Andrea Bazan

Andrea Bazán is After-School All-Star’s Chief Development Officer, a role she began in November. Previously, she was the CEO of PUENTE Learning Center and oversaw its Charter School, having succeeded the founder of this thirty-three old organization, Sister Jennie Lechtenberg. PUENTE is based in Boyle Heights/East Los Angeles and offers a pipeline of services for people ages 3 to 80 through a multi-generational approach. Andrea was recruited to reorganize and develop a strategic plan to set the organization for its future.

During her tenure, the organization’s enrollment grew by 47%, received authorization by LAUSD to expand the Charter Kindergarten to 5th grade beginning Fall 2018, completed a $2.5M construction and renovation project, and established meaningful partnerships to bring adult and college education courses to the area. Most importantly, she has preserved the important legacy and vision of the organization for its next phase.

Andrea was the Senior Vice President of United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, where she supervised a large team in securing resources for a 6-county area, serving 1 million people. Funds from United Way supported areas related to income, education, health and urgent needs including senior services, nutrition, and emergency shelter. During her four-year tenure, Andrea reorganized the operations, and raised over $180M in new funds, approximately $52M yearly, and created a high-profile cabinet of the city’s most notable corporate leaders.

In 2012, Andrea was part of President Obama’s reelection team and oversaw the Operation Vote efforts in the South, including management of field, marketing, press, and other teams in 11 states. For over seven years, she was the President of Triangle Community Foundation, a philanthropic institution based in Durham, NC. There, she was responsible for leading the twenty-six-year-old foundation and overseeing the stewardship of its more than $147 million in assets-housed in charitable funds-and its known deferred assets of more than $200 million. During her tenure, the Foundation annually granted between 10-13% of its funds to community efforts locally, nationally and internationally, and supported a number of scholarships. Ms. Bazán was recruited to the Foundation in 2005 to improve its public perception, increase its activity in the region and grow its assets. During her service, assets grew by over 45%, even amidst an economic recession, and the Triangle Community Foundation was known as an innovative and active philanthropic organization.

For many years, Andrea served as the Executive Director for El Pueblo, a North Carolina statewide organization based in Raleigh. She was one of the founders of the group, and oversaw its growth from a volunteer effort to one of the region’s leading groups, with a national reputation, a variety of programs, and a diverse funding stream.

Ms. Bazán’s early career in state government focused on public health and included serving at the NC Office of Minority Health, Department of Health and Human Services, where she conducted research and helped develop programs for minority communities during Governor James B Hunt’s last term. Gov. Hunt has served as a mentor to Andrea for much of her career.

In 2005, Gov. Mike Easley appointed her to the NC Medical Care Commission, which oversees public bonds and financing for all health care facilities in the state. Gov. James Hunt appointed Andrea to the NC Institute of Medicine, where she was a member for many years. She also served a term as the public member on the state’s Medical Board, and three terms in the Governor’s Advisory Council on Hispanic/Latino Affairs, among others. She served as a City of Durham Human Relations Commissioner from 1997-2000.

At the University of North Carolina, she held a number of positions at the UNC School of Public Health, including Coordinating a Graduate Field Training Program and teaching as an Adjunct for several years.

Her national involvement includes serving over ten years on the Board of Directors of the National Council of La Raza (now Unidos US), including serving as Chair, in Washington DC, and two appointments by the Administration. She was a member of the Homeland Security Council’s Southwest Border Task Force as well as a member of the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Community Partnerships.

On the corporate side, Ms. Bazán was a board member of Wachovia Bank and held that position as the bank was sold to Wells Fargo. She served on the Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC Board for over 8 years, being the only woman and youngest member in both those roles. She has served on the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the Duke University Duke Health System Advisory Board, was an advisor to the UNC System President Erskine Bowles and is a current member of the Board of Farmworker Justice.

She holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work and a Master’s Degree in Public Health, Department of Maternal and Child Health from UNC-Chapel Hill. Andrea graduated from Ursuline Academy and received her undergraduate degree in Sociology from Millsaps College.

Andrea has been humbled to receive a number of awards and accolades, being named as one of the nation’s most recognized Hispanic leaders by Hispanic Executive magazine, the Hispanic Heritage Award by the Carolina Panthers, and various awards by UNC, among others.

She grew up in Argentina and moved to New Orleans as a young teenager. Andrea is the proud mother of three daughters.