MiraCosta College | Meet the EOPS Team

Meet the EOPS Team

Department Leads

Yesenia Balcazar
Faculty Coordinator

Yesenia is responsible for coordinating the EOPS/CARE/NEXTUP, CalWORKs and RAFFY programs, ensuring compliance with federal and state regulations, and providing support services to students. She also fosters partnerships with faculty, staff, community organizations, and high schools while planning outreach activities and advisory committee meetings. Additionally, she participates in professional development and networking, promoting the programs, and representing the department on various district committees.

Jos茅 L. Mota

Jos茅 L. Mota
Manager

Jos茅 oversees the day-to-day operations of the EOPS department, including supervising classified staff and student workers and ensuring the department's performance meets district standards. In collaboration with the Faculty Coordinator, manages service coordination across multiple programs, manages budgets, develops and implements policies, and ensures compliance with district policies. His role also involves liaising with internal and external partners, maintaining scheduling systems, providing leadership and training to staff, addressing student concerns, and contributing to program development and improvements.

Support Team

Maria Gallardo

Maria Gallardo
Student Services Coordinator

Maria is responsible for planning, implementing, and overseeing specialized programs and services for students. She leads the development of student service-related programs and ensures accurate dissemination of program-related information.

Kate Scaife

Kate Scaife
Student Services Specialist

Kate provides support for EOPS, CARE, and CalWORKs programs through program operations, ensuring students can access services and resources smoothly. She enters and maintains MIS data across programs, monitors EOPS and CalWORKs compliance, coordinates logistics for CARE programming, supports CalWORKs work-study processes, ensures childcare services are processed for eligible students, and collaborates with CalWORKs county partners to facilitate timely and coordinated support.

Renee Truong

Renee H Truong
Student Services Specialist

Renee leads student onboarding and delivers direct, comprehensive support services to ensure students are effectively connected to appropriate resources. She designs and implements programming for NextUp and RAFFY students, enters and maintains MIS data for foster youth populations, and provides logistical coordination while leading targeted outreach efforts.

Marisol Renovato

Marisol Renovato
Administrative Support Assistant

Marisol provides advanced administrative and operational support for the EOPS department. She also serves as a liaison between the department leads and staff handles student interactions and oversees EOPS program eligibility.