Linda Garcia. Courtesy photo.
Brings 20 years of community-engagement experience to the foundation
CAMARILLO — Linda Garcia has joined the staff of the Ventura County Community Foundation as vice president for Programs and Grants, the organization reported on Thursday. With more than 20 years of experience in community and philanthropic work, Garcia will lead a department that in 2011 awarded a total of $3.7 million in grants and scholarships to local nonprofits and students.
“I am proud to be part of an organization that partners with the community and its nonprofits to create vibrant and healthy places to live, work and play,” Garcia stated in a media release. “This opportunity provides me a venue to work with diverse, dynamic and engaging people both in the wider community and at the foundation.”
A Mount Shasta native, Garcia was educated at California State University, Sacramento, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Spanish with a minor in sociology in 1991 and later her master’s degree in sociology.
Before coming to VCCF, she worked at the national public affairs firm Dewey Square Group, where she oversaw the Social Innovation and Philanthropy Practice. Garcia worked with clients to develop and put in place the Broadband Awareness and Adoption campaign with the California Emerging Technology Fund, the First Lady’s California Women’s Conference and We Connect, a national program founded by former First Lady Maria Shriver aimed at connecting communities with resources to improve their well-being.
Prior to that, she served as community benefit manager at Kaiser Permanente, where she worked with the city of Ventura Community Services Department, after Kaiser awarded it a grant to teach children water safety and swimming skills so they could engage safely in physical activity. She also collaborated with Ventura County Public Health to start community gardens at three low-income housing developments as well as at Sheridan Elementary School in Ventura. She awarded grants to free clinics and other organizations in Ventura County that supply low and no-cost health care to uninsured or under-insured residents.
At The California Endowment in Los Angeles, she spent nearly 10 years designing and carrying out statewide initiatives, including the California-Mexico Health Initiative to address the unmet health needs of the Mexican-origin population living and working in the U.S. She also developed a $50 million initiative aimed at improving the well-being of agricultural worker communities in California. In addition, she managed TCE’s Agricultural Worker Health and Housing Program, a $31 million program that developed more than 1,100 affordable housing units in 15 counties around the state to integrate health services and resident leadership and empowerment.
“Linda arrives at VCCF with a long, proven record with philanthropic organizations committed to building stronger communities through engagement and strategic grantmaking,” Hugh Ralston, VCCF president and CEO, stated in the release. “Her strong network of relationships, solid background in management and evaluation and her passion for philanthropy will benefit VCCF’s donors, stakeholders and our entire community. We are delighted to have her at VCCF as a member of the senior staff.”
ABOUT VCCF:
VCCF invests the charitable capital that drives the philanthropic engines of Ventura County. Its portfolio performance ranks No. 8 of all community foundations in the United States for long-term growth. With total assets of $109 million, as of March 2012, its mission is to promote and enable philanthropy to improve our community for good for ever, which it does through grantmaking, scholarships and training at its Center for Nonprofit Leadership. Visit vccf.org or call (805) 988-0196.