James M. Ferris holds the Emery Evans Olson Chair in Nonprofit Entrepreneurship and Public Policy and is the founding Director of The Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy in the Sol Price School of Public Policy at USC, which marks its 25th anniversary in 2025. He specializes in the economics of the public and nonprofit sectors, public finance and public policy. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.Dr. Ferris’ research focuses on the shifting roles of the public, nonprofit and for-profit sectors in governance and the economy. He is currently investigating the changing landscape of philanthropy; roles and strategies for foundation engagement in public policymaking; philanthropic-government partnerships; place-based philanthropy; and philanthropic leadership as reflected in the shared governance between boards of trustees and CEOs of philanthropic foundations.Dr. Ferris serves as a member of the editorial board of Nonprofit Policy Forum and previously on the editorial board of the Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. He has served as a member of the Independent Sector’s Programs and Practice Committee, the Philanthropy and Partnerships Committee of the National Park Service and the editorial board of the Journal of Public Administration and Theory, including a stint as a founding Associate Editor. In addition, he is a former Vice President of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action, and was a member of the Grants Advisory Committee of the Aspen Institute’s Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy Research Fund, the academic council of the National Center on Nonprofit Enterprise, and Independent Sector’s John Gardner Award Selection Committee.

Dr. Ferris has served as Vice Dean of the Price School (1995-97) and (2021-24) and as the founding Director of its Program in Public Policy (1989-93) where he was responsible for initiating, building and developing the Master in Public Policy (MPP) degree program. More recently, he spearheaded the development of the Master’s degree in Nonprofit Leadership and Management (MNLM) which launched in June 2015. Professor Ferris teaches courses in public policy, philanthropy and nonprofits, public finance, and political economy of institutions at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

http://cppp.usc.edu/

Cinny Kennard is Chair of the Board of The USC Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy. She has led major nonprofit organizations including serving as Executive Director of the Annenberg Foundation for over a decade, Managing Director at NPR, and Senior Vice President at the Smithsonian. A co-founder of Women Leaders in Philanthropy, she has guided rapid philanthropic responses to crises such as wildfire and the global pandemic and worked on the persistent Food Insecurity challenge and driven civic/philanthropic partnerships including housing, conservation, and aging and longevity. Previously, she was an award-winning CBS News correspondent covering global conflicts and politics. Her journalism earned the DuPont Columbia University Award and other honors. She is currently writing a book on Women in Philanthropy.

Gillian Zucker is the Chief Executive Officer of Halo Sports and Entertainment, an umbrella brand that encompasses the LA Clippers, Ontario Clippers, Intuit Dome, and the Kia Forum. She is responsible for overseeing all business operations for Steve Ballmer’s sports and entertainment entities.

With extensive experience in the sports and entertainment industry, Gillian has played a pivotal role in driving innovation, enhancing fan engagement, and delivering memorable live experiences. Notably, she was one of the key figures behind the creation and execution of FireAid, a landmark benefit concert that raised over $100 million for wildfire relief, demonstrating her dedication to using entertainment as a platform for social impact.

Zucker played an integral role in ensuring the design and construction of Intuit Dome aligned with Steve’s vision, creating a state-of-the-art venue built to deliver an unparalleled fan experience. With more than 25 years in the sports industry, she has fostered a culture of continuous improvement and a fan-first philosophy, leveraging innovation and strategic discipline to empower team efforts focused on operating as an elite championship organization.

Zucker has been honored by Los Angeles Magazine as one of 10 Wonder Women changing L.A., and has been recognized as the Los Angeles Business Journal Executive of the Year, an All-Star by VenuesNow, and a Top Woman in Media by Cynopsis. Additionally, she is a multi-year member of the LA Business Journal’s LA500, a list of the most influential people in L.A.

A graduate of Hamilton College, Zucker serves on the Young Presidents Organization board and the Board of Directors of the global investment bank Houlihan Lokey.

Mr. Frech is a subject matter expert on the adaptive and Paralympic sports movement. After his son Ezra was born a congenital amputee, Frech identified major gaps in access to sports for people with physical disabilities. Thus, In 2013, Mr. Frech and his family and friends started a non-profit organization, Angel City Sports, to provide free, year-round access to adaptive sports training, competition, and equipment for kids and adults with physical disabilities. Now serving 1,000 athletes and providing 4,000 athlete experiences per year across 30 sports, the organization is leading the movement ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games. Frech also manages Ezra’s career, serves on various boards, and is the creator and producer behind ADAPTIVE, a new docuseries on NBC Peacock that follows four Paralympians on the road to Paris.

