Administration
Dr. Amy Bosley is the president of Northwest Vista College, a vibrant and outstanding community of more than 17,000 students and 900 employees who are passionate about teaching and learning.
Dr. Amy Bosley is an experienced higher education administrator and is proud to have served the community college mission and students in a variety of capacities throughout her career. Prior to joining Northwest Vista College, Dr. Bosley served as Vice President for Institutional Planning, Development, and as Chief of Staff at Valencia College in Central Florida. Through her experiences as a tenured faculty member and as a senior leader at Valencia, she has experienced first-hand the impact that college leaders, faculty, and staff have on students, their families, the workforce and their community. The roles Amy has held at Valencia have required thoughtful and collaborative leadership of system-wide, centralized divisions in partnership with leaders of campuses and divisions to ensure high quality educational experiences for students, nourishing experiences for employees, and a talent pipeline for employers in the region.
Amy’s career began as a part-time faculty member and dual enrollment instructor in Valencia’s East Campus Communications Department. After moving to a full-time teaching position, Amy earned tenure in 2003 and developed myriad teaching modalities and strategies for increasing student access and success in the communications discipline. As an administrator, she has served Valencia as Associate Vice President for Organizational Development, as Vice President for Organizational Development and Human Resources, and as Vice President for Institutional Planning, Development, and Chief of Staff. As President of Northwest Vista College, Amy provides leadership for strategic planning, accreditation, resource development, and supports the leadership team on projects that span organizational boundaries.
In addition to her responsibilities at NVC, Amy is an Aspen Presidential Fellow and contributes to local, state, and national organizations focused on advancing innovative practice to pursue improvements in student access and completion. She serves on the board of the Victim Service Center of Central Florida and provides executive-level mentoring, coaching, and consulting to higher education leaders. Amy also served as a Visiting Instructor in the Nicholson School of Communication at the University of Central Florida. She continues to teach as a part-time faculty member in both the communications and business disciplines.
Debi Gaitan is the Vice President for Student Success at Northwest Vista College (NVC). She has served NVC in numerous leadership roles for more than 25 years, including her most recent role as Interim President. She is an advocate for community colleges and has made it her life work to promote higher education.
During Ms. Gaitan’s years at NVC, the college’s enrollment surged from 200 students to over 17,000. She helped develop the college's mission, vision, values, and touchstones that have fostered NVC’s spirit of collaboration and joy.
In her role as the VPSS, Ms. Gaitan has led NVC through numerous initiatives that have earned the college state and national accolades, including the Alamo-wide Malcom Baldrige Quality Award and AlamoADVISE, a Certified Advisor and Enrollment Coach model that has contributed to the tripling of NVC’s graduation rates. Ms. Gaitan was instrumental in the creation of Vista Central, NVC’s one-stop center for new students as well as the Student Advocacy and Resource Center that provides support to students who have food and housing insecurities. As a co-developer of the Executive Faculty Council, Ms. Gaitan helped to create a framework for faculty leaders to embrace shared governance and decision-making authority.
Ms. Gaitan co-led the Pathways Leadership Council responsible for spearheading the Guided Pathways strategies for the five colleges in the Alamo Colleges District. She also was the co-lead and now champions the work of NVC’s Strategic Enrollment Planning team to increase enrollment, retention, persistence, degree completion, and transition to a university or workforce. She is also an AlamoPROMISE leader who works to ensure equitable access to higher education by helping to eliminate financial barriers for students. She co-led NVC’s Access, Advocacy, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (AAIDE) team, which led to The Collaborative, NVC’s strategic focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice.
Prior to NVC, Ms. Gaitan worked for Communities in Schools and San Antonio Positive Solutions, where she helped youth overcome barriers by earning their GEDs and enrolling in college. She also worked at Our Lady of the Lake University where she served as a recruiter, advisor, and associate director.
Ms. Gaitan attended St. Philip's College, Texas Tech University, the University of Texas at San Antonio, and Our Lady of the Lake University. She holds a bachelor's degree in sociology and a master's degree in human sciences. She was an All American First Team athlete and earned many college awards. Within Alamo Colleges, she has earned recognitions for Excellence in Teaching and Trusted Leader Awards.
In her spare time, Ms. Gaitan cheers on the San Antonio Spurs with her husband of 35 years and their three children, who all have degrees from Northwest Vista College.
Ms. Erin Sherman is the Vice President for College Services for Northwest Vista College. She provides strategic leadership and alignment in the areas of budget and financial services, information technology, institutional research, strategic planning and institutional effectiveness, facilities development and support, and other services.
Ms. Sherman served as Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s Research Compliance and Export Control Officer prior to joining NVC. She also brings private sector experience as an auditor for KPMG, LLP, and an accountant in the petroleum industry.
Ms. Sherman earned a B.B.A in accounting and a Master of Accountancy from Texas A & M University--Corpus Christi. She is also a graduate of Palo Alto College with an Associate’s Degree in Agribusiness.
Ms. Sherman is actively involved with Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda (FBLA-PBL) and is currently a member of the National Awards Program Committee. She has served the organization in several capacities over her fourteen year membership, is a member of the Texas Phi Beta Lambda State Committee, a lifetime Professional Division member, and is a past National President of Phi Beta Lambda.
Ms. Sherman enjoys spending time with her husband, Scott, a Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi College of Business faculty member. San Antonio is Ms. Sherman’s hometown, and she is thrilled to once again be living close to family.
