The Promise of Higher Education - Geoff Green

I'm a generalist to the extreme "We accept the top 100% of applicants" Geoff Green is the CEO of the SBCC Foundation. He talked with Mark and Patrick about his road to SBCC and how Social Justice has become a central theme in his life. This wide-ranging conversation covered a lot of ground including: -A bit of background on Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) -How California has structured, it's higher ed program with the UC system, the CSU campuses, and the 113 Community Colleges -There are 2.6M students in California's community colleges -How working at Yosemite was a dream job, but not a long term viable place to work -He comes from a family of teachers - mom, dad, aunts and his brother -What about being a CEO intrigues him? Figuring out the Big Picture -His passion, Education, and Access to it - which it turns out is a social justice issue -His biggest surprise since coming to the Foundation? They have the same problems as smaller organizations -What the SBCC Promise Program is all about and a brief history of the --Promise program in the United States -Promise Programs promise free education - a big part of Bernie Sanders platform in his 2016 bid for President -What are the keys to student success? --- Being a full-time student vs. part time --- Early enrollments (right out of high school) --- Access to counselors and mentors Geoff is one of the most networked people in Santa Barbara, and his work at the Fund for Santa Barbara was a perfect place for him to hone those skills that serve him well. Photo credit: J.C. Corliss / Noozhawk