Grace is the Chair and President of the Open Door Education Foundation. Grace works closely with the current president to help shape and define the future of the Foundation.

Grace graduated with a B.A. in Sociology, minoring in Political Science, both pretty non-technical. After marrying and having children, she returned to college for further study in statistical research. Her husband, Richard, then a systems engineer at IBM, suggested she also learn computer programming because he believed that all future research would involve the use of computers. (Richard is not clairvoyant, just very astute.) Her first response was, "But I'm not a math major!" To prove that she had the logical and analytical ability required for computers (and that math wasn't the issue), Richard brought home a programming aptitude test from IBM. Grace aced it!

She then decided that programming might be more interesting than pursuing a PhD in Research and Statistics, so she applied for trainee programmer jobs. (In the early 1960's, no college offered a Computer Science degree - or even any classes in programming.) She was hired by the University of California as a business analyst, which did not require programming, and taught herself to program from computer manuals. Over the next 8 years, she advanced to Senior Analyst, then a management position at Bank of America.

In 1974, Grace and Richard founded Gentry, Inc. They enlisted their friends to join them as contract programmers, designing computer systems for clients. Grace made the sales calls (which she initially found terrifying); and Richard worked as a consultant. She served as President of Gentry for over 25 years and says, "It was often fun, sometimes scary, but always exciting!" In 1998, she and Richard sold their company to a larger corporation; in early 2000, she retired to devote more time and energy to the Open Door and to the serious pursuit of playing. (See "When I'm not working ..." below.)

Who opened doors for me: My husband when he pointed the way; my first boss when he hired me with no experience; my second boss when he let me program with no training; and Gentry Inc.'s first six clients when they used our start-up company with no reputation and no references - because they believed in us.

Why I work for Open Door: I believe that Americans can improve the quality of their lives by working in information technology (IT). Most of our family have financially and personally rewarding jobs in this industry, even though only one, our daughter-in-law, has a computer-related degree.

When I'm not working for Open Door: I'm biking. Richard and I have biked through parts of Northern California, France, Italy, and Holland. We also enjoy dancing (and are really good at it!). I love reading, especially history, biographies of historical characters, and archaeology. Right now I'm studying the Roman Empire and the American Revolution.

My greatest happiness: Is working with a group to change things and to make the world a better place. Another great happiness has been being married to my best friend for over 40 years, with three great kids and four beautiful grandchildren.