Screenshot from a zoom recording

Jordan Mead, 47, gives public comment at the Board of Trustees Meeting on March 11, 2025 in the Bertolini Student Center while wearing a body camera. In his comments, Mead asserted his position as a whistleblower.

A Santa Rosa Junior College information technology employee faces a felony stalking charge after police arrested him outside of a SRJC vice president’s home March 19, police said. 

Rohnert Park Police arrested Jordan Mead, 47, a SRJC employee of 24 years, just before 8 p.m. on Wednesday night in front of the home of Kate Jolley, SRJC vice president of finance and administrative service and interim vice president of human resources. 

Mead faces one felony stalking charge and a misdemeanor count of harassing or annoying via electronic communication or phone calls. Mead also faces a charge of trespassing in a separate case from a previous arrest on Feb. 25. 

Judge Laura Passaglia set Mead’s bail at $250,000, which he posted on March 21.

In text messages exchanged with The Oak Leaf News on Sunday, Mead pronounced his innocence but declined to comment on his exact intentions in going to Jolley’s residence, stating it would soon be addressed in court. 

“I will tell you I had no malevolent intent,” Mead said. “I was on the public sidewalk the entire time I was there. I never stepped on her property.”

The Oak Leaf News obtained copies of three emails and more than 50 unanswered text messages Mead sent to Jolley in February. The messages vary in length and content but show an escalation of Mead’s frustration with Jolley.

In an email to The Oak Leaf News, SRJC Senior Director of Marketing, Communications and Public Affairs Sarah Pew expressed the importance of the well-being and safety of SRJC employees.

“The charges against Mr. Mead are understandably concerning,” Pew said. “I have connected with Kate, who is respectfully declining to comment at this time in order to preserve the integrity of the matter as it progresses through the criminal court system.”

Mead claims he is a whistleblower who has attempted to expose the school’s illegal routing of 911 emergency calls to SRJC police dispatch instead of the Santa Rosa Police Department.

“I believe going to Kate Jolley’s residence was beneficial to the whistleblowing campaign,” Mead said. 

Mead called attention to the 911 call routing in a series of emails to SRJC staff starting on Dec. 16. 

Mead sent emails to all SRJC faculty, management, staff and Board of Trustees members. The first emails, with the subject line “Safety violation – Urgent plea for assistance,” stated Mead was seeking proper accountability by the district while acknowledging “the problem has been contained.” 

In the email, Mead wrote that he had properly communicated to his direct supervising administrator, Jolley. 

Mead’s initial email prompted a response from SRJC President Dr. Angélica Garcia on Dec. 17 in which she assured SRJC employees “there is no threat to the safety of our community.” 

In her response email, and again during the Jan. 14 SRJC Board of Trustees meeting, Garcia acknowledged that the district had changed its 911 call-routing system. 

“In March 2024 the district modified the call routing system to direct 911 calls from on-campus phones to our District Police dispatch,” Garcia said during the meeting. “While this change improved response times, it unintentionally bypassed the legal requirements under Ray Baum’s Act and Kari’s Law, which requires that calls route through a primary public safety answering point, the PSAP.” 

Garcia explained that management became aware of this issue in August 2024 and the district “started to explore the options of becoming a primary PSAP,” to provide prompt response to calls within the guidelines of the two laws. 

“However, by November 2024, we did not have sufficient enough information and we reverted to a compliant configuration while continuing to explore what is required to meet these standards long term. So, since Nov. 21, 2024, the district has been in compliance,” Garcia said. 

During the nine months and nine days the district was out of compliance with the law, SRJC police received four emergency phone calls. All four calls were deemed to have no emergency or threat, Garcia said. 

On Jan. 13, a day before the Board of Trustees meeting, between 8:45 a.m. and 11:05 a.m. Mead sent a series of emails to all SRJC employees containing lyrics from six different songs.

The violent content of the emails left some staff members feeling threatened.

“These emails are threatening to our campus community and need to be stopped immediately,” said Bill McCracken, advanced manufacturing technology faculty member, in an email responding to one of Mead’s emails. “I can’t believe our administration is not shutting this down. This is how school shootings start. I feel threatened being on campus today. This email stating from Mead: ‘Kill, kill (oh-oh-oh-oh), Kill, kill (oh-oh-oh), Kill, kill (oh-oh-oh-oh), Kill, kill (oh-oh-oh-oh-oh).’ This should shut down the campus immediately!”

Mead said his actions were necessary. 

“I believe that every action I have taken in this whistleblowing campaign was necessary and my chosen tactics were necessary for me to prevail over The District,” he said.  “My motivation in sending music lyrics was multifold. Keeping attention on this issue was one reason.” 

Jolley scheduled a pre-disciplinary hearing for Mead on March 20, which had been rescheduled multiple times. The hearing was primarily in response to the emails and text messages Mead sent that the district called “threatening, intimidating, and harassing,” Mead said.

“I do not accept their characterizations of my texts and emails,” he said. “I dispute their charges and assertions, 100%.” 

Mead is scheduled to appear at 8:30 a.m. Friday in Sonoma County Superior Court for an arraignment on the felony stalking charge and misdemeanor harassment and trespassing charges.

Additional reporting by Emelle Raschein and Rosemary Cromwell.