Dr. Daisy Gonzales
Daisy Gonzales, Ph.D., serves as the Deputy chancellor of the California Community Colleges, the largest system of public higher education in the United States. She leads the 116-community college system, which serves over 1.9 million students with a student-centered mindset and a goal of creating equitable and supportive ecosystems where students thrive.
She is an experienced and unapologetic advocate for student success. Born into an immigrant family in Southern California and raised as a former foster youth, Dr. Gonzales was among the first in her family to attend college. She credits her time in the Los Angeles foster care system and schools as having shaped her views of the integral role public institutions play in the lives of students and the economic development in a community.
Dr. Alexander Walker-Griffin
Alexander Walker-Griffin’s passion for civic engagement started at the age of 10, and by 13 years old he was working on statewide campaigns. In college, he held a variety of leadership roles, ranging from president of Community Organizing and Political Action to student government. Alex was a two-term student body president of Contra Costa College. Under his leadership, he successfully started the college’s first free breakfast, school supplies, and bus pass program. Simultaneously, he was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to represent 2.3 million students as a member of the California Community Colleges Board of Governors. His proudest achievement being the lone student to vote to make community college tuition free for the first two years. He would go on to serve as one the founding members of Calbright College, the nation’s first 100 percent online community college.
Alex has gained a variety of experience in numerous public policy roles. He served as an intern to Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), served as an aide for the Richmond City Council, and several other organizations. Recently, he served as the Chief Lobbyist for March For Our Lives California, in which he successfully advocated for stricter gun violence restraining order, such AB 2617, by Assemblyman Gabriel.
Alex served as the Mayor of Hercules, his hometown, from 2023-2023. In his two years on the council he has passed and started a variety of initiative such as the Hercules Small Business Grant, Hercules Small Business Rental Relief Program, and the Hercules Community Gift Card Program. During his first budget season, he led the charge to allocate funding for swing sets for children with disabilities. Additionally, he introduced and then passed the Hercules Equal Pay Ordinance, to combat pay discrimination, and the Hercules Electrification Ordinance, requiring new development to be 100 percent electric, and introduced the city’s first Senior Health Day. He also serves as a CalGuard Army officer. Alex is a graduate of Contra Costa College and received his BA in Politics from Saint Mary’s College of California. Currently, he is pursuing his masters through Johns Hopkins.