Tim Rios, James Irvine Foundation photo

The James Irvine Foundation announced that Fresno-area Wells Fargo senior executive Tim Rios has been elected to serve as chairman of the board of directors, a three-year term beginning Jan. 1, 2023.

Rios is the first Fresnan to be elected to the position.

Immigrating to the United States with his family in the late 1970s, Rios’ family settled in the Central Valley where his parents, non-English speakers, worked the fields.

At 12, Rios and his two older brothers joined his parents in the fields, where they worked for 10 years after school and on weekends. Rios attended Fresno State and graduated with a degree in finance. He joined the Wells Fargo team in 1997. His current title is senior vice president, rural strategy leader.

In 2016, Rios co-founded the Central Valley Latino Giving Circle, with a goal of granting additional opportunities for Latinos in California.

The James Irvine Foundation has been a major philanthropic force in inland California, with the aim to invest $135 million over the next seven years in Fresno, Salinas, Stockton, Riverside and San Bernardino through their Priority Communities Initiative.

More than $17 million in Irvine grants have flowed into Fresno.

Founded in 1937, the James Irvine Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation dedicated to the expansion of opportunity for California residents. Through grantmaking, the foundation focuses on enabling all low-income workers to have the ability to advance economically.

Local recipients include the Cradle to Career Partnership and Bitwise’s Geekwise Academy’s Web Development Job Readiness Programs.