Mount Tamalpais College has named Stephany D. Baker its new Chief Operating Officer.
Baker brings more than 25 years of experience in organizational leadership, strategy, and culture development across higher education and nonprofit settings. As COO, she will help guide the College’s operations and organizational growth in support of its mission to provide high-quality, tuition-free liberal arts education to incarcerated students at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center.
Before joining MTC, Baker served as Assistant Vice President in Stanford University’s Office of External Relations. In that role, she advised senior leadership and helped lead initiatives affecting students, faculty, and staff across a complex institutional environment. Her work has focused on aligning strategy, operations, and organizational culture during periods of growth and change.
Baker is also the creator of the People-Centered Organizational Community and Culture (P-COCC) Model© a framework designed to help organizations strengthen accountability, connection, and shared purpose. Over the course of her career, she has led initiatives related to organizational restructuring, financial recovery, student success, and cross-sector partnership development.
“Joining Mount Tamalpais College wasn’t a career decision, it was a calling,” Baker said. “Education is one of the most powerful hands of grace we can extend to another person. That is what this work means to me. We are not just building a college, we are building a more civil, compassionate, and just society. One student at a time.”
In addition to her leadership in higher education, Baker is also an ordained minister overseeing spiritual development and Christian Education at Friendship Vallejo Church, where she develops programs focused on personal growth, coaching, and community engagement.
She holds a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership from Grand Canyon University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, minor in Criminal Justice, from San José State University. Her work has been recognized through multiple honors, including the UC Berkeley Excellence in Leadership Award for Strategic Performance and Stanford University’s Dean’s Award of Merit for Enterprise Impact.
“We are over the moon that Stephany has joined MTC as our new Chief Operating Officer,” said Mount Tamalpais College President Dr. Jody Lewen. “The College is already feeling the positive impact of her vast knowledge, experience, and generous spirit.”
