Biography

Before arriving at PCC, Dr. Gómez served as executive vice president, provost, and chief operating officer at California State University, Los Angeles. In his 13 years at Cal State LA, he led major initiatives to expand opportunities for students, including the university's downtown campus, the Prison B.A. Graduation Initiative, and the regional collaboration incubator Cal State LA BioSpace.

During Dr. Gómez's time as provost, Cal State LA's enrollment and graduation rates climbed and the university was named a “Champion of Higher Education for Excellence in Transfer” by the Campaign for College Opportunity. He also established a public-private partnership between the Los Angeles Football Club and Cal State LA to renovate the university's stadium field and construct a new state-of-the-art professional soccer training and operations facility on campus.

Prior to arriving at Cal State, Dr. Gómez served as higher education adviser to the president pro tem of the California Senate and was also executive director of the California Educational Facilities Authority, where he assisted colleges with more than $1 billion in financing for campus development projects. 

As an educator, Dr. Gómez has taught courses at Cal State LA, USC, Chaffey College, and Mt. San Antonio College, where he received the Educator of Distinction Award. His board service includes terms with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, the Western Justice Center Foundation, the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles, The Broad Center, and the advisory board to Teach for America Los Angeles. 

Dr. Gómez was raised in the San Gabriel Valley, and as a first-generation college student he attended Mt. San Antonio College and Citrus College before transferring to Cal Poly Pomona. His master's and doctoral degrees are from the University of Southern California, where he was a Steven B. Sample Presidential Fellow. He received Cal Poly Pomona's Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2019.

Dr. Gómez lives in Pasadena with his wife, Catherine, their three children, and three dogs.