PPEP And Affiliates Corporation
PPEP AND AFFILIATES CORPORATION
In 1967, the Portable Practical Educational Preparation, Inc. (PPEP) was formed by Dr. John David Arnold and three original incorporators: Mercy Teso, Gertha Brown, and Ted Turkin. The actual date of incorporation was December 10, 1969, above the old fire station in Nogales, Arizona.
In 1975, PPEP, Inc. formed the PPEP Housing Development Corporation (PMHDC) as its affordable housing and economic development arm. This was at the request of our funder to have housing as a separate board. There are no interlocking members. PPEP’s cognizant agency United States Department of Labor (USDOL) recognized both entities as completely separate as USDOL contracts with both entities PPEP and PMHDC as separate entities since 1980.
Over the years, other entities were formed for specific projects. For example, the PPEP Senior Housing Services Corporation (PSHSC) was formed specifically to build the La Ramona Morales Senior Independent living (31 units) in Benson, Arizona. Later the PPEP First American Services Corporation was formed for a specific advocacy role for the Native (First) Americans (FARS). The for-profit arm of PPEP is PPEP Rural Business Development Corporation (PRBDC) that gives PPEP’s mission the flexibility to have for-profit venues.
Other boards formed over the years are primarily for the on-line education schools (K-12) in Arizona and California. The PPEP California and PHDC California were formed in Brawley, California, in 1985 for a specific grant purpose that was not funded. Therefore, they remained vacant until five (5) years ago, when Insight a subsidiary of the University of Phoenix approached PPEP to form a partnership to start an on-line high school in the Los Angeles area. In 2002, K-12, Inc. approached PPEP, Inc. about a similar partnership to start an online Kindergarten – High School program in Arizona. This L.L.C. is known as the Arizona Virtual Academy (AZVA). All of the above are separate boards of directors, but these boards all have a common interest to improve the quality of life of those we have the privilege of serving. The PPEP Foundation was created as the arm for PPEP to secure major donations such as trusts, endowments, real property, equipment, and other donations.
The Board of Directors are highly qualified due to their professional experience to carry out the wishes of the donors. PPEP, Inc. has an excellent track record with accountability and very clean consistent audits.
THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
- Paul Diaz , PPEP President
- Edgar Granillo, PMHDC President
- Gertha Brown-Hurd, PSHSC President
- Gloria Williams, PRBDC President
- Francisco Valencia, FARS President
- Arnold Palacios, PPEP Foundation President
PPEP AND AFFILIATES CORPORATION AND COMMITTEES
The various listed corporations share the common mission, “To improve the quality of rural life.” These same corporations are populated with visionary and committed board members. They bring to the table their expertise, professional experience, and resources to impact our entire service delivery area.
Furthermore, we use their expertise to provide governance, oversight, and direction to the staff responsible for carrying out the “mission” and their directives.
Board members range from a farmworker background to a PhD with everything in between. Also, there are members representative of community based groups with a similar mission that seek to be part of PPEP, Inc. activities. This diversity insures that the policies developed have relevance to, and community based input from those it seeks to serve. To further enhance the grassroots contact, the various boards can form committees such as the refugees, veterans, and youth committees for direct impact. Also, there exists a finance, human resources, and loan review committee to provide direction and input to the overall board and agency operations. Finally, 46 years plus of rural experience and constant input from the grass roots community insures a great platform for present and future success.
