Dana Emerson comes to the College Marin from Southern California. She was born in Los Angeles and raised in Inglewood, California. She received an Associate of Arts degree from El Camino College and a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts from California State University at Northridge. Dr. Emerson earned a PhD in Adult and Higher Education with a focus in Leadership from Oregon State University. Her area of research is student success, focusing on African American males in community college, resulting in disrupting the definition of student success used in higher education.
In 2005, Dana moved to Oregon and began teaching Communication at Linn-Benton Community College (LBCC) where she held the positions of Department Chair, Chair of Academic Affairs, Chair of the Diversity and Civic Engagement Council, Chair of the Faculty Senate, and President Elect of the Faculty Association. Prior to teaching in Oregon, Dana taught at El Camino College and guest taught at various universities and institutions in California. While in the Pacific Northwest, Dana continued to work with institutions of higher education to facilitate conflict management and resolution strategies. Her work included addressing diversity, equity and inclusion as a consultant to the Human Relations Commission and as one of the founders and educators of the Visioning Organizations as Inclusive Communities and Equitable Spaces (VOICES) project at Portland Community College and facilitating Sustained Dialogues on Race Relations and Gender Communication.
Upon returning to Southern California, Dana became a Dean of Instruction and led a college campus in the Coast Community College District. There, she led efforts to increase the number of dual-enrolled students graduating with their high school diplomas and associate degrees. Additionally, she guided the Adult Education Program, ELL & ESL programs to rebound and exceed enrollments from the COVID pandemic. She developed multiple partnerships in the community, across disciplines and the district, and with the K-12 systems to support a robust and successful learning environment for students at a distance and locally. These partnerships allowed her to help build and support The College Readiness Program, the Esports Ecosystem Lab, and coordinate an Umoja community across three colleges. Outside of her role in instruction, Dana also served as the Executive Dean of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Anti-Racism, Accessibility & Fiscal Stability for the Coast Community College District. As a past member of the American Association of Women in Community Colleges (AAWCC) she chairs the Woman Hold Up Half the Sky conference (WHUHTS) committed to the personal and professional development of classified staff, students, faculty, and administrators in community college.
Dana is deeply committed to educating, serving, and supporting members of the community.
