Alamo Community College District, San Antonio, TX
www.alamo.edu
Vice Chancellor of Economic & WorkForce Development
Dr. Federico Zaragoza has been the Vice Chancellor of Economic and Workforce Development at the Alamo Community College District (ACCD) since 2004. Under his leadership, ACCD received the prestigious American Association of Community College Trustees’ 2005 National Workforce Excellence Award for ACCD’s role in developing exemplary job training programs for Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin. Dr. Zaragoza serves on several local, state, and national boards and committees. These include the National Council on Workforce Education (NCWE), the National Automotive Manufacturing Training and Education Consortium (AMTEC), the Workforce Solutions Alamo (WSA), Future of the Region, Inc. (FORI), San Antonio Manufacturers Association, San Antonio Empowerment Zone Governance Board, and Tomorrow’s Future Workforce National Committee.
Dr. Zaragoza was selected as a distinguished lecturer in technical and industrial education by the U.S. Department of State and has lectured throughout the United States, Germany, Nicaragua, Mexico, Brazil, and Spain. He was instrumental in establishing the ACCD Quality Institute to promote lean and quality training, and is working with area independent school districts and community stakeholders to implement innovative articulated school and career partnership programs, such as the Alamo Area Aerospace Academy, Information Technology Security Academy, and Project Phoenix. Dr. Zaragoza is also credited for implementing the award winning ACCD Workforce Specialty Centers serving three rural communities and San Antonio’s west side inner city neighborhoods.
He also co-authored the Texas Workforce Commission Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Handbook for Workforce Professionals. Dr. Zaragoza is a much in demand speaker, having presented at various national and state conferences and Think Tank forums such as the NCWE (2005-08); Aspen Institute Sectoral Summit (2008); Columbia University Forum on Community Colleges (2008), Texas A&M Economic Development (2006); Texas Workforce Commission State Conference (2005-08); and UT-Hidalgo Global Conference (2007-08).
Dr. Zaragoza has held various leadership positions, including State Director for the Wisconsin–Job Training Partnership Act Programs, President and CEO of the Private Industry Council of Milwaukee County, and Dean of Continuing Education for the Milwaukee Area Technical College. He also worked for the Milwaukee Public School District as Director for Alternative Education Programs, where he headed a network of 16 public alternative and specialty schools. Prior to his appointment as Vice Chancellor, Dr. Zaragoza served as Vice President of Administration for St. Philip’s College–Southwest Campus. Dr. Zaragoza holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, a Master’s degree in Vocational Education, an Educational Specialist degree in Industrial and Technical Education from the University of Wisconsin–Stout, and a Ph.D. in Urban Education and Administrative Leadership from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.