The Ed Fund welcomes Debra White, our Senior Manager of Partnerships and Grants! She will be helping grow the Fiscal Sponsorship Program, building relationships with grantees, working with project staff, providing training, and managing projects.
Debra comes to the Oakland Public Education Fund with 20 years of experience in grants management in Philanthropy and the federal government. During that time, she has made Oakland her home.
She also has experience as a systems developer and process control engineer in the Petroleum Chemicals industry. She holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Pennsylvania where she combined engineering processes and concepts with education research.
Debra grew up in Texas surrounded by “hundreds of cousins, because my dad came from a family of 26 children. It’s funny that my mom was an only child,” she said.
Her father was an entrepreneur, and Debra, her siblings, and numerous cousins spent time working for his company—where they all learned their work ethic from him. Her parents and siblings instilled in her a love for learning and pursuing educational excellence.
“I’m the youngest child by a lot of years,” she said. “My older brother was already a sophomore in college when I started kindergarten, and my sister was in college when I graduated from grade school. Of course, I wanted to go to school like they did. I grew up with this idea of being in college and being educated.”
She is excited to join the Ed Fund team because the organization’s mission speaks to her heart. “Everything we do here is about helping Oakland students thrive. Every public school student should have the same opportunities for success. I am happy to do my part to make that happen.”
When she’s not working, Debra trains with a walking team—both to get heart healthy and raise funds for organizations whose missions she supports. She has completed four half marathons and raised thousands of dollars to bring awareness, research, treatment, and patient care to those suffering from stroke and blood cancers.