Contra Costa college district announces four finalists, public forums for Associate Vice Chancellor, CFO

Contra Costa Community College District Associate Vice Chancellor-Chief Financial Officer candidate finalists Mazie L. Brewington, Phyllis A. Carter, Micaela Ochoa, Ed.D. and Peter A. “Tony” Wold, Ed.D. Photos from 4CD.

By Erin Brooks, Marketing & Communications Coordinator, 4CD 

The Contra Costa Community College District has announced the selection of four finalists for the position of Associate Vice Chancellor, Chief Financial Officer. The finalists are: Mazie L. Brewington, Phyllis A. Carter, Micaela Ochoa, Ed.D., and Peter A. “Tony” Wold, Ed.D.

Four separate public forums have been scheduled for Thursday, June 24, 2021. The public forums will begin at 9:00 a.m. and last 60 minutes. At each forum, the finalist will make statements and answer questions. The forums are open to the broad community, students, faculty and staff and will be held remotely via Zoom. A detailed public forum schedule, including Zoom links to the public forums is available on the District website at www.4cd.edu.

Mazie L. Brewington

Mazie L. Brewington began her career in 1999 with the California Community College System as the Business Manager for Laney College. In 2006, she accepted her first Chief Business Official Position (CBO) as the Vice President of Administrative and Business Services for the Solano Community College District. And most recently, she served as the Vice Chancellor of Administrative Services in the Yuba Community College District. Throughout her 22-year career in higher education she has received many recognitions and awards. One of the most notable is when she was named for Excellence in Community Colleges by the Chief Association of Business Officials (CASBO) in 2004.

Ms. Brewington has served on the Board of Directors for the Association of California Community College Administrators (ACCCA), the Cities of Lancaster, Palmdale and Yuba Successor Oversight agencies and participated with other professional organizations including the Association of Chief Business Officials (ACBO), and the California Community College Internal Auditors (CCIA). She is past chair of the Armed Forces Emergency Services (AFES), American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter; Service Delivery Chair, American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter (ARBAC); Solano County Council, and a Board Member, Solano County Transportation Authority (STA). She has co-presented at the Association of Chief Business Officials (ACBO) Institute on the topic of Budget and Resource Allocation.

Ms. Brewington has served on three accreditation teams, starting with the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM), West Los Angeles College (WLAC) and Kapi’olani Community College in Hawaii.

Ms. Brewington holds an MBA in Business Administration from Troy State University, a BA in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management from Columbia College, and an AA in General Studies from Columbia College.

Phyllis A. Carter

Phyllis Carter has more than 30 years of experience leading education, nonprofit and corporate organizations to greater financial health, efficiency, and sustainability. At institutions of higher learning where she has served for more than 10 years, she has been a thought leader who provides strategic, financial, and operational business advice to governing boards, presidents, chancellors, administrators, faculty, staff, and students.

Ms. Carter recently served as Interim Vice President of Strategy, Innovation and Operations and Chief Operating Officer at Samuel Merritt University, a premier Health Sciences institution with four campuses located in Oakland, San Mateo, Sacramento, and Fresno. Prior to this position, she served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Administration and Finance at San Francisco State University (SFSU), a top tier institution within the California State University System.

Before her role at SFSU, she served as Chief Business Officer and held the title of Director of Business and Administrative Services at Laney College, supporting the success of community college students in downtown Oakland. At Laney College, she was a member of the president’s executive cabinet and she had oversight of all campus administrative functions. Prior to this position, Ms. Carter was Chief Financial and Administrative Officer at Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI), an international post-doctoral research organization located on the UC-Berkeley Campus. MSRI is an independent nonprofit and primarily funded by National Science Foundation, National Security Agency, academic sponsorships, endowment, and other philanthropic donations. In addition, Ms. Carter was an adjunct faculty member teaching general and financial accounting at Merritt College. As an adjunct faculty and to encourage student career development, she developed and implemented an in-class instructional program representing an accounting speakers’ series with professionals across various industries and government.

Ms. Carter’s previous corporate career included management positions in telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, corporate venture capital and various technology companies.

