Beyond Designation: Thinking Intentionally about Servingness in the CSU

Overview of the HSI Landscape in the CSU:

• Dr. Amber Gonzalez, Professor, Child and Adolescent Development, Sacramento State
• Dr. Kevin Ferreira van Leer, Assistant Professor, Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Connecticut

Defining and Operationalizing Servingness Beyond Designation:

• Dr. Timothy Fong, Director, CSU Asian American, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Student Achievement Program (CSU ASAP) 
• Dr. BJ Snowden, Interim Director, CSU Statewide Central Office for the Advancement of Black Student Success
• Dr. Beya Makekau, Associate Vice President for Strategic Planning and Networks, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
• Nailah DuBose, Graduate Student, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Identifying, Collecting, and Using Data in Support of Servingness:

• Dr. Amber Gonzalez, Professor, Child and Adolescent Development, Sacramento State
• Dr. Kevin Ferreira van Leer, Assistant Professor, Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Connecticut
• Dr. George Still, Associate Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness, Fresno State
• Dr. Bobbie Porter, Vice President and Campus Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Officer, CSU Dominguez Hills
• Dr. William Franklin, Vice President for Student Affairs, CSU Dominguez Hills
• Sara M. DeMoss, Director of Mentoring and Student Development Programs, CSU San Bernardino

Additional Speakers TBA

Speaker Bios:

Sara M. DeMoss

Sara Durazo-DeMoss is the director of mentoring and student development at California State University, San Bernardino, where she leads mentoring, first-year experience, and AANHPI-Desi student achievement initiatives at a federally designated Minority-Serving Institution. Her work centers on advancing academic success, equity, and student identity development through critical and data-informed practices. Guided by frameworks such as Tory Weiston Serdan’s Critical Mentoring, Sara’s leadership reflects a commitment to intentional servingness and the sustainable advancement of student success across diverse learning communities.

Nailah DuBose

Nailah DuBose is a 1st year graduate student earning a M.S. in Psychology at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. She plans to pursue a career as a Sport Psychologist for elite and professional athletes, working primarily with Black athletes.

Deeply involved on campus, Nailah has served as President of the Black Student Union, the Black Student Success Initiatives Liaison in the Office of University Diversity Inclusion, Vice President and Membership Coordinator of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. (Xi Xi Chapter), Chair of the CLA Student Diversity Committee, member of CLA Student Advisory Council, and DEI Lead for Psi Chi Honors Society. One of the highlights of her academic career was serving as the Conference Chair of the 22nd Annual Afrikan Black Coalition Conference, which was held for the first time in conference history on the campus of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Nailah currently serves as the Graduate Student Assistant in the Office of University Diversity Inclusion (OUDI) at Cal Poly. In this role, she manages a wonderful student intern team, leads event coordination, and supports programming for office initiatives.

Aside from her aspirations for the future, Nailah’s ultimate goal is to live out her life’s purpose intentionally and impact as many lives as she can, one smile at a time.

Kevin Ferreira van Leer, Ph.D.

Dr. Kevin Ferreira van Leer is an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Connecticut (UConn). As an action researcher, he examines the sociocultural and policy contexts that promote positive development and liberation for Latine immigrants and their families. Previous research includes working alongside Latine undergraduate co-researchers in examining student success and “servingness” at a Hispanic-Serving Institution using photovoice and student-led surveys. Currently, he co-leads the CSU Hispanic-Serving Institution Action Research Network, a collaborative initiative to transform Latine student success across the CSU. Current research also includes investigating how structural factors, such as variation in social policy exclusions for immigrants, are associated with immigrant family wellbeing.

A scholar-activist, Kevin has been sought out for supporting educational institutions in addressing the ways that policy and practice create and perpetuate inequity for people of color.  He is a co-author of Bringing Antiracism into Focus: Using Transformative Lenses to Reframe Professional Practice. His work has been funded by the Spencer Foundation, College Futures Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation and Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. Prior to UConn, Kevin was an Associate Professor at California State University, Sacramento. He received his Ph.D. in Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology from Boston College.

Timothy P. Fong, Ph.D.

Dr. Timothy P. Fong is the Inaugural Executive Director (ED) of the California State University Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Student Achievement Program (CSU ASAP). The ED is responsible for all aspects of establishing and leading a central office to administer the CSU ASAP. The Central Office operates on behalf of the CSU Chancellor’s Office (CO) to allocate programmatic funding, support program development and training, and build a network across the CSU system in support of AANHPI student success. The office is housed at the Sacramento State campus. Dr. Fong was previously Professor of Ethnic Studies at California State University, Sacramento, and was the founding Project Director and Principal Investigator for the Full Circle Project (FCP) funded by the U.S. Department of Education. FCP is a comprehensive approach to implement a strategically focused, campus-wide effort to improve retention and graduation rates of underrepresented and underserved Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) students. FCP aims to assist AAPI students throughout his or her entire college careers and provide ample opportunities to engage in service both on and off campus to enhance their university experience.

