Presidential Candidate Forums

Close Carlos Cortez, who most recently served as chancellor of the San Diego Community College District, has more than 18 years’ experience as a college administrator – including 13 as a chief executive. He has worked at public, private, and charter schools in Washington, D.C., Houston, New York City, Los Angeles, Berkeley, and San Diego, and has been on the faculty at John Hopkins University, National University, New York University, and UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UC San Diego. Throughout his career, Dr. Cortez has elected to work primarily with underserved, ethnically diverse student populations from systemically marginalized communities.

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Prior to his appointment as PCC’s interim superintendent/president, José A. Gómez served as executive vice president, provost (the university’s chief academic officer), and chief operating officer at California State University, Los Angeles. At Cal State LA, Dr. Gómez was instrumental in strategic efforts to enhance student success, elevate fundraising, and deepen engagement with the region through partnerships with government and industry. Dr. Gómez led major initiatives to expand opportunities for students at Cal State LA, including Cal State LA’s downtown campus; the Prison Graduation Initiative, California’s first bachelor’s degree program taught in state prison; and Cal State LA BioSpace, a regional incubator promoting inclusive entrepreneurship. He also established a partnership with the Los Angeles Football Club to renovate the university’s stadium field and construct a professional soccer training and operations facility on campus. As an educator, Dr. Gómez has taught courses at Chaffey College, Mt. San Antonio College, Cal State LA, and USC. He previously served as higher education adviser to the president pro tem of the California Senate, executive director of the California Educational Facilities Authority, and held senior positions in the California Department of Justice and the State Treasurer’s Office. Dr. Gómez is a Pasadena resident, and his experience as a first-generation college student, raised in the San Gabriel Valley, has inspired his three-decade career in education and government. He received Cal Poly Pomona’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2019.