FOUNDATION BOARD
A CONTINUING LEGACY
New Foundation President Ryan Fitzpatrick is Proud to Follow in His Dadâs Footsteps in Serving Stan State
BY LORI GILBERT
A
s he begins his term as president of the Board of Directors of the Stanislaus State Foundation, Ryan Fitzpatrick has plenty of ideas. Diversifying the board as it recruits and retains members, streamlining paperwork approval at meetings so thereâs more time spent in conversation and giving members time to voice matters important to them are a part of his vision. A Foundation Board member since 2014, Fitzpatrick is excited to effect change as he leads the team dedicated to raising philanthropic support for scholarships and other innovative programs for the University. What gets him really animated, though, are Stan State students. âIâve been fortunate to hire quite a few alumni from this University,â Fitzpatrick said. âIâve had some tremendous people work for us and imagine I will only see more and more come and work in our industry or industries like it. It inspires me
when I work with young people, and I want to continue to support the University that produces such talented people.â A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Fitzpatrick is the President of the Fitzpatrick Dealership Group which operates Valley Lexus, Valley BMW, Valley Kia and Coliseum Lexus of Oakland. He assumed the position in 2015 upon the retirement of his late father, a groundbreaking businessman who by 2006 had built the largest Black-owned dealership in California. Before establishing those dealerships, Ed Fitzpatrick owned a dealership in Renton Washington, and Ryan, looking to spread his wings, left the Evergreen State to attend Cal. He turned his economics degree into a position at Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale. âI knew I would probably come and work in the family business, but I wanted to do something on my own in the beginning,â Fitzpatrick said. âMy dad wanted me to come and work for him right away. We went through the next year, year and a half negotiating the terms of working together. âWe worked things out, and it was a great career move for me to work with him.â Ryan Fitzpatrick said his father allowed him to establish his own leadership style, so he was ready to step in as COO. Thatâs not the only place where Ryan Fitzpatrick followed in his dadâs footsteps. Ed, who passed away in 2020, joined Stan Stateâs Foundation Board in 2003, becoming its first Black member. He and Bertha were generous benefactors and regulars at Warrior basketball games. The arena was renamed in their honor in 2009. âBeing a local business owner, a familyowned business, we want to invest in the community,â Ryan Fitzpatrick said. âItâs so important. What better way to invest in the community than to invest in education?â
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