By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
Gina Welsh grew up in an Illinois town of 250 people. Her elementary school had 35 students; moving up to eighth grade, she joined a crowd of 48 students. High school was the big jump for her.
“We had 302 in my graduating class,” said Welsh, who then moved off to college and really got an introduction to people.
“It was very overwhelming when I went away to college. (I) used to be a shy person. I didn’t want anything to do with marketing or people and so I completed a degree in management information systems,” said Welsh, who now serves as Executive director of Santa Fe Texas Education Foundation.
Working as executive director of a non-profit requires a whole lot of outgoing people skills and marketing. “I outgrew my shyness after attending college and studying abroad,” Welsh explained.
Welsh moved to the Clear Lake area after college. Then she fell in love with a man from Santa Fe, and the rest became their history. They built a house together in Santa Fe, became husband and wife and added twin boys to their lives.
“I stayed home after the boys were born for about 10 years,” said Welsh.
Though she says she “stayed home,” she was highly active with the public. When the boys were preschool age, she started a blog depicting life with her twin sons. Once they started school, she was engaged in hands-on support for the teachers and schools.
“I kept wanting to do more, reach more students and so I asked around for what else was there to do in the district,” said Welsh. Her inquiries landed her a seat on the board of directors for the Santa Fe Texas Education Foundation.
Welsh jumped into the foundation’s needs, serving as a volunteer in marketing, which was something she once thought she could never do. She was then offered a part-time position for the foundation as marketing coordinator. In February 2020, the 10th anniversary for the foundation, she was appointed to her current position as Executive Director.
Working from home for most of her first year as Executive Director, Welsh built more partnerships with donors and organized marketing strategies for the foundation. Under her leadership, the 2021 gala was a virtual event which raised $100,000.
Funds raised are used to directly support the schools in the district. Teachers are given a chance to access funds from the foundation through grant programs and via creating a classroom wish list.
“What we do allows teachers to go above and beyond, to make learning more engaging, more fun,” said Welsh.
Brandon Noto, who teaches welding at Santa Fe High School, applied for a grant from the foundation and was awarded $6500. He applied this to purchasing a horizontal band saw and a shop press.
The foundation is contributing $10,000 to the district for the summer STEM camp and $4000 to this summer’s Jump Start camp, along with $2000 to the summer reading program.
“The Foundation’s financial assistance makes it possible to expand upon the district’s budget and reach more students. Our foundation makes it possible to supplement district funds and multiply learning opportunities exponentially. We are grateful for the support,” said Kimberly Ross, Chief Academic Officer of SFISD.
For a shy girl from a small farming town in Illinois, Welsh’s marketing skills and outgoing personality are making a difference for the students in SFISD.
