This is the third interview in this month’s series celebrating the leadership of Hispanics in the nonprofit sector. I’m profiling several nonprofit leaders I admire for the impact they make on their communities every day.

In my experiences working in fundraising, it’s not a rare thing to meet a program officer at a foundation who has never worked in a nonprofit organization, and doesn’t immediately seem to understand the work that we do. That is refreshingly not the case with Danielle Reyes, Program Officer at the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation located in Washington, DC. A former nonprofit Executive Director, teacher, and Peace Corps volunteer, she understands the unique challenges nonprofits face. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Danielle through my DC nonprofit work, committees we’ve served on together, and, of course, Facebook. If I had to describe Danielle in one word, it would be: thoughtful. She is always thinking about how to connect organizations, people, and resources for the greater cause. She sees the big picture of social justice and our Washington, DC nonprofit community is much better for it.

Over the last 17 years Danielle Reyes has worked on issues concerning low-income, minority, and immigrant populations, with an emphasis on education. Before joining the Meyer Foundation, Ms. Reyes served as executive director of the Latino Student Fund.  She also worked as a senior program specialist for the national nonprofit, Reading Is Fundamental.  Prior to working in the nonprofit sector, Ms. Reyes spent several years teaching as a public school teacher, a university instructor, and as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco. Ms. Reyes received her bachelor’s degree in English and in Spanish from the University of Michigan. She also holds a master’s degree in teaching English as a foreign language from Manhattanville College and a master’s degree in administration, planning, and social policy from Harvard University. Ms. Reyes was a Council on Foundation’s Emerging Philanthropic Leaders Fellow 2005-2007. She is the Vice Chair of the board of directors of Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy.  She is the founding Chair of the Metropolitan DC Hispanics in Philanthropy Funders’ Collaborative.

Check out my full interview with Danielle after the jump…

to read the full article, click on the following link: http://rosettathurman.com/blog/2009/10/celebrating-hispanic-heritage-month-meet-danielle-reyes-program-officer-at-eugene-agnes-meyer-foundation/