Leader. What comes to mind when you hear that word? For most, strong and dependable leadership characteristics have been commonly associated with masculinity. However, the leaders who make up the Contra Costa Community College District are slowly reshaping that definition.
When the district opened its doors in late 1949, it became the largest multi-community college system in California. Among district chancellors, governing board members, and college presidents, there has only been a handful of women who have led. But for the first time in 4CD history, leadership across the given sectors is filled by women of diverse and unique backgrounds, all serving simultaneously.
To expand learning opportunities for students across Contra Costa County, 4CD comprises of three colleges—Contra Costa, Diablo Valley, and Los Medanos—as well as two centers. The vision of each campus is “to be a beacon of excellence in learning and equitable student success,” and it has remained in practice for over 70 years.
This special report will tell the unique stories of five key leaders: District Governing Board President Rebecca Barrett, District Chancellor Mojdeh Mehdizadeh, CCC President Kimberly Rogers, DVC President Susan Lamb, and LMC President Pamela Ralston.
Today, more women are stepping into positions of power: whether in education, politics, or community. As the leaders across the district each have their own unique story on their path to education, fulfilling roles as women and women of color, find out what it means to them.
Leading from her own perspective
“When people are trying to get government agencies and politicians to make decisions a certain way, there could be a lot of noise associated with that,” Governing Board President Rebecca Barrett said. “You’ve got to kind of not get distracted by that and get down into the facts and make decisions.”
When Barrett was in college, she interned at various government offices and campaigns. But the person who inspired her focus on educational policy was Contra Costa Senator Tom Torlakson, who had roles fulfilling areas of public instruction.
From her experiences, her career in educational politics fell into place. As a Diablo Valley College alumni and current governing board president, Barrett has always felt connected to the community college system.
“Everything the community college was able to do for me helped launch me academically and professionally on the path that I’m on,” Barrett said, “It just felt like the right thing to do to give back to the district.”
Her motivation for pursuing a career in education policy was driven by her family’s sacrifices to work for opportunities her parents never had and the desire to contribute to society.
Now, making decisions centered around students, Barrett acknowledges the responsibility and the importance of addressing inequalities within the system. In doing so, she uses her experiences and perspective as a millennial woman to shape the academic future while on board.
“A benchmark for me was getting elected, transitioning from being [district] staff to sitting in a seat and having a vote,” Barrett said. “That was a pivotal change in my life.”
However, securing her seat came with setbacks as she experienced double standards stepping into political leadership, unspoken between men and women. Simply looking the part posed challenges for Barrett.
“I typically don’t wear makeup. I’m 35 years old, and I’m just starting to figure that stuff out,” Barrett said. “I wanted to make sure I looked a certain way to appeal to voters, and in their mind, a professional woman wears makeup. Then I walked in, and my male opponent had a hole in his shirt or something. I spent all this time and energy to look a certain way because I knew I was gonna be judged if I didn’t. But he doesn’t have to worry about that.”
As younger generations are moving away from traditional gender expectations in leadership roles, Barrett still encounters older generations who hold onto these outdated beliefs. However, when reflecting on her professional milestones, Barrett is the youngest elected board member and brings a unique perspective to the table.
“I get to add something to this conversation because of my age, because of my gender. I fought to get this seat so I can do this,” Barrett said.
Mentorship played a significant role in shaping the leader Barrett is today. Through her unique perspective as a woman, she can ensure her part in diversifying education. A few of her inspirations are personal and professional.
First, Barrett admires her mother’s drive and compassion while looking up to 4CD Chancellor Mojdeh Mehdizadeh as a role model in higher education, as she provides valuable insights and a deep understanding of the district’s history and culture.
Barrett describes the current leadership board as an “exciting moment for the district” as she notes the evolution of what is to come.
“There are systems set up and have been set up historically that can negatively affect women’s experiences in educational institutions. It is on us now to look at those systems and create more of a space of belonging, particularly for women,” Barrett said. “Because we have an opportunity to change things.”
Discovering the power of her own voice
“Stay true to yourself. Recognize why you are here, and we have so much to give in whatever role we’re in,” 4CD Chancellor Mojdeh Mehdizadeh said, “I think that’s the key.”
Mehdizadeh has been part of the Contra Costa Community College District for 36 years; she began her role as a student and later an administrator.
After coming to The United States of America at the age of 8 from Iran, she knew education was her path to success. Once her older brother received his acceptance letter from Diablo Valley College as an international student, she was “thrilled” with the opportunity to later follow in his footsteps.
The community Mehdizadeh was surrounded by at DVC was unlike anything she experienced after attending other public or private education systems.
Before she transferred, one of her required courses was communication studies, and initially, she dreaded the course, thinking, “I just want to get this over with,” but her professor changed her mind. That speech course taught her how to communicate critically and effectively while being in a safe space that allowed her to reflect on her successes and failures along the way.
