Joseph Williams Runs to Represent SBCCD’s Area 2 Seat

San Bernardino Community College District Area 2 Trustee Joseph Williams seeks election after serving the last year and a half as an appointed trustee and clerk. Williams, a University of Redlands graduate and founder and CEO of the Youth Action Project, first served the board as a student trustee in 2006. “Having now also served the boards as a full member, I am in a position where I can be an effective advocate for our community,” Williams said. “We make a very creative team whose discussions have led to meaningful policy.” Williams holds a certificate in nanotechnology from the SBCCD’s Applied Technology Training Center and is a certified Career Development Coach; has been a member of the California and San Bernardino Workforce Investment Board, helping advise Gov. Jerry Brown on “statewide workforce development policy”; and has served as a member of the California Committee to Employ People with Disabilities and the San Bernardino County Workforce Investment Board. As clerk of the SBCCD Board, Williams “was heavily involved in setting the goals and direction of the district’s current strategic plan.” If elected, Williams said he wants to save students money by expanding the district’s Middle College program to more high schools; promote career technical education programs through more funding and stronger partnerships with K-12 schools and the Workforce Investment and Economic Development entities; and help students complete their degrees faster. “Often students who do graduate have more college credits than required simply because they took a course that didn’t help them in their major. Ultimately I want to see students graduate on time and take on less debt,” Williams said. “My main goal is to ensure the effective use of district resources and secure additional resources” so students receive “high quality educational services,” Williams said. “I bring a point of view that the students are at the center of every decision we make…. My background in workforce development gives me the experience… necessary to meet the challenge of providing our community with a properly educated and trained workforce.” Williams faces candidate Rafael Trujillo, a Senate district representative, for the Area 2 seat.