It is with a heavy heart that I share that our friend, colleague and funder, Dr. Beatriz Solis of The California Endowment passed away on Friday March 20, 2020.
Several of you know Bea personally and many of you are aware of her impact through TCE's Building Healthy Communities initiative and her stalwart support for strengthening public health capacity in California. Bea was a champion for undocumented people and immigrants with low income, for women and girls, and she was a heartfelt and brilliant dot connector and strategist. Inside TCE she was known for her leadership in helping to shape some of the Foundation's most critical and enduring work. Bea was an integral member of many organizations, serving on the board of Southern California Grantmakers and being of ongoing service to her alma mater, UCLA School of Public Health where she received both her masters and doctorate. Most recently, for PI, Bea was an avid supporter of our Healthy Equitable and Active Land Use Network, having been our keynote for our first ever HEALU summit and a consistent funder for as long as she was able.
I consider Bea a friend and a confidante, often looking to her for strategic and political advice. Bea was one of my recommenders for the Stanton Fellowship and I know that her confidence in me carried significant weight with the Durfee Foundation. Bea is someone that we could call on for strategic advice and last minute favors when we needed things to move and she would always do what she could to help move righteous causes forward. Go park equity victory!
I will miss Bea in ways large and small. I wavered about how to share this news, given how difficult things are as we all grapple with our individual, family and community wide response to coronavirus. But, just as she was able to do in life, Bea's brave struggle for health in spite of how cancer was impacting her reminds us that life is precious and no matter how dark the day or how seemingly stacked the odds, it's still worth applying ourselves to an active and hopeful fight.
In the time ahead, we will be looking for ways to show our love and respect for Bea's life and the legacy that she leaves us.
Here is the announcement from The California Endowment: TCE says Goodbye to a Colleague, Friend, and Sister. Rest in Peace Bea Solis.