Much self-discovery in terms of Mehdizadeh’s career and personal growth evolved during that time as she was empowered by the skills she learned despite her unique background.
“Finding myself and finding my voice is what drew me to want to stay in education,” Mehdizadeh said.
In the 1980s, at the start of her career, technology was fairly new, but adapting these resources into offices and classrooms in an efficient manner was her role. Mehdizadeh later stepped up to a management role in the late ‘90s, but being the first woman of color in these male-dominated district offices, she said, “was interesting.”
People expected a male manager to delegate to his male programmers, but instead, she filled those shoes. Not many thought she would last as the looks or comments from her peers taught her to simply “just smile and walk through it.”
However, she did not see those experiences as a setback but instead as a motivator. Working in an environment where it seemed like she didn’t belong translated into a work ethic to “be better than everybody else” and “prove that you belonged.” In her role today, she acknowledges that creating a space of inclusivity does not come at the expense of snarky comments but comes from knowing how to read a room.
“Individuals who tend to stay quiet, and I will be very frank, oftentimes they are women, and they’re women of color,” Mehdizadeh said. “I am very thoughtful about ensuring that they are provided an opportunity to speak and to share their thoughts and brilliance and are provided the stage to do so.”
Creating a supportive and inclusive environment is the chancellor’s goal across all campuses, and ensuring a place of belonging keeps her going. From student to leader, she was inspired by former district Chancellor Helen Benjamin and describes her as “my hero.” Both women of color in the district, Mehdizadeh admired Benjamin’s strength and perseverance during difficult times.
Over the years, Mehdizadeh has seen her environment transform as more women are represented in higher education positions. She highlights the collaboration and empowerment among women leaders in the district, describing it as a “privilege” to work with them.
“I see a team that fully supports and helps to empower one another. I see a team that is deeply focused on our mission and incredibly thoughtful of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts,” Mehdizadeh said, adding that by working together, “we reach greater heights.”
Opening doors for women like her
“People think that the president always has to be the most gregarious, the most outgoing person in the room, but that is not my personality, and that’s not my approach,” said Contra Costa College President Kimberly Rogers. “It’s always to come in, sit, and listen. To hear what people are saying.”
When Rogers first attended college, she was under a music scholarship and studying for a degree in chemistry. However, solving chemical equations or working in a lab was not her passion, as she changed her major and graduated with a degree in French. She later taught in France for several years, where her love for teaching and connecting with students sparked.
“I’ve always loved to learn and to see other people learn,” Rogers said. “So I guess it’s kind of natural that I ended up being an educator, although I didn’t think that’s what I was going to be when I started.”
Graduating with her degree was not a straight path for Rogers because, by graduation, she carried a multitude of loans that stalled her college experience. It was not a setback as she channeled her experiences into work that focused on increasing college accessibility.
Her research centered around financial aid’s impact on age and low-income students at community colleges, discovering how different types of aid affect completion rates. Rogers notes, “talent is equally distributed, opportunity is not,” as financial disparities in higher education hinder the chances for possibility.
Before coming to California, Rogers held teaching and administrative positions at a four-year institution in Massachusetts. Although hesitant, Rogers was presented with three job offers in California, but looking into their education system, she describes it as the “model for the nation.”
“Having the opportunity to work in the system, as someone who studied higher education, is a dream,” Rogers said.
As a woman of color in a leadership position, Rogers shares her experiences with imposter syndrome. Within the district, she was Vice President for many years and initially didn’t believe she needed to fill the president’s shoes, but embraced the opportunity when it opened.
Rogers notes how gender bias within her field only reminds her that she isn’t the expectation. But being the expectation is not always a setback.
“There are always hardships. People assume that the president is going to be a man. Whoever is in charge is always going to be a man,” Rogers said. “I think the number one barrier is just having people recognize that, although I tend to be a little bit of a quieter person that doesn’t mean I’m not in charge.”
Rogers’ passion for teaching and connecting with students drives her career. She emphasizes the importance of creating a welcoming environment for all ages and backgrounds, focusing on inclusivity and support.
Even though the leaders across the district have unique backgrounds, they all come together to support one another.
“We have a very positive working relationship,” Rogers said. “It’s very important that we have that as a lens, that we view each other as supporters, not competitors.”
The role models in Rogers’ life include her mother and colleagues. Recently filling the permanent position at CCC last summer, Rogers continues to mentor other women. Her leadership centers around the saying, “each one, teach one,” where informing other women on ways to improve their careers never stops at a title.
“I need to continue to provide opportunities to other women, especially women of color,” Rogers said, adding, “having the courage to apply in each successive step.”
Learning is a continuous cycle
“You’re going to run into adversity, you’re going to run into challenging individuals, and hopefully, we continue to work past that,” said Susan Lamb, a former college dropout who is now president of Diablo Valley College where she has served for the past six years.
Lamb began at the University of Texas with an engineering scholarship and valued practicality believing “engineering was a natural fit.” But she knew it was not what she was meant to do.
