Patricia Garcia Duarte is the President & CEO of TRELLIS, formerly Neighborhood Housing Services of Phoenix, an organization serving Maricopa County and dedicated to the creation of stable homes and communities by providing housing education and counseling, building and lending. She is responsible for a $3.5 million operating budget, $18.0 million in assets and 28 employees. A graduate of Arizona State University with a BS in Business Administration, Patricia joined Trellis in 2006 with 28 years of experience in community and economic development. Patricia is the daughter of immigrant parents and her family never had a mortgage. Her dad bought a lot in Somerton and built the family home himself, expanding as needed. It was her job to help her dad add on when the time came. Growing up in rural Arizona in a family of farmers, Patricia is a first-generation college graduate who has attained professional success and retained graciousness, modesty, integrity and self-effacing humor that endears her to employees, partners and friends. Her style is one of collaboration and trust and she is unafraid of getting her hands dirty. Patricia calls her job her “calling” and her role as a “servant” to the community.