AUBURN - The Auburn Educational Foundation has a new leader.

Last week, the foundation board voted unanimously to appoint Annette Abdelaziz as its executive director.

“I'm excited. This is a huge challenge for me,” she said. “There are a lot of aspects I'm comfortable and familiar with, but there are some things that are new to me.”

Abdelaziz, previously the grants manager for the county health department, has a background in program management from conception to implementation as well as in youth development, she said.

In her new position, she will explore professional areas such as administration and setting and following through with long term goals, she said.

One of her long term goals is to further embed youth development in the foundation's mission.

“I want to include youth in the process,” she said. “Not just provide services for youth. but also engage youth to develop their own opportunities.”

The foundation, a nonprofit established in 2003, provides funding to educators in the Auburn public schools by way of competitive grants. Projects must fall within at least one of six program areas - academics, arts, character education, life skills, physical education and wellness and technology. The proposal must be outside the regular district budget.

Leslie Leary had, up until this fall, served as a consultant for the foundation while also working for the district in a public relations capacity, said board member Kathy McLane.

But last year, the board saw a need to hire someone full-time to exclusively lead the foundation.

“We felt that, as we matured and grew and enhanced our mission, we needed someone who could devote all the time to the foundation,” McLane said.

“We're looking forward and anticipate (Abdelaziz's) direction and lead us into further development and growth and provide more and more support programs for our students and teachers,” she added.

Abdelaziz said there has been quite a partnership between the community and the school, and they will continue to foster that partnership.

“We have wonderful resources in the community, so why not merge them together?” she said.

Abdelaziz's arrival comes just a month before the foundation holds its annual fundraiser, Winter Magic, featuring the Mario DeSantis Orchestra.

The gala will be held from 7 p.m. to midnight Saturday, March 1 at the Springside Inn, in Fleming.

The cost is $75 per person. All proceeds will benefit the foundation.

Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or alyssa.sunkin@lee.net