Elder Tom deWit

Elder Tom deWit

Elder Tom deWit has been blessed to serve in the Umoja Community for nearly four decades. Fueled by the Ethic of Love that radiates from thousands of Umoja students and practitioners, he works to grow Umoja as a Power Base on his home campus of Chabot College and across California and Washington. He is committed to creating Live Learning spaces where the brilliance of students of African descent can shine brightly across institutions.

He is first and foremost an Umoja English teacher and one of the founders of the Umoja Community — with no permission and no money — who had the fortune to collaborate with amazing colleagues who gave thousands of intentional and deliberate hours to make Umoja an indomitable force for Black students in higher education. He is particularly proud that Umoja has always brought students directly into the center of its professional development spaces, where communal intelligence is built together.

When not immersed in Umoja, Elder deWit serves as chief negotiator for the Chabot-Las Positas Faculty Association and works with Teach Earth Action (TEA), an organization focused on climate justice and a healthy, thriving planet. He is a second-generation child of Thomas deWit and Connie Galindo, a proud partner of 42 years, and the father of three beautiful children. His passion is that the community continues to gift its minds and spirits to Umoja's great mission — abiding by the goals and dreams of students and their families.