The head of Dallas College, a public community college system with seven campuses, has appointed new presidents for the system’s Mountain View and Brookhaven campuses.

Dallas College Chancellor Justin Lonon said Macario Hernandez will lead the Mountain View campus in southwestern Dallas County, and Madeline Burillo-Hopkins will lead the Brookhaven campus in Farmers Branch.

Hernandez, an Oak Cliff native and a longtime education administrator, was a Dallas ISD principal for 23 years, including at Trinidad “Trini” Garza Early College High School, which is located on the Mountain View campus.

A graduate of the University of North Texas, Hernandez holds a master’s degree from Texas Woman’s University and a doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin. He comes to Dallas College from UNT Dallas, where he was chief of staff.

In a statement, Lonon praised Hernandez’s “connection to the community and affinity for Mountain View.”

Among his duties as Mountain View president, Hernandez will be working with business leaders and industry partners to bolster workforce opportunities in Dallas’ southern sector.

Burillo-Hopkins also will work to improve workforce training as Brookhaven’s new president. She comes to Dallas College after more than 25 years with Houston Community College. There, she most recently was vice chancellor for workforce instruction and president of HCC Southwest, overseeing four campus locations.

She holds degrees from Sam Houston State, the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Puerto Rico. She received a doctorate in education from Sam Houston State.

Burillo-Hopkins’ “extensive experience working with community colleges will undoubtedly serve us well as we navigate the evolving landscape of higher education in Texas and beyond,” Lonon said in a statement.

Former Brookhaven president is now CEO of American Red Cross-North Texas

The search for a new president at Brookhaven was triggered last year when Linda Braddy, who’d led the campus since 2019, left to become CEO of the American Red Cross, North Texas Region. Christa Slejko then was appointed interim president. Burillo-Hopkins emerged as a final candidate for the president’s position in May along with Monica Moody-Moore, a Washington, D.C., higher education professional.

The Mountain View search began when Kenneth P. Gonzalez left the president’s post in January 2023 after serving for 18 months, and Beatriz Joseph became interim president. Hernandez was listed as a finalist for the president’s position in April along with Jose Cantu, a vice chancellor at the University of Colorado, and Stella Lovato, a vice president at San Antonio College.

Dallas College, which according to its website enrolled 120,992 students during the 2021-’22 school year, consists of seven campuses: Brookhaven, Mountain View, Cedar Valley, Eastfield, El Centro, North Lake, and Richland.

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