Dr. Rosa L. Armendáriz is the Senior Dean of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Los Medanos College (LMC), part of the Contra Costa Community College District in California. She brings more than two decades of experience advancing racial equity, student success, and educational access across the nonprofit, philanthropic, and higher education sectors. Her career has been defined by a commitment to social justice and a focus on removing barriers for historically underserved and marginalized students.
Prior to her current role, Dr. Armendáriz served as Dean of Student Equity and Engagement at Diablo Valley College and as a faculty member in Education at LMC. From 2006 to 2016, she led two federally funded Title V Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) grants at LMC, overseeing major institutional change efforts focused on Latine and first-generation student success and educational attainment. Her leadership helped build innovative student services, improve transfer programs and success, and strengthen culturally responsive teaching practices across the college.
Dr. Armendáriz has also worked in statewide and national policy and advocacy roles. She was part of the Higher Education team at The James Irvine Foundation. She previously served as Executive Director of the Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE) in Oakland, helping to expand family engagement initiatives across communities of color.
Dr. Armendáriz holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership from Saint Mary’s College of California and a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University. In addition to serving as a founding Board of Director for The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS), she currently serves on the Education Committee of the United Latino Voices of Contra Costa County.
