March 2020 is a month most people won’t forget. The COVID-19 pandemic swept through the U.S., cities locked down, businesses shuttered, and daily life paused. For many, this time allowed for reflection — on themselves, their community, and their role within it.
Jacqueline Kaiser wanted to do more for her community than share her frustrations on social media. So she went to the San Diego Registrar of Voters and asked what roles she was qualified to run for. When she was told there was an open spot on the ballot for the Fallbrook Planning Group, she signed up.
When she told her husband the news, he was surprised. The Kaiser family had recently moved to Fallbrook and didn’t know many people in the community.
“I said, ‘Yeah. I just feel like I have to do something, so I’m going to do it,’” Kaiser said.
Kaiser was active in her community long before the pandemic. As a regional managing consultant at MetLife, her job took her across the nation to meet with clients and talk to community members. But when the world shut down, so did her travel. Like many others who had expressed their concerns to her, she was frustrated with the government’s reaction to the pandemic.
She felt called to do more.
In November 2020, Jacqueline Kaiser was elected to the Fallbrook Planning Group.
Rooted in Resilience
Kaiser grew up in a small, 600-square-foot home in rural Minnesota. She and her four siblings were raised by a single mom with an eighth-grade education who worked tirelessly for them.
“She never complained, she always just persevered through all the difficulties,” Kaiser said in a 2022 interview with The Telescope.
Kaiser’s mother wasn’t the only strong woman in her life. Her grandmother single-handedly saved the family farm during the Great Depression after Kaiser’s grandfather fell ill. As Kaiser looked up to these women and their resilience, she felt a motivation growing inside her.
“I never grew up feeling like a victim,” she said. “The more challenges that came up, the more I just said, ‘You know what? I can do this. I can figure this out. I am smart. I’m going to overcome this challenge.’ And I did. And I’m thankful for that kind of an upbringing, in a way, because it made me really resourceful.”
Kaiser succeeded in her early education but struggled as a teen. Despite her struggles in high school, she was able to graduate.
But going to university straight out of high school left her feeling lost and unprepared. She decided to step away from college and focus on herself.
She juggled her responsibilities as a working mother and a student while pushing herself to succeed. She started at a community college before obtaining her Master of Business Administration from Bethel University.
“I put myself through college with a husband, three kids, two dogs, a mortgage, and running a business,” Kaiser said in a 2022 interview with The Telescope.
Those early years — juggling school, work, and raising a family — shaped the resilience and perspective she would carry into public service.
New Role, New Tensions
While she was still a part of the Fallbrook Planning Group, a friend approached Kaiser in 2022 and told her about an open position on the Palomar College Governing Board. With her passion for education and experience, Kaiser ran for the position.
In November 2022, Jacqueline Kaiser was elected as the District 5 Trustee of Palomar College’s Governing Board. In her position, she represents Fallbrook, Bonsall, East Oceanside, and North Vista.
In January 2025, Kaiser’s term on the Fallbrook Planning Group came to an end after she decided not to run for re-election. She wanted to focus on her work at Palomar College.
“She was an excellent colleague, and we will miss her on the Planning Group,” Fallbrook Planning Group Chair Eileen Delaney said.
Today, Jacqueline Kaiser serves as the Governing Board President of Palomar College.
She was elected to her new role in December 2024 after newly elected Trustee Holly Hamilton-Bleakley nominated her. Trustees Hamilton-Bleakley, Yvette Acosta, and Kaiser voted in favor of the nomination.
Trustee Roberto Rodriguez and Student Trustee Reagan Barnum voted against it, while Trustee Judy Patacsil abstained.
Kaiser said she wasn’t surprised by the nomination or being elected because the composition of the governing board had changed. Previously, the board had a liberal majority. With the addition of Acosta and Hamilton-Bleakley, the board shifted to the right.
“I feel like that nomination and becoming president was just a natural outgrowth of that whole kind of change in the composition of the board … I think it’s a mandate for a new direction,” she said.
But the transition wasn’t seamless. As board president, Kaiser quickly found herself at the center of controversy.
One of her first moves as board president was to move the vote to approve the 2025-26 curriculum from the January meeting to the February meeting.
She pulled the item for further discussion to encourage more transparency around the curriculum design process. While the decision was approved by most of the board, with only Trustees Rodriguez and Patacsil voting against it, the reaction from the Palomar faculty was negative.
Not everyone was comfortable with the shift in leadership tone. To some, she represents transparency and change. To others, she symbolizes political overreach.
At the following meeting in February, Palomar’s Faculty Federation (PFF) expressed reservations regarding Kaiser’s new role. The main question they presented was the motivation behind her work on the Governing Board, implying that the Republican Party could influence her actions.
Many at the meeting expressed concern over the curriculum being pulled as an attempted attack on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).
“You are responsible for an entire community college district, not one person’s agenda,” PFF Co-President Lawrence Lawson said during the February meeting. “Don’t make decisions that could hurt our community, our college, and yourself. Instead, be an example of good.”
Kaiser disagrees that she’s working to advance someone else’s agenda. She said she’d always stand up for what she believes in, even in the face of intimidation.
“I’m not for sale. I know who I am, I know what I want, I know what I believe in … I’ll stand up for something, even if it’s not popular,” Kaiser said.
Beyond the Boardroom
Looking toward the future, Kaiser hopes she can provide more transparency and accountability for Palomar College and its surrounding communities. She wants to hear more voices at Governing Board meetings and encourage conversation.
“We’re hearing from the same voices a lot, and we’re hearing a lot of the same things … Is that really a representative of the broad range of students and beliefs?” she asked.
To bridge the gap between leadership and lived experience, Kaiser wants to hold monthly office hours to connect with Palomar’s community.
She said it would allow students and staff to talk to her without the intimidating pressure of being in a conference room with over 100 people.
She believes smaller, one-on-one interactions can improve conversations and produce better ideas. Since taking on her new role, she’s been able to spend more time with groups at Palomar, like the Faculty Senate. Her goal for 2025 is to create more of these moments.
“I’d love to see more of these kind of interactions… I think it just builds more camaraderie and I think it just builds a better institution when there’s more voices,” Kaiser said.
She also wants to see less politics on campus and in the classroom so students can prioritize their education. She believes that students seek out Palomar because of the college’s academic excellence and wants that to remain the focus.
As for her future beyond Palomar, she’s hoping to find a balance that will allow her to step back and spend more time with her grandchildren.
“I don’t need a lot of accolades from other people. I kind of just know what I am, and I like that,” Kaiser said.
