Poway Unified Parents Added to Foundation Board

As parents to students, Fred Pierce and Christopher Rowe, the two new PUSD Foundation board members, have a great interest in local schools.

With the new additions, there are now 10 members on the board of directors, which runs the .

“They’re very much welcome with our renewed enthusiasm on fundraising,” said PUSD Foundation President Toni Kraft. “This is a working board, so we chose people who we know are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and work hard.”

Pierce is the father of two PUSD students, a senior at Westview High School and a first grader at Stone Ranch Elementary School.

He is the CEO and president of Pierce Education Properties, which he founded in 1995. The firm is committed to student housing and real estate serving educational institutions, he said. He was also one of the PUSD Board of Education candidates last November.

“Knowing what dire financial condition that public education is in, in the state and that finds its way to impact the district, I really felt like I could make a difference,” Pierce said.

Pierce has been dedicated to education and educational development for more than 20 years. He has served as a California State University trustee, Aztec Warrior Foundation board member, CSU Alumni Council president, SDSU Alumni Association president, and more.

“Those are some of the experiences that I think that I can bring to bear and take some of the best practices of what’s worked in higher education, and also some of the best practices of what’s worked in private K-12 education,” Pierce said. “There’s no reason why our public schools can’t do the same thing.

"I really felt like I could bring that experience and expertise to K-12 to help raise private support to help support what now is declining public funding for education," he said.

Rowe is also the father of a PUSD student. His daughter is a sophomore at . His son, who is now in college, also attended PUSD schools.

“My wife and I want to ensure through any means necessary that all the kids who live in Poway continue to have the same incredible educational opportunities the our kids did,” Rowe said.

Rowe is the president of Echo Pacific Construction, a commercial construction company founded in 1993. 

He said his background will help him as a member of the board.

“Having built a business from the ground up and having navigate it through several economic down turns, I felt I could help a nonprofit operate effectively and at a high level,” he said.

To date, the PUSD Foundation has provided more than $1.7 million to district schools. Pierce and Rowe hope to help increase the amount of funds raised and already have ideas in mind to make that possible.

Rowe said his goal for the foundation is to “triple our ability to provide those less fortunate with all the opportunities that they desire.”

Pierce added: “”I’m looking forward to, hopefully in the short-to-intermediate run, elevating the level of private support generated by the district-wide foundation to be seven figures, meaning to eclipse $1 million annually, and then hopefully, to exponentially grow it from there.”

He also hopes the foundation can organize an annual retreat with volunteers of the school-based foundations to “communicate and share best practices in private support for K-12 education.”

Furthermore, Pierce is interested in adding more volunteers to the foundation board who have experience in fundraising.

Kraft said she is excited to work with the new members to continue to host fundraisers to support the foundation's three focus areas: the development of S.T.E.A.M., which stands for science, technology, engineering, arts and math skills; college and career readiness; and rigor, relevance and relationships in the classroom.

“They bring a different scope and breadth to the board,” Kraft said. “Our board has always been diversified, and this gives us another set of eyes. It’s always good to have new faces, because then there are new ideas.”