Staff: Israel Pena

Israel Peña is a recent Portland transplant originally from Austin, Texas. He learned the power of mentorship when he served in the military for 12 years. After leaving the US Army, he attended Concordia University in Central Texas where he earned his BAAS in Business. Seeing the impact of helping the community, he pursued a career in non-profit when he got his start at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas, where he quickly picked up valuable insight into donor CRM tools and stewardship. Israel now has 7 years of experience in non-profit development where he leverages his technical skills to translate donor data into actionable strategy. As an active member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Israel pursues professional growth and opportunities that help him create stronger donor data integrity. Israel joined Friends of the Children in May of 2026 as the Gifts Processing and Donor Database Manager.

Israel enjoys chasing waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge on the weekends and hunting down the best cold brew coffee in Portland to fuel his hobby of storytelling through tabletop role playing games.