As a proud graduate of Prairie View A&M University, I'm thrilled to return to my "home away from home" in Texas to begin my role as Grants and Operations Assistant with the Trellis Foundation. Returning to Texas is an opportunity to be closer to family and to give back to a state and community that shaped me in my young adulthood. This position marks the next step in my philanthropy career after six years supporting communications, programs, and grantmaking at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona (CFSA) in Tucson. 

My path into philanthropy was unexpected; something many in the field can relate to. After graduating from Syracuse University with a master's in public relations and relocating to Tucson, I searched for opportunities to put my degree to use. Months later, I stumbled upon an event hosted by the local community foundation. Taking a chance, I reached out to CFSA about a potential internship; instead, I was offered a position as social media and events coordinator.  

In my first few months, I shadowed the Community Impact team on site visits across the region to capture their work and communicate their efforts to the foundation's network of stakeholders. Seeing their efforts with local nonprofits and community leaders ignited my interest in grantmaking and programmatic work, ultimately shaping the direction of my career. 

I didn't fully understand what a community foundation was before joining CFSA, but I did remember receiving a scholarship from the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands as an undergraduate student. That scholarship made it possible for me to stay in school and focus on my studies. As an out-of-state student coming all the way from the U.S. Virgin Islands, this alleviated the constant anxiety about having to go back home.  

Attending Prairie View A&M University as an undergraduate turned out to be one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. As a marching band member and a student ambassador for the university, I traveled throughout the country as a representative of my school. I gained meaningful experiences through volunteering and serving the local community and took my first steps toward becoming civically engaged. I attended the university during a time when students frequently found ourselves protesting for access to early voting at our local polling station and speaking out against police violence. I left PV with a deep understanding of my responsibility to make the world around me better.  

Just a few months after joining CFSA, I received the opportunity of a lifetime when a Program Manager position opened. It was not only a chance to become a grantmaker but also to manage the foundation's scholarship portfolio, allowing me to give back in the same way I'd once been supported as an undergraduate. I saw myself many times in the experiences of my scholarship students, many of whom were balancing work, parenting, caring for aging relatives, and more while pursuing their dreams.  

At the heart of my work has always been a desire to simplify processes and remove barriers for grant recipients, and learning about trust-based philanthropy gave me a framework to do exactly that. I wanted them to see us as partners in our work and find ways to remove systemic barriers that often prevent the people who needed it most from receiving adequate support, and when I became Director for Community Impact at CFSA, one of my main priorities was to implement a trust-based framework for our grantmaking and operations.  

I'm grateful to have been part of an organization where internal trust allowed our team to explore new approaches that better served the community. What excites me most about joining the Trellis Foundation is its clear commitment to equity and integrity. I see another meaningful opportunity to support students through philanthropy and to help improve processes alongside a team that cares deeply about the Foundation's mission. I'm eager to bring the lessons I've learned to work that continues to grow, evolve, and impact the hundreds of thousands of students pursuing postsecondary education in Texas.

Jeaiza Quiñones joined the Trellis Foundation in 2025 after six years with the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona in Tucson. At CFSA, she first supported the foundation as a social media and events coordinator. From there she developed a passion for program management and grants administration, transitioning to support competitive grant and scholarship programs as a community impact manager and then overseeing the foundation’s community impact strategy as its senior director for community impact. She currently serves as co-chair of PEAK Grantmaking’s Black Caucus. In her free time, Jeaiza is an avid reader and is passionate about supporting literacy and access to books. She volunteers as a social media manager, photographer, and co-chair of the marketing committee for the Tucson Festival of Books. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Prairie View A&M University and a master’s degree in communications with an emphasis in public relations from Syracuse University.