Paul Orfalea

Orfalea's father and grandmother ran clothing stores in Los Angeles. According to Orfalea, he was a woodshop major in high school, and his typical report card was "two C's, three D's, and an F." Due to his dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Orfalea reportedly flunked two grades and was expelled from several schools. He later attended the University of Southern California. Despite being fired from a number of jobs, his family supported him in his determination to launch his own business. In later life, he remarked on the subject of his handicaps, "I get bored easily, and that is a great motivator, I think everybody should have dyslexia and ADD." His curly, red hair earned him the nickname "Kinko".

In 2000, Orfalea established the Orfalea Family Foundation that deals with differences in learning, care in early life stages, knowledge-giving programs that span the needs of multiple generations, and training for caregiving.

The Orfalea Foundation, as it is now known, focuses on early childhood education, K-college education, and youth development, primarily in Santa Barbara County, California. The foundation is known for taking direct action as well as making grants. Its most visible program, the School Food Initiative (SFI), trains food service staff and directors to transition from heat-and-serve fare to cooked-from-scratch meals in local schools. SFI also provides infrastructure and equipment grants to support scratch cooking, along with farm-to-school connections, school gardens, and food literacy programs.

In 2001, the California Polytechnic State University's College of Business was renamed the Orfalea College of Business, in recognition of his $15 million gift to the school.