Saúl Valdez

Senior Program Officer @Ecmc Foundation

Los Angeles, CA, US

Promoted to senior program office role in January 2023 to spearhead portfolio management, overseeing the distribution of millions of dollars in funds to organizations focused on systems change in higher education. Generated intuitive reports to optimize decision-making and presented funding opportunities to the foundation’s Board of Directors. Identified and managed third-party consultants, including third-party researchers, technical assistance providers and evaluation partners.Constructed a robust grantmaking strategy with hundreds of grantees and partners. Pioneered the Men of Color Initiative, a first-of-its-kind grantmaking strategy to support colleges and universities in adopting equity-centered programs and practices for males of color; generated a $20M funding commitment across 5 years. Headed project management for the Catalyzing Transfer Initiative in 2020, a national shared learning and collaboration effort across 5 high-impact grantees on transfer and credit mobility with $4.5M in funding.Consistently developed portfolio-specific and foundation-wide strategy and process documents. Demonstrated ability to foster relationships for potential co-funding opportunities with other leaders in the postsecondary sector to support student persistence toward bachelor degree attainment.

University of Washington

Master of Public Administration (MPA)

University of Washington

Nonprofit Management Certificate

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Bachelor of Arts - BA

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Bachelor of Science - BS