Araceli Centeno joins the McCune Foundation as Program Officer

Araceli Centeno joins the McCune Foundation as Program Officer

The McCune Foundation proudly announces the appointment of Araceli Centeno as the new Program Officer. To support the Ventura-based foundation with its growth, the organization has appointed a seasoned community organizer, Araceli Centeno, as a Program Officer to manage the grantmaking program. “It is an honor to work with a foundation whose mission is to support organizations that mobilize, grow social capital and solve problems by empowering from the grassroots up.”

Araceli grew up in Oxnard and has worked as a community organizer, tackling issues such as environmental justice, workers’ rights, and gentrification. She earned a Master’s degree in Public Health from the Keck School of Medicine at USC and worked in NIH-funded research of chronic diseases in agricultural workers, mental health equity, youth leadership and early literacy initiatives. Araceli has worked with diverse communities in Ventura County and the San Francisco Bay Area.

The Foundation focuses its grantmaking in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties with the mission of being an agent of productive change in society by supporting the development of social capital. For decades, grants have supported groups that are mobilizing farm workers, immigrants, youth, rural residents, and many others seeking to improve their communities through community organizing.

“I am excited to bring my expertise to the field of philanthropy, ” Araceli said. “My hope is to contribute to the development of healthy and thriving communities by supporting the fight for social justice. I am motivated by the power of collective action and the courage of people to mobilize for lasting change in their communities. In particular, I am motivated when historically, politically and economically excluded communities rise up to speak truth to power; to claim that space is powerful because it transforms future generations.”

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The McCune Foundation was established in 1990 by George D. McCune and Sara Miller McCune, the founders and principal management team (for 25 years) of SAGE Publishing. The Foundation supports projects that address critical issues in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties by empowering and mobilizing excluded populations. We support groups which are “doing with others” rather than “doing for others” – grassroots, bottom-up organizations in which “clients” are the initiators and involved in decision making.