SANTA PAULA EDUCATION FOUNDATION

1973-1983:  BEVERLY HILLS EDUCATION FOUNDATION - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:

After the passing of California's Proposition 13 & the Serrano Priest decision, I was hired to establish the first private foundation in support of public education in California.  As a result, the BHEF became the role model for other city school districts across the state. My accomplishments were recognized by the City of Beverly Hills with the Citizen of the Year Award. During my tenure with the foundation, I had raised over $5,000,000 to supplement the lost revenue for the school district.

 

1983-1993:  TOMARKEN PRODUCTIONS & FENTON TOMARKEN & ASSOCIATES:

Prior to joining the Recording Academy, I spent 10 years operating my own fundraising event/marketing and non profit consulting firms, Tomarken Productions and Fenton Tomarken & Associates. Clients included the Maple Center Counseling organization, Junior Diabetes Foundation, Weizmann Institute, Center for the Partially Sighted, Motion Picture & Television Fund, Beverly Hills Firemen's Fund and Cedars Sinai Women's Guild.

 

1985-1993: PRESIDENT OF THE BEVERLY HILL BOARD OF EDUCATION:

During this time, I was elected to public office as the President of the Beverly Hills Board of Education, serving two four year terms. During this time I successfully negotiated the end to the first Teacher's Strike in Beverly Hills, initiated the first joint powers agreement with the City of Beverly Hills to provide additional income to the school district by leasing our facilities for citizens use.  The passage of this agreement generated an additional $7,000,000 in the first year.

 

1993-2018: THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF RECORDING ARTS & SCIENCES:  I was hired to develop and expand the Academy's newly established Health & Human Services Foundation, MusiCares. Since that time, I served as Director and Senior Director of both the Academy and MusiCares. In 2003, I was promoted to my final position as Vice President of MusiCares and the GRAMMY Foundation.  During my 25 years with these charities I created fundraising initiatives that raised over $100 million in support revenue and took them to a level of success they both enjoy today. These efforts included galas, luncheons, sporting events, concerts, sponsorship activations, board cultivation, giving and public awareness campaigns, grassroots outreach efforts, auctions (live, silent, and online) and more. Additionally, I developed and implemented best business practices for the organizations, created strategic planning goals to help elevate the foundations’ positions, and effectively tackled process management for more efficiency.