Latest News from College Access Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 9, 2008

COLLEGE ACCESS FOUNDATION OF CALIFORNIA ANNOUNCES
NEW PRESIDENT AND CEO

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – September 9, 2008 – The Board of Directors of College Access Foundation of California has selected Julia I. Lopez as the Foundation’s next President and CEO, effective November 3, 2008. Lopez will succeed founding President and CEO Caroline O. Boitano, who is retiring.

A widely respected leader with broad and deep experience in philanthropy and government, Julia Lopez served most recently as Senior Vice President of the Rockefeller Foundation. In that position, Lopez managed a strategic global grantmaking program that awarded an average of $150 million per year. In her earlier work for Rockefeller, she served as Vice President and was Director of the Foundation’s Working Communities program, promoting economic and educational opportunity in the United States.

Before joining the Rockefeller Foundation in 1992, Lopez was General Manager of the Department of Social Services for the City and County of San Francisco, where she oversaw programs serving the city’s neediest residents. She also held numerous staff positions with the California State Legislature. She is a graduate of Newton College of the Sacred Heart (now Boston College) and holds a Masters degree in Public Policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley.

“Julia brings substantive experience in the development of program strategies combined with a deep passion for our mission to expand opportunities for students” said College Access Foundation Board Chair James E. Canales. “We are delighted to have someone with her background in philanthropy, demonstrated leadership experience, and dedication to lead our efforts to assist California students with financial need to attend college.”

Since its inception in 2005, College Access Foundation has awarded over $23 million in grants to more than 80 community-based college advising and academic support programs in urban and rural communities throughout California. Those programs use the grant funds to offer scholarships to thousands of low-income and first generation college students.

“It was the foundation’s core mission – to open the doors of higher education to all students – that drew me to this exciting opportunity,” said Lopez. “I look forward to building on the foundation’s impressive early accomplishments under Caroline Boitano's leadership. As we move forward, College Access Foundation will sustain and expand its commitment to help California students with financial need reach and succeed in college.”

Boitano, founding President and CEO, joined the newly established College Access Foundation in 2005 after serving as President and Executive Director of the Bank of America Foundation. She worked closely with the College Access Foundation board to frame and develop the foundation’s identity, mission and grantmaking strategy.

“The board is deeply grateful to Caroline Boitano for her dedicated leadership in helping to establish the foundation and setting us on a path to ensure maximum impact,” said Canales.

About College Access Foundation of California

College Access Foundation of California, the largest grantmaking organization of its kind in the state, helps California students who have financial need attend college. The Foundation makes grants to community-based college advising and academic support programs, which use the funds to award college scholarships to students they serve.

For more information on College Access Foundation and its grantees, visit www.collegeaccessfoundation.org or contact Kristen Stancik at 310.656.1001.

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