Superintendent/President Search 2025

Dr. Monica Chahal is an experienced leader with a career spanning more than three decades in educational institutions, primarily the California Community College system. Her work has been defined by her focus on equity, social justice, and student success. Her lifelong commitment to students has led to a rewarding career in the California Community College system as a classified professional, adjunct and full-time faculty, and administrator at Yuba College, Woodland Community College, and Clovis Community College. In all these roles, she is most proud to have served alongside and worked collaboratively with others committed to excellence and innovation. 

Dr. Chahal currently serves as Interim President at Clovis Community College, which serves a diverse population of more than 13,000 students. Dr. Chahal has led the College in strategic planning, strategic enrollment management and post-pandemic enrollment recovery; resource development, including a $3 million Title V grant focused on Latinx student success in STEM; Guided Pathways implementation; building community partnerships through service on local nonprofit agencies and cross segmental collaborative efforts with K12 and local universities; and faculty and staff professional development. She has served as Accreditation Liaison Officer, assuring thoughtful and collaborative self-study. 

Dr. Chahal is actively involved in community organizations, currently serving as a board member for Focus Forward (a local non-profit organization that supports Fresno County youth in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems) and Central California Asian Pacific Women (CCAPW provides scholarships and opportunities for leadership and advocacy for Asian and Pacific Island women from the Central Valley). She maintains a presence in the community by attending local community events as well as city government events, including Clovis City Council meetings and the most recent Clovis Mayor’s community roundtable, which included discussions on current issues facing the community, activities supporting the city’s strategic plan, and future growth. 

Dr. Chahal earned a BA in English from UC Davis, an MA in English from CSU Sacramento, and an EdD in Educational Leadership from UC Davis. As a lifelong student herself, she has successfully completed the CCLC’s Aspiring CEO Program, the UC Davis Wheelhouse Advancing Leaders Institute (ALI), and the UC Davis Wheelhouse Rural Serving California Community College CEO Convening.

Dr. Chahal is the proud daughter of immigrants to the United States, public school teachers themselves who instilled in her the value of an education.

Val Martinez Garcia is a proud community college graduate, who currently serves as the Acting Superintendent/President of College of the Desert, bringing more than two decades of transformative leadership experience in higher education to the Coachella Valley. His career reflects a steadfast commitment to student success, institutional effectiveness, and meaningful community engagement.

At College of the Desert, Martinez Garcia has held key executive roles as Vice President of Instruction and Vice President of Student Services, where he provided strategic oversight for academic programs, instructional services, and student support for more than 14,000 students. His leadership has driven significant institutional advancements, including the expansion of dual enrollment programs, the streamlining of academic processes, the completion of the college’s Institutional Self Report (ISER), and the development of the college’s Educational Strategic Master Plan.

He has played an integral role in guiding major facilities initiatives, notably the Indio Campus Expansion and contributed to the design of the new Palm Springs Campus. In addition to his campus leadership, Martinez Garcia has represented the region as a Regional Representative for the Chief Student Services Officers Association (CSSO) and actively contributes to statewide initiatives aimed at improving educational access and equity.

Prior to his tenure at College of the Desert, Martinez Garcia served as Vice President of Student Services at West Hills College Lemoore, where the institution was nationally recognized two times as an Aspen Top 150 College and designated as an Achieving the Dream College of Distinction. His innovative leadership there included the redesign of student services, the expansion of mental health support, and the cultivation of impactful community partnerships.

Martinez Garcia holds a Master of Science in School Counseling and a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from the University of La Verne. He is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership. As Acting Superintendent/President, he leads College of the Desert with a vision rooted in collaboration, equity, and data-informed decision-making, ensuring that the institution continues to deliver high-quality educational opportunities that enrich and empower the communities it serves.

Dr. Kimberlee S. Messina is a passionate and committed Community College educator who has been serving as President of Spokane Falls Community College in the state of Washington since June 2019. 

Prior to this appointment she worked in the California Community College system for 26 years. Dr. Messina is an Aspen Presidential Fellow and spent 10 years as a tenured faculty member at Santa Rosa Junior College where she infused equity and innovation in her Spanish curriculum. During that time, she served two terms as the Academic Senate President before being appointed as the Dean of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. As Dean, she worked closely with college personnel, local industry and non-profits to increase access and success for underrepresented students. Dr. Messina joined Foothill College as the Vice President of Instruction and Institutional Research in May of 2011. She also served as the Interim President of the college for the 2015-2016 academic year. She served two years as the Vice Chancellor for Educational Services and Planning at the San Mateo County Community College District. 

During her seven-year tenure in Silicon Valley, as well as her six years in WA, she has been active in legislative advocacy, as well as building and maintaining partnerships with educational partners, non-profits and industry. 

Dr. Messina has extensive experience in Guided Pathways, curriculum, equity infused pedagogy, strategic planning, and accreditation. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a Master of Arts in Spanish from California State University, Sacramento and earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Messina is an active participant in statewide organizations and policy groups in the state of Washington and served on the Board of the Association of California Community College Administrators and the Advisory committee for the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office Institutional Effectiveness Partnership Initiative, as well as seven accreditation site visits. 

Dr. Don Moya-Miller has a long-standing record of service focused on student and employee equity and success at the community college and university levels.  He currently serves as the Vice President/Assistant Superintendent, Academic Affairs at Rio Hondo College (RHC) and has also served as President of the California Community Colleges Chief Instructional Officers (CCCCIO). As Assistant Superintendent, he oversees the work of the instructional divisions of the College and is responsible for the work of the Offices of Academic Affairs, Institutional Effectiveness, Grants (2021-24), Distance Education, and Instructional Operations at the College. His goal is to support all students and college employees in finding success in their studies, their work, and in their personal lives as they are supported by campus leadership, constituency groups, and the community.

Before serving at RHC, Dr. Moya-Miller was Vice President of Instruction at College of Alameda (COA) and served as Interim President of the College during summer/fall 2020. In his leadership roles at COA, Dr. Moya-Miller focused on student and employee equity, success, and professional development, strategic planning, enrollment management, construction management for new classroom and career technical education facilities, curriculum development, shared governance work, and accreditation processes.  He also served previously as Interim Vice President of Academic Services and as Dean of Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences, and learning communities at Las Positas College. 

Prior to joining the California Community College system full-time in July 2014, Dr. Moya-Miller spent 8.5 years as chair of large multicultural, multilingual departments of modern and classical languages at private and public universities, including CSU, Chico and University of St. Thomas.  He spent 20 years as an instructional faculty member in Spanish programs teaching courses in introductory and intermediate language, culture, speech and debate, human and civil rights in the Spanish-speaking world, Latin American Studies, theater, honors, etc. As a faculty member he served as an academic senator, academic adviser, curriculum committee member, program coordinator, and in multiple campus shared governance roles.  His publications and professional presentations have focused on gender identity and sexuality of marginalized voices and their interpretation in culture, literature, art, and film in various historical contexts of the Spanish-speaking U.S., Latin America, Spain, and Equatorial Guinea. His research has also focused on the representation of indigenous identities in Latin America.  Dr. Moya-Miller comes from a family of first-generation college students, classified professionals, scientists, veterans, mechanics, educators, and he and his spouse are the proud parents of four adult children.