Chaparral 2024-2025: A Golden Farewell to Garfield Site Representative Dr. Andres Cruz

Dr. Andres Cruz has been teaching noncredit ESL courses since 2008. He has worked closely with nonprofit organizations to make post-secondary education more accessible for three specific student populations: formerly incarcerated individuals, survivors of domestic violence, and asylum seekers from the LGBTQ+ community. He also works closely with the GUSD to empower parents to support parents with limited English skills to help their children succeed academically.

Dr. Cruz has served as the coordinator of Garfield’s Avancemos Program since 2018. The Avancemos Program focuses on closing equity gaps by increasing the retention and transition of negatively impacted students, which helps GCC promote upward economic mobility among historically disenfranchised Hispanic communities.

For the last two years, Dr. Cruz has been the Garfield Guild representative. He created a more equitable working experience at Garfield by building strong relationships between faculty and the Guild, raising awareness about the unique challenges within the context of Noncredit education, and working closely with Guild Executives to ensure faculty’s contractual rights and responsibilities.

Dr. Cruz holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics (with a Minor in Central America Studies) and a Master’s Degree in TESOL. In 2025, he earned a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from CSUN.

During his free time, Dr. Cruz enjoys gardening, feeding hummingbirds in his backyard, and reading books about comparative religion and mythology.