William Franklin, Ph.D

Dr. Franklin holds a Ph.D. in Psychological Studies in Education with an emphasis on Child and Adolescent Development from Stanford University. Dr. Franklin is the Vice President for Student Affairs at California State University, Dominguez Hills. While there, Dr. Franklin has secured over $50 million in federal, corporate, and private grants to design student success initiatives for low-income, first-generation students. Dr. Franklin was an associate professor of child and family studies at Cal State LA and an associate professor of human development at CSU Monterey Bay. Dr. Franklin was honored in 2015 with The Wang Family Excellence Award. The award recognizes four outstanding faculty members and one outstanding administrator who, through extraordinary commitment and dedication, have distinguished themselves by exemplary contributions and achievements. Dr. Franklin was awarded the Outstanding Administrator out of the 23 campuses in the CSU.

Dr. Franklin founded the Male Success Alliance, one of the nation’s most successful initiatives for young men of color. He is also the co-founder and co-principal investigator for the systemwide initiative CSU Young Males of Color Consortium. Before transitioning to Stanford, Dr. Franklin completed graduate studies in Educational Psychology and attained his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at California State University, Northridge.

Amber M. Gonzalez, Ph.D.

Dr. Amber M. Gonzalez is a tenured Professor in the Child and Adolescent Development program at California State University, Sacramento. Using mixed methods and participatory action research, her scholarly activities focus on exploring the influence of social support networks and institutional structures on Latine college student identity development and educational and career aspirations, and motivations. In addition, she explores the ways in which students use their aspirations and motivations to ensure their success, manage failure, and persist.

Her research has been funded by Sacramento State, The College Futures Foundation, and the Spencer Foundation. Her scholarly work has been published in the Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, Journal of Educational Research, and College Student Journal. Questions about equity and the roles of institutional agents in supporting students’ holistic success that guide her research agenda also inform her pedagogy. Dr. Gonzalez’ work is grounded in culturally responsive pedagogy, critical reflection, and a deep commitment to inclusive, equity-minded teaching practices. In addition to her scholarly and instructional activities, she serves in multiple roles on campus and has collaborated with various university stakeholders to address inequities within campus policies, programming, and practices.

Beya Makekau, Ed.D.

Dr. Beya Makekau is the Associate Vice President for Strategic Planning and Networks in the Office of University Diversity and Inclusion at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where she leads efforts to advance educational equity, student success, and institutional excellence. With extensive experience in strategic planning across higher education, city government, and corporate sectors, Dr. Makekau is a system-level strategist whose work centers on advancingservingness as a transformative model for student success across higher education institutions. Her leadership intentionally bridges university, city, and regional partnerships to align student success with institutional mission and inclusive outcomes.

Dr. Makekau’s approach to servingness integrates organizational change, relational leadership, and equity-minded strategy to ensure that institutions actively serve, not simply enroll, historically underrepresented students. Her service on the CSU Student Success Subcommittee, composed of Senior Diversity Officers from across the 22 campuses, reflects her deep commitment to shaping system-wide strategies that operationalize servingness in both policy and practice. Dr. Makekau holds degrees in Ethnic Studies from the University of Oregon and San Francisco State University, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Administration from Fresno State.

Bobbie R. Porter, Ed.D.

Dr. Bobbie R. Porter is the Vice President and Campus DEI Officer at California State University, Dominguez Hills, where she leads efforts to advance social justice across all aspects of the institution. She has served as the inaugural senior diversity officer at numerous institutions, establishing infrastructure for sustainable culture change.

Focusing her career in service to minority serving institutions, Dr. Porter has led strategic initiatives that foster inclusive excellence, institutional accountability, and student success. She has developed campus-wide frameworks for equity, implemented policies to advance access and belonging, and guided leadership in embedding DEI into institutional practices. In addition to her years of experience, she is an active member of the higher education community of DEI professionals and lends her expertise to various national boards and committees.

A lifelong advocate for educational justice, Dr. Porter is committed to ensuring that work of equity becomes a matter of daily practice.

Robert (BJ) Snowden, Ed.D.

Dr. BJ Snowden, is an equity-driven higher education leader with over 22 years of experience in instruction, student affairs, and institutional effectiveness. He currently serves as the interim Executive Director of the CSU Central Office for the Advancement of Black Student Success, where he leads statewide efforts to institutionalize equity-centered policies, implement systemwide strategic goals, and certify Black-Serving Institutions across California.

His commitment to community and student success has earned him numerous recognitions, including being named one of Sacramento’s Black Change Makers by the Sacramento Bee in 2023 and receiving the Community College Outstanding Leadership Award from Sacramento State.

Dr. Snowden holds a Doctorate in International & Multicultural Education with an emphasis in Racial Justice from the University of San Francisco, a Master of Arts in Educational Technology from Pepperdine University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Radio, TV, and Film Production from San Jose State University.

George Still, Ph.D.

Dr. George Still is a twenty year veteran in higher education administration.  His research focuses on barriers to student success in higher education. He has published work and sponsored research focused on barriers to student success, belonging, and research methods.  He currently serves as the Associate Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness where he oversees student outcomes research and improving retention and graduation through data.  Prior to this role he served as the director of assessment for the Division of Student Affairs at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. In this role, he conducted student survey research. He oversaw annual reports, program reviews, and accreditation support, in addition to his leadership role on the campus’s data governance committee, the campus climate committee, and various retention committees. He currently serves as the Associate Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness at California State University, Fresno, where he oversees student outcomes research and improving retention and graduation through data.