Mina Hernandez, Christopher Tarman, Kim Marquardt, Zhenya Lindstrom

MiraCosta College has a new crop of top administrators to continue the leadership of the District in an innovative and collaborative way. 

Christopher Tarman has been hired as Dean of Research, Planning and Institutional Effectiveness; Zhenya Lindstrom is the new Dean of Instructional Services; Kim Marquardt has been hired as Director of Health Services; and Mina Hernandez is overseeing contracts, procurement and material management operations as Director of Purchasing and Material Management.

 “As one of North County’s leading providers of higher education and workforce training, MiraCosta College is committed to putting in place a talented and dedicated team of faculty and professional staff to help our students meet their goals,” said MiraCosta College Superintendent/President Dr. Sunita “Sunny” Cooke. “We are proud to have Chris Tarman, Zhenya Lindstrom, Kim Marquardt and Mina Hernandez, who together have decades of experience in higher education, working for the community in their new roles.”

Here is a look at their responsibilities, background and goals.

 

Zhenya Lindstrom assumed the role of Dean of Instructional Services in fall 2020 where she plans, organizes, and directs day-to-day operations of strategic student success programs and service.

One of these success programs includes the implementation of Academic and Career Pathways (ACP) Success Teams to help students more easily investigate their career interests, become part of the community of students interested in similar majors, and map out a clear game plan to reach their goals. “We are redesigning the student experience at MiraCosta College to help students achieve their educational goals more efficiently and to key in on their career objectives early, all while removing any barriers along their journey, with particular attention on equity,” explains Lindstrom. 

Another closely related area of focus for this new Dean role includes expanding the dual enrollment program, which would allow more high school students to take MiraCosta College courses at no cost, providing them an opportunity to hone in a career goal early and earn a college degree quicker all while saving their families significant college dollars. 

Lindstrom first came to MiraCosta College in 2017 as Associate Dean of Career Technical Education and previously worked as Director of the Center of Excellence for Labor Market Research for the San Diego and Imperial County region.

 

Kim Marquardt was working as a pre-op supervisor with the North Coast Surgery Center when she came to MiraCosta as Director of Health Services, which essentially is the college’s chief medical officer. She has been a medical professional working in a number of positions over the past two decades, most of which have been at Tri-City Medical Center, where she worked as a perinatal clinical data analyst, assistant nurse manager, and registered nurse in labor and delivery. Marquardt also served as Director of Staff Development at Life Care Centers of America in Vista.

“This is a great opportunity to contribute to the MiraCosta College community and beyond,” said Marquardt—whose oldest son, a senior in high school, is taking dual-enrollment courses through MiraCosta College—and who became a registered nurse after studying at DeAnza College in Cupertino. “I’m an enormous community college proponent and believe strongly in what they stand for.”

A Massachusetts native who moved to Vista with her family when she was nine, Marquardt said immediate goals are focused on transitioning back to in-person services in a manner to safely serve MiraCosta College’s more than 15,000 students, while also retaining several elements introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as telehealth appointments. Other areas of focus include further integrating the Health Services team with the larger campus community and expanding opportunities with community partners.

 

As MiraCosta College’s Director of Purchasing and Material Management, Mina Hernandez oversees contracts and procurement, ensuring everything complies with a multitude of local, state, and federal regulations. It’s a job she is well suited for, as Hernandez led the development of the California Community College’s first-ever Purchasing Best Practices Guidebook and the California Community College’s Facilities-Procurement Guidebook. Shortly after arriving at MiraCosta College in fall 2020, Hernandez worked with her team to identify ways to streamline processes and procedures. In January, they implemented PlanetBids, a platform for electronic bid submissions that will provide MiraCosta College and its Measure MM $455 million bond management team the opportunity to engage with a broader pool of vendors and contractors. Her team also is working with Academic Information Services to provide District end-users PunchOut catalog—an e-procurement solution—that will be integrated with Workday this spring. PunchOut makes it possible for end-users to access a supplier’s website from Workday, which will automate purchase requisitions.

“We have an amazing team here at MiraCosta,” Hernandez said. “I feel very fortunate to work with the wonderful MiraCosta family and feel like I’ve come home.”

The Arizona native and former civil litigation paralegal has an extensive background in higher education, including serving as a manager for scholarships and endowments at Arizona State University’s College of Public Programs, and later as a contracts analyst at the University of Arizona, College of Medicine-Phoenix. From there, Hernandez was manager of purchasing and contract services at the Antelope Valley Community College District and then executive director of general services at West Valley-Mission Community College District in Saratoga.

Hernandez serves on the Foundation for California Community College’s Legislative and Advisory committees.

 

It's all about data and using it correctly. That’s the message from Christopher Tarman, MiraCosta College’s new Dean of Research, Planning and Institutional Effectiveness, who oversees a division responsible for in-depth statistical analysis of programs to ensure excellence in educational opportunities, including directing and maintaining a variety of statistical records, reports, files, and dashboards.

“It’s not a sexy thing, but data is vital and critically important when making decisions related to student success,” said Tarman. “I see my job as providing the tools needed to help our faculty and the college be as effective as they can be.”

Tarman had once aspired to become a university professor and held teaching positions at Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State University, among others, but began a new career as a research analyst in the private sector parsing through data for schools and local governments. He pivoted to higher education in 2009 as a research and planning analyst at Irvine Valley College, then moved on to the El Cajon-based Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, where he served first as Senior Dean, Research, Planning and Institutional Effectiveness and then as Associate Vice Chancellor of Research, Planning and Technology.

In 2018, Tarman was honored with a John and Suanne Roueche Excellence Award from the League for Innovation in the Community Colleges, a consortium of some 500 community colleges and community college districts worldwide.