When John Luker decided to work full time for a nonprofit organization, he figured it would be a short-term stint. That was more than 16 years ago.
The chief financial officer of Santa Ana-based Orangewood Foundation said he has no regrets switching from private industry to nonprofits.
“It was just so much fun,” he said. “I felt good about going to work. I was fortunate enough to have found a way into working (at nonprofits) full time.”
His service with one of Orange County’s best-known nonprofits was honored at the Business Journal’s annual CFO of the Year Awards on Feb. 15 at Hotel Irvine (see profiles of the other winners, pages 1, 4, 5 and 8).
“We brought John over from the Orange County Rescue Mission, and he’s been a fantastic hire,” Orangewood Chief Executive Chris Simonsen said.
Dan Raatjes, vice president of operations at King’s Hawaiian Bakery, said he’s known Luker for more than 12 years.
“John has dedicated his career to serving others both at the Rescue Mission and now with the Orangewood Foundation,” he said in a statement. “He chooses to serve within organizations that are heavily mission focused and whose mission serves those in need.”
Private to Public
The die-hard Florida Gators fan grew up in Jacksonville and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from the University of Florida.
He spent five years as a manager auditing clients regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for Price waterhouseCoopers in Atlanta and then Deloitte in Miami.
When he made the trek to OC in 2001, Luker joined the rescue mission as executive vice president of finance and was promoted to chief financial officer the following year. He stayed with the organization for 13 years.
“I didn’t anticipate being in nonprofits that long,” he said. “It was more of an itch to do something good in this world after working in public accounting.”
Luker handled more than the day-to-day accounting role there, overseeing several expansion projects, including construction of the Village of Hope, a transitional housing facility for homeless people in Tustin. He also managed the acquisition of the Hurtt Family Health Clinic at the Village of Hope, formerly the Casa de Salud Health Clinic, which he said treats 30,000 patients a year.
While he was focused on the needs of the homeless, the experience of a close friend kindled his interest in foster care. Ten years ago, the friend adopted two kids from Orangewood Children’s Home, and Luker said he was able to witness the entire process, from getting qualified to the final adoption paperwork.
“I was there in the courtroom as they became parents, and it’s one of the most miraculous things to see a family become one.”
He quickly decided to become a mentor while also getting involved with organizations such as Olive Crest, where he recently completed board service as chairman of the audit and finance committee.
“I had several people who used to work for me at the rescue mission who had come to work (at Orangewood),” Luker said. “When Chris [Simonsen] was promoted from CFO to CEO, they said, ‘Hey, we know you’re doing this work in foster care, and we have the CFO position (open).’”
The opening would also intersect with Luker’s experience managing construction projects, as the foundation was preparing to build the Samueli Academy, a public charter high school in Santa Ana focused on helping foster children graduate.
“I got hooked on the vision of what we were going to be doing at the school, and it was right up my alley in terms of building management and construction management, so I jumped in and it’s been great.”
Breaking Ground
Between his time at the rescue mission and Orangewood, Luker has managed more than $85 million in assets.
From a financial aspect, his most memorable accomplishment so far is the refinancing of the foundation’s existing debt of $12.6 million in 2015 into tax-exempt financing, netting about $1 million in savings.
Luker’s now busy helping the foundation launch a capital campaign for one of its largest projects. Orangewood plans to add on-campus housing for up to 48 high school students at Samueli Academy, making it the first boarding school model for foster children in California.
The organization is waiting on final state approval but has already hired architects.
Luker said he’s excited but acknowledges it’s been stressful as the Orangewood team has hashed out a plan from scratch.
“It’s been taking us a lot longer than we thought, simply because we are creating it. There’s a whole funding methodology that has to be built around it.”
But, he said, the payoff will be worth it.
