November 28, 2023
Dear SRJC Community,
In October, I shared with you my decision to pause the recruitment of the Vice President of Human Resources position.
After learning about the needs of Human Resources, as well as the District as a whole, I have identified the next steps to support the leadership and operations of Human Resources, which include an Interim Vice President of Human Resources and an additional consultant to conduct an assessment of processes and points of interaction within the department of human resources, as well as extensively throughout the district.
This week, I will be welcoming Theresa Richmond to SRJC as the Interim Vice President of Human Resources, from November 28, 2023, through June 30, 2024.
Theresa Richmond retired as Vice President, Human Resources, from College of the Siskiyous Community College District in July 2020. A native of Dallas, Texas, Theresa worked as the first Small Business Development Center Instructor at Napa Valley College. After working in the community college system, healthcare industry, county health and human services, and wine industry, Theresa became the director of the Human Resources Center, a shared services unit, at the University of California, Berkeley. The center was a pilot for combining the services of human resources, financial services, and information technology for the administrative group of Berkeley representing approximately 2,000 employees, including staff of the Chancellor’s office, Athletics, Health Services, IT, Human Resources, Business, and Fiscal Services. She has worked with other CA community colleges and most recently served as Interim Vice President of Human Resources and Risk Management for San Joaquin Delta Community College District for seven months in 2022. Her areas of expertise include labor and employee relations, recruitment, investigations, negotiations, training, and development. Theresa will begin with us this week to orient and train with VP Gene Durand before his departure in January 2024.
To complement the work, I am also augmenting personnel support in hiring a human resources consultant to evaluate the operational and human resource processes throughout the district. I have tasked this consultant to identify areas for improving efficiencies, addressing service needs, and understanding the human resources staffing necessary to serve the District.
I am pleased to welcome Diane Clerou to this role. With 32 years of HR management experience in both the public and private sectors, Diane worked as a Human Resources manager in the California Community College System for twenty-seven of those years. After 14 years at State Center Community College District, she retired as Vice Chancellor, Human Resources. Prior to that she served as the Assistant Chancellor, HR, at Kern CCD for five years, and was the Interim Director of HR, at Victor Valley College.
After retirement, Diane was Interim Vice Chancellor, HR, at South Orange County CCD. Since 2017, she has completed assessments of the Human Resources operations for five California Community College Districts as well as executive recruitments for nine California Community College Districts. Diane will report directly to me in this role as she conducts her assessment and provides her recommendations for enhancements and improvements in our human resources function.
I am grateful to Theresa and Diane for their willingness to lend their human resources, organization development and training, and professional development expertise to SRJC during this transitional time. Their contracts are through June 30, 2024, with the intent of completing the assessment in early spring to inform the recruitment for the VP of Human Resources later in the semester.
I also want to thank our colleagues in Human Resources for their patience during this transition. Human Resources impacts every employee and plays an essential role in our ability to have a thriving organization. I appreciate the service and care you show to each of our employees and look forward to continuing to collaborate and listen.
Please join me in welcoming Theresa and Diane to SRJC. I will provide an update on their work and the means with which to communicate with them, especially as part of the district-wide assessment, shortly.
In community,
Dr. Angélica Garcia, Ed.D.
Superintendent/President
707-527-4431, angelicagarcia@santarosa.edu
