Julio René Flores

Julio René Flores is an equity-centered, translingual higher education leader with over ten years of experience in community college counseling and student support programs. He currently serves as Dean of Counseling and Support Programs at Santa Rosa Junior College, where he leads districtwide counseling operations and student services that expand access, strengthen belonging, and improve outcomes for diverse student populations. Flores’s work is deeply rooted in the mission of Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and he has helped lead districtwide HSI transformation efforts, equity-centered change initiatives, and participatory action research on servingness and campus culture. He has also served as a tenured counseling faculty member at Rio Hondo College and as adjunct faculty teaching graduate students in educational counseling at the University of Southern California, the University of La Verne, and California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Flores was a 2024–2025 fellow in the Dr. Ted Martinez Jr. NCCHC Leadership Fellows Program, a leadership development program designed to prepare aspiring community college leaders, particularly those serving Hispanic/Latino/a/x communities. He was also a participant in the second cohort of ACCCA’s Social Justice and Career Advancement Institute, a professional development experience focused on advancing leadership through equity and social justice. Flores holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Cal Poly Pomona, a master’s degree in educational counseling from the University of Southern California, and a doctorate in educational leadership from California State University, Long Beach, where his dissertation examined campus climate at a Hispanic-Serving community college.