Jake Whitaker is a Project Manager for California Consulting with several years of experience as a grant writer. He first discovered his passion for grant writing while assisting a colleague with an emergency shelter grant. Jake has written numerous successful grant applications on behalf of government agencies and non-profits for highly competitive state and federal funding. These awards include the Board of State and Community Corrections’ (BSCC) Justice Assistance Grant and Youth Reinvestment Grant, the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) Justice and Mental Health Collaboration grant and the Swift, Certain, and Fair Supervision grant, and the Office of Emergency Services’ (CalOES) the Transitional Housing (XH) Program, Elder Abuse (XE) Program, Emergency Shelter (KE) Program, Violence Against Women Vertical Prosecution (VV) Program, and the Victim Advocacy in Detention Facilities (KA) Program.
Jake currently serves as a Board Member for the Woodland Joint Unified School District, his hometown where he grew up and went to school. He also worked as a Legislative Assistant in the Oregon State Assembly while attending college, with a focus on agriculture and education policy. Since a young age, he aspired to be a public servant.
After graduating from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, Jake returned home and spent five years working for the Yolo County District Attorney. During this time, he honed his skills as a grant writer and program analyst. He specialized in obtaining funding for programs that provide alternatives to traditional prosecution using restorative justice, enhance services for victims of crime, and address the intersection of poverty, mental health, and addiction with the criminal justice system. Jake also has a strong background in program design and evaluation.
“The most satisfying part of being a grant writer is that when you do your job well, the things that you write on paper become reality. It’s an incredible feeling. It’s an opportunity to help organizations obtain resources to improve their communities, and that’s why I love this line of work
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