Looking back on a difficult childhood and a long career that spanned business leadership, board leadership, and philanthropy, Ron Davis is quick to point out he didn’t set out to become a philanthropist.
Ron was raised in La Puente, California, by alcoholic parents. He struggled in school due to dyslexia and an unstable home life. During his senior year, Ron’s football coach helped him and another high school student move into an apartment to give them a better chance to succeed.
After graduation, he enrolled in community college before transferring to Cal State Fullerton. Ron became the first in his family to attend college, and he later earned an MBA. He worked his way up at General Foods and left to found the Perrier Group of America, which became the largest player in the bottled water industry.
A Turning Point
In the late 1980s, Ron began sponsoring disadvantaged youth after participating in an Outward Bound with his son. However, he did not yet consider himself philanthropic at that time.
The 1990 Perrier recall changed that. The company was left deeply in debt and eventually sold to Nestle for a fraction of its previous value. For Ron, the collapse became a turning point. “What am I chasing? I have enough,” he remembers thinking. It was an opportunity to step off what he calls “the economic treadmill.”
Creating Guardian Scholars
Cal State Fullerton’s development office contacted Ron about helping students under the State of California’s guardianship who had the potential to succeed in college but lacked the resources. Ron worked with them to create a new program called Guardian Scholars. The program has since expanded to help deserving students in need across approximately 70 universities nationwide.
One of the first students was Becky Wells, a teen mom and foster youth. Thanks to the Guardian Scholars program, she went on to finish college, start a career, and build a stable family of her own.
It took Ron years to understand that his mother, a victim of domestic violence, had few choices and even fewer opportunities back then. The recognition that people need help to access opportunities became a central tenet for Ron.
Ron’s childhood experiences and Becky’s success motivated him to later support Bright Future Foundation, a Vail Health nonprofit partner focused on helping families rebuild after domestic violence and sexual abuse.
Investing in Vail Health
Ron moved to Eagle County full-time in 2001. Within a year, he joined the Vail Health Services Board of Directors. At the time, the organization faced significant financial challenges. He accepted the role of board chair and helped guide the organization through an important period of financial stabilization and growth.
During Ron’s 12 years of board service, Vail Health strengthened financially and built a strong foundation for the future. Ron also focused on leadership succession, helping recruit and support future leaders who would continue the organization’s evolution long after his board service ended. “I did it to get fulfillment in my life,” he recalls.
My Future Pathways
Around 2018, Ron noticed a gap in Guardian Scholars’ own local numbers: most of the program’s participants were young women, while Hispanic male high school graduation rates hovered around 51%. He brought the problem to Bratzo Horruitiner, and they started a program that became the nonprofit My Future Pathways (MFP).
When the pandemic brought youth mental health needs into focus, Vail Health Foundation started fundraising for MFP. What started as a small effort funded by Ron’s $1.5 million investment has expanded into a robust program serving both boys and girls and sustained by a community of donors and partners across the valley.
MFP has strong partnerships with Vail Health, Colorado Mesa University, Colorado Mountain College, and many employers in our community. Former scholarship recipients now work as nurses, case managers, behavioral health counselors, accountants, mechanics, electricians, and youth counselors.
Time, Talent, and Treasure
For Ron, philanthropy has been more than writing a check. “Whenever you can combine your time, talent, and treasure, you’re going to be the lucky one,” he says. Ron often opens his home to MFP students and cooks group meals for them. Many Guardian Scholars and MFP graduates still call Ron to share their life updates, ask for advice, and stay in touch.
Becky has maintained a close relationship with Ron. Decades after her graduation, he walked her down the aisle at her wedding. She now has two children who call him “Papa Ron.”
“I don’t look at it as philanthropy,” Ron says. “I look at it as this is my life. This is what I do.”
When asked what he hopes people remember about him, he says, “I changed lives.”
Whenever you can combine your time, talent, and treasure, you’re going to be the lucky one.” – Ron Davis