The Soft Sound of Legacy and Leadership Dr. Gari Browning

By: Margaret Jackson |AM 1220 KDOW & iHeart Radio | www.kdow.biz Money 2.0 Team

Dr. Gari Browning has led the Ohlone Community College District for the past twelve years, as its first female president. As she graciously passes the torch of her legacy’s soft sound, the educational community salutes her and her accomplishments. I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Browning and talk with her about her career and leadership at Ohlone Community College in Silicon Valley. She is a splendid model of what we call a power-woman.

Question SBCM:

Your modest leadership demeanor is noticeably powerful. Humility is said to be the chief characteristic of a Level V leader. How does it feel to be a Level V leader?

Answer Dr. Browning:

My understanding of a Level V leader is that it believes in the purpose of the organization they’re trying to lead. For me, it’s easy to lead in education because the bottom-line for education is helping and improving people and society. It isn’t difficult. Believing in education as much as I do, it has been a pleasure. It hasn’t been a challenge to be totally and completely committed to that bottom-line. I think the humility comes from not out promoting yourself. But being out to promote what you believe in or your organization is the element that goes into being a leader for me.

Question SBCM:

Your determination to lead and to achieve something higher than yourself appears evident throughout your career in education. What is that driving force?

Answer Dr. Gari Browning:

It’s knowing how valuable education is, especially to the individual. Community colleges are a vehicle for providing access to everyone to education. So for me, it’s been a lifelong commitment. It’s been something since very early on; I was very passionate about it because I knew how much it could change lives. It changes your whole way of thinking. It’s not just your economics. It’s it’s everything. It’s how you see your life, how you raise your children, how you impact the world. And everybody should have that opportunity.

Question SBCM:

I have a side question; it’s not one of the questions on my sheet here. I wasn’t sure how to collect my thoughts to ask the question? And I’m not sure that I’m going to do a good job at it right now? I saw a picture of you, and it looked like it was years ago, maybe when you first started as Ohlone Community College president? That picture had a lot to say. And I was looking at you now, and I saw something in your presence and demeanor that as you answered this question, it made me think about that picture and that you believe in education. And the opportunity of education for everyone, every race, gender. Ohlone is known for its diversity. And I have to think that maybe you brought that torch into Ohlone? You carry something different. I can’t put my finger on it.

Answer Dr. Gari Browning:

When it comes to that, I was lucky. Life-changing experiences when I was young that put me on this path. I was able to observe some young people who were very committed to education but did not have a good opportunity to move forward. And it made me feel like I had to follow that cause I’m not a cause person. But that grabbed me and never let me go. At that point, it was about diverse students and diverse kids. And Ohlone, I don’t want to take credit for making Ohlone diverse or saying that I brought that value to the college. I didn’t. It was there. It pulled me, and it gave me that opportunity to make it even more robust. But I will tell you when I started at the college, the motto for the college was a world of cultures united in learning.

Question SBCM:

What advice would you give to young women starting in their careers?

Answer Dr. Gari Browning:

You know, that’s a good question. And it made me pause and think about it. I would pass along the advice that I was given. And that was you can do anything. You have to firmly-believe you can do anything, and you have to take it a bit further and say, I’m so positive that I can do anything that I’m going to take some risk. I’m not going to stick with that safe job that isn’t pulling me, attracting me, or drawing me. You have to be able to believe in yourself to the point where you will say; I’ll bet on myself. I believe that I can accomplish anything, and I have to take steps to get there. So early on, I left a tenured faculty position to go to a job that wasn’t even in the retirement system, and it was a good step for me to do. It helped me move forward

in my career and gave me a broad perspective on community college. But it took some courage to do that. And Ohlone, gave me the chance to maybe have got some people thinking about

it took, believing that I could really do something. I took a chance.

Question SBCM:

On that note, and this is another side question, based on how you answered. Those who don’t take that extra step and that risk what kind of loss do you think might be there?

Answer Dr. Gari Browning:

Well, they will probably always wonder and wish, and they may feel like, I lost my vision. I lost my opportunity to grow and be something I could be? I don’t know. It’s different for everybody. Probably people may say, OK, well, I missed that opportunity, but I got a different opportunity. It is hard to say and make there is the possibility of regret.

Question SBCM:

Do you feel like you trailblazed for women in education because of your achievements throughout your career?

Answer Dr. Gari Browning:

Being the first female president at open some people’s eyes about a different leadership style. I would say the community, perhaps the people, the college community, the internal community at the college. I think that my style was, very, different. I think it may that claim for everybody. But I think that

women leaders in general. And what those stylistic things mean and how they translate into helping the college move forward.

Question SBCM:

Ohlone Community College is one of your grandest legacies, as its president, what are you most proud of accomplishing?

Answer Dr. Gari Browning:

Well, you know, most people would probably assume it’s all those buildings, and they’re fantastic, but I think really.

I am most satisfied and proud of having a hand in shining a light on what a great college Ohlone is and all the now-noted accomplishments. When I started and even now to some extent, but a much lesser extent, people will say, oh, it’s the hidden gem, or it’s the Bay Area’s best-kept secret. I tried very hard to overcome that because it shouldn’t be a secret. Right. I worked hard to bring out all the wonderful things that the faculty, staff, and the students accomplish at that college. And I think I’ve succeeded a little bit (with a soft, warm chuckle) at least somewhat.

Question SBCM:

What is the secret sauce to your success? Did you set out to be a college president?

