Dr. Jordan Giannoni is an Italian-American educator, politician, and activist.
Born and raised in Lodi, CA, Jordan is from a legacy of community leaders, coaches and mentors in the San Joaquin Valley of California. Jordan is the youngest of 4 children born to John Giannoni Jr. and Kerry Heath, and the youngest grandchild of Lodi's beloved coach, John Giannoni Sr., to whom the gym at Tokay High School and a street in Lodi are dedicated.
She attended public schools in San Joaquin county throughout her life, garnering notable achievements such as becoming a national forensics league semi-finalist in 2007, and being elected the California Girls State Governor in 2006.
Jordan earned a bachelor's degree at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the University of California, Davis. She met her husband, wine and spirits finance executive, Derek Harless, at Davis. She spends her free time traveling, reading, baking and spending time with their two wonderful families.
In 2015, Jordan returned to her hometown from the San Francisco bay area to take a position at San Joaquin Delta College, located in Stockton.
In 2021, Jordan earned tenure at Delta College, teaching courses in both the English and Business departments. In May of 2023, Jordan earned her doctorate at Johns Hopkins University by successfully defending her dissertation examining how urban college campuses could better leverage academic support services to close achievement gaps.
In her tenure at the institution, Jordan has served on a number of shared governance committess and iniatives to help shape the institution's future. Some of her committee work has included Student Success and Equity, Distance Education, and Employee Diversity and Professional Development. She currently serves on the campus’s Planning and Budget Committee as well as the college's Academic Senate.
In 2019, Jordan was chosen by Delta's Vice President of Instruction to serve as a faculty lead to help the college author it's Institutional Self-Evaluation Report to ensure Delta College had a successful accreditation review and visit from the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC). In March of 2020, the college was visited by the review committee and was successful in defending their accreditation. Jordan has remained on the college's accreditation committee and recently helped author the mid-term report in preparation for the next accreditation visit in 2027.
Jordan hopes to grow into an administration role at Delta College so that she can continue to serve her home community.
Over the years, Jordan has served as a director on many non-profit boards. She is currently a director on the World of Wonders Science Museum Foundation board, the Lodi House board, and is the immediate past president of the Leadership Stockton Alumni Association Board.
Jordan was a member of the American Cancer Society of Stockton's gala committee from 2018-2023; the committee was recognized by the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors in 2022 for their outstanding fundraising efforts when their gala raised over $250,000 to help cancer patients in San Joaquin County.
From 2021-2023, Jordan served as a board member for the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors’ Equal Employment Opportunity Advisory Committee (EEOAC), including a rotation as co-chair of the committee. Jordan was a fellow in San Joaquin County's Good Government program in 2023, and became the first woman to win the Area 5 seat on the SJ County Board of Education in the March 2024 primary election, deseating the incumbent by a 21% margin.
Jordan was named the recipient of the 2024 ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award, an honor given to a woman under 40 who demonstrates enlightened leadership, personal and professional excellence, and a commitment to bettering the lives of women and girls in her community.
Currently, Jordan is working to establish a foundation in her family's name, which will award two scholarships for women pursuing degrees in business and STEM, respectively, as well as offer youth programs focused on helping young women develop confidence.