Biography

A native of California and resident of Indio since 1981, Dr. Bonnie Stefan has served honorably as a College of the Desert (COD) Board of Trustee since 1999, one of the college’s longest serving board members. She has chaired the COD board numerous times through a vote of her peers, and is currently the board chair for the second year in a row. As a COD trustee, she has advocated for and achieved a lengthy list of student successes including free COD tuition for all high school graduating students in the Coachella Valley and free bus passes all COD students to get and from work and school. In addition, Dr. Stefan voted to expand College of the Desert’s footprint across the Coachella Valley including major expansion projects at the Main Campus in Palm Desert, establishing the Mecca/Thermal Campus, establishing and doubling the size of the East Valley Campus in Indio, and voting in favor of building the West Valley Campus in Palm Springs and Roadrunner Motors in Cathedral City. This is on top of establishing COD classrooms in the cities of Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, and Cathedral City as well as a temporary campus in Palm Springs.

Dr. Stefan received an Associate of Arts degree from Southwestern College in Chula Vista, California, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Home Economics from San Diego State University, a Master of Arts degree in Education from the United States International University, and a Doctorate in Computer Education from the United States International University. Dr. Stefan has been teaching our local students for more than 40 years. She taught at Jefferson Middle School in Indio for 19 years and has been teaching at Amistad High School in Indio for the past 20 years. Dr. Stefan has been a member of the California Teachers Association and served as a student/teacher advocate at the national, state, and local levels. Beyond teaching students, she has served on the Safe Schools Committee, District Strategic Planning Team, Interstudy Exchange Program with Japan, as well as volunteering for Girl Scouts, 4-H, and the American Red Cross.

Dr. Stefan played a vital role in advocating and passing two voter approved educational bond measures for COD including Measure B ($346.5 million) in 2004 and Measure CC ($577 million) in 2016. These bond measures have allowed COD to establish new sites across the Coachella Valley, improve and rehabilitate older campus classrooms, sports recreation facilities, and theatrical arts centers, as well as building new educational campuses for future COD growth. Thanks to Dr. Stefan’s tenure on COD’s Board of Trustee, the college became the fastest growing community college in California, had record breaking graduation rates, and earned national and state awards and nominations for academic excellence including the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence and the winner of the prestigious Bellwether Award. The state chancellor for California’s community colleges honored COD for its efforts in providing Outstanding Student Success.

Supporting COD’s diverse student body has been Dr. Stefan’s main focus. She voted to establish the COD Food Bank for food insecure students, enhance the Veterans Resource Center, and help establish the Dreamers Resource Center, Gender and Sexual Diversity Pride Center, Black Student Success Center, Foster Youth Center and the Berger Faculty Innovation Center at COD. Dr. Stefan also voted for California Indian Nations College to begin its process of full accreditation through a collaboration with COD.

In her free time, Dr. Bonnie Stefan enjoys traveling to national and state parks with her partner Ted, crafting, and playing the piano. She is extremely proud of raising her West Point graduate daughter as a single mother, who now serves as an officer in the United States Army. Being an animal lover too, Dr. Stefan shares her home with two rescue dogs (Sophie and BubbaLou) and her pet turtle, Snappy.