Christopher Gutierrez (he/him), Making Waves Academy '24, Cal State East Bay Student
Thank you for expanding economic mobility!
This year marks a significant milestone for Making Waves—35 years of empowering students of color from low-income backgrounds to break through barriers to educational success and economic mobility.
We continue to prove that zip codes don’t define destiny. In 2023-24:
• 100% of our high school students graduated meeting the A-G college admissions requirements.
• 86% of our college graduates earned degrees debt-free.
The greatest predictors of economic mobility are educational attainment and work experience, so we are focused on:
• Purpose, passion, and goals: Real-world experiences and guided reflection to help students discover who they are, what they're passionate about, and how they want to impact the world.
• College readiness for all: Rigorous academics to prepare students for college and career.
• College degrees, debt-free: Coaching and scholarships to guide students to debt-free college degrees.
• Job skills, career ready: Internships for students to build social capital and career skills.
Your unwavering support fuels this impact. Thank you for your partnership so more students from low-income backgrounds and first-generation students can access the education, career preparation, and mentorship they need to thrive.
Patrick O’Donnell Making Waves Education Foundation CEO
Allison Holton Chief External Affairs Officer
Patrick O’Donnell Chief Executive Officer
Erick Roa Chief Operating Officer
Aiyana Mourtos Chief Program Officer
Making Waves students during a field trip to the San Francisco law offices of Allen Matkins, one of our corporate partners.
Educational Opportunities. Job Readiness. Financial Freedom.
We partner with students of color from low-income backgrounds to achieve economic mobility—starting in middle and high school through college and into their careers.
PURPOSE, PASSION, AND GOALS
We provide a welcoming learning environment and student-centered programming so students can explore their purpose, passions, and goals in life, starting as early as 5th grade.
A first-generation college student at UCLA majoring in linguistics and psychology, Jaquelin Trujillo (she/her) has a passion for working to make education and healthcare more accessible to communities of color with the goal of becoming a speech language pathologist.
COLLEGE READINESS FOR ALL
College opens doors to economic mobility and leads to a more diverse and educated workforce. We support all of our students to be ready for college and we provide scholarships, coaching, and FAFSA support so college is affordable.
Chaylah Williams (she/her) already completed a college course before graduating high school. Chaylah is now majoring in art history and public relations at Loyola Marymount and is bridging the art and public worlds, including through her latest internship at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
JOB SKILLS, CAREER READY
Our students have access to career coaching, programming, and industry partnerships in middle school, high school, and college. These opportunities open doors to internships, jobs, and connections.
While earning a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering at UC Merced, Moises Limon (he/ him) completed an internship at Target and a training program with CodePath.org, which led to a software engineer role at Target. Moises is now pursuing a master’s degree in data science at the University of San Francisco to further his knowledge in machine learning and data engineering and advance his career.
COLLEGE DEGREES, DEBT-FREE
A debt-free college degree accelerates economic mobility for our students, so we help remove barriers through scholarships and financial aid guidance, college coaching, and career programming.
Mario Jimenez Valencia (he/him), a first-generation college graduate, earned his public health degree from UC Merced completely debt-free thanks to Making Waves. Mario returned to the Bay Area post-grad and is a manager in the healthcare field with hopes of attending medical school.
College and Career Success Program
Our goal is for our students to graduate from college on time, with zero debt, and with a job that matches their degree and their dreams. We provide students with scholarships, coaching, and career programming so they excel on their college and career journeys.
OUR OUTCOMES
A-G completion rate
Source: California Department of Education
Class of 2024 college grads with $0 debt
Source: Pell Institute
Four-year college graduation rate
OUR COMMUNITY
1,092 students in grades 5-12 at Making Waves Academy
Waves National Peers
Source: Pell Institute
Class of 2023 job attainment rate (employed in a college-level job or started graduate school one year after graduation)
Source: Strada Education Foundation
AI Copilot
Our AI-powered copilot provides proactive, personalized education and employment coaching via text message. 2,634 people used our copilot in 2023-24 for support with goal setting, identifying education and career pathways, accessing financial aid, and building their resumes. In 2024, Making Waves earned the grand prize in the ASU+GSV Summit’s Education Innovation Showcase’s idea category.
