Unknowingly, 2 Sonoma Valley Rotary Clubs name Maite Iturri 2023 Paul Harris Fellow

Whether it’s helping students struggling to learn English or supplying families with food, Maite Iturri is known for helping overlooked residents of Sonoma Valley.

A former principal at El Verano Elementary School, Iturri also co-founded Comida Para Todos/Food For All, which helps feed families in need.

For all her efforts, two of Sonoma Valley’s three Rotary Clubs recognized Iturri with one of their highest honors this month. It was a sweet coincidence that she was selected as the 2023 Paul Harris Fellow awardee by both the Rotary Club of Sonoma Valley and the Rotary Club of Sonoma Springs. Neither club knew the other also had chosen Iturri, and she was more surprised than anyone by the double recognition.

When the Sonoma Valley club invited her for lunch at their Jan. 4 meeting, she thought it was just that — lunch.

“Dave Meeks, who was a past president of the Rotary and was a volunteer at El Verano where I was the principal for many, many years, got up and he said, ‘Oh, I have this award to present — Paul Harris,’ and I thought ‘Oh, how nice somebody’s gonna get an award.’ And then he said ‘Maite Iturri,’“ Iturri said.

Before that meeting, the Springs club had asked her to give a presentation about her work with Comida Para Todos/Food For All, an all-volunteer nonprofit that distributes food and other basic necessities to local people in need. Iturri is one of 12 founding members of the organization.

On Jan. 12, as she began setting up at the Finnish American Home Association, she saw her family and some friends walk into the room. Then a familiar scene began to unfold. Club member Mara Kahn surprised her with the Paul Harris Fellow recognition. With tears in her eyes, Iturri gave another speech, thanking everyone she could remember in the moment, which was easier the second time with one acceptance speech already under her belt.

“The fact that both of the clubs recognized her in the same week is a testament to what she does in the Valley,” Kahn said. “It’s really quite amazing.”

Iturri spent 25 years working in the Sonoma Valley Unified School District before taking a position with Petaluma City Schools in 2021. During her 15 years as principal at El Verano Elementary School, she created a Family Resource Center to provide parents with mental health services.

“A school is a safe space for many people. It’s an access point to services and resources, particularly in communities that may be more vulnerable and underserved,” Iturri said.

Getting parents involved in their children’s education was always a goal for Iturri, after growing up in San Francisco with an immigrant father who struggled to engage with her schooling. As an educator and principal at a school where the student population is overwhelmingly Latino and from low-income homes, removing barriers and creating an accessible campus was high on her list of priorities.

“I do believe in a community approach to educating children, that our schools mirror our community,” Iturri said. “If our community is healthy and well, and our families are healthy and well, our schools will be healthy and well.”

Before her role as principal, Iturri taught in bilingual positions in Napa and in classrooms at Sonoma Valley High School, Altimira Middle School and Flowery Elementary, where she helped to start Sonoma’s first dual-immersion program. She also served as the district’s summer school principal at the high school and the K-12 summer coordinator. Over the last decade of her tenure, she raised over $7 million in grants for the district and her school.

After leaving the local school district, she remained closely intertwined with the Valley, especially the Springs.

Iturri’s work with Comida Para Todos/Food For All began after the 2017 wildfires but ramped up in the pandemic, when thousands were laid off and needed help getting meals on the table. Fiscally sponsored by the North Bay Organizing Project, the organization relies on its team of 60 volunteers. The organization has fed an estimated 5,000 families, approximately 22,500 people, since its creation.

Rotary Club members have seen Iturri’s impact first-hand. Kahn, who nominated Iturri for the award with the Springs club, remembers bringing her dog, Fenway Bark, to join her while she read to third graders at El Verano when Iturri was principal.

“The things that she believes in are the things that I believe in,” Kahn said. “She’s just always a great resource. Any time you need advice on the Springs, she knows it. I just thinks she’s one of the most invaluable people to the community.”

Iturri said the awards were humbling for her, twice.

“When you’re acknowledged and recognized for something, it’s a pretty emotional reaction because I don’t do this to be given an award. And to be given the same award within a week of each other was quite shocking and very humbling,” Iturri said. “There are just so many people that deserve this recognition within our community.”

Contact the reporter Rebecca Wolff at rebecca.wolff@sonomanews.com.