UFO ELECTIONS 2025

My name is Jesse MacEwan. I am seeking reelection for the office of UFO President.

I have been at Ohlone College since 2007 and have grown with the College. My first child was born over the Christmas holiday of my first year at Ohlone. He is how I keep track of how many years I have served the faculty of Ohlone College: 17. I am a full-time counselor by trade and have served as the Curriculum Chair (currently in my second stint), Faculty Senate President, and currently am the UFO President.

As the UFO President, I work with faculty across the campus to protect our rights and responsibilities. To do this, we must build strong relationships with key stakeholders at the college. I am committed to building a stronger sense of community through faculty actions. We had two such actions in spring of 25, which led to the resolution of the contract negotiations. This is a credit to you and your commitment to the college and our students.

I am committed to working to address Ohlone’s difficult budget issues. I understand the state’s funding mechanism, and I will continue to advocate that the district prioritizes the goal of moving off the “hold harmless” funding. Such a move will require significant advocacy with the administration to follow through on right sizing the college. Right sizing is the term the administration has used to decrease the number of full-time faculty, while increasing the administration. Now we must right size the administration.

I know faculty are ready and I will lead in these efforts.

As the UFO President, I will fight for all members of the United Faculty of Ohlone.

I am available to answer any questions you have.

Together in solidarity,

Jesse MacEwan

Hello Colleagues!

I am Tobias Smith, your current UFO Vice President. I am asking for your vote so that I can continue to serve you for a second term.

The UFO Vice President wears many hats: assisting the President, hearing member concerns and representing members in District interactions. In my first term I did all this and served on the UFO’s contract negotiating team as well. I’m particularly passionate about making sure that faculty receive our full cost of living adjustment (COLA); anything less is a pay cut!  If you have attended the UFO Fixed Flex Friday presentations, you’ve heard a lot from me on this matter.

I joined the Ohlone community as a full-time faculty member in Administration of Justice in the fall of 2021 after earning my law degree and PhD in law and social science at UC Berkeley. At Berkeley I served as a departmental representative for my UAW graduate student union. There I saw that being a local chapter of a larger union can be powerful, but it can also be slow.

I love that the UFO is an independent union; we are nimble, responsive and can raise and address your concerns with the District immediately. In my second term, I will continue to make sure that you are heard, clearly and right away.

I’m here to answer any questions you might have about my candidacy and the work of the UFO. As always, I would love to hear from you: uniontobiasjsmith@gmail.com.

In solidarity,

Tobias Smith

Dear Ohlone Esteemed Colleagues:
My name is Long Nguyen – your current UFO Treasurer.
I have been a full-time faculty member teaching Accounting at Ohlone since 2016.
After serving four years as your UFO Treasurer, I wish to continue my commitment to the UFO committee.
I have always been a “numbers” guy. I love to work with numbers and keep track of financial statements and budgets. My education is in Accounting and Finance.
Before teaching at Ohlone, I worked in different positions such as Bookkeeper, Teller, Personal Banker, and Governmental Financial Auditor. My prior experience prepared me to perform all the responsibilities as your UFO Treasurer. I highly value and respect the diversity within our Faculty, Staff, and Students at Ohlone.
If reselected, I will continue to work diligently with your UFO team to:
$ Continue to maintain the consistency of all financial records of your hardearned money paid to UFO fund. Numbers don’t lie!!!
$ Promote transparency of your membership fees and any activities related to
your hard-earned money.
$ Protect your UFO money. A strong UFO must have a healthy/strong
budget!!!
$ Directly answer any questions you may have, such as: What are my dues?
How is my UFO money spent? Why should I pay UFO fees?
$ Ensure your UFO money is spent appropriately for our faculty’s best interest.
I would be humbled and honored by your votes. Thank YOU for your time reading my statement

Candidate Statement UFO Executive Committee: Secretary 

I am running for my 2nd term as UFO Secretary. I have been a full-time professor in the Arts since 2001. For over 20 years I have watched my colleagues dedicate themselves to make Ohlone a better place by serving on the union.  Many have dedicated their time to make our lives better and more equitable.  I have enjoyed getting to know the process and learning all that our union does to support us and help make the changes that need to take place.  I am a good notetaker and team player.  In addition, I am a solid sounding board with years of historical experience with a desire to help and support.  For that reason, I am running for secretary of the UFO. 

Katie Frank

I am Emmanuel Garcia and I am running again for UFO Chief Negotiator. I have been a full-time Math instructor at Ohlone for nine years and served on the Enrollment Management, Curriculum, Guided Pathways, and Basic Skills Committees, been a tenure review committee chair, and completed two terms as the Chief Negotiator. I hope that the changes the UFO has made during my tenure these last five years have benefited all. Under my tenure part-time pay has increased from as low as 52% to 70% of full-time pay; Ohlone is implementing part-time health benefit reimbursement; the UFO created a tenure-track process which will most likely need revision this upcoming negotiations round; Full-time faculty have received full COLA or directed the money to part-time pay, longevity increases, or health benefits; there is a 5 year plan to achieve lab parity. I would be honored to serve again.

Thank you

I joined the union in the fall as the full-time faculty rep. I have been learning a lot and enjoy representing the full-time faculty.  I’d like to continue in this position.

Hi, I’m Dawn Harris, a Part-Time Counselor here at Ohlone for the past 11 years and your current Part-Time UFO Representative for the last two terms. I have been a part-time counselor for eighteen years total, counseling and teaching in a variety of programs and learning communities within the Peralta and Contra Costa Districts, as well as our own. In my time here at Ohlone, I have counseled our general population, EOP&S, Umoja, and athletic students, taught Personal Development now Counseling classes, and been on various committees. Lastly, I have been on our Negotiations Team for the past four years.

I am once again running for the position of Part-Time Faculty Representative-at-Large of the United Faculty of Ohlone College for a third term. After years of fighting with the rest our Negotiations team to get our district to participate in the state funded Part-Time Faculty Health Insurance Program (Education Code sections 87860 through 87868) it is finally coming to fruition this spring 2026. The experience of not only being your Part-Time Faculty Representative, but also being part of the Negotiations team has given me even more fuel in my desire to continue advocating for part-time faculty. I hope you will give me the chance to continue in this role.

In closing I would like to again share what the definition of “adjunct” is. According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, adjunct means “something joined or added to another thing but not essentially a part of it.” I do not agree with this definition because being an adjunct/part-time faculty is actually an essential and vital piece to all community college campuses and they could not function without part-time faculty! If elected again, I will continue to work hard to remind our administration of our worth and to push for treatment that reflects how essential and vital we are to Ohlone.

Please vote for me as your continued Part-Time Faculty Representative-at-Large of the United Faculty of Ohlone College.

Thank you for your support over the years!

 In Community,

~Dawn Harris