Working with individuals and organizations at both ends of the economic spectrum — from the very wealthy to the very poor — is what “gets me up in the morning and excited,” says Patricia Sinay. As associate vice president of the San Diego Foundation, one main aspect of her job is to build bridges between donors, who want to improve the community, and nonprofits, which are facing the realities of daily needs.

A UCLA political science graduate, Sinay, 36, grew up in Palos Verdes, near Los Angeles. Born in Mexico to a Peruvian mother and Argentinian father, she has found that multicultural family life and her political science degree prepared her well for her role in the foundation’s community partnerships department.

Before becoming a consultant to the organization, Sinay spent a year with the San Francisco Foundation. She came to San Diego in 1998, and soon the foundation, with its many programs, became her only client. A few months later, she became acting vice president, replacing a woman who was out for maternity leave. “She never came back,” Sinay says, “and I was made associate vice president.”

Last year, she was named a German Marshall Transatlantic Community Fellow, leading to travel to Vancouver, Canada, and later, as one of five Americans, to the Republic of Slovakia, where she consulted with five community foundations. She is a member of the San Diego Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Hispanics in Philanthropy and MANA, a Latina professional organization.

When Sinay has free time, she spends it rollerblading, hiking or sailing with Art Schmidt, her significant other. She names travel among her favorite pastimes. Her next planned trip is to visit family in Argentina for Thanksgiving. Last year, that holiday was spent with family in Peru.

— Sandy Pasqua