The Foundation was formed to fulfill the wishes of Mary Ellen Dolcini who passed away in 2018. Dr. Dolcini was a life-long resident and career educator in Davis, California. She traveled often to Mexico throughout her life, developed a love of the culture and people and spoke Spanish fluently. She also had many Mexican friends in both California and Mexico and believed strongly that education opened doors to greater personal and professional opportunities.

As a result, she left a portion of her estate to provide scholarships to Mexican-American high school graduates from Davis, Woodland and the surrounding area in Yolo County to pursue a college education. To carry out her wishes, the Board of Directors of the Mary Ellen Dolcini Scholarship Foundation will select worthy candidates each year from local high schools. Students will be selected based on need, merit, and overall performance in high school including extracurricular activities and recommendations.