Paso Robles Youth Arts Center welcomes new director of fund development
Barby Wunsch.
Education advocate to raise funds for free youth arts program
– Paso Robles Youth Arts Center has announced the hiring of Fund Development Director Barby Wunsch. A longtime resident of Templeton, Wunsch joins Youth Arts with deep commitment to the arts, education, and other causes, along with extensive fundraising expertise to benefit them.
During her early career as a teacher across several grade levels in public and private school settings, Wunsch says she recognized the value of grant funding in providing services. Transitioning into fund development 12 years ago, she worked with GRID Alternatives, a nonprofit installer of clean energy technologies, and Hartnell College, a public community college in Salinas, generating millions of dollars through grants and donations.
Wunsch is currently board president for the Templeton Education Foundation where she has raised funds for the past seven years. Starting out with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and a master’s in education, she says her career has come full circle at the youth arts center, where many under-resourced students have their first exposure to the arts. Because children’s development is positively linked to arts education, participation in the center’s classes helps these young students develop critical life skills for a changing world.
