Kristina Whalen

2020-21 Aspen Rising Presidents Fellow
Dr. Kristina Whalen is the vice president of instruction at Las Positas College in Livermore, California.

Having worked as an educator in Florida for 8 years and California for 22, Kristina continues to be inspired by the community college mission of open access and the urgent necessity of equitable outcomes. She has developed a special commitment to using data to push policy and processes toward change. She has worked locally, regionally, and throughout the state of California to foster leadership development that can manage and guide student success initiatives. Kristina’s years of argumentation and debate training around issues of social justice and equity have led to an affinity for data literacy and storytelling in her current roles. She strives to bring those affinities to collaborative problem-solving and institutional effectiveness in the service of students.

Before serving as the chief instructional officer at Las Positas College, Dr. Whalen served as a department chair, dean, and associate vice chancellor at City College of San Francisco. She earned a doctoral and master’s degree in speech communication from Florida State University and her bachelor’s degree in socio-political communication from Missouri State University.