About
Strategy rooted in story. Expertise built over 25 years.
Every mission-driven organization I have ever worked with carries the same tension: the world as it is, and the world as it should be.
I was born to live in that tension.
It is where my faith lives. It is where my work lives. And it is where I believe the most important things happen, in the space between what exists and what is possible, when the right people, the right resources, and the right stories come together.
Candela exists to help organizations resource that work, tell that story, and invite others to be part of closing the gap.
The Name
I named this firm Candela because that is what I believe strategy should do: illuminate what is already there. The mission, the stories, the relationships, the generosity, it is all there. My job is to help you see it clearly, and help others see it too.
The Work
For more than 25 years, I've had the privilege of working for spectacular nonprofit organizations: faith-based and secular, local, statewide, and national in scope. I've served on teams of one, teams of ten, and teams of hundreds. Along the way, I've learned so much: building programs and executing them, collaborating with teams, developing leadership, planning, ensuring sustainability, marketing missions, and building the infrastructure that lets organizations thrive.
I've also had the opportunity to sit on both sides of the funding table, reviewing grant requests as well as asking for them. There is something deeply meaningful about connecting generous donors with transformational work that fulfills them, work that makes their giving feel less like a transaction and more like a calling met.
Born in El Salvador, I am bilingual in English and Spanish, with deep experience serving diverse communities. I put my passion and skills behind mission. Every organization I partner with has a mission I would give my own time and treasure to support.
Credentials & Expertise
- Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE)
- MA, Pastoral Ministry, St. Thomas University
- BS, Communications/Public Relations, University of Texas at Austin
- Raiser's Edge NXT / Blackbaud · Constant Contact · AI-integrated development workflows
Specialty Areas
Philosophy
“Every aspect of running an organization is already fund development. My job is to help you see it that way.”
I have never believed that fund development lives in its own corner of an organization. The way a program is run, the way a story is told, the way a team is led, the way a donor is thanked, none of it stands apart from development. It is development. Every touchpoint is a relationship, and every relationship is an invitation toward generosity, whether we call it that or not. My work is to help organizations see those connections clearly and strengthen them on purpose, so that the whole mission, not just the ask, moves people to give.
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