Dr. Macario Hernandez Appointed President of Dallas College Mountain View Campus

Friends, 

My heart is full.

Dr. Macario Hernandez, my former student and mentee, just made a major career leap as Dallas College Mountain View Campus president. He reached out to me Saturday evening to give me this amazing news. 

I have blogged about him as an Ethnic Studies advocate and a successful high school principal, winning Blue Ribbon Status by the U.S. Department of Education at Dallas ISD's Trini Garza Early College High School located in Oak Cliff, Dallas. The magic of President Hernandez' ascendancy is that he will continue to serve his community, but now as president. "Grow your own," he happily expressed to me over the phone. "Yes, organic, like we've always said. Organic is best," I responded.

Grow Your Own is a concept advanced by the National Latina/o Education Research and Policy Project (NLERAPP) which is a consortium in several states that are embarked in creating pathways into higher education for teachers and administrators with the idea of graduates returning to their communities where they can "give back" to them by being critically conscious educators. Macario is the literal embodiment of this ideal that we advance. 

I honestly couldn't be more happy or proud. I know in my bones that Macario is going to make a massive difference in the lives of so many young people in Dallas. I can't wait to celebrate with him and look forward to witnessing an unfolding of so much possibility for our youth.

Glad to see Dr. Burillo-Hopkins appointed President of Dallas College, as well. I don't know her, but I'm sure she's amazing. Dallas is making great strides in advancing these Latino and Latina leaders to top posts.

-Angela Valenzuela

Dallas College Appoints Two New Presidents

Dr. Macario Hernandez

Media Contact: Debra Dennis; DDennis@DallasCollege.edu

For immediate release — June 24, 2024

(DALLAS) — Two highly accomplished education leaders have joined the ranks of Dallas College as the school’s newest presidents of its Brookhaven and Mountain View campuses.

Dr. Macario Hernandez, an education administrator for 25 years, will lead Mountain View Campus in southwestern Dallas County, and Dr. Madeline Burillo-Hopkins will lead Brookhaven Campus in Farmers Branch.

Both appointments were made by Dr. Justin Lonon, Dallas College chancellor.

Dr. Hernandez, who was raised in Oak Cliff, has a long history with Dallas College, where he received an associate degree in 1996. He was also honored with a Distinguished Alumni Award in 2019.

Dr. Hernandez was a Dallas ISD principal for 23 years, including at Trinidad “Trini” Garza Early College High School on the Mountain View Campus. Under his leadership, the school earned recognition as a National Title I Distinguished School in 2018 and received a National Blue Ribbon Award from the U.S. Department of Education in 2021.

Known as a public education advocate, Dr. Hernandez will lead Mountain View’s campus culture and local business community engagement and advancement. Among his other duties, he will work with industry partners and business leaders to develop and expand workforce opportunities in Dallas’ southern sector.

He is a graduate of the University of North Texas and holds a master’s degree from Texas Woman’s University and a doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin. 

Dr. Hernandez comes to Dallas College from the University of North Texas at Dallas, where he served as chief of staff.

“Given his background, connection to the community and affinity for Mountain View, I am excited for the future and look forward to supporting Dr. Hernandez in his new role,” Dr. Lonon said.

Dr. Burillo-Hopkins comes to Dallas College from Houston Community College, where she served as vice chancellor for workforce instruction and was instrumental in securing federal and state workforce grants. She led efforts in credit and continuing education and developed workforce partnerships as well as prior learning assessment. She is noted for her efforts to raise private sector funds for student support and instructional programs.

In 2021, Dr. Burillo-Hopkins earned the Hispanic Women in Leadership Award for outstanding

service in education. Two years later, Houston Community College honored her with the Chancellor’s Medallion for Outstanding Service. In 2010, she was an HCC (Houston Community College) Eagle Award recipient for Administrative Leadership. D’Mars Magazine selected her as one of Houston’s Top 30 Influential Women.

In addition to being a champion for Brookhaven’s campus culture, Dr. Burillo-Hopkins will oversee and help improve workforce training pathways to meet the demands of employers and students. She has degrees from Sam Houston State, University of California at Berkeley and the University of Puerto Rico. She received a doctorate in education from Sam Houston State.

