Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dr. Brenda Olivares. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Dr. Brenda, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.

As illustrated in the Los Angeles County Public Health website, LA County consists of 10 million people, and of the total population close to 20% are aged 17 and younger. Magnolia Public Schools, a public charter management organization serving more than 3800 hundred students in grades Tk-12 across LA, Orange, and San Diego County, operates 10 community schools that serve the needs of historically underinvested communities that fall under this demographic and the families that live within the community.

We began formalizing the community school initiative in 2019, thanks to a generous grant from the California Department of Education. In our planning year, we launched our Assets and Needs Assessment and more than 80% of participants including students, caregivers, and staff identified health services as the overall need in the community. Through an organized effort with community school coordinators at each of the 10 school sites we began to formalize partnerships with community partners aligned with our mission to bridge the gap in connecting mental, dental, and health services to community needs. We held over 20 workshops focused on wellbeing across the Magnolia network of schools. We organized monthly vaccination clinics and community resource fairs on our school sites to reach more than 200 participants. The work was a group effort and we are now seeing the results from improved attendance to academic standing.

I dedicated my time to writing for grants and collecting data to demonstrate the growth and heart work over the past four years. The journey to becoming a community school program did not happen overnight, The work I lead is based on my experience as the second eldest of six children from parents who emigrated to this country from Mexico dreaming of a better life for their future generations. I embody the American dream for my family and that is in addition to my parents’ contributions because of educators and caregivers outside of my household who understood the value of uplifting our communities through education and resources such as free lunch and afterschool programs. I am forever in debt to educators like Ms. O’Leary who shared her garlic pita chips with me and my classmates when we were hungry, it was the first time I was introduced to that food option and Mr. Donley who took the time to identify that by third grade I hadn’t learned how to read and made we stay after school every day until I could ensuring that I would not end up as another statistic. It is through the dedication of these educators and my elementary crossing guard Ernie that I strive to meet the needs of our students and communities and seek the connections needed to help us all succeed.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am an educational champion with over 18 plus years of experience working with students, families, and school leaders. My passion lies in connecting families to resources empowering them as the first teachers of their child’s education, and fully embracing the community school model. I believe in creating sustainable systems and structures that promote a culture of respect, trust, and accountability among families and schools. I co-created a leadership workshop for female students in the southeast Los Angeles area, Girls Leadership and Mentoring (GLAM), which exposes female students in elementary to high school grade levels to female leaders in the community who share their journeys about leadership and resilience. I also created a workshop for male students, Guiding Young Male Minds (GYMM), that aims to provide the same experience. I am grateful for the ability to tap into my network of professionals from all walks of life willing to give back to their communities.

I successfully served the roles of teacher, after-school coordinator, Dean of Academics, Dean of Students, and Dean of Culture at the secondary level. I joined the Magnolia home office team in 2018 as the Director of Student Services and currently serve as the Chief Impact Officer (CIO). I earned my doctorate in Educational Leadership with a concentration in Educational Psychology from the University of Southern California and hold a Master’s degree in Teaching of Social Studies from Teachers College, Columbia University, and my Bachelor’s degree in history with a secondary teaching credential from Mount Sant Mary’s University. Last, summer I completed a Family Engagement in Education: Creating Effective Home and School Partnerships Program with the Harvard Graduate School of Education. My leadership and commitment have contributed to bringing funding and programs to formalize the community school framework to the Magnolia school network.

I am always open to helping others and if I know of a resource or person that needs to be connected to a free service or resource I am eager to help. Sometimes I will be in line at the grocery store and I hear of a person sharing a problem and I cannot walk away without knowing that person is ok if it is something I can pass along like knowledge or support I will offer it, it would be selfish of me to keep something to myself knowing it could help another person.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Growing up I was always taught to be humble and stay hidden in an effort not to draw attention. I grew up knowing that there were expectations of me as a female in a male-dominated society but somehow I knew that did not feel right. It wasn’t until attending an all-women’s university that I was exposed to other amazing women who were not willing to sit and let others take credit for their hard and ideas. There were times in my adolescent journey when I did not fall in line and it felt good especially when owning one’s initiative and being recognized for it. As an adult and Chief Officer, this is something I had to continuously reinforce. It is okay to achieve, and it is even better to allow others to know when and how you have been successful. Your track record is something leaders celebrate when they see success. I also had to unlearn not to be shy to ask the questions others have but are too scared to dive in. Whenever something scared me I do it, even walking down a dark hallway fearing a ghost may pop out. Be brave is something we can be every day and no small feat should ever be ignored. In my family’s immediate and extended I was the first to attend and graduate from a four-year school, live on the East Coast while earning my master’s degree at an Ivy League institution, and earn my doctorate while raising two children. I know that when I accept a challenge there is no option for defeat. I am not sure exactly when I learned that lesson but it’s what has gotten me to the finish line every time.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Networking with trust and clear communication has been the more effective strategy for growing a successful network. You never know when a connection will come in handy. You must be about your word, if you make a promise you better be willing to make up the difference if you are not able to keep it. As a leader people are always watching you and despite how many achievements you have it is the time you let someone down that they will remember

Contact Info:

• Instagram: bbetter2u
• Facebook: Brenda Olivares
• Linkedin: Brenda D. Olivares, Ed.D