City College of San Francisco Board of Trustees President Aliya Chisti has the same passion for the college as she did when she campaigned for its governing board.
Chisti, who grew up and lives in the neighborhood, got her start in city politics in 2018 when she served as then-Supervisor Malia Cohen’s legislative aide. The skills she gained, plus her passion and experience in education, like participating in the Aim High program and obtaining a master's in education policy from Columbia University, led her to campaign for the Board of Trustees in 2020. When she was sworn into office in 2021, she became the first Muslim woman to hold an elected position in San Francisco history. She won re-election in 2024 and was elevated to board president this year.
“As hard as the board work is, I love it,” Chisti said. “I love knowing that I'm a part of something bigger than me.”
Five years after her first election, Chisti is still campaigning hard for the college, and though being a trustee isn’t her full-time job, as she works in policy and external affairs for the San Francisco Department of Human Resources, ensuring the success of the college is among her top priorities.
Chisti’s areas of focus remain on the free-tuition program Free City, fine-tuning board governance, growing enrollment, the college’s parcel tax that is set to expire in 2032, generating new funding and revenue and the future of facilities like the downtown campus.
Chisti said the college is in a stable place, at least for now, thanks to its recently appointed chancellor and fears of an accreditation crisis behind them.
“The next few years are absolutely critical for the college financially,” Chisti said. “I feel very confident with the board that we have right now that everyone is committed to making sure that the college is set up for success.”
The Ingleside Light caught up with Chisti to hear more about her time at City College.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What does a typical day on the Board of Trustees look like, especially as its president?
Every day can vary as a trustee because it's not a full-time gig. I have to work very closely with the chancellor, and so we're collaborating on the agenda. We're kind of figuring out the placement of items, making sure that we're managing different trustee requests. I think that sometimes there's media engagement, but I think the primary differentiation is that you are really working very closely with the chancellor to make sure that everything is just running smoothly.
I think the day-to-day could be like attending school events. I love attending school events. There are different events at the Student Success Center and the Britt Building. We're going to have some getting-ready-for-fall events. There's a lot of agenda prep, so we have a board meeting next week. The chancellor and I are just meeting in advance to prepare the agenda. Once the agenda is released, there are just different things that pop up.
Is there anything from your personal life or other job experiences that has helped you in this role?
I think I had touched on it a bit earlier with the Aim High program, but I think it's really just like being an SF kid. I love my city, I love my community. I love my family. We grew up in a very difficult financial situation, and so we relied on a lot of public resources. I think that San Francisco is so amazing, and so when I had the opportunity to serve my city, I had just such a strong passion for it. I think, also, just seeing more women and women of color in these spaces is also really, really important. I remember when I was running, somebody told me that even if you lose, there's a value in running because people need to see someone like you put yourself out there. I had so much fear. Our campaign mascot was a crying koala because we were like, “This is so awful.” My entire team, everybody was volunteering, and so I think it's just there was so much synergy, and when I saw how many people voted for me, I was like, “Wow! This is amazing.”
Do you have a favorite member from being a part of the Board of Trustees so far?
I would say it's more of an event. Ever since I joined the board, I was able to collaborate with some of our Muslim students, and we do an annual iftar for Ramadan. When I was elected, I was surprised to be the first Muslim elected in San Francisco, and that was interesting to navigate too, but I had actually connected with a professor here before who used to do iftars, and then it kind of died out, and so I was able to like revamp it. We've made it bigger and better. I've just heard such great things from Muslim students about feeling seen that the college does this, and it's a real community event. We just want everyone to come, eat food with us, and just engage in community. It's been really great.
What do you imagine for the future of City College?
If I could wave my magic wand, I would see City College and community colleges being adequately funded by our state so they're not in precarious financial or scarcity mindsets constantly. I would love to see additional financial resources for our low-income students and Free City, even just going beyond San Francisco residents. I would love to see more buildings like the Student Success Center pop up throughout the city and then improvements to our existing buildings.
As time has gone on, the purpose of community colleges has always been up for debate, and I would love to see more of our students graduate, transfer and reach their goals. For people who find community in City College through art, dance or any other programs, I want them to still have that. I think that it’s such a great concept of how we view education; it’s really important to get in and get out because it’s not completely free and there’s a cost, but to just really expand your mind for the sake of expanding your mind.
