Tammeil Gilkerson has been selected as the next chancellor of the Peralta Community College District in Oakland, California. Founded in 1964, the Peralta Community College District is a collaborative community of colleges comprised of Berkeley City College, the College of Alameda, and Laney and Merritt Colleges in Oakland. Dr. Gilkerson will take office in January.
“I call Oakland my home, and my roots run deep in the East Bay. These communities, our communities, hold immense significance for me,” Dr. Gilkerson said. “Within Peralta, I see a wealth of brilliance and remarkable progress happening at the colleges and across the district. I’m eager to play a role in enhancing a multitude of outstanding programs and services, all guided by a commitment to equity and social justice. I’m deeply honored by the trust the trustees have placed in me. I pledge to collaborate each day to propel the social and economic transformation of our students and community.”
Dr. Gilkerson currently serves as the president of Evergreen Valley College in San José, California, where she has worked since 2020. From 2017 to 2020, she was president of Laney College in Oakland. Prior to her role at Laney College, Dr. Gilkerson served as vice president of academic and student affairs at Contra Costa College and as the first diversity, inclusion, and innovation officer for the Contra Costa Community College District.
The first in her family to graduate from college, Dr. Gilkerson holds a bachelor’s degree in history, a master’s degree in counseling with an emphasis in marriage and family therapy and pupil personnel services, and a doctorate in organizational leadership with an emphasis in higher education.