I am continuing on a career path dedicated to the educational success of young people, especially youth coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. For over 22 years, as the Executive Director of a non-profit community organization, I developed educational programs that supported academic success of preschoolers thru high school. Now, I am continuing on the educational spectrum and using my fund development expertise to support the educational success of university students at California State University, Northridge (CSUN).I am committed to raising funds for the University community and supporting the educational success of our next generation of leaders. I align private foundation funding with campus priorities and promote funding opportunities. I establish and maintain partnerships with our corporate and foundation funders through effective cultivation, solicitation and stewardship. Before my current position I was a Director of Development and I was responsible for raising major gifts for the University Library and a National Institutes of Health initiative "Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) and Promoting Opportunities for Diversity in Education and Research (PODER)." Raising additional funds helped to ensure more access to resources and services that focus on student success. Prior to embarking on a development career at CSUN, I focused my expertise on developing and directing an educational non-profit agency. My husband and I, as fellow social workers, co-founded El Centrito Family Learning Centers and created a grass roots organization that operated high quality educational programs that respected the culture and language of the community served. In 1992, the agency opened with three volunteers a $2,000 budget. In 2013, at the time of my succession, the agency operated with a one million dollar budget, 24 employees and served over 1,000 children and families each year.