Expanding student success, promoting responsive governance, and preparing PCC for the future.
Board President
Alton Wang
Alton Wang is the son of immigrants and a second-generation Arcadian educated in our local public schools who understands firsthand that community colleges open doors.
Alton ran for Pasadena City College Trustee to ensure that every person can benefit from an affordable, high-quality education. Alton is a nonprofit lawyer, community organizer, and congressional policy advisor who has worked on improving education, promoting civic engagement, and empowering our neighborhoods.
Alton currently serves as President of the PCC Board. He has served on the Budget & Audit Committee, Facilities Committee, and formerly chaired the Legislative Advocacy Committee.
As Trustee, Alton works with teachers, students, and our neighbors to make sure that PCC provides outstanding learning opportunities so that every student can achieve their full potential.
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Alton’s parents are proud former students at Pasadena City College, an institution that gave them opportunities to learn English, earn credits towards a four-year college degree, and apply their learning to start small businesses that serve our neighborhoods. They are Alton’s inspiration. Their success story is the story of so many San Gabriel Valley residents who strive to achieve the California Dream — and education was their foundation.
His parents raised him in Arcadia because of our community’s renowned public schools. He attended Longley Way Elementary School, Dana Middle School, and ultimately graduated as a salutatorian from Arcadia High School. Public education has made Alton’s past and present a reality.
As an organizer, he drove record voter turnout in California and across the nation to increase our political representation. As a congressional policy advisor, he worked to ensure that all immigrants have the opportunity to succeed in America. Today, he advocates for expanding voting rights and fairer representation to guarantee that all Americans can access their right to vote.
In our community, Alton currently serves on the board of the Arcadia Parks Foundation as Secretary. Alton earned his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the UCLA School of Law, where he also earned the prestigious Equal Justice Works Fellowship.
Priorities
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All PCC students deserve success. This means providing students with the ability to enroll in the classes they need to succeed and transfer to four-year colleges, as well as expand technical education pathways for students to jumpstart their careers. And while programs like College Promise and providing online textbooks have provided more access for students, we must continue expanding the resources and supports available so every student has the opportunities to thrive.
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Students at Arcadia High also deserve access to more opportunities at Pasadena City College, yet no dual enrollment courses are consistently offered to our students. This is why I am committed to partnering with our school district to expand dual enrollment courses that will allow our high school students to earn college credit—and begin their transition to college.
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Community-driven governance that is inclusive of the voices of all constituents is vital for the health of any community college. I am committed to expanding engagement with students, faculty, and community leaders, strengthening relationships across campus, and refocusing on shared governance at PCC. We need a trustee that brings all stakeholder voices to the table from day one to create a more responsive, transparent, and accountable Board of Trustees.
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We must improve our campus facilities to better support faculty and student needs in order to create a well-equipped learning environment that prepares our students for success. This goes beyond the necessary construction that is currently underway, but also ensuring that facilities across campus are prepared for the next century of PCC’s story.
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Today, PCC faces a variety of challenges — including falling student enrollment. I am committed to tackling these challenges head on, beginning with strengthening the student pipeline to our college and working with community partners to ensure that PCC continues to be a beacon for students across Los Angeles County. We must bring students back — and we can do that by making PCC more accessible and increasing proactive engagement to ensure students are on track to achieving their goals.
Contact Alton
hi@altonwang.com