Ms. Carter earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Washington University Olin Business School and an Advanced Certificate in International Affairs from Washington University. She earned a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Accountancy from the University of Missouri. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA not licensed) and the certificate was awarded by the Kansas Board of Accountancy. She is a Fellow of the Executive Leadership Academy at the Center for Studies in Higher Education on the University of California, Berkeley campus.

Ms. Carter has a passion for serving and contributing to institutions which provide access, equity, and social justice. Her mission is to enable students to achieve their educational goals and her efforts extend beyond her professional life to her community. She is an active board member on the Diablo Valley College Foundation, reader in Oakland Public Schools and she has served in international humanitarian organizations providing education and support.

Micaela Ochoa, Ed.D.

Dr. Micaela Ochoa has 25 years of experience working at federal, state, and local levels of government, and in the private sector. She is an experienced leader in higher education and K-12 public school districts with equity at the forefront of her decision making. Her expertise includes over 17 years of senior cabinet level experience responsible for business and administrative services and operations, financial management, policy review and analysis, strategic planning, and business process re-engineering. Dr. Ochoa provides systemic strategic leadership that is collaborative, results-oriented, transparent, and student equity focused.

Currently, Dr. Ochoa is the Vice President of Administrative Services (VPA) at the College of San Mateo (CSM). During her time at CSM, she has served in dual roles as VPA and Vice President of Student Services overseeing multiple areas including Admissions and Records; the Wellness Center; Financial Aid; Veterans Program; Response and Evaluation of Students (CARES) team; and Student Disciplinary Officer.

Prior to her current role at CSM, she was the Chief Business Official/Assistant Superintendent of Business Services in K-12 school districts in Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties. Dr. Ochoa has also taught in higher education at Notre Dame de Namur University.

Prior to her work in K-12, Dr. Ochoa served as an administrator in higher education at Stanford University and UC Berkeley. She also worked as a management consultant for KPMG Consulting, and Fiscal and Policy Analyst for the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

Dr. Ochoa earned her Doctorate Degree from UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Education, Master of Science Degree from Carnegie Mellon University, and her Bachelor’s Degree from University of California, Berkeley.

Peter A. “Tony” Wold, Ed.D.

Dr. Tony Wold brings over 30 years of education experience to the District, including the past two years as the Associate Superintendent, Business Services of the West Contra Costa Unified School District where he served as both Chief Business Official and Chief Labor Negotiator and helped lead the District from a significant financial crisis to a positive budget certification while supporting all of the District’s operations during the pandemic. Prior to that he served as Assistant Superintendent, Business in the Westminster School District for four years and was responsible for budget development and staffing in Santa Ana Unified for seven years serving there during the great recession.

Dr. Wold brings an extraordinary amount of educational experience both in and outside of the classroom having also served as a teacher, site administrator, educational services director, and football coach in his educational career. Dr. Wold has a strong sense of the K-14 finance world and has been active in the California School Business Officials Association (CASBO), Coalition of Adequate School Housing (CASH), and serving as a mentor for aspiring Chief Business Officials.

Dr. Wold most recently served as Associate Superintendent, Business Services in West Contra Costa Unified School District, where he oversaw the daily operations and management of accounting, budget, purchasing, payroll, employee benefits, labor relations, school operations, athletics, safety, warehouse, transportation, nutrition services and risk management. Dr. Wold was also responsible for managing the WCCUSD’s $420 million budget. He was instrumental in the passing of the $575 million Measure R Bond in March 2020 while navigating a $49.9 million structural deficit to restore the District to a positive budget certification in collaboration with the District’s 5 labor associations.

A native of Redwood City, Dr. Wold received his bachelors of science in Business Administration from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (USC). He subsequently completed both his School Business Management Certification and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the Rossier School of Education at USC. Dr. Wold and his wife Lisa, have been married for over 25 years and have one daughter who is a senior who will be graduating from the University of San Francisco in December in preparation to join the educational system as a teacher.


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Brewington Carter Ochoa & Wold


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