NVC names new Upvalley dean

  • July 22, 2010
  • Author

Christina Rivera will become interim director of Napa Valley College's Upper Valley Campus in St. Helena, effective Monday.

Rivera has served in the college’s Office of Instruction as administrative assistant since 2000, assisting the vice president of instruction. She has been Puente Program Mentor Coordinator since 2004, when the program started.

A longtime college employee, she is active in the community and serves on the Latino Advisory Board for Queen of the Valley Medical Center and is a member of the Napa County Hispanic Network.

Rivera earned a master of arts degree in counseling psychology from Argosy University, and a bachelor’s degree from California State University, East Bay. She is also a graduate of Napa Valley College.

“I am honored to be selected to this position and look forward to working with the upper valley community,” she said.

Rivera replaces longtime Upvalley dean Bonnie Thoreen, who retired earlier this year.

Napa Valley College administrator Judie Walter-Burke had been slated to become the new Upvalley dean, but withdrew at the last minute for health reasons.