Previously Mr. Frech served as Regional Vice-President for Safelite AutoGlass, managing the $100M California Region with over 600 employees and 35 facilities. He has also held positions including Vice President of Operations and Sustainability, Classic Party Rentals, Managing Director, NextLeft Digital Strategy Consulting, and Organizational Strategy Consultant, PricewaterhouseCoopers. Prior to graduate school, Frech interned in The White House House and spent two years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency working on environmental policy issues. Frech has a B.A. in Economics from U.C. Santa Barbara and an MBA in strategy from U.C.L.A. Anderson. Mr. Frech enjoys family, surfing, and pickleball and resides in Los Angeles with his wife, three boys, and Great Dane mix Harlow.

Ezra is a 2x Paralympian (Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024) and 2x Gold Medalist (2024 High Jump and 100M). With his family, he co-founded Angel City Sports in 2013, providing free adaptive sports programs for children and adults with physical disabilities. Last year Ezra competed on the USC Track Team as the first above knee amputee in history to commit to a D1 Track program. Ezra is a motivational speaker and disability advocate, frequently appearing in the media (Today Show, WSJ, NYT, LA Times) to share his story and change how the world sees disability.

He is an Executive Producer and star of the docuseries ADAPTIVE, to be released on NBC Peacock later this summer. This summer he turned professional and signed with a multi-year deal with adidas. He recently competed at USATF National Championships (1st in High Jump, 1st in Long Jump, and 2nd in 100M) and is currently training for World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi this fall. Looking ahead to his hometown LA 2028 Paralympic Games, Ezra plans to win the “Triple Crown” (gold in High Jump, Long Jump, and 100M).

Bob Graziano is a private investor and independent advisor having recently retired from the financial services sector, 12 years with J.P. Morgan Chase as Vice Chairman and 7 years with Northern Trust as Managing Director.

Previously, Bob spent 18 years with the Los Angeles Dodgers, serving his final six years there as the Club’s President & Chief Operating Officer. He started with the Dodger organization in 1986 and held positions of Director, Financial Projects, Chief Financial Officer Executive Vice President before becoming team President.

Graduating summa cum laude in 1980 from USC with a Business Administration/Accounting degree, he began his career with EY.   Bob took a leave from EY to work for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee.

Bob is Chair of the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission and the former Chair and current Board Member Emeritus of the LA84 Foundation and the Play Equity Fund. Bob is also Chair of the Los Angeles Business Council Institute and a member of the Los Angeles CEO Council.

Recently Bob has been on the host committee for 2022 Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles, the 2023 College Football Playoff, the 2023 US Open Championship, the Los Angeles World Cup 2026, the Los Angeles the 2026 NBA All-Star Game and 2027 Super Bowl LXI . He is also a member of YPO Gold Los Angeles and a previous member of YPO Bel Air.

Bob and his wife, Wendy Wachtell, have five sons and two grandsons.

Kathryn Schloessman is President & CEO of the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission (LASEC), the non-profit organization officially designated to attract, secure, and support high-profile sports and entertainment events in Los Angeles. LASEC serves as the lead for the FIFA World Cup 26 Los Angeles™ and Super Bowl LXI Host Committees.

Schloessman leads LASEC’s strategic efforts to attract the most sought-after major events in the world and plays a crucial role in ensuring these events have an impact long after the fans go home. Schloessman established the LASEC Business Connect program, that helps provide local small and diverse businesses with opportunities to compete for major event contracts and the creation of community legacy programs to build a more equitable region.

Under Schloessman’s leadership, the Los Angeles region has been awarded more than a dozen major events including the 2004, 2011, 2018 & 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend, 2015 Special Olympics World Games, 2017 NHL All-Star Game, Super Bowl LVI, 2022 MLB All-Star Week, 2023 College Football Playoff National Championship, 123rd U.S. Open Championship, 2026 U.S. Women’s Open Championship, FIFA World Cup 26™, Super Bowl LXI, 2027 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball West Regional and LASEC continues to support the Local Organizing Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

LASEC also hosts three annual events focused on bringing community supporters together with industry leaders: Dodgers All-Access, a behind-the scenes experience at Dodgers Stadium, Lakers All-Access, an exclusive night on the court at Crypto.com Arena; and the LASEC Golf Classic at the storied Riviera Country Club.

Prior to joining LASEC, Schloessman was a 13-year veteran of CB Commercial (now CBRE), the largest commercial real estate company in the United States. As managing officer of CB Commercial’s Downtown Los Angeles office, she was responsible for business development, operations and management of the Los Angeles region’s office professionals and oversaw CB Commercial’s community relations efforts. Schloessman also served as marketing director for CB Commercial’s Western Division and has more than 10 years of experience as lead broker for major lease transactions in the Downtown Los Angeles market.

Schloessman is an active member of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Gene Sykes serves as the chair of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) Board of Directors and as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He was elected to role of USOPC chair in July of 2022, and unanimously approved as an IOC member in July of 2024.

