By Crissy Pascual

What is your background?

I was born in San Francisco and raised in Fairfax. I am the youngest of six kids and my mom was an elementary school teacher my whole life. I graduated from University of San Francisco in communication arts, then started my career as an intern at the corporate office of Pier 39. I was hired before I graduated and was in the marketing department, then travel and tourism assistant director, then director of special events and promotion.

I stayed home when we started a family but did consulting. Petaluma Educational Foundation was looking to expand and they were looking for a development director, and in my interview I talked about a marketing plan. They had not thought of it from that perspective and that was intriguing to them. That was in 2011, and Janet Ramatici was the executive director. When she retired in 2014, I was offered her position and I’ve been here ever since. 

Tell us about Petaluma Educational Foundation scholarships.

We give scholarships to students who are going to two-year colleges, four-year colleges, or trade or vocational schools after graduation. We celebrate every student for whatever their path is going to be. This year we gave over $354,000 to the class of 2026. We gave 516 awards to 316 students. Scholarships are established by donors and they set the criteria.

My husband passed away in June 2022 after a very brief battle with pancreatic cancer. My children and I established a scholarship at the foundation in his memory. To this day, friends and family contribute to keep the scholarship going. We have awarded eight Steve Highland Memorial Scholarships.

The Shirley MacIlvain Scholarship was created by a former teacher at Petaluma High who never married or had children. When she passed away, she left a million dollars to the foundation to continue scholarships that we will give out forever.

I remember a student who received a scholarship from us and he came in to get his check and asked how to start a scholarship. He came back at the end of the summer with $500 and said, “Here – I made some money over the summer. Can I give a scholarship to another student next year?” He was a kid who learned “differently” and never thought he’d get an award but was acknowledged and he wanted to make sure kids get that chance. He started that and different people fund it every year. It’s called The Lift Off Scholarship and it’s for kids with a learning disability.

How does the foundation adapt or pivot to changes in needs? Like, what happened during COVID when schools shut down?

Back in 1993 they were giving out $250 or $500 – more like classroom supplies. It was really just to provide help as Prop 13 took away funding. Then, shortly before I came, they grew the grant program where you could apply for up to $15,000 per program. 

We looked at how we could really change a school; how can we make an impact on campus and a whole generation of students with innovative and meaningful curriculum-based support? In recent years, we upped the grants to $20,000 per ask. 

Even during COVID, we continued to give our grants and scholarships out. We were one of the first locally to do a virtual fundraiser. Our fundraising didn’t falter.

We were ahead of the curve, I have to say, about technology for schools. We kickstarted a tech initiative that brought together suppliers, educators, local organizations, that held roundtable conversations so that we could be aligned. 

Any highlights from your career at the foundation? How has this work changed you?

The connection to the people we work with and partner with. It’s a privilege and an honor and a heavy load, honestly, because you really want to do it well. They really entrust us to fulfill what their wishes are in terms of supporting education. 

We started The Love of PEF – the alumni group of the foundation. We gather every February and it’s amazing to see all these generations of Petaluma Educational Foundation come together. Those moments in that room to see that history and that growth and celebrating together is huge. In recent years, people have been wanting to rejoin our board.

I think I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to really understand all the amazing schools in this community. We support all the districts in Petaluma. When they first established the organization in 1982, it was important then – and now – to be reflective of our entire community and be inclusive.

Petaluma Educational Foundation isn’t just parents of school kids. We are community members. You might not have kids yet – or ever – but it’s really investing in today’s students to pay off for generations to come. Having solid opportunities for our kids is what’s going to keep Petaluma moving forward.

What is something that people don’t know about you?

I swam in the pool at Hearst Castle! We were there on the property for a private event, and part of the gathering included a pool party, and we swam in the outdoor Neptune Pool! It was in 2001. We were told even the Hearst family was not allowed to use that pool, so it was a huge deal and a very memorable afternoon of swimming and splashing around with friends and family!

This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and readability.