You should have recently received a communication from us about our Five-Year Anniversary that highlights the amazing work we’ve done since the inception of the foundation. This piece features our former Executive Director, Gary Rectenwald, and we thank him for all the efforts he has made. We wish him all the best in his retirement!
With that, it is with great sincerity and humility that I introduce myself to you as the new CEO of the Catholic Community Foundation of San Diego. I want to thank the Foundation’s Board of Trustees for the confidence and trust you have placed in me to continue to advance the work we are doing in San Diego and Imperial County. If you haven’t already seen it, thank you to the Southern Cross for their recent feature on the leadership transition.
Having served in several capacities across the nonprofit sector over the past 25 years I believe that my experience, and some very well-placed interventions by the Holy Spirit, have brought me to this point and I am grateful to be here to serve in this capacity.
One of my favorite biblical accounts in the Gospel is that of the loaves and fishes. Each time I read it from the Gospels, and each time I hear it told, we are reminded of something that we’ve heard on many occasions in our life - that God will provide. But we are also reminded that when a community gathers as a collective, we can also provide for one another.
The key takeaway that I always seem to read in these Gospel accounts is community. A community of believers, a community of the faithful, a community of people who acted, and a community willing to serve one another.
This must also be our work. We are called to be an organization that serves the community. We have taken amazing strides to get to where we are today, but there is much more work to do. As I transition into this new role, I want to be a resource. A resource for our four pillars: parishes, Catholic schools, vocations, and social services; a resource for our donors; and especially a resource for the many organizations in San Diego and Imperial Counties that are doing God’s work by serving those in most need among us.
I look forward to having the opportunity to meet you and work with you in the future, and please do not hesitate to contact me at (858) 397-9700 or email me at mrubio@ccfsd.org.
