Saúl Valdez oversees grants that increase college persistence, two-year transfer and bachelor’s degree completion for students from underserved backgrounds. He pioneered the Foundation’s Men of Color Initiative, a first-of-its-kind $20 million grantmaking strategy to support colleges in adopting equity-centered programs for males of color.

Prior to joining ECMC Foundation, Saúl worked with Seattle Foundation's philanthropic advising team where he advised a portfolio of donors and philanthropic partners and managed a youth grantmaking board. Previously, Saúl worked at the Seattle Region Partnership and served as the program manager for the Latin American Association in Georgia. He is an alumnus of Coro’s Lead LA fellowship program and Hispanics in Philanthropy’s (HIP) Líderes fellowship program.

Saúl currently serves on the Board of Directors for HIP.  He holds a master of arts in public administration with a nonprofit management certificate from the University of Washington and a bachelor of science in international business and bachelor of arts in Spanish from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.