National Football Foundation

A dedicated leader, Tony Ortega spent 41 years in public education while helping turn the NFF Pasadena/San Gabriel Chapter into a strong force in Southern California.
 
Ortega attended Whittier College (Calif.), where he was a wide receiver and defensive back on the Poets’ 1969 conference championship team. After graduating, Ortega worked at Duarte High School from 1972-80, serving as a department chair, athletics director, varsity football coach and varsity baseball coach. While at Duarte, he continued his education and received a master’s in secondary school administration from California State University, Fullerton in 1980.
 
Ortega served as assistant principal at Alhambra High School and Mark Keppel High School from 1980-97 and then as the principal at Arroyo High School from 1997-2000. He finished his distinguished career in education as an assistant superintendent for the El Monte Union High School District before retiring in 2011.
 
During his career, Ortega served stints as president and board member of the California Association of Directors of Activities (CADA) and on the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF)’s Federated Council, Executive Committee and Audit Committee. He was named to the CADA Hall of Fame in 2000, and he received the association’s Lifetime Achievement Award while also receiving a State Life Pass and Lifetime Achievement Award from the CIF.
 
Ortega’s involvement with the NFF Pasadena/San Gabriel Chapter began as a coach at Duarte High School in the 1970s, annually having one of his scholar-athletes honored at its banquet. He joined the chapter’s board of directors in 1991, and while he was principal at Arroyo, the school served as the host for the chapter’s scholar-athlete banquet and Hall of Fame all-star football game. Upon his retirement in 2011, he took over as president of the chapter after chapter founder Jim Brownfield’s passing, and he continues to help grow its membership and influence.
 
“I am so proud of our chapter, our board of directors, the community, coaches and school administrators for their support and participation of the scholar-athlete program,” said Ortega. “Over the past five years, our chapter has grown from 25 to 72 recipients and our attendance has blossomed from 125 to 300 guests. This growth has truly been a group effort, and I am proud to be a part of this chapter.”
 
Residing in Hacienda Heights, Calif., Ortega and his wife, Diane, have three children, four grandchildren and one great-grandson. He is an avid golfer and volunteers with the non-profit Great Minds in STEM.