About Us
WHAT WE DO
Celebrating 21 years in business, Fortune and Associates was founded in October 2003 as a private, independent book research and authoring company with emphasis on closing the academic achievement gap in public schools, with our research-based books, videos and training for educators and parents. The company’s founder, Dr. Rex Fortune Jr., PhD. had an ongoing interest in producing and co-writing new educational tools that would help school administrators, parents and teachers to become more effective in helping California's lowest performing dominator in public schools to succeed academically. Dr. Fortune's son, Mr. Rex Fortune III - M.Sci., joined the company 2008 and transformed our book research and writing productions into a self-publishing e-operation.
Mr. Rex Fortune III, M.Sci. - CEO and President (January 2023 to Present), Vice President (October 2008-2022).
Mr. Rex Fortune III-M.Sci possesses a bachelor’s degree in business administration and human resources from UCLA and Cal Poly Universities, and earned his master’s degree from University of Southern California (USC). He’s worked in human resources, convention planning, marketing, sales, learning/development, and business operations with such companies as Disney and Universal Studios. Rex III started playing several instruments at the young age of 4, later teaching music at his high school, from classical music woodwinds to HBCU style marching band as the marching band's drum major and student leader who led the program during a turbulent loss and change in our urban high school's legendary music program's teacher leadership, which Rex III lead the high school band through performances and high profile parades during these change interims, learning how to develop lesson plans from his mother, a former public school teacher and administrator. After earning his BA degree in HR professional learning and development, and serving as a hotel HR and convention group sales manager, he later entered the education industry as a independently contracted onsite operations coordinator for annual teacher recruitment conferences for Project Pipeline Teacher Credential Program, on loan from his his hotel roles in Southern California. After working in admin operations management, Rex III was asked to join the full-time staff at Project Pipeline Teacher Credential Program (now known as Fortune School of Education), to serve as an admin and soon thereafter asked to use his HR education and work background to become their lead teacher recruiter for their Sacramento and Alameda teacher training centers. Rex III was the teacher recruiter who built the teacher credential program to its highest enrollment for Project Pipeline (now Fortune School), 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 at Pittsburg Adult School, in collaboration with the 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. He also initiated the start-up development of new teacher training campus in City of Lathrop, leading the campus development through the city approval stage and real estate site selection and interior design phase, before being asked to join Fortune & Associates education in 2008.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. Rex Fortune Jr., PhD. - Our former CEO/Founder (2003-2022). Passed (January 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. In 2003, he created Fortune and Associates, a private incorporated educational publishing company. Dr. Fortune left Project Pipeline in 2008 to work full time as CEO 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 also for the Pacific Charter Institute, which governs charter schools in Sacramento and San Joaquin counties. Dr. Fortune has co-authored and produced four books and videos on education, including ‘Leadership on Purpose,’ ‘Bridging the Achievement Gap: What Successful Educators and Do 1st and 2nd Editions,’ and 'Parenting Practices.'
OUR BOOKS AND VIDEOS' CONTRIBUTORS:
African American History Presention: Video Lesson Plan Book
Dr. Rex Fortune Jr., PhD. - Lead Co-author/Researcher;
Mr. Rex Fortune III, M.Sci. - Producer, Co-author, Researcher, Book to Video Tech Integration, and Book Publishing;
Ann Spade and Aaron Smith - Video Production;
Design by Carol - Book Designer.
Bridging the Achievement Gap Book - Second Edition
Dr. Rex Fortune Jr., PhD- Lead Co-author, Researcher and Producer;
Mr. Rex Fortune III, M.Sci. - Co-author, Researcher, Photographer, Final Editor, Book Self-Publishing Manager, Omni Channel Distribution and Sales Manager;
Dr. Dominic Zarecki - Co-author and Research Data Analysis;
Robert Graswich - Narrative writing.
Online Parenting Practices Academy Video Series
Dr. Rex Fortune Jr., PhD. - Project Director;
Jose Munoz - Video Production;
Mr. Rex Fortune III- M.Sci. - Post Video Editing and Cleanup, and Youtube Video Channel Development;
Jeff Eberhardt - Final Video Production Editing;
Kristin Singhasemanon - Online Video Subscription Services Development and Website Design.
Content contributors: 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, and Simplified Chinese language versions)
Mr. Rex Fortune III- M.Sci. - Co-Author and Initial Concept Creator of our Parenting Practices booklets, serving as a companion study guide for our Parenting Practices DVDs;
Dr. Rex Fortune Jr. - Co-Author and Producer;
Phawnda Moore - Editor and Book Designer;
Fatima Castaneda - Spanish translation;
Martha Quadros - Spanish translation.
Parenting Practices DVD
Dr. Rex Fortune - Producer;
Mr. Rex Fortune III-M.Sci. - DVD Project Director, Script Writer, DVD Packaging, Distribution, and Sales Manager;
Ed Nelson and Jeff Eberhardt - Video Production.
Bridging the Achievement Gap Book - First Edition
Dr. Rex Fortune Jr., PhD. - Co-Author, Researcher, and Producer;
Mr. Rex Fortune III, M.Sci. - Co-Author, Research Data Analysis, and Self-Publishing Project Manager;
Phawnda Moore - Editor/Book Designer;
Chanel Murphy - Researcher.
Leadership on Purpose Book
Dr. Rosemary Popalewis - Co-Author, Publishing Project Manager and Editor;
Dr. Rex Fortune Jr., PhD - Co-Author;
Corwin Press - Book Designer and Publisher.