Jacobs Family Foundation
Joe & Vi Jacobs Center
404 Euclid Ave.
San Diego, CA 92114
(619) 527-6161
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Joseph J. Jacobs, Ph.D. (deceased)
Founder
Jacobs Family Foundation,
Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation
Founder, Jacobs Family Foundation and Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation Joe was founder and chairman of the board of Jacobs Engineering Group, an international engineering and construction firm with approximately 35,000 employees. With a Ph.D. in chemical engineering, he developed the firm from a one-man consultancy in 1947 to a company with revenues close to $5 billion. Inducted into the National Academy of Engineers, Joe had a distinguished career both in engineering and in humanitarian achievements, including the United Nations World Citizen Award in 1996. He served on many boards of directors and worked actively toward peace in the Middle East. Joe authored The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur: Family, Culture and Ethics, and The Compassionate Conservative: Seeking Responsibility and Human Dignity. Despite the loss of Joe in 2004, the foundationsí work continues to embrace the values he championed throughout his life. |
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Violet Jabara Jacobs
Founder and Board Member
Jacobs Family Foundation,
Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation
Vi Jacobs is a language major graduate of Wellesley College, having studied French, German, and classical Greek. After working in advertising, she became an active partner in launching the Jacobs Engineering Group, working alongside Joe in the firmís startup years. During her daughtersí school years, she became involved in the PTA and actively raised money to strengthen education. She has served as a volunteer for the American Friends Service Committee, the Huntington Hospital, and Meals on Wheels, as well as secretary for the Westminister Presbyterian Church. She is a worldwide traveler and an advocate for economic and educational development in her parentsí homeland of Lebanon. |
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Margaret E. Jacobs
Board Member
Jacobs Family Foundation,
Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation
Meg's background has been primarily in the field of social work. She has a diverse health and human services background that includes work with youth and families and victims of domestic violence. Fluent in Spanish, she is a strong advocate for the inclusion of Spanish-speaking residents in community-development work. In the past, she has provided home-based services to at-risk families for a child abuse and delinquency prevention program, and counseled residents of a battered women's shelter. She's committed to building stronger families through parent education. Meg served as the Jacobs Family Foundation's first director, spearheading the Foundation's support of micro-enterprise development as a strategy for assisting families in gaining self-sufficiency. She continues to be an active participant in the Foundation's neighborhood strengthening efforts as a member of the Grants Team. She holds a Bachelors degree from Brown University, and a Masters in Social Work from San Diego State University. |
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Norman F. Hapke, Jr.
Board Member
Jacobs Family Foundation,
Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation
A U.S. Naval Academy graduate, Norm spent six years as a U.S. Marine Corps officer, serving in Viet Nam until wounded in combat. He returned to duty, becoming a Naval aviator and aircraft commander flying worldwide transport and refueling flights. After leaving the Marine Corps, Norm entered commercial aviation and is a Captain with America West Airlines. Norm has a strong interest in public policy issues and is an advocate of self-help community change strategies and school reform. His priority is helping the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation and Jacobs Family Foundation develop the expertise and experience to find and nurture the best programs that break cycles of dependency. |
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Valerie Jacobs Hapke
Board Member
Jacobs Family Foundation,
Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation
Valerie Jacobs, is the founder of Family Philanthropy Resource, a group dedicated to providing consulting service to individual philanthropists and foundations. She has been a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist for over twenty-five years, specializing in the effects of wealth on relationships and personal wellbeing.
Recognized as an expert on wealth and philanthropy issues, Valerie was featured on the PBS program, ėMoney Matters with Adam Smithî. She has also been interviewed for numerous books and publications including Forbes, Ms. Magazine, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, Philanthropy, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, The Los Angeles Times and The San Diego Union.
Valerie is a nationally known speaker who has presented at several national conferences including those sponsored by the Council on Foundations, Philanthropy Roundtable, the Association of Small Foundations, and the Council of Jewish Federations. She has been featured in programs presented by San Diego Grantmakers, Northern and Southern California Grantmakers and the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
Valerie has conducted seminars nationally for trust companies, major investment firms and other financial institutions. She has also designed a series of conferences for women of wealth and wealthy families and has presented them throughout the country.
Board Member Valerie Jacobs Hapke is also involved in helping others develop effective approaches to family philanthropy. To learn more check out her website at: www.fpresource.com. |
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Andrew Hapke
Board Member
Jacobs Family Foundation,
Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation
Andrew is a graduate of Villanova University with a dual major in international business and economics. He also spent a semester at the University of Buenos Aires where he studied the Argentinean economic market and became fluent in Spanish. His passion is to use his background in economics to create long-term solutions to poverty. His experience includes an internship with Cedars Bank and a year-long Americorps volunteer role with ACCION San Diego, a non-profit organization that assists underserved entrepreneurs through micro-lending. |
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Jennifer Vanica
President and CEO
Jacobs Family Foundation,
Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation
Jennifer is a 25-year professional fundraiser with experience that spans the country, from grassroots organizing and planning to the development of complex public-private partnerships and multimillion-dollar campaigns. A creative strategist, Jennifer oversees the development and operation of both foundations. She was catalytic in increasing a non-profit organization's revenue from a half-million to $9 million in three years and is leading the effort to develop the resources to support the $23.5 million Market Creek Plaza project and the $250 million Market Creek Cultural Village. Recognized as San Diego's ėDevelopment Executive of the Year,î Jennifer has received numerous achievement awards and commendations. |
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Ron Cummings
Chief Operating Officer
Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation
Ron has 20 years of non-profit management experience. He developed three programs for at-risk youth, including a first-of-its-kind, in-home program using a neighborhood network model. He also served as program director for a 250-staff residential treatment center. Before joining the Jacobs Center, he served as a non-profit consultant providing technical assistance to both large multi-service agencies and grassroots start-ups, specializing in staff and program development. Ron has designed innovative training programs, including ìFinders Keepers,î an organizational values approach to staff hiring, evaluation, and retention. He is a founder and former board member of the San Diego Foundation for Change. He has served in the COO role for the Jacobs Center since 1995 developing and supervising its staff and programs. |
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