Joanna Rosales

Senior Program Specialist | Funding Team

Born and raised in Sonoma, CA, Joanna is the youngest of three girls. Growing up, summers were spent in her backyard pool, autumns were for watching 49er Football, and winters were in Lake Tahoe. Special weekends consisted of going to San Francisco with activities like taking in a 49er game at Candlestick Park and going back-to-school shopping at the Esprit outlet store. Joanna moved to San Francisco in the mid-90s to attend San Francisco State University (SFSU) and never looked back. Shortly after graduating, she began her nonprofit career at Juma Ventures managing their stadium operations, which was a perfect fit for her background and personality. She left Juma to become a mom to her first-born daughter Layla. Being a stay-at-home mom was not her calling, and when Layla was two years old, Joanna decided to return to the world of work and was hired at Jewish Vocational Service (JVS). She spent 8 years at JVS, and her family grew with the addition of two more daughters (Ramona and Sofia). Joanna earned her Master’s and began working on her doctorate. In 2014, she started working at DCYF and shortly after completed her doctorate degree. DCYF has been an ideal fit for Joanna, allowing her to watch her kids grow up and thrive in community programming that DCYF offers.

What inspires you to do this work?

Realizing the impact these programs have on young people’s lives inspires me. I’ve seen the impact first-hand. Truly making a better place for my kids to grow up in.

DCYF’s tagline is “Making San Francisco a Great Place to Grow Up.” Do you believe this? Tell us why.

I wholeheartedly believe in the work DCYF does with the community and I want San Francisco to be the best place to grow up in. I feel I have a personal, vested interest in this tagline. My three daughters have always been enrolled in SFUSD. They take part in many of the programs DCYF funds.