Jose Cruz | CEO, San Diego Council on Literacy

In this awesome eighty-fourth episode of The Gap Minders, we sat down with the iconic Jose Cruz himself, the CEO of the San Diego Council on Literacy!

In an episode which features a turn of the tables, Nancy L. Sasaki interviews her co-host, the inimitable Jose Cruz, the CEO of the San Diego Council on Literacy, a model urban literacy coalition. He has 38 years of experience in the literacy field and is known for his accomplishments in supporting collaborative literacy efforts on national, statewide, regional, and local levels. He was the recipient of the 2003 San Diego Union-Tribune, “Educator of the Year” award. In 2014, he was recognized by The Union-Tribune as the Civic Leader of the Year through the Latino Champions Awards. In the following year, he was named to the San Diego High School, “Wall of Honor.” Cruz is also a past-president of the San Diego Lions Club. He is a native San Diegan, a graduate of the University of Southern California, and a proud product of the San Diego Community College District.

Having developed an early passion for reading through sports books, Jose longs for the day when kids would line up for the book mobile! Until that day arrives, he is focised on resources for children, families, and adults by way of book distribution and support for the Council’s 35 affiliated members. And, given the state of literacy, there is no rest for Jose and the team. Fortunately, Jose thinks there is a revolution taking place on all elements of the literacy challenge in America – from teacher training and family support to access to books and finances.

You’ll really enjoy this incredible episode which amplifies the excellent work of the San Diego Council on Literacy. Here are some other takeaways from the interview:

• There are many resource gaps which impact literacy, from books and family finances to health care and absenteeism
• The strong correlation between adult literacy and childhood literacy
• The impact and cost of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program
• The adult literacy challenge in San Diego, estimated at 20%

An excellent interview from a passionate gap minder. Thank you, Jose, for your contributions in San Diego, your leadership of the San Diego County on Literacy, and for joining us on The Gap Minders, the very show for which you are the Founding Co-Host!

Enjoy this episode and be sure to subscribe to the show.

If you have any questions or want to contact Nancy or Jose, please send an email to podcast@uwsd.org. Thank you for listening.

To learn more about the two social impact organizations making The Gap Minders possible, please visit www.TheGapMinders.org.