A Business Mind with a Heart to Serve
By Lisa Morgan
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Mitch Blumberg was the second of four children, born to parents who were very active in service organizations. Somehow, without hovering or pressuring their children, Mitch and his siblings grew up with a sense that education was of the utmost importance, and they excelled at it. Mitch’s younger brother went straight from high school to medical school, and is one of the leading breast cancer oncologists in the nation. His sister is an elementary school principal with multiple degrees, and his older brother graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with BA, JD and Masters of Laws degrees. “Somehow, we absorbed the idea that education was important,” shares Mitch. He, himself, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with BA and JD degrees and later from Harvard Business School where he received his MBA degree with Highest Honors. As a student leader, he was head of the student government Education Committee at Harvard. Later he taught a Harvard B-School course in Entrepreneurship to second year MBA students at Rice University in Houston, Texas. “Academics have always been part of my life,” he shared. Mitch is currently the official Harvard interviewer for Riverside County and interviews 5 or 6 promising high school seniors each year.
During his time at Harvard, Blumberg found himself working in New York in investment banking during his summer internship. “Because I had a law degree,” he shared, “they asked me to work on one of the largest mergers in history between DuPont and DuPont family owned Christiana Securities. “I wrote a memo on this, hoping someone above me would be able to decipher it. To my great surprise, it ended up being part of the language in the final documents!”
Following Harvard, Blumberg entered into real estate development, like some of his fellow Harvard graduates. “I began as a partner with the Louis-Dreyfus family. They were, and still are, among the wealthiest people in the world.” Among other major ventures, the Louis-Dreyfus family started a real estate division and asked Blumberg to join as an executive. He commuted from New York to Canada, was part of major commercial, residential, and urban developments in Toronto and Montreal. He was able to grow a strong network later between Canada, Texas and Arizona.
Blumberg came to California in 1990. His wife at the time was a successful banker and wanted to live in Los Angeles for her dream job in investment banking. Little did Blumberg know this would lead to his own dream assignment. RKO Pictures invited him to be part of their company, and within a week of moving to LA, Mitch found himself the Executive Vice President of RKO pictures, heading their Legal and Business Affairs. Later he became an independent film producer too.
After 15 years, Mitch became a permanent resident of the desert. “My psychology needs blue skies, warmth and sunshine,” he said. He became heavily involved in the community, becoming part of the La Quinta and Palm Desert Chambers and an advocate for greater film production in the Coachella Valley. Among other organizations, Blumberg was heavily involved as a Board member of St. Margaret’s Episcopal School and Palm Springs Women in Film and Television (PSWIFT). For three years he was Co-Chair of PSWIFT’s annual gala, the Broken Glass Awards, honoring women in entertainment and philanthropy who have “broken through the glass ceiling.”
“I had always been involved. Six years ago after a series of unexpected passings of family and friends, I was shaving one day and looked at myself in the mirror – it was a moment of epiphany. I thought, ‘Why don’t I do something significantly different with my life. Not just be active in committees and community involvement, but some activity where I’d be a full time employee in a humanitarian capacity?’ The head of Desert Arc was cultivating me to be part of the Board. I wasn’t familiar with anyone directly close to me with developmental disabilities. I met with the CEO, told him I had this revelation and decided to join a major non-profit organization like Desert Arc on a full-time basis. That was 5 1/2 years ago, and now I am the Senior Vice President of Desert Arc, one of the largest non-profits in the area, with an annual budget of $13 million, 235 staff members, and 600+ adult clients with developmental disabilities in three locations – Palm Desert, Yucca Valley and Indio.
“Two of the most satisfying things I’ve been able to engineer since I’ve been with Desert Arc, are the sale of the back two acres in Palm Desert to the city (just under the wire of legislation that would have prohibited the sale). That $1.0 million dollars was a tremendous boost to the financial structure of Desert Arc along with the $2.5 million in mortgages I helped to refinance. It truly transformed the organization. I am very proud of that. Secondly, I conceived the annual Italian Festival, which started as a germ of an idea. Our 7.2 acre property in Palm Desert was donated to us by the Western Italian Golf Association in 1983, and our CEO, Richard Balocco and his wife are of Italian heritage. Putting all that together, an Italian festival seemed like a natural idea for Desert Arc and the community. Last November we celebrated the 4th Annual Italian Festival with over 6,000 people in attendance. I have loved watching it grow and develop touching so many people in the community and reinforcing the mission of Desert Arc – Enhancing the quality of life and creating opportunities for people with disabilities .”
Most recently Mitch has been active as co-leader in a capital campaign at Desert Arc to raise funds for much needed expansion and renovation of facilities at its Palm Desert main campus. Blumberg secured $1.0 million from a very generous couple, and the total raised to date is $1.5 million. The campaign goal is $2.0 million. Desert Arc has a waiting list for certain of its programs, is constructing one new program building on the campus, and needs to enlarge and renovate older parts of the campus property as well.
Finally, Blumberg was elected to the Governing Board of Desert Regional Medical Center two years ago. Last year he served as Secretary of the Governing Board, and recently was named Vice Chair of the Board. With a family that includes his Radiation Oncologist brother, an OB-GYN physician niece, another niece ER doctor, and a niece-in-law a Robotic Sinus Surgeon, the transition to an active role at DRMC was smooth and easy. He feels that DRMC is an outstanding hospital at the vital intersection of healthcare and governmental policy for the betterment of all. Blumberg greatly values the DRMC administration under CEO Carolyn Caldwell and his fellow Governing Board members. He recently helped DRMC and parent Tenet Healthcare in the proposed affiliation between Tenet and Hi-Desert Medical Center in Joshua Tree.
