President Emerita
Palo Alto College
Dr. Ana Margarita "Cha" Guzman is the first woman president of Palo Alto College (PAC) in San Antonio, Texas. Under Dr. Ana Guzman's leadership Palo Alto College has become the economic engine of the South Side of San Antonio, producing a growth in enrollment increase of 30 percent during the past four years. In addition, 12 new occupational technical programs have been added to the college's degree and certificate programs, giving PAC the edge as the primary workforce trainer for Toyota, its suppliers and the South Side.
A native of Cuba, Dr. Ana Guzman has been in educational administration for more than 30 years and is a leading voice for Hispanic Americans in education. Dr. Ana Guzman served as a Senior Advisor to Education Secretary Richard Riley during the last year of the Clinton administration. While at the Education Department, Dr. Ana Guzman identified advances in promoting access in education for the Hispanic community, and worked with senior officers and program directors to ensure that all results impacting the Hispanic community were recognized. She was influential in creating a new vision for the role of technical education in maintaining the competitive viability of this country's workforce, and in identifying the opportunities to make adult education more responsive to the Hispanic community.
Dr. Ana Guzman also served as the chair of President Clinton's White House Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic American from 1993 to 2000. As chair, she was responsible for the development of the following publications: Our Nation on the Fault Line: Hispanic American Education (1996); Testing Hispanic Students in the United States: Technical and Policy Issues (1999); and What Works for Latino Youth (2000).
Dr. Ana Guzman's breadth of experience in education spans from service as a public school teacher to serving as Vice Chancellor of the Texas A&M System. In addition she has been President of the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education and is currently a Board of Trustee on The College Board. Giving back to the community has always been the focus of Dr. Ana Guzman's career in education
