Personal Profile: Carol Ornelas
BY BLANCA MANUEL-ROGERS
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Drafting and building skyscrapers are not uncommon childhood dreams - at least not for boys. But as a child, Carol Ornelas thought that dolls were silly and preferred playing with her brother’s erector set when he wasn’t around. That could have been an early indication of what direction Carol’s life would take. For the past 20 years, Carol Ornelas, Chief Executive Officer of Visionary Home Builders of California, has dedicated herself to building quality affordable housing communities in the Central Valley. This has been an exceptional undertaking, considering Ornelas was jumping into what had traditionally been considered a man’s field of work. She bears the distinction of being one of the very first female builders in the Central Valley.
Under Carol’s leadership, Visionary Home Builders has secured over $150 million dollars in grants and private donations to fund the building of affordable housing communities in the San Joaquin Valley – just in the past five years. Her commitment to these projects has very personal roots. Carol was raised by her mother and was the second oldest of nine children.
“It was not easy being part of a large family with a single parent. I learned about discrimination at a very young age,” says Ornelas. “I knew what it was like not to find decent housing because no one wanted to rent to a large family.” Carol’s family also bore the brunt of discrimination because her mother was divorced. According to Ornelas, “…many people thought we would not succeed in life because of that.” This drove her to want to “fight harder and prove them wrong.”
From those early experiences grew Carol’s dream to “build lovely homes for poor families, where children could feel good about where they live and who they are.”
When asked who served as a mentor to her, Ornelas credits her mother. “She gave me strength at an early age and taught me about responsibility to family.”
This dedication to family has carried over to Carol’s own family. She and her husband Mike have a 23 year-old son, Matthew, who is finishing his last year at California State University, Stanislaus. There, he is studying criminal justice and plans to attend law school.
Nine year-old Jonathan was adopted by the Ornelas’ at the age of one-month, “beating all odds” according to Carol. Jonathan was born in Mexico at just two pounds, two ounces; he is nearly blind in one eye. After battling an “immigration nightmare”, their adoption of Jonathan became official finally in 2007.
But the most recent addition to the Ornelas household proved to be the most challenging yet. Last year, Carol’s relatives discussed the situation of one of their distant cousins – 13 year-old Marcos, whose household was unstable, to say the least.
Carol remembers how one of Marcos’ first questions was what the letters “CPS” stood for. This curiosity about the acronym for Child Protective Services is easier to understand once you learn more about Marcos’ background. His mother is mentally challenged. His father was a gang member. One of his brothers was in jail and his younger brother was in juvenile hall. Marcos’ sister dealt drugs. As Ornelas puts it, “Everything about his life was not fair.”
Marcos spent his childhood living with constant fear and confusion about how “normal” society functioned. It was not uncommon for Marcos to need to steal in order to obtain his own food and clothing. He was afraid of the dark, like many children. Except for Marcos, nightfall meant the possibility of drug deals taking place in his home and visits from strangers who made him feel uncomfortable. To help ease his lingering fears and give him a sense of security, the Ornelas’ installed a new alarm system.
This was not an easy transition either for Marcos or his new family. As Carol puts it, they “all started out as complete strangers to each other.” Over the past several months they have worked at developing love and trust for each other.
Since bringing Marcos into their household last year, she has familiarized herself with the legal process in order to gain legal custody of him.
Their desire is to “break the cycle” of poverty and crime that Marcos came from, and show him a different way of life. Says Ornelas, maybe one day, “Marcos will have the tools to help his own family break out of that cycle.”
It seems like he may be on the right track. Originally Marcos tested in the 29th percentile at St. Luke’s Catholic Elementary School when he started there last year. Now he’s earning all A’s and B’s. His day is filled with school, household chores and activities like golf. He has a strong desire to go to college.
With a non-traditional family unit, the Ornelas’ may experience their own fair share of stressful moments. But Carol feels strongly about the love and commitment they have for each other. “Together, we’re all taking baby steps. Every day is a new day.”
Under Carol’s leadership, Visionary Home Builders has secured over $150 million dollars in grants and private donations to fund the building of affordable housing communities in the San Joaquin Valley – just in the past five years. Her commitment to these projects has very personal roots. Carol was raised by her mother and was the second oldest of nine children.
“It was not easy being part of a large family with a single parent. I learned about discrimination at a very young age,” says Ornelas. “I knew what it was like not to find decent housing because no one wanted to rent to a large family.” Carol’s family also bore the brunt of discrimination because her mother was divorced. According to Ornelas, “…many people thought we would not succeed in life because of that.” This drove her to want to “fight harder and prove them wrong.”
From those early experiences grew Carol’s dream to “build lovely homes for poor families, where children could feel good about where they live and who they are.”
When asked who served as a mentor to her, Ornelas credits her mother. “She gave me strength at an early age and taught me about responsibility to family.”
This dedication to family has carried over to Carol’s own family. She and her husband Mike have a 23 year-old son, Matthew, who is finishing his last year at California State University, Stanislaus. There, he is studying criminal justice and plans to attend law school.
Nine year-old Jonathan was adopted by the Ornelas’ at the age of one-month, “beating all odds” according to Carol. Jonathan was born in Mexico at just two pounds, two ounces; he is nearly blind in one eye. After battling an “immigration nightmare”, their adoption of Jonathan became official finally in 2007.
But the most recent addition to the Ornelas household proved to be the most challenging yet. Last year, Carol’s relatives discussed the situation of one of their distant cousins – 13 year-old Marcos, whose household was unstable, to say the least.
Carol remembers how one of Marcos’ first questions was what the letters “CPS” stood for. This curiosity about the acronym for Child Protective Services is easier to understand once you learn more about Marcos’ background. His mother is mentally challenged. His father was a gang member. One of his brothers was in jail and his younger brother was in juvenile hall. Marcos’ sister dealt drugs. As Ornelas puts it, “Everything about his life was not fair.”
Marcos spent his childhood living with constant fear and confusion about how “normal” society functioned. It was not uncommon for Marcos to need to steal in order to obtain his own food and clothing. He was afraid of the dark, like many children. Except for Marcos, nightfall meant the possibility of drug deals taking place in his home and visits from strangers who made him feel uncomfortable. To help ease his lingering fears and give him a sense of security, the Ornelas’ installed a new alarm system.
This was not an easy transition either for Marcos or his new family. As Carol puts it, they “all started out as complete strangers to each other.” Over the past several months they have worked at developing love and trust for each other.
Since bringing Marcos into their household last year, she has familiarized herself with the legal process in order to gain legal custody of him.
Their desire is to “break the cycle” of poverty and crime that Marcos came from, and show him a different way of life. Says Ornelas, maybe one day, “Marcos will have the tools to help his own family break out of that cycle.”
It seems like he may be on the right track. Originally Marcos tested in the 29th percentile at St. Luke’s Catholic Elementary School when he started there last year. Now he’s earning all A’s and B’s. His day is filled with school, household chores and activities like golf. He has a strong desire to go to college.
With a non-traditional family unit, the Ornelas’ may experience their own fair share of stressful moments. But Carol feels strongly about the love and commitment they have for each other. “Together, we’re all taking baby steps. Every day is a new day.”