Announcing New Foundation Board Members
We proudly welcome five new members to the West Valley-Mission Foundation Board of Directors.
While each brings a unique background and perspective to the board, they all share a personal connection and commitment to the West Valley-Mission Community College District and its dedication to students.
“We are honored that these five individuals are choosing to contribute their time and energy to the vital work of the foundation,” said Melissa Johns, Associate Vice Chancellor, Advancement. “They embody the mission of our foundation and I know they will enrich the work of the board and the lives of the students in both of our colleges.”
John Drexler
As John Drexler sees it, there’s just something special about students who have attended a community college. Drexler, a human resources and organizational development consultant, has mentored hundreds of students at San Jose State University. Roughly two-thirds of them, he said, transferred from a California community college, including many coming from Mission College and West Valley College. He finds them well-prepared, motivated, hard-working, and resilient.
“The community college system is extraordinary,” Drexler said. “These colleges are central to the economic and social well-being of Santa Clara County and the state of California. I’ve seen the very significant value they add.”
In fact, Drexler finds that community college experience so valuable he encourages his mentees to lean into that background when they’re interviewing for jobs. That’s because they often bring additional maturity, common sense, and business acumen to the table, he said.
Drexler has seen that at West Valley, where he mentored students last semester at the Entrepreneurship Center and helped them prepare for the business pitch competition. Over the years, Drexler has also heard about the amazing educators at West Valley College from his son who graduated from West Valley before transferring to San Jose State University.
“I love doing one-on-one mentoring and some of the other initiatives where I’m working with larger groups of students,” Drexler said. “But by being on the foundation board, I saw that I would have an opportunity to increase the scale, scope, reach, and impact of my commitment to Silicon Valley college students, particularly those who are first-generation college students.”
Yvonne Inciarte
Yvonne Inciarte understands first-hand the struggle many community college students face in juggling their studies, working, and family obligations. Inciarte began her college career while still a high school student, taking classes in a program that today is known as Mission Early College High School. But her higher education path wasn’t easy. After earning her high school diploma, she continued at Mission while also working fulltime and acting as translator for her parents, whose first language is Spanish. At one point, she was also providing caregiving support for her mother, who had been hospitalized with pneumonia.
It became too much to handle and Inciarte was forced to put a pause on higher education and instead focused on her family and on working. As the first in her family to attend college, Inciarte eventually felt the tug to finish what she’d started, this time at San Jose State University. Her time at Mission College helped her fast-track her studies at SJSU in political science, particularly important given her time constraints and the high cost of living in Silicon Valley.
“I’m very fond of Mission College and community colleges in general,” Inciarte said. “My journey was filled with challenges which left me paving my own direction thanks to the room Mission College was able to create for me. My family legacy is a hard work ethic and with the investment by Mission College I have been able to build myself professionally without limits.”
Inciarte now works for Congressman Ro Khanna’s district office as senior advisor for legislative outreach. It’s a role that aligns well with Inciarte’s desire to serve the most vulnerable in the community. That call to serve the public is also what led her to the foundation board.
“I like the idea of equipping those working class students so they can find their footing, be able to build work experience, and at the same time accomplish their higher education goals and not get deterred,” Inciarte said. “That’s definitely something I want to help empower.”
Ken Kehmna
Retired fire chief Ken Kehmna credits his experiences at Mission College and West Valley College with shaping his approach to leadership, long before he ever stepped into those positions.
“The mentorship and guidance my instructors provided to help get me through the program at a time when I was young, starting a family, and dealing with all the stuff that can impact us and keep us from school, it honestly made all the difference,” Kehmna said. “It was just the right blend of support, grace, and accountability. It fundamentally impacted my approach to how I ran my organization, how I supervised people, and how I worked with them to accommodate their needs so they could succeed in their positions.”
Kehmna earned his associate degree from Mission before transferring to St. Mary’s College and went on to serve for more than 30 years in the fire service. He held every rank within his organization, ultimately retiring in 2018 from the Santa Clara County Fire Department. He now works as a senior policy advisor for the Western Fire Chiefs Association.
Throughout his career, Kehmna said, the value of his education has extended far beyond curriculum, books, and lectures. Instead, he said, its true value has been in connections he made with others, in access to information and a way of thinking, and in learning how to move through the world in a way that benefits others.
“For me, I feel a deep need to continue to give back to the organization, the community, and the students of the school that helped get me through,” Kehmna said. “I’ve had a truly wonderful career and I feel really good about the work I did. I would love for others to get that same satisfaction when they look back on their careers, on the lives that they touched, the work they’ve done. I’d like to bring that to the foundation.”
Chantal Naugle
Chantal Naugle wants to help dispel any stigma surrounding community colleges, so she speaks candidly about her experiences. As a student at a competitive local high school, Naugle initially didn’t consider community college as an option. The prevailing expectation at her school, she said, was that everyone would attend a four-year university right after graduating. But by her junior year, Naugle began questioning whether that was the right path for her. She visited West Valley and right away knew that’s where she belonged.
“I’m very open about my story and open about transferring in general,” Naugle said. “I’m open about advocating for students to go to community college or at least to consider it as an option. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to join the board - to give back to this community that gave me so much.”
At West Valley, Naugle took advantage of the opportunities around her – she connected with amazing, supportive faculty, built friendships, participated in the honor society, and served as student government president. After graduating in 2020 with three associate degrees (business, economics, and mathematics), Naugle transferred to Stanford University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in management science and engineering.
Naugle, who now works in finance, has various professional mentors who also serve on different boards. She hopes to leverage her knowledge and experience just as they do; for her, that includes tapping into her experiences as a recent student in the district.
“West Valley was the first place that I felt inspired to learn and that has carried on and into my work as well - a drive to learn more just for the sake of learning,” Naugle said. “I had an amazing experience at West Valley and I want to make sure students know about the possibilities that community college grants you. I know there’s nothing like telling your own story to help with that.”
Fang Pei
When Fang Pei and her family settled in Saratoga in 2009, Pei spoke very little English. She wanted to learn and nearby West Valley College seemed a natural fit. Not only could she take English-as-a-Second-Language classes there but she could also learn more about her new community. After six months of ESL classes, Pei enrolled in accounting classes for another six months. She loved everything about her time at West Valley, from the beautiful campus to the supportive faculty to the welcoming community.
“Even though it was just one year, it left a lasting impression on me,” Pei said. “That experience has always stayed with me and it is one of the reasons I continue to feel such a strong connection to West Valley College today. For me, it was not just a school. It was a meaningful starting point in my life.”
Even after she was no longer attending classes as a WVC student, Pei felt drawn to supporting the college. Over the years, she and her family have supported West Valley in various ways, including through donating to meet the needs of students every year and as the donors behind the Fang Pei Che Family School of Professional Studies at West Valley. Serving on the foundation’s board, she said, feels like a meaningful next step.
“To me, being a board member represents a natural progression from being a student to being a supporter and now serving in a role where I can contribute in a deeper and more strategic way,” Pei said. “My involvement is one way of showing long-term commitment and I hope it empowers others to take part as well.”
