Please welcome BCC’s newest full-time tenured counselor, Shannon Penn!

Shannon Penn joined BCC 14 years ago as a part-time instructor for our learning communities. She brings extensive experience in education and social work including her early career with Child Protective Services and a leadership role in career education and small business development for low-income women. For the past 6 years, she has served as the BCC Program Coordinator and Counseling Instructor for what has become a thriving Umoja learning community for transfer-bound Black students.

In addition to her work with the Society of Scholars at BCC, Shannon spent over ten years traveling to other community colleges throughout the country to lead professional development workshops that promote equity-driven teaching and learning practices and 21st-century professional skill development.

Shannon earned a Master’s Degree in social welfare from UC Berkeley and a Bachelor’s Degree in psychology from UC Davis.

BCC is very excited to announce Dr. Martín De Mucha Flores is the acting Dean of Counseling and Student Equity at BCC. We are all familiar with Martín’s energy and his consistent engagement of both instruction and student services as the Associate Dean of Educational Success. In this new role, he will be responsible for General Counseling; EOPS/CARE; CalWORKs; NextUP; Student Accessibility Services; SEA, Student Conduct; Society of Scholars: Ignite, Umoja, Puente, AAPI Lead; the Undocumented Community Resource Center; the Career and Transfer Center and BCC’s Title V HSI and Title III AANAPISI programs.

Martín has a unique experience that encompasses K-12, higher education, and community activism. He has worked at BCC for five years, with the Office of Instruction and Student Services. He is the grandson of migrant farmworkers and the son of first-generation college-attending parents. Martín understands the urgency to transform Berkeley City College to be student-centered and student-serving. Martín lives in Berkeley and has two beautiful children, Soledad y Martín Severo. When he is not on campus you can find Martín training his dogs or riding through the East Bay on a fat bicycle.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. De Mucha Flores in his new role!