For longtime educator and Tucson local Marc Acuña, the chance to take the helm at Make Way for Books is the opportunity of a lifetime. Having spent much of his career advocating for causes that change lives through education as a proponent of early literacy, he said accepting the role feels like the alignment of head and heart.
“I’m a firm believer, with everything in me, that literacy changes the direct trajectory of anyone’s life more than anything else,” Acuña said. “This is an opportunity to really put my head and my heart into something that I truly believe will set us up for the future here in southern Arizona and across the state.”
Come March 30, Acuña will be the new CEO of Make Way for Books — an organization based in Tucson, dedicated to expanding learning and literacy opportunities for children across southern Arizona. As stated on the nonprofit organization’s website, its approach involves “building a literacy rich environment, supporting educators and empowering families.” For the soon-to-be CEO, the idea is not only to get more children and parents to read together, but also to facilitate opportunities where families of color can read in their first, home languages.
“One of our board members brought it up to me and said, ‘One of the most important things is that they’re hearing these words and learning how to read in the same language that they hear I love you,’” Acuña said. “Teaching their kids, whom they love very much, to access vocabulary, access words in different ways and have a better understanding brings a level of comfort.”
The new CEO described himself as a “leader of empathy, passion and compassion.”
“I love to say that I lead with simpatico,” he said.
Once Acuña has officially stepped into the role, he hopes to continue to educate and assist in any way that he can — caring for the staff at the nonprofit and community alike. He said that one of his major goals is to amplify Make Way for Books’ voice and make the organization one of the first resources the community associates with early literacy. The soon-to-be CEO said he hopes to rival the reach of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.
Growing up, Acuña said that he had several teachers who made a major impact in his life that he still remembers by name. He originally attended the University of Arizona, where he originally studied to become a news anchor. His high school Spanish teacher and mentor, Alberto Roquidas, asked him to coach an 8th grade baseball game.
“I went that Monday for practice and had an epiphany and my life changed right there,” Acuña said. “The very next day, I was at a college event, changing my major to education.”
The soon-to-be CEO went on to work at Flowing Wells High School, teaching marketing and advertising for seven years and additionally spent some time as student council advisor. For 12 years, Acuña said he worked with the UofA Alumni Association, overseeing Alumni Awards, Homecoming, postseason, basketball, football and other events. Following his time with the University, he became involved with fundraising efforts for various nonprofit organizations, including the American Heart Association for Women’s Heart Health. While he was on the team, the group hosted its first million-dollar Heart Ball, Acuña said. Additionally, he contributed to efforts to provide many schools across the region with life-saving CPR kits. Reflecting on his career journey, Acuña said he feels that he has always been connected to education and changing lives.
On his own time, Acuña enjoys reading leadership books — noting authors such as American academic and podcaster Brené Brown and inspirational speaker Simon Sinek. Such literature, he explained, offers valuable opportunities to learn how to motivate and drive people, to collaborate and also has the potential to inspire and lift one’s spirits.
Looking forward to his first official day as the new CEO of Make Way for Books, Acuña said that two of the most important principles to him are access and equity. He explained that he wants to examine the impact the non-profit has had on the community in its history and find ways to amplify it further. Beyond the educational benefit and social-emotional aspects of engaging in literacy, Acuña said, “reading is social justice.”
“We are teaching them something that will never go away and that will set them up for their future,” he said. “This is the team effort to make way for books — changing the lives and trajectory of southern Arizona families and students.
“We are here for you, we care for you, we see you, and we’re here to support you and hopefully make your lives better through early literacy.”