Until Feb. 1, 2023, we were Group Health Foundation. This post was written under our former identity. To learn more about our new name, read our announcement here.
Adelina on a suspension bridge in a nature preserve outside of Panajachel, Guatemala.
Adelina Solís is the first to admit her path to philanthropy wasn’t exactly linear. “I feel like some people have a very clear experience or identity that shapes their career path,” Adelina says. “I don’t totally feel that way about my story. I haven’t stuck with one issue, but our communities are not affected by a single issue. So for me, it sounds simple, but really I just want to do good.”
Originally from Houston, Adelina has been living in the Pacific Northwest for almost a decade. In her most recent professional roles, she was a program associate and then as the grantee network manager for the Washington New Americans program at OneAmerica, a Seattle-based nonprofit focused on power-building in immigrant and refugee communities.
While there, she managed the annual distribution of grants to organizations throughout Washington, including reviewing grant proposals, making award decisions, and executing new contracts. She was also responsible for processing monthly reports, managing program data throughout the year, and preparing the program’s annual report.
“People used to laugh at how adoringly I spoke about my spreadsheets,” she jokes, but goes on to explain, “I ended up creating a new system, both for how grantees submitted their reports and how we compiled it into a dashboard. Creating that efficiency, accessibility, utility—so the data was actively helpful—is something I am really proud of, especially because it is something that can continue to serve the program even now that I have left.”
She shares, “both of my parents studied biology, and that really shaped how they raised me, and how I look at things. I learned to be curious and be systematic, and to look for answers. I studied art and then linguistics, but those early lessons, and the spirit of lifelong learning, still guide me.”
As a grants and data administrator with Group Health Foundation, Adelina will continue to challenge herself and hone her skills managing grants and optimizing data. She’s looking forward to sharpening and growing her abilities while strengthening GHF’s data management system. As she sees it, her efforts will benefit all the work that flows out of the grantmaking process and all the communities it affects.
But learning and refining a new system is not her only driving factor; Adelina also feels a responsibility to share her power with others, something she feels is possible at GHF. “A sticky part of grants and philanthropy has been who is in a position to give money and decide what is worthy. Group Health recognizes this, and that really appealed to me. In this role, I hope I can help build a new story about philanthropy and what it can be.”
Outside of work, Adelina pursues an array of hobbies, from knitting and crocheting and other creative pursuits, to enjoying the big and small of the great outdoors. She’s an avid reader, and also loves to cook and bake. In recent years she has begun branching out from recipes to make her own culinary creations. “My scones are probably my biggest hit, but I feel like my real talent is transforming dinner leftovers to make delicious breakfasts.”
