Yuba Community College District
Board of Trustees
Board Agendas & Minutes
President, Richard Teagarden – Area 1
Mr. Richard Teagarden represents Trustee Area 1 which includes a portion of Yuba County (Wheatland, Plumas, and Camptonville Elementary School Districts, Marysville Joint Unified School District, and Wheatland Union High School District), portions of Sutter County (Browns, Pleasant Grove Joint Union, Marcum-Illinois Union, and Winship Elementary School District, Yuba City Unified School District, and East Nicolaus Joint Union and Sutter Union High School District) a portion of Butte County (Marysville Joint Unified School District), and a portion of Placer County (Pleasant Grove Joint Union Elementary School District).
Mr. Teagarden was first elected to the YCCD Board of Trustees in 2014 and was re-elected in 2022. His current term expires in 2026.
Mr. Teagarden retired in 2010 as the Superintendent of Yuba County Office of Education where he had served since 1994. Prior to that appointment, Mr. Teagarden was a principal and teacher in the Marysville Joint Unified School District. He is a graduate of Marysville High School and Yuba College; his under graduate degree and his Master’s Degree in Public School Administration is from North Texas State University.
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Vice President, William (Bill) Cornelius – Area 3
Bill Cornelius represents Trustee Area 3, which includes a portion of Sutter County (Nuestro, Franklin, Brittan, Meridian, and Winship Elementary School District and Live Oak and Yuba City Unified School District).
Mr. Cornelius is the retired Superintendent of Schools for Sutter County. Having grown up in Southern California and attending La Quint High School and Golden West Community College before attending CSU Chico, Mr. Cornelius is a proud product of the California community college system and all it can offer. After graduating from CSU Chico, he went into teaching in Colusa County before moving to Yuba City to become the Principal of Live Oak High School, Biggs Unified School District as Superintendent/High School Principal, and then the Sutter County Superintendent of Schools. In these positions, he helped many of his students attend Yuba College and has also coached the Yuba College football team. Mr. Cornelius hopes to bring his knowledge, experience and energy in guiding YCCD to meet the changing educational needs of the community.
Mr. Cornelius was first elected to the YCCD Board of Trustees in 2024 and his current term expires in 2026.
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Clerk, Douglas Harris – Area 7
Mr. Harris represents Trustee Area 7 consisting of Lake County (Konocti and Middletown Unified School Districts), Colusa County (Maxwell, Princeton, and Williams Unified School Districts), Glen County (Stony Creek Joint Unified School District) and a portion of Sutter County. He has lived in the Yuba Community College District of Lake County for 48 years. During that time he has raised children, worked, recreated, and volunteered extensively in Lake County.
Mr. Harris graduated from River Falls High School in River Falls, Wisconsin and earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Wisconsin-River Falls. He has a Master’s of Social Work from San Francisco State University. Much of his professional career has been in advocacy for low income people, seniors, and those with disabilities. His experience also includes district administrator of a foster family agency, director of the Lake/Mendocino Counties Area Agency on Aging, and psychiatric social worker in a partial hospitalization program.
For twenty-two years Mr. Harris taught Human Services and Sociology at the Lake Campus of Woodland Community College. He is committed to access to quality higher education, career and technical education, and life-long learning in remote areas of the Yuba Community College District and welcomes your concerns and suggestions.
Mr. Harris was first provisionally appointed to the YCCD Board of Trustees in early 2022 and was elected in November 2022, then reelected in 2024. His current term expires in 2028.
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Jose Garcia- Area 6
Jose Garcia represents Trustee Area 6, which includes a portion of Yolo County (Woodland Unified School District) and a portion of Colusa County (Colusa, Pierce Joint, and Esparto Unified School District).
Mr. Garcia is a lifelong resident of Yolo County, is the son of Mexican migrants whose journey greatly influenced his values and work ethic. Raised in the close-knit neighborhoods of Woodland, he spent his formative years working in the fields from West Sacramento to Dunnigan, an experience that instilled resilience and a deep appreciation for agriculture and community bonds.
