Meet Jessica Heredia

Jessica Heredia is LJCDS’ first-ever director of diversity, equity and culture. Mrs. Heredia has spent the last 13 years at the University of California, San Diego’s Campus Advocacy, Resources, and Education (CARE) at the Sexual Assault Resource Center (SARC). She has served as the assistant director for the past 10 years and was most recently the interim director. CARE at SARC provides comprehensive prevention education and training for students, staff and faculty. Previously, Mrs. Heredia was an adjunct faculty member for the Department of Women’s Studies at San Diego State University. 

Most memorable career highlight / In my previous role, I co-launched a virtual program called CARE Talks for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) staff and faculty focusing on race, gender and healthy relationships. A program like this had been my dream since I began working in violence prevention. I knew that we needed to create spaces for faculty and staff to feel comfortable discussing their identities and relationships. 

One of the last programs that I facilitated was a discussion on raising BIPOC children and creating a culture of consent. So many of the staff and faculty shared that they had never experienced a space like that before. It was fulfilling to support our community during a difficult moment in time.

Philosophy on leadership / My leadership style has always been informed by my lived experiences as a mixed-race, first-generation college student: 

Year one vision / In my first year, I will be learning, observing and thinking. I need to understand the rhythm of the school—that means being out in the community and seeing people in action and meeting with students. I will be observing existing programs and initiatives to see how we can sustain, strengthen and/or revise them to support broader DEI goals. Lastly, I will be thinking about the next three to five years and laying a foundation for this work to become part of the fabric of our school. Strategic thinking and planning are where I’ll be focusing much of my time this year. 

Why Pre-K–12 education? / I loved higher education and never thought I would leave it, but in the back of my mind, there was this nagging question, “Shouldn’t we be starting this work before students get to college?” I was craving an environment where I could see the impact more directly in the lives of students and educators. My conversations with my own children, ages 9 and 13, around equity, justice and civil rights have been some of the most fulfilling. Young thinkers are very capable of understanding these issues. They can also teach us basic lessons about listening, questioning and evolving. My hope is that students go out into the world feeling empowered to create a more just, equitable and inclusive world.

Misconceptions about your position at LJCDS / Twenty years ago, when people heard the word “diversity” in educational settings, the immediate understanding was special one-time multicultural events, books and class lessons that would highlight marginalized voices. Meaningful DEI work requires us to look at systems. For example, instead of having one day dedicated to talking about women in STEM, we move toward an understanding and an approach that women have always been part of STEM, so let’s find them, their voices, and teach that as the standard.

Don’t get me wrong, celebrations and community building are a critical part of this work, but we must also prioritize systemic change—that means working at an institutional level. We have amazing students, faculty and staff who have been leading this work for many years. My role is to institutionalize those efforts to ensure that the work is sustained, supported and resourced for future generations of Torreys. 

How do you encourage respectful dialogue among those with diverging points of view? / There has to be a significant amount of groundwork laid to build trust and respect so that people feel safe to disagree. It sounds simple, but I think people are having a hard time listening to one another. Each individual’s point of view is so personal because it’s often informed by lived experiences—that’s what makes it challenging when we disagree. I do not have a perfect answer but I do know that we have to keep trying. In addition to trust and respect, we need to be clear that denying a person’s identities is not a difference of opinion. This is dehumanizing and does not support an environment where everyone can freely express their views. When someone’s viewpoint is coming from a place of denying your existence, then we have an entirely different issue. 

What does DEI progress look like for our community? / Meaningful DEI progress looks like clarity in our goals, purpose and message. It means that everyone in our community has a shared understanding of what it means to be a diverse, equitable and inclusive school and that we all have a part to play in creating and sustaining it. 

First job: Movie theater concessions (I hate the smell of burnt popcorn!)
Personal core values: Honesty, Respect, Family, Knowledge
Superpower: Intuition
Favorite cuisine/food: Breakfast pastries (i.e., scones, pan dulce, donuts)
Favorite recently read book: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
School-related memory: Organizing the first-ever out-of-state college visit field trip for my AVID class when I was a junior in high school.