Answer Dr. Gari Browning:

No, I didn’t. Never would have thought that. I think throughout my career, I kind of went to where I thought I could help or where I thought I could make a difference, make the biggest difference. I was a faculty member early in my career. I mentioned that, and I’d been on several statewide committees. I taught statistics at the university at the grad level. And there was a research position that opened. I thought, if I were in that position, then I could have an impact on the students coming in and what sort of tests they have to take and whether those tests were good predictors, whether they were valid. And I could see if I did this, I’d have an opportunity to impact and help more students. So that’s kind of my driving force. I mentioned that I went from a tenured position in college I’d been at for 18 years. And I left, and I went to the accrediting commission because I thought, I can have a broader impact. I can help more people in that position. So that’s sort of been my driving force. I don’t know if I would call it secret sauce, but certainly, that’s what motivated me.

Question SBCM:

Why are you passionate about diversity, English as a Second Language (ESL) students from other languages to thrive in their educational careers? Based on some of the research I did, I know that you’re fluent in Spanish. And there’s a reason for people learning other languages. There seems to be some sort of tie there, underlining something there that maybe we don’t know about, what is that?

Answer Dr. Gari Browning:

I had a passion for language in people from other cultures that I don’t know how far I can figure out where it started. But I remember starting to learn Spanish when I was about 14 and having an opportunity to be the guide for people who were coming in and didn’t know any English. Not that I knew much Spanish, but I wanted to do it. And I got the opportunity. Becoming aware of the situation of second language learners was life-changing and focused me on ESL.

I was a Spanish major in college, and I was looking for a part-time job. And the career center said, oh, well, we’ve got a great job for you, you know, Spanish. Therefore, you can teach English to people who don’t know it. And I thought I can? I had no background, no knowledge, no education in it at all. But I did take it as a job working with students in an after-school program, like five or six students, to try to help them learn English. And after about three weeks, I had a different group of five or six students. I went to the director, and I said, why? What happened to the students that I started in the class? And she said, well after they’re in the program for a few weeks, they’re tested. And I said, what does that mean? She said, we give them a test, and we place them according to their scores. And all of your students placed in the educable but mentally retarded school. And I said, well, how is that? One of those kids wanted to be a doctor; they were bright kids. She said, well, they tested in English. That was it. I mean, that was, for me, a huge turning point in my career. It was very powerful. I know that still happens right now, and for eons, kids were prohibited from speaking their language on-campus and were punished if they were speaking Spanish. That’s what caused me to be passionate.

Question SBCM:

Twelve years as President of Ohlone Community College in Silicon Valley, the technology capital of the world, the technology destination for students and professionals, is there higher stress to meet the world’s expectation of being a Silicon Valley college?

Answer Dr. Gari Browning:

The beauty of the community college system is that word community is what it means; you are serving the needs of your community. You shape your college to serve that community. And for a Silicon Valley community college, there are certain values and expectations that the community has. They expect to be able to send their high school students to

college. They expect the students who do come to the college to transfer to high-level universities and do well once they transfer. They expect the career and technical programs to be focused on technology in health, science, and those kinds of areas. The expectations and stresses are well-matched to the community and the community’s desires and needs. So, yes, I think there is an expectation about being in Silicon Valley, and that’s what you deliver. And the other expectation is that you stay connected or you become connected with the community. So you know what it is they’re after. I think that I did that. I set up a president’s advisory committee and met quarterly with all of the community leaders and set up a mechanism whereby they can give us feedback. Then the next time I met with them, I’d say, here’s what we did with your feedback, and then I’d give them a new topic to give us advice on. And that that started about five years ago and it’s still going on.

Question SBCM:

What are your final words of encouragement to the Ohlone Community College students?

Answer Dr. Gari Browning:

Right now, we’re in an unknown situation. It may be easier for students to lose their momentum in their steam, in their hope in this situation, because it is unknown. What I would tell them is, you know, you control your destination. You need to look forward and not get stuck in this situation. You have plans. You need to focus on

those plans and carry forward with those plans. And then in focusing on the future, it will get you to the future, and the future will be, as you said at the outset. We’ll get through this.

Question SBCM:

What is what does retirement for you? How are you defining that?

Answer Dr. Gari Browning:

I have many projects I want to address. I’d love to be able to travel more. We’ll see how that develops? I would love to do some consulting. I would like to work for the accrediting commission, perhaps as a commissioner someday. So there are things that I would like to continue. I would like to be involved in the community more than I have been able to, so lots of aspirations left.

Question SBCM:

What would you hope a person would say about your educational legacy?

Answer Dr. Gari Browning:

That I moved the college forward on many fronts. It’s great to have been able to be involved in providing a great learning environment for the students. Seeing those students walking around in those new buildings on that new campus and having them say, oh, this is wonderful. It is a fantastic learning environment; it is so satisfying and rewarding. I didn’t get to spend too much time in that new office, but I had a really good venue; I could watch the students interacting throughout all the buildings. And it was very rewarding.

The one thing that I hope people remember and attribute to me is the focus on diversity and inclusion. I am not responsible for the diversity at Ohlone, and that value. I said that before. But I think a lot that we’ve been able to do has made that something we’re known for in Silicon Valley. Ohlone is known for its diversity and how it welcomes people from diverse backgrounds. Ohlone works hard to enhance the cultural knowledge and appreciation of everybody, of students, of staff, of the faculty. We put a lot of effort into it continuously. And I think that has made a big difference.

SBCM: We wish you the best in your next power woman venture.