Patti Mason, president of Acción San Diego, sees the agency expanding to cover more Southern California communities. (photo/alandeckerphoto.com)

While there are a few things she might do differently, Patti Mason looks back with pride on what Acción San Diego has accomplished since she joined the nonprofit micro-lender in 1997. The holder of an accounting degree from the University of Northern Colorado, Mason’s first assignment was to straighten out the agency’s finances. She was prepared for the task, having worked in auditing, sales and accounting for companies that include United Airlines and Sara Lee Corp. At Acción, she oversaw daily operations, finance and budgeting, then was promoted to director of operations, vice president and was named president in March 2002.

Under her leadership, she points to reduced loss and delinquency rates among the group’s top achievements, which are now pegged at about 5 percent annually. She says Acción also has increased its self-sufficiency around 20 percent to 50 percent, generating enough money in loan interest and fees to offset about half the operating budget of the Downtown-based agency that provides credit to low-income business owners.

Acción also has worked to find new funding sources, opened a satellite office in Orange County and is planning to hire a third loan officer to work exclusively in North San Diego County.

For Mason, 50, the achievements have come at the personal cost of late nights at the office and infrequent vacations. If she had it to do over, she says, she might not have worked so many hours.

Mason enjoys watching Acción clients build their businesses, income and self-esteem, and some of that entrepreneurial spirit seems to have rubbed off. “That’s kind of what I want to do when I retire, start a small business,” she says. Mason has four cats, and says a pet hotel is one of the ideas she’s kicked around.

She also is proud of some of the awards she and Acción have received, which this year have included an Excellence in Business and Leadership award from the Youth Advocacy/Innocent Addicts Program, and a Strategic Partners award from CitiBank.

“It makes my mom really proud when I call her in Chicago,” she says.

Over the next 10 years, she envisions Accion San Diego branching out to cover more Southern California communities, including Riverside and San Bernardino counties, while continuing to try to reach more struggling entrepreneurs in San Diego.

“I do think there’s a lot more people we can help,” she says.