Fellows Spotlight
Deanna Villanueva-Saucedo, Ed.D.
(Mesa, 2014)
Associate Vice Chancellor, Center for Excellence in Inclusive Democracy
Maricopa Community Colleges
Deanna Villanueva-Saucedo, Ed.D., is a proud Arizona native, born and raised in Mesa and still deeply rooted in the community she calls home. Her commitment to service began early. Her father, also a Mesa native, grew up working alongside his own father on a ranch and instilled in her a deep respect for education, hard work, and the responsibility to use one’s voice in service to others. Those values have remained a guiding force throughout her life and career.
Deanna’s professional path has taken her through nonprofit and ministry work, municipal government, and now higher education. While each chapter has been distinct, the thread connecting them all has been a steadfast dedication to community and civic engagement. Across sectors, she has built a career centered on helping people connect more meaningfully to one another and to the civic life of their communities.
Today, Deanna serves as Associate Vice Chancellor at Maricopa Community Colleges, where she leads the Center for Excellence in Inclusive Democracy (CEID). In that role, she supports the civic work of all 10 colleges and helps advance system-level efforts that encourage students, educators, and community members to participate more fully in public life. Among those initiatives is a civic seminar series developed in partnership with The Arizona Republic and judges from Arizona’s federal district court, an example of the thoughtful, collaborative work she is helping bring to life across the system.
For Deanna, public policy is not something distant or abstract. It shapes the daily lives of every Arizonan, influencing everything from educational access and health care to the built environment, climate, and neighborhood services. She brings a strong sense of purpose to helping others see that civic engagement is not separate from everyday life; it is woven into the choices, systems, and opportunities that affect us all.
This year also marked a significant personal and professional milestone: on Feb. 9, Deanna successfully defended her dissertation and completed her doctoral program. It was a tremendous accomplishment, and one that reflects her enduring commitment to learning, leadership, and the role education plays in strengthening communities.
Deanna believes community colleges represent one of Arizona’s greatest opportunities to expand access, strengthen civic health, and prepare students for active participation in civic life. Because they serve such a broad and diverse population, community colleges are uniquely positioned to create pathways for connection, belonging, and democratic engagement. Her work reflects a deep belief in the power of educational institutions to open doors, not only to careers and credentials, but also to confidence, participation, and public purpose.
She also values the Flinn-Brown Network for the sense of connection it creates across sectors, communities, and regions of the state. The Network offers an extraordinary kinship of thoughtful, engaged leaders who bring both expertise and generosity to their work. For Deanna, that Network is not only a meaningful professional resource, but also a source of camaraderie, shared purpose, and joy – including the fun of spotting fellow Flinn-Brown members out in the community and gathering for a group selfie.
Book Recommendation
John Dewey and the Future of Community College Education by Clifford Harbour: Community colleges educate roughly 40% of the nation’s undergraduates—with a large percentage coming from low-income and underserved communities—while being chronically underfunded compared to their four-year counterparts. Yet the civic mission of the community college sector is clear: to create democratic communities and ensure students are prepared to be actively engaged in civic life.
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