Monday, May 26, 2025
12:00 – 1:30 p.m. CST

Dr. Carrie B. Kisker
President, Kisker Education Consulting

We Are All Guardians: Teaching, Learning, and Leading as Mission Protection

As confidence in higher education reaches an all-time low, declining enrollments threaten public funding, and legislative priorities force changes to student support programs, community college stakeholders—faculty, staff, administrators, trustees, and others—must work in ways that protect and defend the foundational principles upon which our institutions stand. Drawing on ways that community colleges have evolved over time in response to shifting priorities and expectations, this keynote address provides a roadmap for protecting the institutional mission and social role of our institutions through everyday work to serve students and communities.

About Dr. Carrie B. Kisker
Dr. Carrie B. Kisker is president of Kisker Education Consulting in Los Angeles, California. Drawing from her own and others’ research, she regularly consults with college leaders on issues related to entrepreneurship and innovation, program and policy development, strategic planning and accountability, civic learning and democratic engagement. In addition to her consulting work, Dr. Kisker runs the Center for the Study of Community Colleges, a nonprofit organization that engages in and supports research related to community college leadership, practice, and policy. Dr. Kisker is author of The American Community College (Jossey-Bass, 7th ed., 2023), written with Arthur M. Cohen and Florence B. Brawer, The Shaping of American Higher Education: Emergence and Growth of the Contemporary System (Jossey-Bass, 3rd ed., 2024), with Arthur M. Cohen, and Creating Entrepreneurial Community Colleges, A Design Thinking Approach (Harvard Education Press, 2021). Dr. Kisker holds a B.A. in psychology and education from Dartmouth College, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in higher education from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Tuesday, May 27, 2025
8:00-9:30 a.m.

Dr. Mike Flores
Chancellor, Alamo Colleges

About Dr. Mike Flores
Dr. Mike Flores assumed the role of chancellor of the Alamo Colleges District on Oct. 1, 2018, after unanimous vote by the Alamo Colleges District Board of Trustees. With more than 20 years of service to the Alamo Colleges District, Dr. Flores possesses the distinction of being the ninth appointed chancellor and the first Hispanic chancellor in the district’s history.

Flores’ vision for the Alamo Colleges District – eliminating poverty through education – is based on his personal experience as a child of migrant farmworkers who pursued education to gain economic and social mobility. Through his leadership, the Alamo Colleges District has launched AlamoPROMISE, a tuition-free college program for graduating high school students in Bexar County and one of the most significant initiatives implemented in the region. The program has served over 16,000 students since its inception, has increased Alamo Colleges’ enrollment to record numbers, and has increased the overall college-going rate in Bexar County. Additionally, Flores spearheaded the launch of AlamoBOOKS+ in 2022, a groundbreaking initiative ensuring access to all required textbooks and instructional materials by the first day of class.

As a leader, Flores supports empowering students for success through high-impact teaching and learning practices, including academic advising, early access to college through high school programs and experiential learning opportunities through apprenticeships, internships, and volunteer experiences. Aligned with the vision for eliminating poverty, Flores has championed the launch of Student Advocacy Centers at each of the district’s five colleges.

During his first year as chancellor, Dr. Flores led the Alamo Colleges District and its five colleges in celebrating the recognition as the only community college system in the nation to be awarded the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest Presidential honor for performance excellence through innovation, improvement and visionary leadership.

Other achievements during Flores’ leadership as chancellor include: Palo Alto College named Rising Star by the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence (2019); Ellucian Impact Award for using technology to enhance student experience (2020); San Antonio College named winner of the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence (2021); the American Association of Community Colleges Award of Excellence for Student Success (2022); and the Alamo Colleges District’s Certification™ as a Great Place To Work® (2024).

Flores is nationally known as a former coach for Achieving the Dream and as a fellow for the American Council on Education, Aspen Pahara Institute, and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. He conducted postgraduate studies at the Harvard University Institute for Educational Management and is in demand as a speaker at national higher education conferences. Flores was also awarded the Ohtli Award, one of the most prestigious awards given by the Mexican government, acknowledging his work to educate and empower Mexican and Mexican-American students. In 2023, he received the Baldrige Foundation Award for Leadership Excellence in Education.

Flores has also served as a board member and chair of the Governing Board of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, and is a board member of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, Achieving the Dream, Greater: SATX, UP Partnership, and United Way San Antonio. Flores serves on the Policy & Advocacy and Finance & Audit Committees of the Board of Trustees.

Flores holds a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from the University of Texas at Austin, a master’s in Political Science from Illinois State University, and a bachelor’s in political science from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He lives in central San Antonio with his wife Martha, a talented creative director and entrepreneur, and their daughters, Mara and Mia.