Dr. Margaret R. Quiñones-Perez has been elected chair and Dr. Nancy Greenstein vice chair of the Santa Monica Community College District Board of Trustees for 2012.
Quiñones-Perez succeeds Dr. Andrew Walzer and Greenstein succeeds Quiñones-Perez in posts that rotate annually. This is the second time Quiñones-Perez is serving as chair, having previously held the post in 2004.
Quiñones-Perez, who was first elected to the SMC Board in 2000, had previously served eight years as a trustee on the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board, including one year as board president.
A counselor at El Camino College, Quiñones-Perez has had broad experience at community colleges and social service agencies. She has also been active in several professional and community organizations, primarily in education and Latino organizations.
A graduate of Santa Monica College, she received her bachelor’s degree in mental health research methods from California State University at Dominguez Hills, a master’s in counseling psychology from the University of Southern California, and a doctorate in educational leadership from UCLA. She was also a fellow of the JFK Harvard School of Government.
Quiñones-Perez was the first Latina elected to the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board and the first Latina elected to the Santa Monica College Board of Trustees.
She is a former member of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. The Board of Governors sets policy and provides guidance for the 72 districts and 109 colleges that constitute the system. As a member of the Board of Governors, appointed by the state’s Governor, she interacted with state and federal officials and other state organizations. She participated in selecting a Chancellor for the system. The Chancellor, through a formal process of consultation, brings recommendations to the Board, which has the legislatively granted authority to develop and implement policy for the colleges.
She serves on the Board of the National Hispana Leadership Institute and is an associate member of the state Association of Community College Trustees’ Finance and Audit Committee.
She says her professional and policy experience is deeply grounded in all student success, student equality and a committed position in Latino and African-American student access and success.
Greenstein, who was elected to the Board of Trustees in November 2002 and re-elected twice, previously served as vice chair in 2005 and chair in 2006.
Director of Police Community Services at the UCLA Police Department since 1997, she has received national recognition for community policing programs and strategies for bringing together diverse groups and agencies to resolve various issues. She has also worked as Public Safety Administrator in West Hollywood.
She has won several awards, including the prestigious Jeanne Cleary Campus Safety Award, a national honor, in 2009; State Legislature Woman of the Year Award, in 2010; and the UCLA Educational Leadership Award.
Greenstein is the City of Santa Monica representative and the 2008 Chair of the Los Angeles County West Vector District Board. Previously she served as Chair of the Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corporation and the Santa Monica Charter Review Commission and as a board member of the Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau. She is co-chair emeritus of Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights and active in a number of community organizations. She is a current board member and past president of the Southern California ACLU. With such varied expertise, she is routinely called upon to consult with local governmental agencies, law enforcement and community groups regarding public safety, community partnerships, community relationships and problem solving. She also serves on the board of the Los Angeles-based Social Justice Learning Institute, which is dedicated to improving educational institutions for underserved populations.
Greenstein received her bachelor’s degree in education from Boston University, master’s of social work with a community organizing specialty from UCLA, and a doctorate in education from UCLA.
