Dr. Kizzy Lopez (Renaissance Scholars Program) recently accepted a position at Fresno Pacific University, where she will be an assistant professor in the Social Work Department. She plans to continue her research examining the needs of students in college who experienced the foster care system or homelessness; she will be teaching future social workers.

The campus will miss Kizzy! She contributed much to the University over her years of service here.

On campus, Kizzy was the founding coordinator of the Renaissance Scholars Program, which was established in 2008. The program supports students who experienced foster care or homelessness and are attending Fresno State. She has over 11 years of experience in higher education, designing services for underrepresented student populations, particularly with those who had involvement with foster care or had homeless backgrounds.

Nationally, only 3% of youth who experienced foster care earn a bachelor’s degree. Through Kizzy’s leadership and commitment, the graduation rate for students in Renaissance Scholars Program is 35%. Many alumni have gained highly successful careers as CEOs of non-profits, administrators in higher education, business owners, social workers, teachers, counselors, and/or are working toward their doctoral degrees.

Kizzy’s passion is fueled by her personal experiences as a former foster youth and her experiences with homelessness while attending community college. She knows first-hand the challenges her students encounter and has dedicated her professional and academic work to improving the educational outcomes for these youth.

While at Fresno State, Kizzy sat on multiple committees and advisory boards in the fields of child welfare and higher education locally and statewide. She was also active in policy change in California and advocated for priority registration at public colleges and universities for students who experienced foster care. Kizzy also advocated for state financial assistance to support rapid rehousing for students in the CSU experiencing homelessness.

Kizzy said that her faith in God has sustained her through many difficult times in her life. Isaiah 1:17 has been an important scripture that guided her practice and scholarship, “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”

Kizzy was born on the Naval Air Station in Lemoore and raised in California. She has been married for 19 wonderful years to Carlos Lopez and they have two beautiful children, Tyrell and Amaya.