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Person

Rick Cruz

Occupation:

Former President and CEO, Arabella Advisors
Spouse:

Leslie Cruz
Residence:

Washington D.C

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Rick Cruz is the former president and CEO of Arabella Advisors, a left-of-center philanthropic consulting company that has been criticized for operating “dark money” groups such as Sixteen Thirty Fund, New Venture Fund, and Hopewell Fund. Advocacy funds managed by Arabella took in $635 million in revenue in 2018, a figure that rose to over $1.7 billion in 2020. 1 2 3 Cruz was appointed as president and CEO in 2022 former Arabella CEO Sampriti Ganguli stepping down from her position on April 15, 2022. In July 2023, Mark Willford was appointed as interim CEO of the organization. 4 5

Cruz has also worked as the vice president of Teach for America and as co-leader of Education and Youth Practice for FSG Inc. As of April 2022 he sits on the board of directors for Instruction Partners, is vice-chair of the board of directors for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, and is the treasurer of the board of directors for the D.C. Public Charter School Board. 6

Career

Rick Cruz attended Yale University between 1991 and 1995 to receive a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy. 7

After leaving Yale, Cruz began his career as a director of the health care consulting company The Advisory Board Company from 1995 until 1997. Cruz then joined Corporate Executive Board as a senior director from 1997 to 2007. The Corporate Executive Board, now known as Gartner, is a technology research and consulting firm. 8

Cruz joined Teach for America as its vice president from August 2007 until March 2010. Teach for America (TFA) is a teacher placement and training organization founded in 1990 by Wendy Kopp. TFA trains highly ranked undergraduate students in universities to teach in schools for two years. TFA has been criticized for a distinct shift from a cross-ideological policy of support for excellence in education toward prioritizing left-of-center ideological values in educational and non-educational issues alike. 9 10

Cruz was the first chief field officer at the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) from March 2010 until September 2012. After leaving NFTE he joined DC Prep, a network of public charter schools in Washington, D.C., and served as its chief executive officer from September 2012 until November 2013. 11

He became a fellow at the Pahara-Aspen Education Fellowship in February 2014. He also joined FSG Inc., also known as FSG Social Impact Advisors, as the co-leader of its Education and Youth Practice from May 2014 until May 2015. FSG is a left-of-center non-profit that provides charitable consulting services to corporations, schools, community organizations, government agencies, and private charitable foundations. 12

Cruz joined America’s Promise Alliance as its vice president from May 2015 until June 2017. He then became the executive director of strategic partnerships at The College Board in July 2017 before leaving the organization in January 2020. 13

Cruz joined the D.C. Public Charter School Board in September 2014 as the treasurer of its board of directors. He became the chair of the board of directors in February 2018 but returned to his position as treasurer in January 2022. He still holds this position as of April 2022. 14

He joined the non-profit organization Instruction Partners in June 2017 as a member of its board of directors, and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools in January 2021 as the vice-chair of its board of directors. Cruz holds both of these positions as of April 2022. 15

Arabella Advisors

Cruz joined Arabella Advisors, a left-of-center philanthropic consulting company, as its chief revenue officer in February 2020 before becoming its first president in January 2022. Arabella Advisors (commonly called “Arabella”) guides the strategy, advocacy, impact investing, and management for high-dollar left-leaning non-profits and individuals. Arabella provides these clients with several services that ease their operations and that enable them to enact policies focused on environmentalism and other left-of-center issues. Arabella has been criticized for operating “dark money” groups such as Sixteen Thirty Fund, New Venture Fund, and Hopewell Fund. The funds managed by Arabella took in $635 million in revenue in 2018, rising to $1.7 billion in 2020. 16 17 18 19

Cruz took the leadership role after former Arabella CEO Sampriti Ganguli announced she was stepping down from her position. Ganguli became a senior advisor to Arabella on April 15, 2022. According to Arabella, Cruz would maintain his leadership position as president at least until 2023, when the organization will decide on appointing a new CEO. 20 As of July 2023, Mark Willford was appointed as interim CEO of the organization, with Cruz no longer serving in a leadership role with the organization. 21

