Santa Barbara City College Board of Trustees has named Christina Llerena the new director of EOPS (Extended Opportunity Programs and Services) and CalWORKs.
EOPS is a state-funded, educational support program for financially and academically disadvantaged students enrolled full-time at SBCC. The CARE program (Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education) provides additional services for low-income, single-parent students.
Llerena is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Columbia University, and comes to SBCC from West Valley College near San Jose, California. She brings with her many years serving marginalized populations, 25 years of bilingual social work, and higher education experience working with diverse communities in New York City and the Bay Area.
Llerena is seasoned in strengths-based social work; intrusive academic counseling, private and public servant leadership; and is an advocate of mental health services.
She started teaching community college throughout San Mateo and Santa Clara counties in 2004, has worked as an instructor and counselor for First-Year Experience (FYE), and served as the former TRIO SSS director at West Valley College.
Through her combination of experiences, Llerena has developed experience in developing equity-driven initiatives and is passionate about supporting EOPS students.
Llerena said she is thrilled to join the SBCC community, quoting German theologian and philosopher Meister Eckhart: “Sometimes you just know it’s time to start something new and trust in the magic of beginnings.”