CVHEC names team liaisons for its strategic advisory groups;

individual task forces accepting participants

(FEB. 11, 2026) — Four former Central Valley college presidents will serve as regional liaisons for priority area advisory committees created by the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Board of Directors at its Strategic Planning Retreat last summer. The four committees will lead the key areas of CVHEC focus for the next three to five years.

Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director, announced the regional liaison appointments as well as the task forces that will begin meeting at the end of February. Regional partners and members of the higher education community may be considered for task force membership by contacting cvhecinfo@mail.fresnostate.edu

The liaisons named to the advisory committees and the task forces are (see the full roster for each advisory board at end of story):

STREAM 1: DATA SHARING AND REGIONAL DASHBOARDS

• Dr. Kristin Clark, chancellor-emerita of West Hills Community College District

STREAM 2: WORKFORCE ALIGNMENT

• Stan Carrizosa, president-emeritus of College of the Sequoias
• Dr. Lori Bennett, president-emeritus of Clovis Community College

STREAM 3: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)

• Dr. Kristin Clark, chancellor-emerita of West Hills Community College District 
• Tom Burke, chancellor-emeritus of Kern Community College District

STREAM 4: ENROLLMENT, RECONNECT

• Tom Burke, chancellor-emeritus of Kern Community College District

The advisory committees consist of current chancellors, presidents and campus directors of the Central Valley’s 28 institutions of higher education who make up the CVHEC Board of Directors. 

They were established during the board’s retreat Aug. 20 when the leaders from colleges and universities across California’s Central Valley gathered at the University of California, Merced campus to chart a strategic course for the next three to five years that advances CVHEC’s 23-year mission to enhance its 10-county region’s college going rates and increase degree and certificate attainment rates.

At the retreat, CVHEC board chair Dr. Juan Sánchez Muñoz, chancellor of University of California Merced, said, “We need to work together to support our students. We’re here to create a vision for how we celebrate.”

During the board of directors quarterly meeting Dec. 2 in Visalia, conversations were held about each advisory committee and their initial directions and scope. Durán said the regional liaisons bring great experience to this “earnest and collaborative discussion about the future direction” now being undertaken by CVHEC’s leaders. 

“They are all former chancellors or presidents of a Central Valley college and served previously on the CVHEC Board of Directors, representing their respective campus, who came to work for CVHEC after retirement as consultants, leads and liaisons for our various initiatives,” Duran said.  

Carrizosa is the lead for CVHEC’s Central Valley Transfer Project; Clark is the dual enrollment lead; Burke is the Masters Upskilling Lead and Bennett is the Master’s Upskilling English mentors coordinator.

Duran said their primary purpose as regional liaisons is to champion progress in each new priority area  by helping bring together educators and partners to shape collaborative strategies, and ensuring progress in these areas moves forward together. 

Their first order of action is to create task forces that will meet to begin discussing specifics of each area and outline possible courses of action. Duran also said task force membership is now open.

“Overall the liaisons and their task forces will help lead CVHEC’s focus and direction in the next three years as we continue to foster and maintain a regional collaboration dedicated to student access, retention and completion for our students. We welcome participation from anyone interested in our mission to improve the region’s college-going rate and degree attainment rates.”

Duran also noted that although the board and CVHEC staff prepare to pursue this new work through these four advisory boards and task forces, the consortium is not abandoning the former areas of focus the last few years.  

“We will continue to support initiatives such as our Central Valley Transfer Project and the efforts around implementing dual enrollment throughout the valley such as the Master’s Upskilling Program and its mentor component,” Duran said (see the September e-newsletter).  “Additionally, our English Task Force and the Math Task Force will continue their remarkable groundbreaking work. And the Central Valley Math Bridge program with College Bridge is also in full swing throughout our 10-county region now.” 

He said these initiatives and strategies are “progressing successfully and require less maintenance so now we’re focusing on launching new-direction strategic projects in 2026.”

Join a CVHEC Strategies Task Force.

See:

• Board retreat produces 4 advisory boards for goal development
• Central Valley higher ed leaders retreat for strategic planning

NEW CVHEC ADVISORY COMMITTEES

WORKSTREAM 1: DATA SHARING AND REGIONAL DASHBOARDS

Dr. Lena Tran, chancellor – Yosemite Community College District
Dr. Britt Rios-Ellis, president – Stanislaus State
Dr. Carole Goldsmith, chancellor – State Center Community College District
Dr. Sean Hancock, president – College of the Sequoias

CVHEC team liaison: Dr. Kristin Clark

WORKSTREAM 2: Workforce Alignment

Dr. Jerry Buckley, president – Reedley College
Dr. Chad Redwing, president – Columbia College
Dr. Carla Tweed, president – Coalinga College
Primavera Monarrez, interim president – Porterville College
Dr. Vernon Harper, president – California State University, Bakersfield

CVHEC team liaisons: Stan Carrizosa and Dr. Lori Bennett

WORKSTREAM 3: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)

James Preston, president – Lemoore College
Dr. Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, president – Fresno State
Dr. Angel Reyna, president – Madera College
Dr. Jose M. Barral Sanchez, dean – UCSF-Fresno Center
Dr. Lisa Aguilera Lawrenson, president – Delta College

CVHEC team liaisons: Dr. Kristin Clark and Tom Burke

WORKSTREAM 4: ENROLLMENT, RECONNECT

Dr. Kim Armstrong, president – Clovis Community College
Dr. Stacy Pfluger, president – Bakersfield College
Dr. Leslie Minor, president – Taft College

CVHEC team liaison: Tom Burke