Meet the Vice President

Christina Espinosa-Pieb, vice president of Instruction, grew up in a small town near Chico, California, living with her mother, father, and seven siblings—all in a three-bedroom/one-bath home—where communication and consideration for others was an absolute necessity each day. As child number six, Christina attributes her people skills, strong work ethic, and love of multi-tasking to this upbringing.  

Shortly after arriving to the Silicon Valley in 1980, Christina stepped onto the
De Anza College campus as a community volunteer to assist disabled students. Her first paid job at De Anza was as a student employee, where she was responsible for getting disabled students into their wheelchairs going to and from classes. Over the next 18 years, she worked within the Special Education Division in a variety of increasingly responsible positions before becoming the Dean of Academic Services in 1999.

Because of these past experiences, she feels passionately about the integration of student services and instruction as a means to student success and retention.  During the 2003-2004 fiscal year, Christina served as the Interim Vice President for Instruction while continuing her duties as the Dean of Academic Services, which she agreed to in order to prevent the loss of additional positions during a fiscally challenging time.  

Christina's educational journey began at De Anza College where she took classes at night while working full time with the goal of becoming a secretary within the Disabled Students Services program. However, once that goal was reached, her plans changed as a life-long love of learning took over.

She transferred from De Anza College and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Management from the University of Phoenix, a Master of Arts degree in International and Multicultural Education from the University of San Francisco, and she is now currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Community College Leadership from Walden University.

Christina's service as an Affirmative Action Representative in the early 80's both informed and inspired her to pursue her Master's degree in International and Multicultural Education.  Now, years later, she is using her degree to teach a class about Woman of Color in the USA on Saturdays, with which she hopes to inform and inspire another generation of life-long learners.

When Christina is not at De Anza, she enjoys spending time with her husband of 22 years and their two children, ages 20 and 16.  As a family, they enjoy vacationing together and have had the privilege of traveling to Austria, France, Italy, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Atlanta. Being Cupertino residents, both children attend public schools, which keeps Christina close to her children even when she is at work.  In addition, she has served as a volunteer coach for her son's little league team during the past seven years, and she herself plays on two co-ed softball teams, with all three teams winning their respective championships.