About Maria Gates
Foundation Director
Bachelor of Science from Indiana University Kelley School of Business, Bloomington, Indiana, in Engineering and Mathematics. Children’s Advocate, World Travel Photographer and Writer, Explorer, Rock Climber, Mountaineer, and Canyoneer.
After a 33 year career in marketing, advertising and commercial printing and also 33 years in San Diego Philanthropy with Big Brothers and Sisters, YWCA, Center for Community Solutions of which I was on the board of Directors, my focus has evolved into full time philanthropist, world traveler photographer and writer.
Mother of two children, Matthew (1988) and Alexandra (1990) born and raised in San Diego, California. Maria was born and raised in Chicago and Orland Park, Illinois and Valparaiso, Indiana I started traveling to Europe at the age of 3. My parents were immigrants from Holland, Europe and so world travel was just a part of my life and I fell in love with the excitement, mystery and curiosity of the diversified cultures and what they mean to our world and to me. This is truly my deep passion in life, to travel and help children at the same time.
How my orphanage work began; Traveling through Shangri-La, China in July of 2009, I was so intrigued by a Swiss German whom started a restaurant up in the Himalayans backing up to Tibet. I asked Sonny (Songtsen Gyalzur) “what ever brought you here to do a restaurant?”…and the story unveiled into a relationship with him, his family, and his beloved Mother , Tendol Gyalzur, whom started a Children’s home in Lhasa, Tibet and Shangri-La, China because she too is an orphan from Tibet, and is a close friend of mine.
You can read about Tendol’s and my journey story in the Children’s Work tab.
This has blossomed into working with 1 Orphanage in Lhasa, Tibet, 1 Orphanage in Shangri-La, China, one orphanage in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and three orphanages in Siem Reap, Cambodia and one orphanage in Viet Nam as of 2014.
Food, computers and sponsorships for Taramuhara Indians in Copper Canyon and Navajo Indians on the Navajo reservation in Arizona.
Donations to Children in Ethiopia.
The birth seed of Maria Gates’ passion that lead to the mission.
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