Get to Know the De Anza Community

Meet Some of Our Distinguished Students, Faculty and Alums!


Mae Lee

Mae Lee

Mae Lee, chair of Asian American and Asian Studies, holds two master's degrees and a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology. In 2019, she was inducted into Stanford University's Multicultural Alumni Hall of Fame.


Sam Rodriguez

Sam Rodriguez is a De Anza alum whose artwork can be seen on buildings and public spaces in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York and Japan. He created the "Justice, Equity, Peace" mural for De Anza's 50th anniversary.

Sam Rodriguez


DJ Patil

DJ Patil

DJ Patil, a veteran tech executive, served as the first Chief Data Scientist for the United States during the Obama Administration. He credits his time as a De Anza student with sparking his love for math.


Shelly Michael

Shelly Michael, former DASB president, was a political science major and an advocate for student needs. She graduated in 2020 and transferred to Columbia University, with plans for graduate school and a career in public service. 

Shelly Michael


Anisa Chaudhry

Anisa Chaudhry

Anisa Chaudhry won the A. Robert DeHart Memorial Scholarship and was the keynote speaker for De Anza's 2018 commencement ceremony. She transferred to the University of California, Berkeley.


Titus Kaphar

Titus Kaphar, a De Anza alum, was a 2018 MacArthur "Genius Grant" winner. A painter and sculptor, he is nationally renowned for exploring social issues and the ways that people of color are portrayed in art.

Titus Kaphar


John Ottman

John Ottman

John Ottman, who studied Film/TV at De Anza, is an accomplished film editor, producer and composer. He won an Oscar for film editing on the 2018 rock biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody.”


Dolly Sandoval

Dolly Sandoval is a teacher, community leader, former Foothill-De Anza college trustee and former Cupertino mayor. She graduated from De Anza and earned her bachelor's degree at UC Santa Cruz.

Dolly Sandoval


Brian Romaine

Brian Romaine

Brian Romaine helped develop the Kirsch Center community garden while co-president of Latinx Empowerment at De Anza (LEAD). He's now a management consultant and working on an MBA, after earning a bachelor's degree at Palo Alto University.


Moses Cho

Moses Cho, an economics major and former U.S. Marine, graduated from De Anza in 2016 and transferred to Yale on a full tuition scholarship. He was also accepted by Dartmouth, Brown, Cornell and other universities.

Moses Cho


Check back here to meet more distinguished members of the De Anza College community! 

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