New Project Director for the College
Assistance Migrant Program

Christina Zapata is now serving as the new project director for the Collaborative-College Assistance Migrant Program, a college recruitment collaborative for migrant farmworkers between Sonoma State University, Santa Rosa Junior College and Napa Valley College. She brings experience in student outreach and retention for critical populations. Her background also includes strategic planning for project administration and implementation. Zapata served as the lead occupational health trainer for a project between the City of Los Angeles and AFSCME 3090, a clerical workers union. There, she used adult teaching methods to mobilize union members around health and safety in the workplace. Previously, she worked as a labor organizer for the United Food & Commercial Workers and Service Employees International Union. There, she campaigned for full employment, job equity, living wages, and benefits for retirees, retail clerks, and home care workers. While an undergraduate at Michigan State University, Zapata worked with migrant farm workers to improve their living conditions and raise awareness around pesticide safety. She was born in Texas, raised in the Midwest, and moved to California to pursue a Master of Social Work degree from San Francisco State University. The CAMP office is located in Carson 65. Dr. Francisco H. Vázquez, the former director, continues with CAMP as principal investigator. CAMP has been moved from the School of Arts and Humanities to the Pre-College Programs department and is under the administrative supervision of the Executive Director Matthew Benney.

Pepsi and SSE give $10,000
for Presidential Scholars

Sonoma State Enterprises recently presented a check for $10,000 to the Presidents Scholar Scholarship Program. The funds were donated to SSE by Pepsi for University scholarships in August. The scholarship is awarded in the amount of $1,000 for each student who applies and enters Sonoma State with a cumulative high school GPA of 4.0 or above for their sophomore, junior, and first semester senior years. Neil Markley, Chief Operating Officer of SSE said, “ we are pleased to report that these funds will continue to be donated to a Sonoma State scholarship each year through the end of our contract [with Pepsi] in 2009.” Pepsi has partnered with SSE for a number of years during which time they have provided support for a number of SSU projects.