New JJC Board of Trustees seated

JJC swore in two new board members to the Board of Trustees on Wednesday, April 26, and welcomed back another after approving the official results from the April 4 election.
Newly elected Trustee Diane Harris joined re-elected Trustee Alicia Morales on the board along with new Student Trustee Iyeisha Ellis. After taking the oath of office all three members took their seats on the board.
After confirming the election results and the winners, the board acknowledged the departure of Board Chairman Dan O’Connell and Student Trustee Joshua Stamborski. O’Connell did not run for re-election to the board, and Stamborski just completed his one-year term.
“My time on the board was enjoyable, even though the past two years smudged it with COVID,” O’Connell said. “Most of us made it through it, a lot of us didn’t, but we’re still here.”
Harris said she is looking forward to taking on her new challenge.
“I’m looking forward to being a part of the JJC community, not as an alumni, but as a trustee, and to help move the mission and agendas forward,” Harris said. “I do want to make sure that any decision I make will be putting the students first, along with the goals and mission of the college.”
Morales, who was re-elected to the board, is enthusiastic to continue serving the JJC community.
“I want students to know that they matter,” Morales said. “I don’t want them ever to think ‘I’m just a student,’ or ‘I’m just going to JJC.’ JJC is a place where transformation takes place.”
Morales also elaborated on her personal experience as a JJC alum.
“JJC changed my life as a returning adult student; I didn’t think I had a future…but I decided to give school a chance, and it changed my life.”
The Board of Trustees also underwent reorganization as they elected members of the new board to fill the chair, vice chair and secretary positions.
Trustee James Budzinski, who won election to the board in 2021, was elected to be its new chairman, filling the role previously held by O’Connell. Morales was elected as vice chairwoman, and Trustee Nancy Garcia Guillen was re-elected as the board’s secretary.