Position is currently vacant.
Ms. Robin Lund has been with Northwest Vista College since 2008, hired as NVC’s first Coordinator for Recruitment, then served as the Director of Enrollment for seven years before becoming Dean for Student Success in 2018. Robin has dedicated her career to serving students in various capacities for the past 17+ years and has a passion for providing access to higher education for the community.
Prior to coming to Northwest Vista, Ms. Lund worked for The University of Northern Iowa where she coordinated the Admissions communication and marketing strategies, served as an Admissions Counselor, and provided Immigration Advising for international students. Additionally, she has worked at The University of Texas at San Antonio as an Academic Advisor.
Ms. Lund believes in putting students in the center of what we do and has a passion for ensuring access to higher education. The culture and mission of NVC embodies the same values; enabling her to experience her favorite NVC Touchstone, Joy, on a daily basis.
Ms. Lund received a master’s degree in Postsecondary Education: Student Affairs and a bachelor’s degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Northern Iowa.
In her free time, Ms. Lund enjoys spending time with her family and cooking--and eating--great food.
Ms. Jennifer Comedy-Holmes began her career in higher education as an adjunct faculty member in Speech Communication at Northwest Vista College in August 2002. Most recently, she served as Interim Vice President for Student Success, overseeing admissions, enrollment, financial aid, student advocacy, NVC’s Veterans Center, wellness, student life and other Student Success areas. Throughout her tenure at NVC, she has served as discipline coordinator for Speech, academic chair for Social Sciences, and currently, as the Dean for Student Success. Jennifer believes strongly in "Creating Opportunities for Success" for our students and serves as an advocate for our students in her role.
According to Ms. Debi Gaitan, Vice President of Student Success, "as the Dean for Student Success, Ms. Comedy-Holmes leads the Veteran Affairs, Counseling and ACCESS/Services to Students with Disabilities teams. In addition, she works with faculty and staff on student discipline and code of conduct violations. Jennifer is instrumental in NVC's quality journey and has guided her colleagues through the college's unit assessments and process improvements."
Ms. Comedy-Holmes received a degree in Agriculture Development from Texas A&M University and a master's degree in Speech Communication from West Texas A&M. She, and her husband, Staten, are the proud parents of two daughters.
Northwest Vista College welcomes Dr. Robert Ayala, a new dean for Academic Success. Since 2012, he served as the division chair of Arts and Sciences at Southwest Texas Junior College in Uvalde, Texas.
Dr. Ayala has over 15 years of experience in leadership, strategic planning, curriculum design, program design, and vision setting in both academic and student affairs divisions. Throughout his career at SWTJC, he secured over $14 million in federal grants funding various research and institutional initiatives.
Dr. Ayala has spent considerable time in the Alamo City as an undergraduate and research assistant. Dr. Ayala received his bachelor's and doctoral degrees from the University of Texas at San Antonio and his master's degree from Angelo State University. A former Biology professor, Dr. Ayala has given many presentations on STEM-related topics at conferences and has been the lead project director overseeing several major STEM grants.
Dr. Ayala is married to Kathryn, a psychology instructor at SWTJC. Together, they have four children, ranging in age from 5 to 22.
As a first-generation American and first-generation college student, Dr. Ayala says, “I love the world-leading innovation that our higher education system cultivates, as well as the social mobility and capital it provides. Most importantly, I am appreciative of the opportunities community colleges provide to almost half of the college student population. I am sincerely grateful for the kindness and cariño that I have received and am blessed to now be part the NVC family. I am honored and looking forward to serving the students and community of San Antonio.”
Dr. Russell Frohardt is the Dean for Academic Success at Northwest Vista College. Prior to that, Dr. Frohardt served as Associate Dean of the School of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience at St.Edward's University in Austin, Texas, where he has held various faculty and administrative positions since joining the community in 2003.
Prior to his term as interim Dean of BSS, he was an American Council on Education Fellow, hosted by Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, where he learned about administrative, curricular, and co-curricular practices across the country. Dr. Frohardt received his B.A. in Psychology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, his M.A. and Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the University of Vermont, and he completed a three-year postdoctoral fellowship at Dartmouth College before coming to Texas.
His research interests span the neurobiology of learning and memory, spatial navigation, sexual behavior, and models of relapse and addiction. In his free time, Russ enjoys playing basketball and roller derby, live music, and spending time with friends and his wife, Dr. Fay Guarraci, and son, Cole.
Dr. Steven Montemayor is the Interim Dean of Academic Success at Northwest Vista College. Prior to that, Dr. Montemayor served as the Chair of Social Sciences, and Assistant Professor of Speech Communication at Northwest Vista College.
Dr. Montemayor received his B.A. in Speech Communication from Texas State University and his M.A. from the University of Texas-Pan American. He received his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis on Social Studies Education from the University of Texas at Austin.
At the heart of his research interest are: 1) Understanding and expanding traditional notions of citizenship and thinking about ways to expand notions of citizenship in the school context 2) Examining how teachers engage the curriculum and find ways to expand the curriculum so it becomes more inclusive of historically marginalized groups 3) Finding ways to expand the curriculum so students can see themselves reflected in the narratives and teaching incorporated into schools.
As an active member, Dr. Montemayor presents regularly at conferences including the College & Faculty Assembly of the National Council for the Social Studies (CUFA) and the American Education Research Association (AERA). He is excited to serve as the Interim Dean of Academic Success at NVC.