MORETTA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION

LEADERSHIP. Moretta Community Development Foundation (MCDF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in California since 2015. Deborrah Gilbert is a Black woman, founder and executive director of the organization. She leads its day-to-day mission, vision and programs. She is committed to the success of the organization, her team members, collaborative partners, volunteers, supporters and she loves her community.

THE WHY ("Y") OF IT. Ms. Gilbert is the daughter of a military family, has traveled and lived internationally and understands the spectrum of poverty from the personal, domestic and international perspective. Her own personal homelessness experience and observations make her uniquely qualified and informs the decision making processes of the organization. Her childhood observations and experiences over her adult lifetime inspired her to "always be a good steward of tools and resources; do good things and do those things well, and be part of sustainable solutions to help change world suffering." She considers herself simply, "a local woman for all things well". She's a mom, a dog lover, a newly discovered cat lover, and she loves her community deeply.

She has over 30 years experience in public safety and administration, policy, program and compliance procedure design, development and management including business management, real estate development, project development and management, large-scale institutional asset management, mass population management, nonprofit management, grant writing, fund development, community, housing and economic development.

During her career as a prison administrator in several maximum security prison facilities of the California State Prison and Rehabilitation system, she served as a high ranking administrator and Associate Warden over Business Services managing annual program, operating and staff personnel budgets of over $100,000,000.00 (one hundred million dollars) per fiscal cycle. During that tenure she wrote policies that governed the day-to-day operations of the institution, custodial and ancillary staffing, operational and law enforcement inter-agency agreements for the collective public safety of the cities in which those prisons are still currently in operation.

Additionally, she was responsible for developing and managing the "HUB and Spoke" model of management, for the then, neighboring private prison systems of incarceration (housing almost 10,000 minimum-custody felons) and the intricate management and workforce development systems required of law enforcement / public safety. She led in her job as a compassionate leader and earned the respect of those incarcerated and the staff who were professionals in carrying out their duties with the highest and most dignified professionalism under her leadership. She understood the environment of incarceration, its population and the impacts and ripple effect of economic insecurity on the invisible circle of the families and children connected to the incarcerated individual. And when the families, children and students of the incarcerated are in the communities we care about, there is an invisible but real barrier to success we must all deal with; one way or the other; sooner rather than later. This presents an awesome opportunity to be bold, and lean into the issue, understanding the impacts to the ecosystem of change and design systems to course correct for positive outcomes.

As a special project administrator / liaison, Ms. Gilbert helped create and represented community based nonprofit organizations in their effort to be a support system for those who were trying to make an impact for good in one of the most restrictive of environments on the face of the earth. Her responsibility was to understand the mission of all stakeholders of the project, their individual policies and procedures and then write the actual master policies and procedures of a prison administrative frame that all parties - the department of corrections, local prison administration staff, religious community members, nonprofit sectors and the educational academia leaders of UCLA and UC San Diego technology transfer leaders would operate by. The challenge was great, but teams of professionals, university research teams, scholars were assembled and programs / projects were launched. The state of California created a special division with a robust budget, and the political will and support of state and federal legislation. The program was / is a success. The impacts are measurable. Lives have been / continue to be changed.

As a project / program administrator, Ms. Gilbert led by example. Before a workplace gun violence incident changed the trajectory of her career (she was attacked), the project accomplishments and skill sets learned contribute to the guidance she leads with today. She's the author of policies and procedures which are now widely adopted throughout the California state prison system on behalf of the reentry program and substance abuse treatment programs. The aims of the program created space for soon-returning and eligible non violent offenders to have the opportunity in advance of their release, to learn personal development and workforce skills relevant to pursuing a successful life and meaningful, dignified work upon release back to their home communities. The OSAP Substance Abuse Treatment Program project goal was to better understand the intersection of preserving security, public safety, addressing prison over-crowding through specialized programs and learning opportunities aimed to reduce prison recidivism across prison populations mostly dominated by Black men and women and minorities of color.

Ms. Gilbert is proud of her accomplishments and the work of community and economic development and her accomplishments guide the understanding of the systemic barriers and structural impediments to success, the impacts to individual lives and how to design corrective systems towards long-term positive outcomes.

Over the span of several decades, Ms. Gilbert's work has been recognized nationally. She's been a public speaker on the topic of affordable housing, youth poverty and homelessness and she leads an organization that enjoys collaboration, capacity building and sharing best practices. She mentors and provides supportive services to other successful entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations. Moretta Community Development Foundation works and walks the talk.

THE MISSION IN AN ERA OF TECHNOLOGICAL ACCELERATION. THE TIME IS NOW.
The MCDF mission is to help improve access to economic opportunities, bridge the ever widening digital divide and connect key resources to at-risk youth, women and underserved communities. We work to increase access pathways to resources that reduce poverty, end homelessness and food insecurity while removing systemic barriers to the problems of racism, discrimination and poverty including the broader challenges related to safe, decent, affordable housing, access to equitable health resources, access to capital for entrepreneurs of color and access to technology tools and resources to increase enrollment opportunities in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, ART and Math) education.

Art education connects the aims of cultural diversity and inclusion through artistic expression and creativity. Technological advances in which inclusion and diversity are at the core include space for pursuits of higher education and careers in high income earning fields including the landscape of multi-media design and development, cybersecurity and other technology related careers.

PURPOSE. DRIVEN. VISION. FRAMING SUCCESS.
Todays students are the next generation of technology professionals, founders and innovators creating the technological advances and tools required to take on the modern day threats, future challenges and hard problems of the world.
Our vision is to encourage and empower young people to reach their full potential, connect to the mentors that will help guide and support their creativity and educational pursuits.

It's not enough to simply cheer them on. We must be committed to be there for and with them, give them access to the relevant tools, create structured positive spaces to for them to discover and adapt to the ever-changing environment in which they live. We must also be there with answers to the dynamic real-life questions they have while developing and designing the future we all want to live in and for the places we call home. Designing a future for all things good is an optimistic aim. The Moretta promise is to work towards that aim and make it a reality.

SYSTER Projects (Self-Sufficiency Through Training, Education and Resources) and capacity building programs strengthen collaborative relationships and the ecosystem of community stakeholders, like-minded nonprofit and business leaders committed to the aims of MCDF. We're committed to the long term goals. We can't do it alone. We need your help.

Each project supports our efforts to bridge resource gaps by creating pathways for students to higher education and learning opportunities. Outreach, student career fairs and college readiness workshops connect resources to youth, parents and guardians as they make decisions about higher education. Our programs give families the opportunity to interact with career recruitment representatives from colleges and technology industries.

Community outreach activities and workforce development programs create opportunities for collaboration with leaders committed to diversity and inclusion. MCDF works with local community faith based organizations, film and media, the arts and technology sectors to help bring dynamic learning experiences to inspired students and supportive partners who enjoy giving back to the communities they love. At the end of each work day we remain committed to our mission, humble servants in our approach and put action to hope to create the outcomes of our work of empowering youth and inspiring young lives. We can't do it alone. We welcome your help.