If ever there was a perfect poster child for the Welfare to Work Small Business Owner of the Year award, Gale Walker is it.

In 1985, Walker quit her job with the Postal Service to move with her two children to San Diego to care for her dying mother. To make ends meet, Walker spent eight years on welfare.

That all changed when she opened Children of the Rainbow, a home-based child care center. But even achieving that dream wasn’t enough. In 1999, Walker opened a 7,000-square-foot child care facility in Logan Heights that is open from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m., seven days a week. The center accepts children from infants to teens so parents can leave all their children at one facility.

Walker's plan is to help other parents on welfare for whom flexible child care could make the critical difference in getting a job. Ninety-five percent of the center's clients are transitioning or have already transitioned off welfare.

The center now employs 36 people and serves more than 200 children. Almost half of the staff members are former welfare clients Walker has trained and given a job. She works closely with Cal Works and MAAC Project, who refer clients to her.

It’s no wonder Walker was recognized as the National Welfare to Work Entrepreneur last year. Even Vice President Al Gore has visited her business.

Today, Walker speaks to many groups about advancing the welfare to work initiative. Who could be a better example of the program's success? That's why she has been named the Welfare to Work Small Business Owner of the Year.