SYLVIA SCOTT-HAYES

Educator and community activist, Ms. Sylvia Scott-Hayes was the first Latina to serve as President of the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles Community College District in its 32- year history. First elected in 1999, she is currently serving as President of the Board.

Under Ms. Scott-Hayes' first term as President, the Board adopted a nationally recognized environmental sustainability building policy for which the Board received the prestigious Green Cross Millennium Award from Global Green USA, in recognition of its leadership in launching an extensive program to transform the nine Los Angeles community colleges into energy-efficient, sustainable campuses. In addition, the board also adopted an ambitious Project Labor Agreement for the District's two bond measures.

Ms. Scott-Hayes has spent a great portion of her career as an educator at the college and university levels. As the Director of the University Testing Center at California State University, Los Angeles, she is responsible for the management and administration of assessment, placement and professional school examinations. She is also involved in counseling and advisement and appropriate uses of examinations.

In her positions as Associate Director of a University Writing Center, Director of a Learning Resources Program and Coordinator of a Learning Technology Lab, she has expertise in developing and establishing successful student support programs to increase student retention. In addition, her teaching experience has been focused in assisting students develop college-level research and writing skills.

An active participant in the community, Ms. Scott-Hayes has received many community service awards. The Hispanic Scholarship Fund honored her for her steadfast mission to increase the number of students transferring to four-year institutions by establishing a scholarship in her name. She has received the Community Service Award from the National Chicano Health Organization; Outstanding Service Award from the Hispanic Women's Health Organization; Visionary Leadership Award from the Los Angeles Women's Appointment Collaboration, and Outstanding Women Award of California State University, Los Angeles.

Ms. Scott-Hayes is a staunch proponent of mentoring and has served as mentor for several programs and projects. These include the Pat Brown Institute Gang Youth Violence Bridging Project, where she actively worked with and provided assistance to students who were former gang members, and to the Scholar Athlete Program where she worked closely with student athletes to maintain good academic standing.

In addition, she has been actively involved in the development of the Young Women at Risk Violence Intervention Program, a joint pilot program through the City of Los Angeles Commission on the Status of Women and the Los Angeles County Probation Department, aimed at addressing teen violence and developing linkages to mentoring programs.

Directly committed to the improvement of race relations and the betterment of communities, Ms. Scott-Hayes has been appointed to serve on the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations and currently serves on the Los Angeles County Judicial Procedures Commission as an appointee of Supervisor Gloria Molina. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Los Angeles City Commission on the Status of Women and is past-president of the Los Angeles Women's Appointment Collaboration and co-founder of the Staff Literacy Program.

Ms. Scott-Hayes received a B.A. degree in Sociology and an M.A. degree in Urban Education from California State University, Los Angeles. She is currently in the process of achieving a Ph.D. degree in Politics at Claremont Graduate University. She is married to Dr. Ronald Hayes, and they have three sons.

July 2006