the research offices at Barstow College and Crafton Hills College for a total of more than 30 years in the CCCs as an institutional researcher and an adjunct faculty member in Psychology. She trained as an applied developmental psychologist at Claremont Graduate University with publications in ethnic minority academic achievement and acculturative stress. This is her 9th opportunity to serve as an ACCJC Peer Reviewer, having served on initial candidacy teams, follow-up teams, and teams whose visits were shut down due to Covid 19 (still waiting for that elusive assignment to Hawaii or Micronesia, though J).
Dr. Jeff Stephenson has worked for more than 25 years in higher education and currently serves as the Vice President of Student Services at American River College. He began his career in higher education as a faculty member at Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, Illinois. Due to his significant body of knowledge in the field of Funeral Service Education, American River College (ARC) was fortunate that Jeff joined the faculty to become the founding faculty member and Program Coordinator of ARC’s FSE Program twenty years ago. During his tenure at ARC, Dr. Stephenson has also served Dean of Counseling and Transfer Services, Interim Dean of Equity Programs and Pathways, and as the Associate Vice President of Student Services.
Before moving into administration, Dr. Stephenson was a tenured faculty member where he held faculty leadership positions on the Academic Senate and Chair of the Curriculum Committee. Dr. Stephenson has also served as a member for the Institutional Effectiveness Partnership Initiative (IEPI) and on numerous peer review teams for the Accrediting Commission for Colleges and Junior Colleges (ACCJC).
Dr. Stephenson has been the administrative lead for the Guided Pathways work starting in 2016, has been the principle on multiple federal grants including the Strengthening Institutions (Title III) and the Asian American, Native American, Pacific Islander-Service Institutions (AANAPISI) grants, as well as the administrative lead for the Student Equity and Achievement Program (SEAP). He has been the fiscal lead for the statewide CCC LGBTQIA+ Summit and serves as the Region 2 Representative and Treasurer for the Chief Student Services Officers Association.
Dr. Stephenson holds Associates and Bachelor’s Degrees in Mortuary Science from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science, a Master’s Degree in Education from Western Illinois University, and a Doctorate in Leadership for Higher Education from Capella University.
Mr. Wagoner has been with Chabot for 33+years. First as an Instructor in Health Education and then into Administration after 17 years in the classroom. His first administrative assignment was as the Dean of Health, Kinesiology, and Athletics prior to his current role as Vice President of Administrative Services. He also served as the Interim Vice President of Academic Services at the College, as well as the Interim Dean of other divisions on campus.