Meet Our Team
Welcome to our "Meet Our Team" page! The Institutional Innovation and Effectiveness (II&E) Division at SDCCD is committed to supporting the district’s mission of uplifting diverse individuals and communities through inclusive, culturally affirming environments. Our team brings expertise in strategic planning, institutional research, data analysis, and emerging technologies, all dedicated to fostering continuous improvement and supporting student success, equity, and innovation across the district. Meet the talented professionals who help advance SDCCD’s commitment to high-quality, accessible education and lifelong learning for all.
To contact a member of our team, please click on their name.
Ginger Jeu, MA (She/Her)
Executive Assistant to the vice chancellor
Ginger holds a Master’s in Management and a Bachelor’s in Public Administration. She has extensive experience supporting leadership in areas like institutional effectiveness, accreditation, curriculum development, and student services. Skilled in building strong relationships and facilitating communication across teams, she is dedicated to driving student success. If you’d like to connect with the Vice Chancellor, Ginger is your go-to person to assist in coordinating meetings and facilitating communication. Outside of work, Ginger enjoys family time, fishing, and playing the piano.
Wyatt Baquial (He/Him)
Administrative Technician
With a rich background in Student Services and extensive experience coordinating programs in higher education, Wyatt brings valuable expertise to our division. He’s always looking for fresh, innovative ways to streamline our systems and improve our operations—all with the goal of better supporting our team and the communities we serve.
Innovation & Emerging Technologies
Elaine Chance, MPA (She/Her)
Innovation Systems Analyst
Elaine Chance began her career with SDCCD during the enterprise resource planning (ERP) project in 2016. She was with Student Services for 7 years and worked in projects such as, document management system upgrade, transcript automation project, SDCCD student email training, etc. She is now the Innovation Systems Analyst at Institutional Innovation and Effectiveness, and oversees emerging tech initiatives district-wide.
Rodrigo Gomez, MA (he/him)
Faculty Specialist For emerging technology
Alison Gurganus, Ed.D (She/Her)
Faculty Specialist for emerging technology
Dr. Alison Gurganus joined SDCCD in 2007, she has close to 30 years experience in the areas of librarianship and education technology from the k-12 to college levels. Her research interests include all aspects of information literacy and technology enhanced learning.
jack Haleem (He/Him)
Emerging Technology Student Intern
Jack joined the SDCCD Institutional Innovation and Effectiveness Office in the fall of 2024 after graduating from Mesa College. He’s passionate about creating opportunities for students to engage in meaningful conversations about the role of technology in education. Jack is excited to continue his studies at UC Berkeley, where he’ll focus on psychology and social innovation.
Institutional Effectiveness & Research
stephen bass, mA (He/him)
Research & planning analyst
Stephen joined the SDCCD research team in April 2019. Stephen’s research interests are decreasing access and outcome gaps in special admit programs, helping leaders and practitioners understand institutional enrollment and outcome trends, and providing useful reporting tools for distance education and Career Technical Education.
marc grabiel, m.s. (He/him/él)
Research & planning analyst
Marc joined SDCCD’s research team in March 2020 after 10 years of experience working as a researcher and educator both nationally and abroad. He is committed to an objective and systematic approach to educational research that supports evidence-based decision-making. Marc strives to provide actionable data that support educational policies and approaches to improve student outcomes.
patrick panelli, bS (He/him)
Research & planning analyst
Patrick joined the SDCCD research team in April 2017. He has over 15 years of experience in the university and community college settings, starting in the Humboldt State University IRP office in 2009. Patrick enjoys working on many facets of IR, with an emphasis on program evaluations and program development.
jaime sykes, mA (they/he)
Research & planning analyst
Jaime joined the research team in 2018, coming from a graduate program in applied anthropology. Their research interests include intersecting student identities and their impacts on student success, and bridging equity gaps for disproportionately impacted students. They currently serve as the 2025 Vice President and are the 2026 President-elect of the California Association for Institutional Research.
brian stern, ph.D. (He/him)
Research & planning analyst
Brian joined the SDCCD research team in April 2019. He has over 25 years of experience in institutional research at the pre-school, K-12, community college, and university levels. His research interests are intersegmental progression, curriculum alignment, and student equity.
hongling yang, ph.D. (she/her)
Research associate
Hongling joined the SDCCD research team in May 2024, bringing a Ph.D. in Statistics and over a decade of experience in data analysis and educational research. She develops dashboards for Special Admit and SDCCE/SDCCD CTE Articulation by CBE, and applies statistical and machine learning techniques to support program evaluations and evidence-based decisions. Focused on enhancing student outcomes and closing equity gaps, Hongling uses her expertise in data-driven insights to drive educational excellence across SDCCD initiatives.
Alex Kuang (He/Him)
Research Assistant III
Alex Joined the SDCCD Research Team in October 2024. His research interests include AI and its use cases in the classroom and workforce, as well as distributions of student centered funding. He graduated from UCSD with a Bachelor's of Science in Cognitive Science, and applies his skills to EDA, dashboard development and data cleaning/wrangling.
Micah Sakado (He/Him)
Research Assistant III
Micah joined the SDCCD research team in June 2024. He is an anthropologist of digital media who strives to empower voices of students and users through qualitative research. Micah supports various projects around DSPS, CCAP, LGBTQIA+ students and staff experience, apprenticeship, and student basic needs. He is currently completing is master's degree in anthropology at San Diego State University.
Sunny Xu (She/Her)
CTE Research Expert
Sunny joined the SDCCD research team in October 2023. Her research interests are closing equity gaps in student outcomes and conducting labor market research to connect students with living-wage jobs. She leads Career Technical Education (CTE) research initiatives, including responding to data requests from CTE deans, and develops Power BI dashboards to support data-driven decisions, and meet CTE reporting requirements.