About Us

WHAT WE DO
Fortune and Associates was founded in October 2003 as an independent publishing company to close the academic achievement gap among minority school kids with research-based books, videos and training for educators and parents, and develops multicultural-based materials. The company’s founder, Dr. Rex Fortune, had an ongoing interest in producing new educational tools that will help school administrators, parents and teachers to become more effective in helping California's lowest performing dominator in public schools, our Black students, to succeed academically.

Portrait of Rex Fortune IIIRex Fortune III, Current CEO and President
Rex III possesses a bachelor’s degree in business administration and human resources from UCLA and Cal Poly University, and is a master’s degree candidate in strategic human resources management. He’s worked in human resources, convention planning, marketing, sales, learning/development, and business operations with such companies as Disney and Universal Studios. He entered the education profession, running teacher recruitment conference operations for Project Pipeline Teacher Credential Program in Sacramento, CA (now called Fortune School of Education). He joined Project Pipeline full time, in 1998, to become their lead recruiter for their Sacramento and Alameda teacher credential training centers. Rex III was the recruiter who built the teacher credential program to its highest enrollment for the company, during a teacher shortage crisis in California. His successful recruitment model was utilized in California government's creation of five statewide teacher recruitment centers, which he was requested to train new recruiters for the Northern California Teacher Recruitment Center. Rex III was later promoted to Director of Marketing and Recruitment. From the ground up, he initiated the creation of Project Pipeline's first teacher credential program in Contra Costa County in the East Bay Area, which initially offered General Education certification studies, in collaboration with Pittsburg Unified School District. He twice expanded the growing campus in Contra Contra, moving it to larger facilities in the City of Concord to logistically better serve its growing programs and consortium of participating school districts located throughout Contra Costa County. He became the Program Coordinator and Campus Director of Project Pipeline's Contra Costa County teacher credential programs for General and Special Education. 

In 2008, Rex III moved with our company's founder, Dr. Rex Fortune Jr., from Project Pipeline to Fortune & Associates, taking on the role of Vice President, where Rex III has contributed in the researching, writing, marketing, and managing of the self publishing of our books, videos, online product services and workshops on closing the achievement gap, parenting practices, and social science. He provided research, co-wrote and handled the self-publishing of our books on ‘Bridging the Achievement Gap" 1st and 2nd Editions. Rex III was the project director and script writer for our 'Parenting Practices’ video. He pitched the idea to create the video companion booklets, 'Parenting Practices,' and the ‘African American History Presentation Video Lesson Plan' book, which he also co-wrote and was responsible for their publishings. He managed business operations and became the company's CEO and President in early 2023.

Dr. FortuneDr. Rex Fortune, Former CEO/ Founder (1942-2023)
Dr. Fortune received his B.S. and U.S. Army commission from North Carolina A&T State University in 1962, an M.A. from UC Berkeley in 1968, and a Ph.D from Stanford University in 1972. A father, husband, teacher, and businessman with a passion for bridging the Achievement Gap, Fortune has worked more than 50 years as an educator.

He was a high school teacher, school site administrator, associate superintendent of public instruction in the California State Department of Education for 11 years, superintendent of Inglewood Unified School District for five years, and superintendent of Center Unified School District for 15 years. Before he retired from Center in 2003, he created Project Pipeline Teacher Credential Program in 1989 to develop and attract teachers with backgrounds in STEM, and teachers of color to Center Joint Unified Schools and a consortium of other participating school districts in Northern California. After Center, Dr. Fortune joined Project Pipeline full time as its Executive Director. He created Fortune and Associates educational publishing company in 2003. Dr. Fortune left Project Pipeline in 2008 to work full time as CEO and President of Fortune and Associates. 

While leading Center Unified, Fortune founded the Fortune School of Education, (formerly called Project Pipeline), in 1989. He served as past president of the Board of Trustees for the Fortune School of Education and the Pacific Charter Institute, which governs charter schools in Sacramento and San Joaquin counties. Dr. Fortune has co-authored and produced five books and videos on education, including ‘Leadership on Purpose,’ ‘Bridging the Achievement Gap: What Successful Educators and Do 1st and 2nd Editions,’ 'Parenting Practices,' and our latest book, ‘African American History Presentation Video Lesson Plan.’ 

OUR BOOKS AND VIDEOS' CONTRIBUTORS:

African American History Presention: Video Lesson Plan Book

Dr. Rex Fortune - Lead Co-author/Researcher; Rex Fortune III - Co-author/Researcher/Book-Video Integration/Book Publishing; Ann Spade and Aaron Smith - Video Production; and Design by Carol - Book Designer. 

Bridging the Achievement Gap Book - Second Edition

Dr. Rex Fortune - Lead Co-author/Researcher, Rex Fortune III - Co-author/Researcher/Final Editing/Book Publishing, Dr. Dominic Zarecki - Co-author/Research Data Analysis, Robert Graswich - Co-writer. 

Online Parenting Practices Academy Video Series

Dr. Rex Fortune - Project Director; Jose Munoz - Video Production; Jeff Eberhardt - Final Video Production and Editing; Rex Fortune III - Video Editing and Online Video Channel Development; and Kristin Singhasemanon - Online Video Subscription Service Development. Content contributors include: Patty Colston (California Student Aid Commission - Financial Aid); Adam Frazier (Student Behavior); Pam Blanco (University of California Davis - College Readiness and Transfer Opportunities); Dr. Teresa Aldredge (Consumnes River College, College Readiness); and Melissa Muganzo (California State University Sacramento, College Readiness).

Parenting Practices Booklets (English, Spanish, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese)

Dr. Rex Fortune - Co-Author; Rex Fortune III - Co-Author; Phawnda Moore - Editor and Book Designer; Fatima Castaneda (Spanish Version); and Martha Quadros (Spanish Version). 

Parenting Practices DVD

Rex Fortune III - DVD Project Director/Script Writer/Packaging and Distribution; Ed Nelson and Jeff Eberhardt - Video Production; and Dr. Rex Fortune - Producer.

Bridging the Achievement Gap Book - First Edition

Dr. Rex Fortune - Co-Author and Researcher; Rex Fortune III - Co-Author/Research Data Analysis/Self-Publishing; Phawnda Moore - Editor/Book Designer; and Chanel Murphy - Researcher.

Leadership on Purpose Book

Dr. Rex Fortune - Co-Author and Dr. Rosemary Popalewis - Co-Author/Editor, Corwin Press - Book Designer and Publisher.