PUMA Center

PUMA is open for in-person services 9am - 6pm, Monday - Thursday. For all other Student Services, please check Counseling and Student Services for individual office hours.

Overview

The PUMA (Puente, Umoja, and MESA Achievement) Center is the home for three college access and success programs – Puente, Umoja, and MESA and was established in 2015. As a vibrant center, the PUMA Center serves students from underserved/underrepresented backgrounds by building and nurturing community through embracing and validating students' cultural identity and humanity, with an emphasis on holistic development, equity, and social justice. The Center focuses on interdisciplinary collaboration, integrating instruction and support services to address the students’ various needs, while fostering student leadership, providing mentoring, and raising cultural awareness. PUMA is a space that enables students to build community in order to achieve academic and career success, become empowered, and discover their full potential.

Services

Free immigration legal consults

The Immigration Institute of the Bay Area (IIBA) is still offering free immigration legal consultations virtually to ALL California Community College students, faculty, and staff. Appointments are required.

Where: Call (925) 237-8581 ext. 11 or book an appointment online

Tutoring

MESA holds many tutoring opportunities for students. Visit the MESA webpage for additional information.

Student Programming

Spring 2023 Events coming soon!

For additional programming and resource highlights, visit the PUMA Instagram page @dvcpuma: https://www.instagram.com/dvcpuma/

Counseling

If you need to meet with your learning community counselor, please schedule an appointment using the options listed on the Counseling Center webpage.

Staff and faculty

Office of Student Engagement and Equity

Abraham Allison	Student Leader - Pride Liaison
Mprah Asare	Student Leader
Rosa Armendáriz	Dean of Student Engagement and Equity
Elias Camacho	Student Leader
Sahy Caracosa	Student Leader
Kristen Freeman	Student Leader
Kristina Gomez	Administrative Assistant III
Tierra Lynch	Program Assistant
Ada Ocampo	Manager Student Engagement and Early College Experiences
Xiomara Sanchez	Student Leader
John "Max" Trujillo	Program Coordinator First Year Experience and Student Engagement
Marina Varela	Program Coordinator Student Engagement and Early College Experiences
Kendall Wallace	Student Leader

Puente

Anthony Gonzales	Coordinator and English Instructor
Brenda Gonzalez	Coordinator and Counselor
Stephanie Razo	Coordinator and English Instructor
Justin Wembes	Coordinator and Counselor

Umoja

Andrea Medina	Coordinator
Roniqua Cook-Greene	Coordinator
Evangeline Ward	Coordinator

MESA

Emmanuel Perez	Counselor
Sean Rodriquez	Program Assistant

Counseling

Maria Dorado	Counselor General
Brenda Gonzalez	Counselor General/Puente
Emmanuel Perez	Counselor General/MESA
Justin Wembes	Counselor General/Puente

Other resources

The Academic Support Center (ASC) offers free tutoring and academic support also available online. Visit their webpage for more information. Need help? Just ASC!
The DVC library offers an IM chat for continued support. Visit their webpage and send them a message.

Contact the PUMA Center

Telephone:	925-969-4320
PUMA Center's location:	Learning Communities Annex (LCA) campus map
	@dvcpuma