Presidential Finalists - South

Seattle Colleges has selected the finalists for the president position at South Seattle College. A series of community forums, one for each candidate, will be held May 14-16. 

The following professionals have been selected as finalists. Note, finalists are listed in the order for which they will interview and attend a campus forum at South Seattle College. Biographies and photos were provided by the finalists.
 

Finalist: Dr. Monica Brown

Campus Forum: Tuesday, May 14, 1 to 2:30 p.m.    
Location: OLY120 Auditorium   
For Zoom link, see email Presidential Search Finalists and Community Forums sent May 1.

Dr. Monica Brown is a seasoned higher education leader with over 18 years of progressive leadership experience in the community college environment and eight years at the senior level. She has worked at four-year and two-year institutions with diverse student, faculty, and staff populations. Her eclectic background derives from her experiences in academic affairs, continuing education, and student affairs.

She began her career in higher education at Georgetown University, where she served in various roles, including manager of student resources and services. As a first-generation college graduate, she became enamored with the community college mission after serving as a part-time advisor at a local community college. She decided to transition from the four-year to the community college environment on a full-time basis to leverage her knowledge of student learning and development and make an impact, one student at a time.

In 2003, she started her tenure at Montgomery College, a multi-campus institution in the suburbs of Washington, DC, with a diverse population of 43,000 credit and non-credit students representing more than 155 nations, where she currently serves as the senior vice president for student affairs. She provides leadership and vision for the student affairs division, consisting of over 300 full-time and part-time faculty and staff across three campuses and central services. Prior to becoming the chief student affairs officer, she served in several leadership roles with direct oversight for counseling and advising, disability support services, student life, student support services, veterans services, and athletics.

Dr. Brown is an equity-minded, student-centered, collaborative leader who strives to foster a culture of respect and collaboration. She has experience working with governance and collective bargaining. She has led college-wide efforts, working with faculty, staff, and administrators, to close the achievement gap and increase student success through comprehensive programs and services. She is committed to creating an equitable and inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and welcomed and can make a meaningful contribution.

Dr. Brown is the immediate past chair of the Maryland Community College Chief Student Affairs Officers (CSAO) affinity group and a member of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Commission on College Readiness. Additionally, she serves on the Higher Education Research and Development Institute (HERDI) Innovate Advisory Board, the PIC (Pinkney Innovation Complex) MC Foundation Board, and as a peer evaluator for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

Dr. Brown earned a doctorate in higher education administration from Morgan State University, a master of arts in counseling from Trinity College, and a bachelor of arts from Georgetown University.
 

Finalist: Dr. Rigoberto (Rigo) Rincones Gomez

Campus Forum: Wednesday, May 15, 1 to 2:30 p.m.   
Location: OLY120 Auditorium   
For Zoom link, see email Presidential Search Finalists and Community Forums sent May 1.

Dr. Rincones brings over two decades of national and international experience in postsecondary education, during which he has held key academic leadership roles supporting student success, faculty excellence, scholarly activity, and institutional prominence. He has built a distinguished career serving at a variety of institutions, both nationally and internationally, including public and private state colleges and universities, as well as faith-based institutions, Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs), and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). His expertise spans single and multi-campus settings across rural, suburban, and urban environments, with student enrollments ranging from 750 to 65,000.

Dr. Rincones has successfully managed a diverse portfolio of academic and student support services units including:

Dr. Rincones has taught for over 20 years at the developmental, undergraduate, and graduate levels. He has co-authored several books, designed and facilitated more than 50 workshops in 10+ countries, published his work in prestigious refereed journal articles, been a keynote speaker, and served on several boards.

In addition to holding key administrative positions at three community/state colleges, Dr. Rincones served as the Founding National Director of Data Coaching for Achieving the Dream (ATD), where he led 40 data coaches and worked with several ATD community colleges in seven states that earned the ATD Leader College Designation. Currently, he serves as Vice President of Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer at Daytona State College. In this role, he is responsible for the leadership and management of all credit and non-credit programs and oversees 230 full-time faculty and 500 adjuncts.

Educational Background: Dr. Rincones earned his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership with a concentration in Evaluation, Measurement, and Research Design, receiving a Provost's Special Recognition and an Outstanding Dissertation Award from Phi Delta Kappa Honor Society. He earned his Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering and his Specialist and Master's degrees in Project Management in Engineering with Summa Cum Laude Honors. Additionally, he received a President's Special Recognition for his second master's degree in Educational Leadership.
 

Finalist: Dr. Phillip King

Campus Forum: Thursday, May 16, 1 to 2:30 p.m.   
Location: OLY120 Auditorium   
For Zoom link, see email Presidential Search Finalists and Community Forums sent May 1.

Dr. Phillip King is currently the Executive Vice President for Student Success at Milwaukee Area Technical College. MATC is a comprehensive community and technical college in Wisconsin State serving approximately 28,000 students per year and 8,500 FTE. Phillip’s current profile includes oversight of four regional campuses/centers, all instructional areas, instructional support, dual enrollment, student services, and workforce education.

Phillip has a 30-year history in community colleges in classified, administrative, teaching, and service positions. His past roles have included administrative roles as vice president in both instruction and student services, dean of instruction and student services and various director roles in enrollment and student services. Phillip has held community college roles in California, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin, and has experience in university positions in both Florida and Washington, DC. He highlights his work in strategic enrollment management as one that potentially opens doors for the under-served and under-resourced. He is committed to co-creation and innovation by working closely with faculty and staff to develop unique approaches to student success, for workforce education, and provide holistic comprehensive student support.

Phillip has led major initiatives related to strategic enrollment management, guided pathways redesign, accreditation, developmental education redesign, governance and college organization, and strategic leadership and communication. His focus in his work is about bringing staff and students together to share in problem-solving. He has taught in four general areas or disciplines, including physical education and health, college success, communication studies, and higher education leadership and research. His academic background includes a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a master’s degree in communication studies, and a doctorate in community college leadership.
 

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