Ezequiel Olvera

Ezequiel Olvera founded and runs the Gumball Foundation, a social entrepreneurial venture that teaches the values of creativity and entrepreneurship while helping students earn money for college. Using a hands-on approach, Olvera partners the students with local small businesses and corporate offices to manage their micro-venture. He founded the organization in 2009 and it has already garnered prestigious awards including the California Community Foundation’s 2013 Unsung Heroes of Los Angeles Award, the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2012 Social Enterprise of the Year and was nominated for an L.A. Emmy Award in 2013. In 2005, Olvera joined Antonio Villaraigosa¹s mayoral campaign serving on special projects. He also co-managed the campaign office andserved as an aide to the future mayor. Working on the campaign afforded Ezequiel the opportunity to meet labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta. Olvera graduated from UCSC in the spring of 2007 with a bachelor of arts in business management and economics and a minor in Latin American Latino studies. Mr. Olvera is also a lifetime member of the UCSC alumni association and part of UC Santa Cruz 50th Anniversary Leadership Committee, UC Santa Cruz Social Science Board and was the Keynote Speaker for the Multi Cultural Career Conference and Scholarship Benefit Dinner.