Mr. Garcia holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Gerontology from Sacramento State University and has earned a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification from the UC Davis School of Management. As the President and Executive Director of Garcia Almond Farms, he has developed expertise in leadership, management, and strategic planning. His professional background also includes leadership roles at GCC Acres, Incorporated, a residential care facility, and serving as a branch manager for Bank of America/Countrywide Home Loans.
Mr. Garcia is committed to leveraging his business expertise to improve District efficiency and resource allocation for the benefit of students. A dedicated husband, father, and grandfather, he values family and community as the foundation of his leadership and service.
Mr. Garcia was first elected to the YCCD Board of Trustees in 2024 and his current term expires in 2028.
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Jesse Ortiz – Area 5
Dr. Jesse Ortiz represents Trustee Area 5 which encompasses the southern half of the City of Woodland and Woodland Joint Unified School District. Woodland Community College is in his trustee area. Dr. Ortiz was first elected to the YCCD Board of Trustees in 2018. His current term expires in 2026.
Dr. Ortiz was born and raised in Woodland, California and is a proud Woodland High School graduate. He is an alumnus of Yuba College, San Jose State University, Sacramento State University, and Brigham Young University.
After nearly thirty-eight years in public education Dr. Ortiz retired in 2018 as the elected Yolo County Superintendent of Schools. He has also served as an elected Woodland School Board member and the Yolo County Board of Education. As a former Woodland School Board member he was the recipient of the Golden Apple Award awarded by the Yolo County School Boards Association for his student-centered leadership. He is the only trustee to ever receive the award twice.
His professional experience includes all levels of education; K-12, community college, and university level. He is a strong public education advocate in particular in enhancing educational equity for all students with a strong emphasis on first-generation and low-income students. He believes that all employees are the most valued resource of any educational organization and must be treated with respect and dignity.
He is currently a member of the California Community College Trustees (CCCT) Board, which consists of 21 members elected statewide by the 72 governing boards. CCCT is the state’s policymaking body in partnership with the California Community College League.
Dr. Ortiz is a United States Marine Corps (USMC) Vietnam Era Veteran and is an advocate for Deported Veterans and volunteer at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery honor guard.
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John Cassidy – Area 4
John Cassidy represents Trustee Area 4 which includes a portion of Sutter County (Yuba City Unified School District). Yuba College is in his trustee area.
Mr. Cassidy has been a board member of the Yuba Community College District Foundation for the past 20 years and has served as the honorary base commander at Beale Air Force Base for 13 years. He attended high school in Livermore, California, and attended Butte College for two years before transferring and graduating from the University of San Francisco. Mr. Cassidy retired after a 41-year career in the banking industry including leadership roles as the CEO of the Sierra Central Credit Union in Northern California, and two terms as Chairman of the California Credit Union League Association and serving on their Executive Committee. Mr. Cassidy is proud of his community involvement by raising funds for the Children’s Miracle Network hospitals and Big Brothers Big Sisters, and has chaired “The Event” concert series that raises funds for a variety of charities in Northern California.
Mr. Cassidy was first elected to the YCCD Board of Trustees in 2024 and his current term expires in 2028.
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Dennise Burbank – Area 2
Ms. Dennise Burbank represents Trustee Area 2 which includes a portion of Yuba County (Marysville Joint Unified School District). Yuba College is in her trustee area. Ms. Burbank was elected to the YCCD Board of Trustees in 2020 and reelected in 2024. Her current term expires in 2028.
Ms. Burbank has lived in the Yuba-Sutter area for 30 years. She attended Gridley High School and earned an accounting certificate from Yuba College.
Ms. Burbank is a local business owner. She currently serves as an elected director for the Olivehurst Public Utility District. She is the president and founder of SoYouCan, a local non-profit organization.
Ms. Burbank is the mother of two and grandmother of four.