Anita Bailey joins us from Norco College, where she served as a classified professional and adjunct counseling faculty for Umoja. She has coordinated and created multi-ethnic and multidisciplinary programs with an emphasis on guided pathways and closing equity gaps. Her background resides in over a decade of experience in the California Community College system, by way of developing equity-based programming that fosters a sense of belonging, student development, and retention for our scholars. As Umoja’s Program Director, she will oversee the development of our regions and programs, which will play a critical role in our global expansion efforts.

Dominique Beaumonté joined Umoja in 2018.  He serves the Umoja Community as the Communications and Development Director. The scope of his work includes the development and implementation of strategies that support Umoja’s mission through communications, marketing, and resource generation. Dominique serves on Umoja’s executive leadership team.

Dominique has a strong passion for mentorship and student success, supported by 15+ years of experience and education with colleges/universities, and affiliate organizations. Prior to joining the Umoja team, he worked at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) in a variety of roles, including Student Activities and Outreach Manager for the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Science, Program Director for the Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate, Health System recruiter and graduate program coordinator. Dominique’s scope of work includes developing strategies for communication and fundraising. He is an experienced student affairs professional with a strong background in program development, communications management, outreach, event management, and recruitment/retention.

Dominique graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in journalism and African American history. He completed his graduate work at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, with a master’s degree in educational administration. He is currently pursuing a master of divinity degree at Fuller Theological Seminary. In his free time, he enjoys reading, podcasting, and traveling.

Dr. Trelisa “Tre” Glazatov is a Detroit, Michigan native with over 15 years of education experience and additional years of experience in the healthcare, business, and technology industries.  Trelisa’s passion for curriculum development grew out of opportunities to meld her creative energies and technical knowledge with scholarship.  Prior to joining Umoja, she worked at San Bernardino Community College District, Distance Education department, as an instructional technology specialist.   In this role, Trelisa provided technical support related to academic technologies and provided leadership in distance education as a faculty trainer and instructional designer.

Dr. Trelisa Glazatov holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Iowa; MHSA in Health Administration and Policy from University of Michigan; MEd in Instructional Technology from Wayne State University; and a Ph.D. in Computing Technology in Education from Nova Southeastern University

Brenda Harrison joined Umoja in November 2020. She will act as Umoja Community’s Office Coordinator located in Sacramento. Brenda will be performing administrative, financial, other related activities that support Umoja’s mission. She joins us with a wealth of business knowledge gained over the years working in the private sector and in higher education. She obtained her degree in Sociology, from Sacramento State University.

Brenda enjoys spending time with family, camping, and fishing. She loves football and the Pittsburgh Steelers

Born in Inglewood, CA De’Von Walker is a proud Los Angeles Native and product of the UC system. De’Von comes to Umoja with over 5 years of experience in UC Admissions, Strategic Partnerships, and Team Development with UC Riverside and most recently UCLA. He is passionate about student success and increasing the financial literacy of the Black Community through his invention, Black Wall Street The Board Game. De’Von is ready and excited to support Region 4.

Myia Clarisse Williams, M.A.Ed. has worked with African American students in a variety of settings. From the playground to the lecture hall; from Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors classes, to Special Education classrooms for the neurodivergent or Emotionally Disturbed (ED) populations; from after school programs to first year graduate students, Myia C. Williams continues to explore the needs around Black student education while working to raise levels of understanding, intentionality, and accountability amongst educators, families, and students.

Dr. A.K. Sterling has been teaching English Composition, African-American Literature, and Rhetoric for 10 years (five years at University of California Riverside, and over five at the Community College level). As a Part-time faculty member of several English Departments, Sterling enjoys teaching composition, literature, film, and critical thought alongside Black feminist theory. Having attended four community colleges himself, this special demographic is near and dear to his heart. Sterling earned his Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Ph.D. degrees in English Literature from the University of California, Riverside. Teaching Philosophy: My commitment to a “cointentional” model of pedagogy in which both teacher and student are recognized as creatively thinking subjects; a move beyond a “banking” model of education that posits students as empty receptacles for knowledge; a firm interest in creating and generating knowledge rather than transferring it to passive recipients; a valuing of critical inquiry over memorization and dogmatism; a self-awareness and meta-discourse in the classroom—a willingness to ask, “Why are we asking these questions, in this way, with this language?”; and a student-centered model of teaching that consistently assesses and evaluates students’ needs, learning styles, desires, and intellectual habits.

Dr. Gardner (she, her, hers) serves as Co-Program Director and Assistant Professor in the College of Education at Seattle University. She has 13 years of scholar-practitioner experience in crisis management, multicultural affairs, and residential education. Her research agenda centers race and gender equity in the workplace as well as intersectional identity development among students, staff, and faculty in higher education and student affairs. Dr. Gardner has facilitated a series of Diversity-Equity-Inclusion webinars and workshops for Academic Impressions, a national professional development platform for faculty and staff in higher education. She is also a co-founder of Career Killing Moves for Women of Color in Higher Education, which serves as a digital storytelling platform that fosters courageous and authentic leadership development. As a queer, Black, Woman of Color, Dr. Gardner finds great importance in advocating, empowering, and building solidarity-based coalitions with and for those on the margins of society. Inspired by the African proverb, Ubuntu, “I am, because we are,” Dr. Gardner builds community, cultivates change, and creates compassionate learning environments for students to thrive.

Eileen Yoshina is a fourth generation mixed Japanese American/Irish American. She is the Director of Equity in Education at Puget Sound Educational Service District where she is also a facilitator of the Educators of Color Leadership Community–a program focused on the retention of educators of color in our schools. She has worked as a fifth and sixth grade teacher, and a faculty member and in multicultural services at the community college level.

Puget Sound Educational Service District serves our K-Post secondary students in the King and Pierce Country region by providing services that supports our commitment to leading with racial equity.  Together we work to partner with students, families and educators of color and the educational systems that serve them to create educational environments and opportunities that uplift the strengths and center the wisdom of our communities.