Speakers

Jennifer Keiper currently serves as Senior Director of CollegeBuys at the Foundation for California Community Colleges, where she oversees business development efforts and program operations for the CollegeBuys program. One of her key roles is to sustain core business lines, diversify procurement opportunities, improve operational efficiencies and lead the department’s compliance efforts. Jennifer and her team work closely with the Chancellor’s Office, the Advisory Group and key stakeholders across the 73 districts to ensure their needs are being reflected in systemwide agreements, while simultaneously collaborating with corporate and intersegmental partners to increase access and cost-savings for students, colleges, and the system as a whole. Jennifer has over ten years of experience in California’s public sector, eight of which have been dedicated to contracting in higher education within the CCC and UC systems. In her previous role as Contracts Officer for UC Davis Health, she was responsible for negotiating business contracts for UC Davis Medical Center, School of Medicine, and School of Nursing. Jennifer earned her bachelor of arts in political science from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and her juris doctorate in public interest from UC Davis School of Law.

Jorge Burwick serves as the Operations Manager, CollegeBuys where he oversees CollegeBuys contracts, vendor relationships, and contract support functions. Based on systemwide need, he works to develop new business lines by vetting prospective vendors and managing compliant requests for proposals. Jorge supports systemwide collaborative procurement initiatives. Jorge has over 10 years of experience in higher education and has committed himself to working with projects that focus on equity and inclusion. Prior to joining the Foundation, he managed student programs at the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities where he was responsible for corporate relations and campus outreach. Jorge is a native Texan and earned his bachelor's from Trinity University and master's from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

J.C. Sales is the Vice President of Program Development for the Foundation for California Community Colleges. In this role, he supports ongoing efficiency and effectiveness for Foundation programs such as CollegeBuys, Workforce Development, Equity & Community Impact by serving as dot-connector to a vast network of relationships across the California Community Colleges system, state agencies, and public higher education system-partners. J.C. also works closely with the statewide Chancellor’s Office to provide support and ensure alignment with matters related to legislation, policy, and the state’s budget. J.C. possesses nearly 20 years of experience in government and nonprofit sectors having worked for the Foundation for 12-years, and serving in the United States Army, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and the administrations of Attorney General Edmund G. Brown and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He received his bachelor's in economics, juris doctorate, and masters in public administration from the University of Southern California.

Dr. Jose Fierro began his tenure as President/Superintendent of the Cerritos Community College District in July 2015. Located in the Southeast Los Angeles region of California, Cerritos College is the foremost launchpad for upward social mobility in the local community. Dr. Fierro’s commitment to increasing educational access, success, and completion is reflected in the innovative ways that Cerritos College connects with the community and students. Since his arrival in 2015, the community has seen a 386 percent increase in completion of transfer-level math courses in a student’s first year, and a 107 percent increase in completion of transfer-level English in a student’s first year. These momentum points are significant factors to a students’ success, as demonstrated by an 85 percent increase in the number of degree and certificate awards at Cerritos College. With the support of time-tested partnerships between Cerritos College and local school districts, Dr. Fierro launched Cerritos Complete in 2016. More than a Promise Program, Cerritos Complete provides easy access to college for high school seniors. Cerritos Complete increases the velocity of completion through wraparound student services and a merit-based scholarship component. Cerritos Complete won the 2018 Examples of Excelencia Award in the Associate Level category, which is the only national effort to identify and promote evidence-based practices that help accelerate Latino student success in higher education. The program was also selected as a finalist for the 2018 Bellwether Award. Dr. Fierro is a 2020-2021 Aspen Presidential Fellow and a 2017 Wheelhouse Fellow. He serves on various boards at the local, state, and national levels, including 2021-2022 President-Elect of the Chief Executive Officers of the California Community Colleges (CEOCCC) Board, Community College League Board of Directors, 2021 President-Elect of the National Community College Hispanic Council Board of Directors (NCCHC), Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education Alliance Executive Committee, 2021-2022 President of the California Association of Latino Community College Trustees and Administrators (CALCCTA) Board, Racial Equity and Inclusive Excellence (REIE) Taskforce, Los Angeles/Orange County Regional Consortium Governance Council, Coast Plaza Hospital Board of Directors in Norwalk, and the National Association of Community College Teachers Executive Board (NACCTEP).

Joseph Quintana is Chief Operating Officer of the Foundation for California Community Colleges and a key executive liaison to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. A recognized and well-respected expert of the California Community College system, Quintana’s strategic executive leadership, stalwart guidance, and programmatic initiative and oversight have directly contributed to the Foundation’s continued and significant year-over-year growth. Quintana first served, proudly, as a Foundation student intern through the Career Pathway Program, where he worked for the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office supporting the 17-member Board of Governors. He advanced to become Executive Director of CollegeBuys, the nation’s premiere community college focused procurement program. As Executive Director, Quintana developed and executed partnership agreements, public code complaint contracts, and cooperative purchasing programs that continue to provide significant discounts to California Community College students, faculty, staff, and the system. His system expertise, operational acumen, and strong ability to build and maintain key partnerships led to Quintana’s COO appointment in 2016.