Dear friends and colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that Monica Lozano, a widely respected leader with strong experience in the realms of business, news media, philanthropy, and education, has been named the new President & CEO of College Futures Foundation.

Lozano’s defining qualities—intelligence and integrity—will serve College Futures well. We are lucky to have her, but we are not the only ones. Her leadership will greatly benefit the students of this state, and California’s future depends on their success.

At College Futures, we work to help students who are low-income and underrepresented in higher education achieve college success by increasing their rate of bachelor’s degree attainment and closing the racial, ethnic, and gender gaps that begin in high school or earlier and persist through college completion.

Lozano brings creative thinking, heart, and exceptional business acumen to all of her professional endeavors. She is an exceptional person with great passion for our mission, and the right choice to help achieve our vision of ensuring that every qualified student in California has the opportunity to succeed in college.

Over the course of her career, she has been involved with a wide variety of non-profit, corporate, education-focused, and philanthropic organizations. She brings to this position deep and diverse experiences as an executive, advisor, and leader.

She is currently a member of the Rockefeller Foundation board of directors and the University of California Board of Regents and serves as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Commission on the Future of Undergraduate Education. She chairs the Weingart Foundation Board of Trustees as well as the Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program, an initiative dedicated to increasing the awareness of the growing Latino community and its important contributions to all aspects of American society.

Previously, Lozano was the publisher of La Opinión, the largest Spanish language newspaper in the U.S., and served as CEO of ImpreMedia and chair of US Hispanic Media, Inc.

She was a trustee of the University of Southern California for more than 20 years and was also a member of the California State Board of Education. An appointee of President Obama to the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, Lozano also served on the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board. Recently, she received the 2017 Los Angeles Business Person of the Year award and was named one of the Fortune Magazine 50 Most Influential Latinas in the country.

Monica Lozano has expressed to us her enthusiasm for joining College Futures Foundation in addressing what she considers “a moral, social, and economic imperative: improving educational opportunity and unlocking potential for all of our young people.”

“Nearly two thirds of California’s public school students are from low-income families or from population groups that historically have had low rates of college success,” said Lozano. “These students are our future workforce, civic and community leaders, voters, and parents of the next generation. Their success is our shared success and we must ensure that a clear pathway to opportunity through higher education attainment is accessible to them.

There will be a period of transition before Monica Lozano assumes the role full-time in December 2017. She succeeds Julia Lopez, who led the Foundation from 2008 until her retirement in June of this year.

Under Lopez’s guidance, College Futures shifted from a focus on college access as a grantor of student scholarships to a focus on college attainment, working on changing policies, practices, systems, and institutions to better support student readiness and effective transitions along the degree completion pathway. During her tenure, the Foundation developed its statewide leadership as well as its ability to learn and improve.

Along with the rest of the College Futures board and staff, I am grateful to Julia for her outstanding efforts to expand the foundation’s vision and move us towards more effective strategy and investments in the name of student opportunity.

We know that Monica will bring her own acuity, influence, and energy to the role, and feel that she is a superb choice for the next phase of our work. We look forward to working together, and hope you will join us in welcoming her.

As always, thank you to our colleagues and partners for all you do in service of students and their college success.

Sincerely,

 

Russell Gould
Chairman of the Board of Directors
College Futures Foundation