References

  1. “Rick Cruz Experiences.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 17, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-cruz-2498206/details/experience/.
  2. Ludwig, Hayden. “Arabella Advisors Dark Money Helped Democrats in the 2018 Midterms, Expect More in 2020.” Capital Research Center. March 18, 2020. Accessed April 17, 2022. capitalresearch.org/article/arabella-advisors-dark-money-helped-democrats-in-the-2018-midterms-expect-more-in-2020/.
  3. Thayer, Parker, and Hayden Ludwig. “Breaking: Arabella’s Left-Wing Activist Network Raked in $1.7 Billion in 2020-a ‘Dark Money’ Blowout.” Capital Research Center. Capital Research Center, November 22, 2021. https://capitalresearch.org/article/breaking-arabellas-left-wing-activist-network-raked-in-1-7-billion-in-2020-a-dark-money-blowout/
  4. “Appoints Rick Cruz as President, Announces Transition of Sampriti Ganguli.” Arabella Advisors. January 13, 2022. Accessed April 17, 2022. www.arabellaadvisors.com/blog/arabella-advisors-appoints-rick-cruz-as-president-announces-transition-of-sampriti-ganguli/.
  5. “Mark Willford.” Arabella Advisors, Accessed September 8, 2023. https://www.arabellaadvisors.com/directory/mark-willford/
  6. “Rick Cruz Experiences.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 17, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-cruz-2498206/details/experience/.
  7. “Rick Cruz Experiences.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 17, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-cruz-2498206/details/experience/.
  8. “Rick Cruz Experiences.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 17, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-cruz-2498206/details/experience/.
  9. “Rick Cruz Experiences.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 17, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-cruz-2498206/details/experience/.
  10. Ahmari, Sohrab. “How Teach for America Lost Its Way.” Commentary Magazine. October 17, 2017. Accessed April 17, 2022. www.commentary.org/articles/sohrab-ahmari/teach-america-lost-way/.
  11. “Rick Cruz Experiences.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 17, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-cruz-2498206/details/experience/.
  12. “Rick Cruz Experiences.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 17, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-cruz-2498206/details/experience/.
  13. “Rick Cruz Experiences.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 17, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-cruz-2498206/details/experience/.
  14. “Rick Cruz Experiences.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 17, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-cruz-2498206/details/experience/.
  15. “Rick Cruz Experiences.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 17, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-cruz-2498206/details/experience/.
  16. “Rick Cruz Experiences.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 17, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-cruz-2498206/details/experience/.
  17. Ludwig, Hayden. “Arabella Advisors Dark Money Helped Democrats in the 2018 Midterms, Expect More in 2020.” Capital Research Center. March 18, 2020. Accessed April 17, 2022. capitalresearch.org/article/arabella-advisors-dark-money-helped-democrats-in-the-2018-midterms-expect-more-in-2020/.
  18. “Arabella Advisors.” Devex. Accessed April 17, 2022. https://www.devex.com/organizations/arabella-advisors-62136.
  19. Thayer, Parker, and Hayden Ludwig. “Breaking: Arabella’s Left-Wing Activist Network Raked in $1.7 Billion in 2020-a ‘Dark Money’ Blowout.” Capital Research Center. Capital Research Center, November 22, 2021. https://capitalresearch.org/article/breaking-arabellas-left-wing-activist-network-raked-in-1-7-billion-in-2020-a-dark-money-blowout/.
  20. “Appoints Rick Cruz as President, Announces Transition of Sampriti Ganguli.” Arabella Advisors. January 13, 2022. Accessed April 17, 2022. www.arabellaadvisors.com/blog/arabella-advisors-appoints-rick-cruz-as-president-announces-transition-of-sampriti-ganguli/.
  21. “Mark Willford.” Arabella Advisors, Accessed September 8, 2023. https://www.arabellaadvisors.com/directory/mark-willford/

Connected Organizations

  1. Arabella Advisors (For-profit)
    Former President and Chief Executive Officer
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