Dr. Joan J. Jaimes currently serves as the Director of Ascender and the Director of Teaching and Learning at San Antonio College. A first-generation college graduate and proud daughter of Mexican immigrants, Dr. Jaimes has dedicated her career to education and community outreach.
Her journey began in Brownsville, Texas, where she grew up as a migrant farmworker. At 19, she moved to Iowa, working in a pork processing plant before enrolling at Marshalltown Community College (MCC). After several years in banking, focusing on community outreach and helping families achieve homeownership, she transitioned into higher education. In 2008, she became the Director of the Marshalltown Education Partnership (MEP) at MCC, an outreach program that provides scholarships to first-generation college students from Marshalltown High School.
Dr. Jaimes has been a tireless advocate for first-generation students and has worked to bridge diverse communities. She served as Commissioner of Latino Affairs for the State of Iowa and has been active on numerous state, local, and national boards and commissions. She is also a founding member of Al Éxito, an American Association of University Women (AAUW) initiative that guides middle school students on their path to college.
In 2015, her expertise in cultural outreach and education took her to Washington, D.C., where she worked as an Awareness and Outreach Specialist for Federal Student Aid at the U.S. Department of Education.
Dr. Jaimes is a distinguished fellow of several leadership programs, including La Academia de Liderazgo of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (2022), the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (2020), the National Community College Hispanic Leadership Program (2013), and Iowa State University’s Leadership Institute for a New Century (2013).
She holds an associate degree from MCC, a bachelor’s degree in Human Services, and a master’s in public administration. In December 2019, she earned her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Iowa State University, with research focused on using technology to foster a college-going culture in Latin@ homes.