Meet the SDCOL Team

Jose Cruz
Chief Executive Officer

Jose Cruz is the chief executive officer for the San Diego Council on Literacy, a model urban literacy coalition. He has 40 years of experience in the literacy field and is known for his accomplishments in supporting collaborative literacy efforts on national, statewide, regional, and local levels. He was the recipient of the 2003 San Diego Union-Tribune, “Educator of the Year” award. In 2014, he was recognized by The Union-Tribune as the Civic Leader of the Year through the Latino Champions Awards. In the following year, he was named to the San Diego High School, “Wall of Honor.” Cruz is the 2025/2026 president of the San Diego Lions Club. He has five years of experience in hosting podcasts for literacy, including the “Literacy for All Radio Show” on wsRadio and “The Gap Minders” on Cloudcast Media. He is a native San Diegan, a graduate of the University of Southern California, and a proud product of the San Diego Community College District.

To contact Jose:

619-574-1641 ext. 103
jcruz@literacysandiego.org

Michael Trebbien
Accountant

Michael has been with the San Diego Council on Literacy since 2011.  

To contact Michael:

619-574-1641 ext. 101
accounting@literacysandiego.org