“We are thrilled to have Dr. Burillo-Hopkins join Dallas College. Her extensive experience working with community colleges will undoubtedly serve us well as we navigate the evolving landscape of higher education in Texas and beyond,” Dr. Lonon said.

# # #

Fundraiser and Performance by Luis Adrián, Mexico's Great Tenor, Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Culture Center,Sat. Jan. 25, 2020 at 6:30PM

Students, Friends, and Colleagues:

The National Latina/o Education Research and Policy Project (NLERAPP; pronounced nel-rap") in conjunction with el Consul General Mexicano de Austin/Mexican Consulate General of Austin is pleased to invite you to this fundraiser performance of one of Mexico's top tenors, Luis Adrián Cruz, accompanied by el Cuarteto Xquenda from Oaxaca, Mexico.

Hear him sing 'O Sole Mío here:  Luis Adrian Cruz La voz México 2017.

The event takes place in the Zocalo at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center, 600 River, Austin, Texas in downtown Austin.

This is going to be a fun party!  See you there!

-Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D., Executive Director

NLERAPP

Press Release—"Indigeneity in the K-12 Curriculum," on the Agenda at National Summit, Austin, Texas, Jan. 24-25, 2020

Art by Maribel Falcon http://www.mariexmachina.com/

What is Indigeneity? Who is Indigenous? What are Indigenous ways of knowing and teaching in the classroom? These are some of the questions that will be explored at the second national summit on Indigeneity and the K-12 Curriculum, which will be held on January 24-25, 2020, at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center. Members of the National Latino Education Research and Policy Project (NLERAPP; pronounced “nel-rap”), a national nonprofit and 20-year-old consortium of universities and community-based organizations, will convene at the event.

“In light of the crossing of Indigenous peoples across the U.S.-Mexico border, the recent passage of Mexican American Studies and Native American Studies in Texas schools, and the national Ethnic Studies Movement, this summit helps to advance this conversation by providing a context where pertinent questions to the K-12 classroom can get asked,” says The University of Texas at Austin Professor Angela Valenzuela. Valenzuela leads NLERAPP and is director of the Texas Center for Education Policy, housed at UT Austin’s College of Education.  

The summit will feature sessions on Indigenous mathematics and fine arts, as well as topics related to identity and teaching through Indigenous ways of knowing, based on work that takes place in both university and primary and secondary classrooms around the country where Indigeneity is an explicit focus.

NLERAPP provides school-based practitioner knowledge and expertise related to the changing demographics and educational needs of Latinas/os and other minorities to help ensure their success in the 21st century. The organization addresses the teacher preparation and retention crisis and the underrepresentation of Latino/a teachers. With early support from the Ford and Kellogg Foundations, their research has shown that an exclusively university-based approach is not sufficient for student success and excellent schools. 

“What the summit exemplifies,” says Valenzuela, “is what we have learned as a national organization. We must extend our efforts beyond both the university and traditional classroom setting and build partnerships within the larger community. This reach includes businesses, the non-profit sector, civil rights organizations, community-based organizations and so on if we are to develop the appropriate knowledge, skills, and dispositions for a Latinx demographic that while facing significant challenges, is unmistakably poised, as emergent bilinguals, to reap the rewards and opportunities of an increasingly interconnected world.”

NLERAPP members from San Diego State University; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona; Denver, Colorado, Minnesota, Chicago, San Antonio, Texas, and special invited guests and presenters from the Autonomous University of Benito Juarez in Oaxaca will be in attendance at this year’s summit.

Contact:  Maria Unda, mariadelcarmen@utexas.edu; (310) 651-4558

Space is limited so please RSVP right away if you plan to attend. In addition, 16 CPE credit hours are available to all Texas public school teachers!

Friday January 24- Saturday January 25, 2020

Emma Barrientos Mexican American Culture Center

600 River St., Austin, TX 78701

Register Here

COST

$300.00 for elementary or secondary bilingual/dual language and Ethnic Studies teachers receiving CPE Credit

$100.00 for attendees

Donate now!

Nos vemos pronto!  See you soon!

Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D., Executive Director

National Latina/o Education Research and Policy Project, Inc.

Department of Educational Leadership and Policy

University of Texas at Austin

Connect with us on Facebook!