This study explored how associate deans in Illinois community colleges understand and practice culturally responsive leadership (CRL) in their institutions. The conceptual framework for this study is composed of the Culturally Responsive School Leadership (CRSL) model in the K-12 system first proposed by Khalifa et al. (2016) and the Applied Critical Leadership (ACL) model for higher education leaders by Santamaria et al. (2016). The study used the convergent parallel mixed-methods approach to simultaneously collect quantitative and qualitative data from associate deans in Illinois community colleges to measure how they understood and practiced culturally responsive leadership in their institutions. The study data revealed how associate deans self-reflect to uncover their biases and reshape their perspectives about different cultures. The findings revealed that culturally responsive leadership was difficult to understand conceptually. However, the practice of CRL shows that many feel empowered when advocating for actions that address inequities in their institutions. Participants stated they were willing to engage in critical conversations about culture, race, ethnicity, gender, class, and discussions to influence decision-making in their institutions. Key recommendations from this study inform future studies and practical applications into the need for more intentional leadership development and training for these mid-level leaders to build a pipeline for the next generation of community college leaders with a culturally responsive mindset. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]