Bonnie Baha Memorial Scholarships Awarded to Estrellita Salazar and Crystal Guerrero

PASADENA, Calif., Aug. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pasadena Community Foundation (PCF) is pleased to announce the award of the annual Bonnie Baha Memorial Scholarship to Estrellita Salazar and Crystal Guerrero.

Both scholarship recipients are Los Angeles residents enrolled in finance-related graduate-degree programs at the Gordon S. Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California. The Bonnie Baha Memorial scholarships will be applied to their tuition at USC.

Ms. Salazar, who is pursuing a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and Accounting, was awarded a $10,000 scholarship.

Ms. Guerrero, who is pursuing a Master of Science in Finance, was awarded a $5,000 scholarship.

Bonnie Baha was a resident of the Greater Pasadena area and a senior portfolio manager and partner of the asset management firm DoubleLine Capital LP. She passed away at age 56 on August 21, 2016. Widely respected for her expertise in corporate credit and fixed income investing, Ms. Baha was devoted to promoting the entry and advancement of women in the financial sector.

With the support of friends and family of Ms. Baha, PCF established and administers the charitable fund in her memory to help address the underrepresentation of women professionals in the financial sector. The fund provides at least one $10,000 scholarship each year to an outstanding woman pursuing a graduate degree in business with plans to pursue a career in finance. Candidates are considered from women enrolled full-time in a finance-related Master's degree at the University of Southern California. (Ms. Baha received her Master of Business Administration at USC.)

This year's two scholarship recipients were selected from a pool of 10 highly qualified applicants. All the candidates had been accepted into full-time Master's degree programs in business administration, accounting or finance at USC. The awards were decided by vote of a selection committee made up of four professionals involved in the financial sector, each of whom personally knew Ms. Baha. The committee members are: Miriam Baha, daughter of Ms. Baha, marketing operations associate at Kayne Andersen Capital Advisors; Monica Erickson, CFA, portfolio manager and head of the investment-grade corporate bond team at DoubleLine Capital LP; Mary Childs, author and senior reporter at Barron's magazine; and Melissa Weiler, managing director at asset manager Crescent Capital.

The committee members consider academic merit, work history and financial need among the factors in choosing recipients of the scholarship. The committee found Ms. Guerrero and Ms. Salazar fulfilled all scholarship criteria and were exceptionally qualified by virtue of their academic and personal achievements.

Ms. Salazar previously worked at Tzar Equities, a real estate investment firm, and at MetLife Investments, where she helped evaluate non-investment grade private debt investment opportunities. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Georgetown University, where she was involved with Smart Woman Securities and D.C. Reads. Ms. Salazar currently volunteers at Step Up, a non-profit organization supporting girls from under-resourced communities.

Ms. Guerrero graduated from University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics/Actuarial Science. She later went on to pursue a Master of Science in Applied Mathematics at California State University, Los Angeles with the hopes of sharing her interest in mathematics with her community. Ms. Guerrero dedicated the past three years to teaching mathematics at community colleges around the Los Angeles area. She managed a STEM Success Center at Citrus College in Glendora, CA while assisting in the implementation of AB 705 legislation at the ground level. AB 705 is a law that requires California community colleges to maximize the probability that a student will enter and complete transfer-level coursework in English and math within a one-year timeframe. Now Ms. Guerrero has decided to pursue her passion in finance and is eager to begin a career in Corporate Finance.

About the Pasadena Community Foundation

Pasadena Community Foundation (PCF) is a tax-exempt public charity created by and for the people of Pasadena. Managing more than $80 million in charitable assets, PCF works with individuals, families, and organizations to establish philanthropic funds, create and build endowment funds, and distribute charitable gifts to nonprofit organizations across the country. PCF holds more than 350 funds, and has granted more than $90 million since its founding in 1953. In addition to donor-directed grants and scholarships, PCF makes annual grants in six areas: arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services, and youth. These grants are restricted to Pasadena-area nonprofits to enrich the community and provide vital services to vulnerable residents. PCF is Pasadena's permanent endowment for public good, building hometown legacies that benefit our community now and for decades to come. For more information about PCF, please visit our website at pasadenacf.org.

Donors interested in contributing to the Bonnie Baha Scholarship Fund may visit the Bonnie Baha Memorial Scholarship page on PCF's website or contact Johanna Clark at the Foundation at [email protected].

Media Contact:

Johanna Clark
Development and Communications Manager
Pasadena Community Foundation
301 E. Colorado Blvd. Ste 810
Pasadena, CA 91101
(626) 796-2097 x 8
[email protected]

SOURCE Pasadena Community Foundation

Related Links

https://pasadenacf.org