SAN MARCOS — Palomar College hired a new Vice President of Human Resources, Anna Pedroza on Jan. 12, 2024.
With the start of the new year and the midst of a transitioning period, Palomar saw the importance of bringing on a new executive to contribute to this transformation. Anna Pedroza has taken the job of Palomar’s VP of Human Resource Services.
Her position will be to support the faculty and staff at Palomar.
The HR department is not directly hands-on with students, so Pedroza’s goal is to prioritize best serving the employees of Palomar. “In my role here, it’s about serving faculty and staff so that our faculty and staff can better serve our students,” she said.
She has spent her entire career in the public sector, from an educator to human resource management.
With over 25 years of experience, Pedroza is a jack of all trades. She has been an instructional assistant, a teacher, an assistant principal, a principal, a director of human resources, and an assistant superintendent of human resources. She currently serves as a trustee on the MiraCosta College Governing Board.
“I’ve always believed in education, and I believe in serving as an educator,” she said.
Her previous experience working directly with students has helped her transition to an administrative position while also keeping the best interests of the students at heart. “I always think about, ‘How is this going to affect students?’ Always,” she said.
Her decision to pair with Palomar stems from her work at MiraCosta College, which allowed her to see HR in a different light and the importance of community colleges. “For so many years, there was a negative connotation about community colleges… but right now, we are at the best time for community colleges,” she said.
“I thought this was the best place for me to take what I have learned and who I’ve worked with to a different level,” she said when referring to Palomar.
Pedroza noted her personal experience with Palomar prior to her professional arrival. When her children were young, she would bring them to swimming classes on campus, her nephew took woodworking courses on campus, and her brother graduated through the Palomar police academy.
She has lived in San Diego her whole life and Palomar has always been close to home for her. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts from SDSU and has many other achievements.
Julie Lanthier-Bandy, Palomar’s public information officer, shared how the process has been bringing Pedroza on board.
“Anna has done a great job at going out and meeting with all of our education center directors. Now, she’s got a laundry list of other department leads and directors that she’s gonna be meeting with to really understand where the areas of improvement are from our standpoint,” Lanthier-Bandy said.
Currently, Pedroza and her team are assessing how they are serving the college and what they can do differently to improve their hiring structure. Her hands-on experience in classrooms has helped her understand the qualities needed to further support the Palomar community.
While not directly working with students, she says students can expect a strong commitment to serving the college community.
“The most important part of our role is to hire highly qualified people to serve students, and then to support them… so they can best support students,” she said.
