Manuel Bersamin, the first Filipino American to serve on the Watsonville City Council and a member of the Cabrillo College Governing Board, has died. He was 67.
“Cabrillo College is deeply saddened to announce the sudden and unexpected passing of Trustee Manuel Bersamin,” Cabrillo College said in a news release. “During his tenure, Trustee Bersamin was a passionate advocate for Cabrillo students — especially first-generation students and adult learners — a steadfast supporter of Cabrillo’s faculty and staff, and a true believer in the power of community college education.”
Manuel Bersamin
Bersamin served on the Watsonville City Council from 2003 to 2011, including one year as mayor. He was appointed in 2024 to fill a vacancy on the Cabrillo College Governing Board left by the resignation of Trustee Martha Victoria Vega.
“Manuel cared deeply about the role and mission of California community colleges and had the unique ability to help students pursue their dreams,” said Christina Cuevas, president of the Cabrillo Board of Trustees. “He was proud to serve on the Cabrillo board and represented his district with passion and a clear eye for what is right. We will miss his presence on the board.”
Bersamin was the first Asian American and Filipino American in history to serve on the Cabrillo College Governing Board.
He was a graduate of the Cabrillo College Class of 1982 and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in social ecology from the University of California, Irvine. He studied school counseling at San José State University and earned a master’s degree in higher education leadership from Stanford University, followed by post-graduate fellowship work at the University of Arizona.
“From the moment that Manuel applied to serve on the board at Cabrillo, he demonstrated a vision for helping the college focus on its services and connect with communities that are often underserved by higher education,” said Cabrillo College President and Superintendent Matt Wetstein.
“He was a champion of the underdog and a great role model for all of us,” Wetstein continued. “We’ve lost a great friend of our students.”
Before joining the Cabrillo Board of Trustees, Bersamin served for nearly two decades as director of TRIO Student Support Programs at Hartnell College, overseeing several federal Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) grants that positively impacted the lives of thousands of students across the greater Monterey Bay region. His efforts helped advance college entry, retention and success for immigrants, children of immigrants, and students living in poverty.
Earlier in his career, he served as director of the College Assistance Migrant Program at California State University, Monterey Bay; director of the Early Academic Outreach Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz; and adjunct professor of Chicano and Latin American studies at California State University, Fresno.
Details about memorial services will be shared as they become available, in accordance with the wishes of the family.