Dr. Jennifer Taylor-Mendoza proudly serves as the 13th president of West Valley College, breaking barriers as the first African American educator to lead the College. A visionary and trailblazer in Bay Area education, she brings over twelve years of transformative leadership within the San Mateo County Community College District. Her distinguished career includes her recent role as the President of the College of San Mateo, Vice President of Instruction at Skyline College in San Bruno, founding Dean of Academic Support and Learning Technologies at College of San Mateo (CSM), and as the Director of the Learning Center at CSM. Her unwavering commitment to academic excellence and equity continues to inspire and shape the future of higher education.
With more than twenty-five years of dedicated experience in both instruction and student services, primarily within the California community college system, Dr. Taylor-Mendoza has served as a classified professional, tenured faculty leader, director, dean, vice president, and now president. She draws inspiration from the brilliance, resilience, and boundless potential of community college students. Committed to leading with a fierce dedication to social justice and liberation, President Taylor-Mendoza embraces the collective responsibility to confront and dismantle the enduring legacy of racism. Her vision is to build a more equitable system鈥攐ne that ensures fair access, meaningful opportunities, and lasting outcomes鈥攆ueling not only individual achievement but also generational transformation.
She coined the term 鈥渙bligation gap鈥� to highlight institutional responsibility and co-authored Minding the Obligation Gap in Community Colleges: Theory and Practice in Achieving Educational Equity. President Taylor-Mendoza is also an Aspen Institute Presidential Fellow and American Leadership Forum, Silicon Valley Senior Fellow.
Her expertise spans accreditation, dual enrollment, educational policy, enrollment management, global learning, guided pathways, online learning, organizational development, professional development, and workforce partnerships. As Chief Instructional Officer, President Taylor-Mendoza served on the State Chancellor鈥檚 Office鈥檚 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statewide Implementation Workgroup in developing, implementing, and assessing DEI strategies to improve systemwide equitable outcomes for California鈥檚 116 colleges. In addition, she was an adviser to the State Chancellor鈥檚 Office on the Trustee Fellowship and provided strategies to support trustees in their role as district leaders identifying regional workforce gaps and measuring student equity goals.
As a dedicated public servant, President Taylor-Mendoza believes that thriving, vibrant communities increase enrollment, build public confidence, enhance funding support, and impact local legislation. She serves on a variety of boards, county councils and non-profit organizations, including California Community College Athletic Association, California Community College Women鈥檚 Caucus, Joint Venture Silicon Valley, Saratoga and San Mateo Rotaries, San Mateo Police Activities League, and West Valley Community Services. She is also an Umoja Community Education Foundation legacy founder and former board of director.
A proud, distinguished El Camino College alumna, President Taylor-Mendoza holds a B.A. in Psychology, California State University, Los Angeles, an M.S. in Counseling, California State University, Northridge, and a Ph.D. in Education, Claremont Graduate University.