“It was a time in the 1980s when I was told on a daily basis by professors that ‘women didn’t belong in engineering.’ A very different and unsupportive time,” Lamb said. “As a result, I just felt college wasn’t for me and I ended up dropping out.”
Looking back, Lamb saw her future as limiting because her family did not believe in educational careers. Instead, their emphasis centered around healthcare, law, or engineering paths. At the start of her college journey, she followed expectations as opposed to motivation.
“In fact, at the University of Texas, it says, ‘You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.’ When I left college, my truth at that time was that college was not for me, I was not college material,” Lamb said.
Instead, she worked as a therapist tech at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired but eventually went back to school to study physical education and health research. While working on her master’s, she held a few teaching assistant positions. From there, Lamb discovered her love for teaching and decided to turn it into a passion.
“I came to education more through the back door. I realized that most of the jobs I’ve had in my life were some type of tutoring or teaching,” Lamb said. “It was a light that went off that I haven’t been looking at this as a career because my family didn’t support it, but this is something I enjoy doing.”
When she began, leadership was predominately male and Lamb notes the expectations of her were “over and above what they would have [thought] of a male leader.” Instead of succumbing to the challenging attitudes toward her, she had to redefine what a leader meant in her own eyes and others.
“I think about some of the more difficult situations I’ve dealt with,” Lamb said. “I’ve learned a lot more from them than maybe some of the easier situations.”
Lamb was drawn to community colleges because they offered a more explicit sense of belonging, rather than four-year universities.
“I don’t want students at [DVC] to have the experiences I had,” Lamb said. “I want students to feel seen, valued and respected, and feel like they can do it and we are here to support them in doing that work.”
Lamb’s leadership style is driven with compassion as she takes inspiration from Helen Benjamin, former district chancellor. When Lamb began as a faculty member and later worked in higher administrative roles, she was inspired by Benjamin’s considerate mindset. Just like Benjamin, she is always asking how this impacts students.
From being one of only a handful of women in a room to one that is increasingly more diverse, Lamb has seen a shift in the district environment. She describes her relationship with the women leading as supportive and exciting.
“I think encouraging each other, but also holding each other accountable to that standard for our students, I think is very important to all of us,” Lamb said.
Throughout her educational journey, Lamb was granted opportunities she would have never considered until she let go of expectations upheld by her family and gender.
Pursuing her life’s passion
“It is crucial that our next generations keep pushing us forward. There’s going to be a point in time when somebody isn’t sitting down to ask the same kind of questions about whether it was ‘harder for you because,’ and I look forward to that day,” said Los Medanos College President Pamela Ralston, clarifying the importance of women leaders not being defined for their struggles.
Before discovering her passion for education, Ralston was studying to become a lawyer and had a set path to meet that goal. However, she believes embracing the unexpected helped lead to her purpose.
“If I got committed to the law, I have a hard time imagining that it would bring me as much joy and community celebration,” Ralston said. “It’s okay to embrace the unexpected and to make room for stumbling a little bit into your next thing.”
After Ralston completed her studies in literature, she switched roles in a classroom from student to professor, beginning in her early 20s. Stepping into this role and being nearly the same age as the students in her classes, Ralston had to “dress differently and talk differently” to assert her authority, something she doesn’t “think [her] male peers had to do.”
“It is hard to be able to know if some of those challenges I might have faced along the way would have happened to anybody or if my gender played a role in that,” Ralston said. “I also think about what it means to be a white, middle-class woman with education and experience. Those privileges sometimes help mitigate what might be the issue about being female.”
After her time as a professor, Ralston moved into administration despite its male-dominated environment. Leadership has become more diverse in recent years, and Ralston acknowledges the “forward motion” but believes more can be done to go beyond gender expectations.
“We talk a lot about what it means to have somebody stand up in front of a room who looks like you,” Ralston said. “We can do that with the more women, the more women of color, who step into spaces and more men of color who step into spaces.”
Not only is she focused on leadership to reflect the college population, but noted the importance of building community, especially coming back from the pandemic. Many settled into the comfort of online, but she wants to create a balance between both types of learning, inside or outside the classroom.
“We are working on that consciously all the time. We’re paying a lot of attention to what it is to feel like you belong,” Ralston said.
Mentorship has been key in shaping Ralston and her leadership practices, inspired by past professors, former district leaders, and her “very feminist mom.” When reflecting on the lessons those women taught her, she is both delighted and grateful.
For the first time in LMC’s history, Ralston is the first female permeate president to lead. As part of a district headed by women, Ralston recalls her relationship with those leaders as “hugely beneficial.”
“Something that we share in common is we’ve probably had similar pathways that have had similar experiences, and it might make how we get to ideas a little more nuanced and require less explanation,” Ralston said.
Being a woman leading in a permanent role is just the first step. Ralston is proud of the ever-evolving district environment but is looking forward to a future where it is not surprising to have women fill classrooms—and leadership positions.
