Laurencia Walker

director


Laurencia has worked in education for most of her life and her experience covers a broad range of settings, from small nonprofits to all segments of public education in California—K-12, CSU, UC, and most recently within the community college system where she served as the Director of College Readiness at Hartnell College in the Salinas Valley. At Hartnell College, Laurencia supported and supervised early college credit options across the service area in collaboration with multiple high school partners.

As a CLP director, Laurencia provides leadership and support for colleges and high schools working to improve student success and completion by expanding equitable dual enrollment opportunities.

In addition to previous work in student affairs at Hartnell College and CSU Monterey Bay, Laurencia worked for five years as research assistant at the University of California, Riverside where she conducted research on pathways to college for historically underserved students and co-authored publications in peer-reviewed journals on faculty-of-color experiences in community colleges and institutional culture. She also was a teaching assistant for graduate seminar courses and undergraduate courses on intercollegiate athletics in higher education. Laurencia has participated in the Association of California Community College Administrators Admin101 program and the Community College League of California’s Asilomar Leadership Seminar and has presented at conferences including the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities and the California Association of Black School Educators.

Laurencia holds an undergraduate degree from UC San Diego in political science-public law with a history minor and a graduate degree in equity and social justice. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Higher Education Administration and Policy at UC Riverside. In her spare time, Laurencia enjoys reading, watching collegiate and professional sports, and spending time with family and friends.