About the Fund

Beth E. Buchanan was born and raised in Fresno, where she demonstrated a lifelong passion for making a difference in the lives of others. A frequent volunteer at a number of local nonprofits, Beth was especially focused on the issues of food insecurity, environmentalism, homelessness, and animal welfare. Beth was also an active Girl Scout, and earned her Girl Scout Silver Award in 2013 for creating a fresh produce service for several neighborhood families. In 2017, Beth earned her Gold Award for creating and implementing a sustainable community garden to serve patrons freshly-grown produce and herbs at a local food pantry. The garden is still operating and flourishing today - serving over 300 families per month with its bounty. Beth also served as the food pantry's volunteer manager for the last two years of high school.

Beth's interest in serving the greater good was also reflected in her research interests. At Rice University, her undergraduate honors thesis examined the relationship between family income and work-school balance. As a doctoral student in Industrial-Organizational Psychology at University of Georgia, Beth's research interests continued to grow in the areas of lower-income workers, work-life conflict management, employee well-being, and gender issues.