from low-income backgrounds (eligible for federal Pell grants)
437 Students in our college and career success program enrolled at 69 colleges and universities
85% first-generation college students
751 college graduates in our alumni network
at University of California campuses at California State University campuses at private universities at community college campuses at out-of-state public universities
Thank you to the generous supporters of
Making Waves Education Foundation
in 2023-24
LEAD DONORS
John H. & Regina K. Scully Foundation
$250,000+
Payette River Foundation
The Arthur Rock Fund
$100,000 - $249,999
Anonymous
Pamela C. Auxter Trust
La Centra-Sumerlin Foundation with special thanks to Christine and Reece Duca
La Centra-Sumerlin Foundation with special thanks to Suzanne Duca
Hamid and Christina Moghadam
Momsen Charitable Fund
Katie and Dustin Peterson
Tipping Point Community
$50,000 - $99,999
Anonymous
Morrison & Foerster LLP
$20,000 - $49,999
Allen Matkins Foundation
Mary Ann and Ron Cohan
Dodge & Cox
Robert and Dana Emery Family Foundation
Quest Foundation
Quest Fund at the Marin Community Foundation
$10,000 - $19,999
5 Ryan Foundation
Phillip and Norma Gordon Charitable Fund
Jonathan Parker Real Estate
Michael and Margaret McCaffery Family Fund
Barbara and Richard Shoop
Wilbur Weinberg Charitable Giving Fund
Western Alliance Bank
Zalec Familian and Lilian Levinson Foundation
$5,000 - $9,999
Derrick Bolton
Educating All Learners Alliance
Equitable Talent Strategies, Inc
Global Silicon Valley
Kristin Hite
Loon Point Fund
Edward and Betsy McDermott
Ann and Michael Parker
Kim Marie Summers-Silva Trust
Edward and Lisa Williams Fund
$2,500 - $4,999
Mr. William F. and Mrs. Edith B. Dagley
Hendrickson Family Foundation
Alicia Malet Klein and Tom Klein
Kenny Kim
Malet Family Fund
Wendy and Robert Nielsen
Paul Regan
Wareham Property Group
$1,000 - $2,499
Anonymous
Sue and Jim Bartlett
The D. Wehlitz & M. Berg Charitable Fund
Don Briggs
Brandon Cohan and Jen Thomas
Theresa Fay-Bustillos
Sharon Henning and George A. Goin
Jasmine Kim
Sidney Landman and Margalit Ashira Ir
Bonnie Levinson and Donald Kay
Marissa and Matthew Purkiss
Mary and John Schelling
Elisa and Marc Stad
Thomas and Pauline Tusher
Family Fund
<$1,000
Activision Blizzard
Bridget Anderson and Roy Latka
Anonymous
Dimitrios Antos
Gabriella and Stephen Bowling
Andres Campos and Hilda Martinez
Andrew Carrigan
Lulu Xue Chen and Qi Ping Tang
Matthew Cohan and Helen Jupiter
Daniel Cohan
Brandon Cohan and Jen Thomas
Darcy H. and Richard Deming
Theresa and George Eisenberg
Willard Felsen
Jane and Paul Foster
Corina Garcia
Diana and Michael Gilmore
Jeffrey Goldstein & Ann Barrows
Margie and David Guggenhime
Corinne McLain Hedrick
2007 Trust
Irma Herrera
Allison Holton
Amber Lam
Emily and John Lumpkin
Juan Sarabia Magana
Marin County Campaign
William Martz
Mattress Firm
Sheila McGee
William McShea
Cynthia and George Miller
Edward Moffatt
Hannah Morley and Ittai Eres
Nikos Mourtos
Alton B. Nelson, Jr. and
Jennifer Henry
Patrick O'Donnell and Joe Shook
Ellen O'Donnell
OpenAI
Andres Orozco and Rachelle Aberin
Wendy and Fred Parkin
Molly McGee Randisi
Enrique and Eduwiges Romero
Jani and Terry Ross
Bonnie Shea and Brendan McShea
Shakti Sotomayor
Lou Tran
Jann and Jay Veach
Leah Vida
Maria Wallace
Macy Yip
We gratefully acknowledge the following individuals who have generously provided for Making Waves Education Foundation in their estate plans.
Lisa Beckstrom
Darcy H. and Richard Deming
Making Waves Education Foundation makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of these listings. If there is an error or you would like to adjust your listing, please contact us at development@ making-waves.org.
BOARD
John H. Scully, Founder and Co-Chair Founding Partner, SPO Partners & Co.
Regina K. Scully, Co-Chair
Philanthropist, Filmmaker, Founder and CEO Artemis Rising Foundation
Ronald A. Cohan, Secretary Retired Public Contracts Lawyer
Eli Weinberg, Vice President CIO, Filbert Holdings
Steve Blass Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Ashe Capital
Derrick Bolton Associate Dean for External Relations, Stanford Graduate School of Business
Lori Kulvin Crawford Certified Public Accountant; Former Trustee, Computer History Museum
Leela de Souza Bransten Former Chief Development and Marketing Officer, College Track
Theresa Fay-Bustillos Philanthropic, Business, and Nonprofit Executive
Phil Gordon Of Counsel, Perkins Coie LLP
Ajani Jackson, M.D. Adult, Adolescent, and Child Psychiatrist
Alicia Malet Klein President, HeadsUp Public Education Foundation; Board President, Making Waves Academy
Sid Landman
Retired SCORE Counselor, Former CFO, Hispanic Scholarship Fund
Board members as of October 1, 2024.
2023-24 Financials
In Fiscal Year 2024, we raised $11.8 million
In Fiscal Year 2024, we invested $13.8 million in Operating Expenses and $5.9 million in Non-Operating Expenses
In Fiscal Year 2024, we supported students in college with an average scholarship amount of $4,000 and one-to-one college, career, and financial coaching valued at $6,400 per student
Allocation of Expenses:
Total Assets: $254.4 million
Note: FY24 figures are unaudited. For more information, please visit making-waves.org/financials
Bryana Gastélum (she/they), Stanford University ’24, Master’s Degree Student at Stanford
1 Imani Finley (she/her), Cornell University ’24, Research Fellow at University of Maryland
2 Estefan Cervantes (he/him), Northeastern University ’24, Engineer at Bosch
3 Elaine Fernandez Bravo (she/her), UC Davis ‘24, Engagement Financial Advisor at Deloitte
4 Simren Sandhu (she/her), Making Waves Academy ’24, Harvard University Student
5 Yazmin Padilla-Alvarez (she/her), Stanford University ’23, Master’s Degree Student at USC
6 Cuauhtemoc (Temoc) Wallace (he/him), Boston University ’24, Insights Coordinator at Finch Brands
7 Brenda Quintanilla (she/her), Loyola Marymount ‘19, UC Davis (JD) ‘24, Law Clerk at Hanson Bridgett LLP
Ready to get involved?
Join our Making Waves community to bring together K-12, higher education, and industry so thousands of underrepresented students can access pathways to economic mobility. Reach out to Allison Holton at aholton@making-waves.org to learn more. making-waves.org