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BREAKTHROUGH | FOCUS Summer 2020
FIELDING GRADUATE UNIVERSITY | Fielding.edu
L A BOR HERO HONORED
Like Mother, Like Daughter
UFW founder and labor hero Dolores Huerta receives Social Transformation Medal
“Y
ou can make a difference, but you have to speak up and you have to be ready to sacrifice,” said 89-year-old American labor hero Dolores Huerta, who received the Marie Fielder Center’s Medal for Social Transformation during Fielding’s 2019 Winter Session. Huerta addressed questions about immigration, climate change, civil and women’s rights, the fight for educational justice, and more posed by a panel of local activists in front of an audience of more than 200 during the free event at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. Huerta has spent her life advocating for social justice, primarily farmworkers’ rights, and in 1963 cofounded the United Farm Workers of America (UFW) with Cesar Chavez. She remains active in the Dolores Huerta Foundation, which recruits and trains activists in rural, agricultural areas in California’s Central Valley. Fielding President Katrina S. Rogers’ opening included the reminder that the event is “an opportunity to reflect that justice is worked for and towards by each and every generation.” Marianne Partridge, editor in chief of Santa
Barbara’s weekly Independent, spoke of their aim to give “a voice to the voiceless” and the power of the arts to make those voices be heard.
In introducing Santa Barbara-born, first-generation poet Miguel Cruz, Partridge said, “His poems call out to all of us to listen and to hear, which is, I believe, a continuation of the work of Dolores Huerta and those who stood with her.” Cruz gave powerful spoken word performances of his works “Three Generations Plus Change” and “Welcome to AmeriKKKa.” Huerta also urged attendees to organize to become involved and get engaged. “When we say sacrifice, it’s not a lot, just time,” she said. “Give some of your time to be able to go out there and make a difference.”
Panelists (l to r) were Santa Maria teacher Eunice Gonzalez, the daughter of farmworkers and recent MA Brown University graduate; Marcos Vargas, Fund for Santa Barbara executive director; and Eva Catalan, Future Leaders of America youth organizer. Top Right: Dr. Orlando Taylor presents Delores Huerta with her medal.
Huerta received the Social Transformation Medal from Dr. Orlando Taylor, director of Fielding’s Marie Fielder Center, which is named for an influential African-American educator and social justice champion who helped found Fielding 46 years ago. Huerta created UFW’s rallying cry, “si se puede” (“yes, it can be done”), which was echoed by the standing-room only crowd at the evening’s end.
Fielding thanks event sponsors Santa Barbara Independent, McCune Foundation, Fund for Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Foundation, and MaryFrances Winters. •
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The Marie Fielder Center’s Medal for Social Transformation is given to individuals who have made significant contributions in social advocacy/activism, research, leadership, education, and/or public service. Past recipients include:
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Yvon Chouinard, Patagonia founder
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Nicola Smith, JD, Fielding leadership doctoral faculty
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Patricia Gurin, PhD, University of Michigan Distinguished University Professor
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Gary Orfield, PhD, UCLA Distinguished Research Professor
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Walter Bumphus, president of the American Association of Community Colleges
Jennifer Billeci and Katie Daubenmire Receive Fielding Degrees 20 Years Apart
K
atie Daubenmire was in middle school when her mother Jennifer Billeci entered the Organization Management Development program at Fielding, earning a master’s degree in 2008. In 2018, Katie received her own Fielding master’s degree in Organizational Development and Leadership. “I joke that I must not have scarred her too badly during that time,” says Jennifer in a Zoom interview from her home in Woodland, California. “I remember Mom being really busy between her job and school,” Katie laughs from Bend, Oregon. “I thought it was really cool that she could get her master’s degree remotely.”
undergrad. They have three daughters, all born within five-and-a-half years, and Katie is the youngest. The family lived in the East Bay in Northern California. Jennifer began to work part-time at St. Mary’s College in nearby Moraga as a program assistant in Student Disability Services. “With my parttime job and the girls being older, it seemed a good time to continue my education. I began at Fielding in January 2007,” says Jennifer. But her part-time job quickly moved to fulltime, which led to her “really having my hands full,” she recalls.
Jennifer first heard about Fielding from her husband Bob.
After graduating from Fielding in August 2008, she continued at Saint Mary’s, becoming director of the department. In 2015, Billeci left to become director of the Student Disability Center at UC Davis.
“After we got married, I took a break from work to have kids. I kept my fingers in by working with Bob on organizational development projects,” she says. “An independent consultant, he has high profile business clients all over the world.”
“Fielding solidified and formalized the work I had been doing with Bob,” she says. “To work in higher education, they want to see a certain level of education. What you have achieved makes a difference. My time at Fielding made that difference.”
They met at San Francisco State University when he was a graduate student in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and she was a psychology
Katie also graduated from San Francisco State, in psychology and holistic health, and has traveled extensively, including a year living in
Australia. She worked in property management, sales, career counseling, and with her father as a training facilitator. For her master’s project, she integrated meditation into a system to track and achieve goals. “It just clicked as what I wanted to do: to help people achieve and feel more fulfilled in their lives by using practical methods alongside meditation,” says Katie. Once she began research on possible graduate programs, Fielding emerged as a good fit. “I loved being able to work in my own space, at my own pace, whenever I wanted, and the flexibility to focus on exactly what I want,” she says. Katie plans to return to Fielding in Spring 2021 to pursue her PhD in the Human Development program. “I’m in the process of applying and writing all the pieces now,” she reports. “I think that’s great,” says Jennifer. The Fielding tradition continues in this motherdaughter duo. •
