CoCEAL Executive Board 2019-2020 Announcement

July 10th, 2019

Executive Board 2019-2020

Let's get excited! Our CoCEAL election process has concluded and we are delighted to announce your new executive board for 2019-2020 !

Congratulations to Joel Orozco Almeida and Andrea Rascón! Please see the photos and bios below of your 19-20 executive board. We would also like to take a second to thank our outgoing Executive Team members. Thank you to Abenicio Real for his service in the Secretary role this past year and to Dominic Martinez for his commitment to COCEAL the last three years in the President Elect/Current/Past role. Dominic has been an integral part of our leadership team for the last five years, we are thankful for the contributions he has made to this organization and the people in it. Thank you Dominic!

Finally, I, Dora, would like to take a second to thank you, COCEAL members, for allowing me the opportunity to serve as your President. It has been an honor to get to know you, and serve you in this way. As in any leadership role, there are always things you wish you could have done differently, or more of. While I certainly have my mental list of those things, I am also proud of the work we have done this year and I am excited to see what our incoming executive team does with the path we have carved before them. Adelante en la lucha.

– Dora Frias, COCEAL Past President

President | Reyna Anaya

Reyna Anaya (she/her/hers) is the Dean of Students at the Community College of Aurora (CCA), and is proud to serve and work alongside the most racially and ethnically diverse college campus in Colorado. Prior to her time at CCA, Reyna served as the Assistant Director of Community Standards & Conflict Resolution at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) from 2013 to 2018. As a conduct administrator, Reyna served on the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force and was selected as a 2018 Faculty Fellow for the Gehring Academy- Restorative Justice track for the Association for Student Conduct Administrators (ASCA). In addition, Reyna received her PhD in the Higher Education & Student Affairs Leadership program at UNC, and received her Master’s of Arts in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from UNC in 2009. Reyna is also a published scholar with works focused on intersectionality in graduate school for graduate student mothers of color, and self-care in higher education. Last and most importantly, Reyna is the mom of three to Aiyana , Mateo, and Antonio.

President-Elect| Joél Orozco Almeida

Joél Orozco Almeida (he/him/his) is the Associate Director for the César Chávez Cultural Center at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley Colorado. Joél graduated from Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver) with a bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Science in 2012 and The University of Nebraska – Lincoln with a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration in Student Affairs Administration in 2015.

Joél was born in the state of Chihuahua México and moved to the United States when he was 15 – years-old. Shortly after Joél graduated with his bachelor’s degree in 2012, he was granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and currently holds that status. Also, Joél currently serves as a directorate board member for NASPA’s Higher Education Administrators Undocumented and Ally’s Knowledge Community.

While in his doctoral program he is continuing research in better understanding experiences of undocumented/DACAmented students in higher education to identify ways to better serve that population.

Past-President | Dora Frias

Dora S. Frias (she/her/hers) is currently the Director of the Pride Resource Center at Colorado State University. Previously, she served as the Program Director of Latinx Student Services at the University of Colorado Denver. She was born in Durango, Mexico and grew up El Paso, TX. She earned her B.S. from Texas A&M University in Kinesiology and her M.S. at Colorado State University in Student Affairs in Higher Education. Dora has worked as a physical and health educator in the K-12 educational system and has spent the last 8 years working in Student Affairs and Higher Education, specializing in social justice education and advocating for underrepresented students on a variety of campuses across the country. Dora is a Co-Lead facilitator for the LeaderShape Institute, a graduate of the Social Justice Training Institute and has been featured on a Higher Ed Live episode titled “LGBTQ + Latinx Issues in Student Affairs.” Through her work with students she hopes to create a community that fosters mutual respect, justice and equality for all. Outside of all that, she enjoys cooking, listening to QTLatinx podcasts, and spending time with her partner, their kiddo and family.

Secretary | Andrea Rascón

Andrea Rascón (she/her/hers) currently serves as an Academic Coach in TRIO Student Support Services at Community College of Aurora. Born and raised in Grand Junction, CO – she earned her B.S. in Human Services from University of Northern Colorado and M.S. in Higher Education from Penn State University. Her previous experiences include student engagement and leadership, educational equity, empowering womxn of color, and facilitation around social justice, intercultural relations and leadership. She has earned completion credentials for LifeBound Coaching, CCA’s Inclusive Excellence Champion training, Effective Teaching Practices for the Association of College and University Educators and has also served as a cluster facilitator for LeaderShape’s LatinX Institute. As a first-generation college student and product of TRIO SSS and McNair, Andrea has dedicated her student affairs career to providing holistic support to first-gen college students, especially her fellow womxn of color. Outside of work, she loves traveling, being outside, and listening to Selena or Lauryn Hill.

Treasurer | Mary Sauceda

Mary Sauceda (she/her/hers) currently serves as Associate Director of Financial Aid at University of Denver overseeing the advising and front desk teams. Mary has been serving in higher education in different capacities since 2004, and focuses on supporting college access and affordability. Prior to serving in higher education, Mary worked in the realm of accounting working with vendor relations in accounts payable. As a native to California, Mary earned her degrees from California State University, Fresno. As an undergraduate student, Mary was treasurer of her business organization before she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration – Computer Information Systems. She earned her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Administration with distinction. She is currently working on her doctoral degree in Higher Education at University of Denver. Mary enjoys spending time with her partner and children, and is a foodie and wine enthusiast.

Communications Director| Evelynn Guzman de Leon

Evelynn Guzman de Leon (she/her/hers) currently serves as the Student Retention Specialist for the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She obtained her Higher Education degree in College Student Affairs and Educational Leadership from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. Evelynn moved from Pennsylvania to Colorado in 2015 to continue her career in Higher Education in a city and state where she could utilize her bilingual abilities and passion for diversity to assist students and their families. Evelynn enjoys and thrives in presenting to groups about topics such as college readiness, personal experiences as a young Latinx professional, utilization of assessment in campus programming, and supervision of student staff. Evelynn is learning so much from her experiences and her network in Colorado. Being an immigrant herself and with a passion and commitment for social equity, leadership and the Latinx population, the move to Colorado has been proven to be a natural fit.

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