Dr. Claire Oliveros

Dr. Claire Oliveros is a social justice educator, scholar, and equity practitioner with over 27 years of professional experience in higher education. Claire was raised in the Pacific NW within a multiracial family, and identifies as a cis-gender, bi-racial Filipina. Claire has lived most of her life in Portland, OR and moved across the country from Oregon to Virginia to California within the past six years to be with family.  

 

In July 2019, Dr. Oliveros moved with her family to Sacramento, CA to join Cosumnes River College (CRC) as the Vice President of Student Services & Enrollment Management. After two years serving in this role, Claire was appointed by the College President to lead and develop a new division. As the Vice President of Institutional Equity & Research and Planning, Dr. Oliveros oversees college-wide equity strategic initiatives, student equity and engagement departments, strategic planning, research and grants, and professional development. 

 

Prior to joining CRC, Dr. Oliveros served as the Assistant Provost for Student Success Initiatives at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. Before relocating to Virginia, Claire served as the Executive Dean of Student Development and Learning Resources at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, OR. In Portland, OR Claire spent eighteen years at Portland Community College serving in various leadership roles as the TRIO Student Support Services Director, inaugural Interim Director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion, founding coordinator of the Multicultural Center, Adjunct Women’s Studies Faculty, and as part-time Academic Advisor. Claire has developed anti-oppression curriculum and leadership training for students and employees within the community college and university settings. 

 

Claire’s decade of experience teaching Women’s Studies at both two- and four-year institutions afforded her the opportunity to produce new curricula focused on the Transnational Filipina Lived Experience, Women of Color in the U.S., and Introduction to Women’s Studies. Claire was intentional to link the curriculum to community based social justice organizations and service learning. Claire has conducted research related to Filipino American Student Associations and critical consciousness at predominantly white institutions, and the Filipina/x/o experience in Oregon. Claire’s community work extends over two decades in the Pacific Northwest and the Philippines. In 2005, after returning from an international solidarity mission, she helped launch and served as founding chair of the Portland Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, one of Portland’s first progressive Filipino-based social justice organizations that continues today. Claire continues to advocate for and support the Filipino movement for self-determination and human rights in the US and abroad.  

 

Dr. Oliveros, was the first in her family to attend college. She is a proud TRIO graduate earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Western Oregon University, Master of Science in Education Policy, Foundations and Administrative Studies at Portland State University, and a Doctorate degree in Education with a specialization in Community College Leadership from Oregon State University.  

 

During the pandemic, while working remotely and staying safe, you may find Claire, her partner Joel and 4-year-old son, Amos, biking on the Sacramento River Bike Trail or at their neighborhood park.