Author: Armand Santos

Dr. Jeremy Hart has been an educator for 20 years. He currently serves as a tenured Professor of Counseling at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, CA and as a lecturer in the College of Education at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Prior to working at the college level, Dr. Hart worked in secondary education as a high school/middle school counselor and a middle school teacher. He has also worked with youth in foster care and in California Youth Authority.

Dr. Hart is from Gardena, California and is the first in his family to graduate from college. He began his postsecondary education at Long Beach City College earning an associate degree in Child Development. He went on to earn both his bachelor’s degree in Human Services and master’s degree in School Counseling at California State University, Dominguez Hills.  Dr. Hart received his Ed.D. from the University of Southern California in Educational Psychology.

Dr. Hart has a passion for providing mentorship to Black males, at-risk youth and first generation students who feel as if their environment, and or background gives them little hope or guidance for a brighter future.

Dr. Ricky Shabazz is an enthusiastic, student-centered leader with over 18 years of executive experience advancing academic achievement, educational equity, diversity, and improving access to higher education. Dr. Shabazz is a team builder with an accomplished track record developing collaborative partnerships that improve student success. He is specializing in enrollment management and cultivating institutional policies, processes, and culture that provide both personalized student experiences and improved student outcomes. His mother was a teenage parent, and he was the first person in his family to attend college. Dr. Shabazz is a promotor of innovative solutions that stimulate inclusive dialogs amongst all stakeholders, and he is a passionate lifelong learner who is absolutely committed to the mission of community colleges to educate a diverse community of learners.

Dr. Shabazz currently serves as the President of San Diego City College, where he provides executive leadership at one of the most innovative and socially active community colleges in the nation. His duties include leading interventions and discussions aimed at improving completion, success, and equity of culturally diverse students.

Dr. Shabazz is the former Vice Present of Student Services at San Bernardino Valley College, where his responsibilities included providing leadership to offices and programs such as Admissions and Records, Assessment, Counseling, Financial Aid, Outreach, Student Development and Student Discipline, ASB, EOPS/CARE, CalWORKs, Disabled Student Services, Federal TRIO programs, Foster Care Education Programs, First Year Experience, the Transfer Center, and Graduation. His team opened one of the state’s first Dreamer’s Resource Centers, and in his last year at Valley College, the college graduated one of its largest graduating classes.

As the former Dean of Student Services at El Camino College Compton Center, Dr. Shabazz provided leadership for enrollment management and all of Compton Center’s student services programs. Under his leadership, Compton Center’s image greatly improved in the community and enrolled grew from 6,700 students in 2006/07 to approximately 14,000 students in 2012/13. During the 2012/13 academic year, Compton Center graduated and transferred more students than in the school’s recent history.

In addition to his work at the Compton Center, Dr. Shabazz has extensive experience in enrollment management and college admissions. He has held positions as Associate Director in the Office of Admissions at Harvey Mudd College; Director of the MESA program and Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions at the University of California, Davis (UCD); and Analyst in the University of California Office of the President.

Dr. Shabazz earned an Ed.D. in educational leadership, as well as a master’s degree in educational administration from California State University, San Bernardino and a bachelor’s degree from UCD. Dr. Shabazz’s research expertise is in increasing college access for underrepresented students. He is a graduate of the Association of California Community College Administrators (ACCCA) Mentorship and Admin 101 programs, a Lakin Fellow, and an alumnus of Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) President’s Academy.

Dr. Scott W. Thayer arrived as the 13th President of Cypress College in January, 2024. Dr. Thayer has 24 years of higher education experience in a variety of administrative roles. He is an advocate for historically underrepresented students and was integral in establishing a food pantry, housing support, and basic needs resources in prior roles. He also is a part-time faculty member, teaching in the San Diego State University Community College Leadership Program and serves on doctoral dissertation committees.

Prior to his selection as Cypress College’s president, he served as the Vice President of Student Services at San Bernardino Valley College from 2017-2023, where he also served as Interim President. Previously, he was the Vice President of Student Services at Cuyamaca College and was the Dean of Student Affairs at Pasadena City College.

Throughout his career, Dr. Thayer has advocated for equity in higher education. He has served as a Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) coach through the state Chancellor’s Office Institutional Effectiveness Partnership Initiative (IEPI) and as a member of the Partnership Resource Teams that provide technical assistance in support of student access, retention, K-20 partnerships and equity and success initiatives. He is an established grant writer and has secured over $15M in TRIO grant and Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) funding to assist students in their pursuit of a higher education.

Dr. Thayer is a founding member of two non-profit organizations: Have Faith, Be Strong (HFBS), a non-profit organization for childhood cancer awareness, and the African American Male Education Network and Development (A²MEND), an organization established to foster institutional change within the community college system to increase the success of Black male students.

Dr. Thayer received his doctorate in Higher Education Leadership from the University of Southern California. He completed his Master of Arts in Counseling and Guidance degree from Point Loma Nazarene University in California, his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Rollins College in Florida, and his Associate of Arts degree from Normandale Community College in Minnesota.

He and his wife Maria are proud parents of their daughters Maya Xochitl and Marisol.