San Diego County CA— Champions for Health, a local non-profit foundation, has named San Marcos resident Lisa Garcia as grants and communications manager. Champions for Health, formerly known as the San Diego County Medical Society, operates numerous health promotion programs in San Diego County. The announcement was made by Barbara Mandel, CEO, Champions for Health, who said Garcia will be involved in grant writing preparation and submittals, donor recruitment, support and management and communications and marketing functions.
Garcia has more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit arena. She previously operated her own consulting firm called Lisa Garcia Grant Consulting, a full-service grant writing company for nonprofit organizations, and also served as a grant writer for the Barona Band of Mission Indians, operators of the Barona Resort & Casino, a gaming resort, casino and golf course in Lakeside. She has been a professional grant writer since 1999.
Throughout her career, Garcia has worked with nonprofits involved in health, arts and culture, children and youth and social services. She has successfully secured hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants from such funders as the Parker Foundation, Weingart Foundation, California Wellness Foundation, Kresge Foundation and County of San Diego.
Garcia has worked with such organizations as the Community Resource Center, The New Children’s Museum, Vista Community Clinic, Community Youth Athletic Association and Children’s Dental Health Association. She also worked on capital campaigns and fundraising for 12 years with the Girl Scouts San Diego, one of the largest Girl Scout councils in the country.
A native of Lowell, Mich., Garcia has a bachelor’s degree in American Public Affairs and Spanish from James Madison College at Michigan State University. She has lived in San Diego for 20 years.
Founded in 2005, Champions for Health offers several health improvement and prevention initiatives that improve community health and wellness, access to care for all and support for physicians through engaged volunteerism. Its flagship program, Project Access San Diego, links volunteer specialist doctors with uninsured people who need healthcare services and cannot afford specialty surgeries. Other Champions for Health programs include free screenings for breast cancer, colorectal cancer and high blood pressure, along with flu immunizations, a speakers bureau and scholarships for medical students and residents planning to care for the medically underserved. For more information, visit www.ChampionsForHealth.org.
# #