Sykes is the co-chairman of Global Mergers and Acquisitions and co-chairman of the Global Technology, Media and Telecom Group at Goldman Sachs & Co. He joined the firm in 1984 and became a partner in 1992.

Sykes took a leave from Goldman in 2015 to join the L.A. bid committee as CEO and oversee the successful bid campaign that ended in 2017 with the International Olympic Committee awarding the 2028 Games to Los Angeles. He stepped down from the CEO role in December of 2018.

In addition to serving on the board LA28, and on the executive committee of Organizing Committee for the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Sykes serves on the board of the Pacific Council on International Policy and Common Sense Media.

He is trustee emeritus of Stanford University and a member of the Advisory Council of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Sykes earned a bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard College in 1980 and an MBA from Stanford University in 1984.

Erikk Aldridge has dedicated his life to advocating for and developing social impact programs that have enriched the lives of thousands of Angelenos. At LA28, Erikk serves as the steward for delivering the organizing committees’ impact commitments and legacy as well as overseeing community relations ahead of the 2028 Games. He is charged with expanding access for Angelenos through the Games in the areas of youth sports and economic empowerment including supporting the development of small business outreach, and workforce pathway programs ahead of the 2028 Games.

Erikk joined LA28, after an extensive career in public relations, social impact, community relations and corporate philanthropy with AEG, Disney, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Lakers. Through the years, he was responsible for driving several nationally and locally recognized programs and initiatives around equity and opportunity for youth, community members and businesses. Erikk spent 6 years in nonprofit leadership as the CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Venice. He also served for seven years as an adjunct professor at USC in the Annenberg School of Communication and is currently on the board of directors for UC San Diego Athletics and the UC San Diego Alumni Board where he earned his undergraduate degree and played on the baseball team. Erikk is a native of Inglewood, California.

Kevin Demoff is in his 16th year as President of the Los Angeles Rams and in 2024 was named President of Team & Media Operations for Kroenke Sports and Entertainment.

As President of Team and Media Operations, Demoff oversees operations of all KSE teams including the Denver Nuggets (NBA), Colorado Avalanche (NHL), Colorado Rapids (MLS), and Colorado Mammoth (NLL), as well as operations of all KSE Media properties including Altitude Sports and Entertainment, KSE Radio, and Outdoor Sportsman Group.  In this role, he reports to KSE Vice Chairman Josh Kroenke.

As President of the Los Angeles Rams, Demoff serves as the team’s top front office executive and liaison to owner and chairman, Stan Kroenke, on all organizational matters.

After serving on the working group that helped Kroenke return the Rams – Los Angeles’ original professional sports team – home to L.A., Demoff is playing a significant role in delivering on Kroenke’s vision to design and construct Hollywood Park, the 298-acre sports and entertainment district in Inglewood that features SoFi Stadium, the home of the Rams. Beyond the stadium, the campus includes the 6,000-seat YouTube Theater, an office complex that is the home of the NFL’s West Coast headquarters, a retail district that is under development, and is currently the largest entitled real-estate project in Southern California.

Demoff has also joined forces with the LA24 Olympic Bid Committee to help deliver the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games to Los Angeles along with other marquee events like the FIFA World Cup 26™ and Super Bowl LXI in 2027. Beyond the impact of Super Bowl and other major events hosted in LA and Inglewood, the Hollywood Park development is expected to generate hundreds of millions in new annual economic activity across the region.

In Demoff’s tenure with the Rams, he has shaped the club’s business efforts with a focus on delivering a best-in-class experience for fans and partners, building a team that reflects Los Angeles, and increasing the club’s presence in the community. He has spearheaded the organization’s efforts to become one of the strongest philanthropic partners in professional sports and has intentionally built one of the most diverse front offices in sports. The Rams rank in the top quartile of all NFL teams in terms of racial and gender diversity across the organization.

Demoff has also expanded that commitment beyond LA and helped launch the Black Sports Business Symposium, which aims to create new opportunities for diverse professionals in sports, and to increase Black representation in the industry. He also regularly supports programs aimed at increasing diversity across the NFL, including the Ozzie Newsome General Manager Forum and Quarterback Coaching Summit.

Reinforcing the Rams’ commitment to the Los Angeles community, Demoff was selected to sit on the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce’s CEO Council and serves on multiple boards including the Los Angeles Sports Council, and the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission, as well as its philanthropic initiative, ChampionLA.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Calif., Demoff received a bachelors’ degree in history and a Masters in Business Administration from Dartmouth, where he serves on the MBA Leadership Council.

Paul Krekorian is the Executive Director of the City of Los Angeles’ Office of Major Events.  In that position he leads all of the City’s preparations for hosting upcoming major events, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 2027 NFL Super Bowl, and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Mr. Krekorian recently completed 15 years of service on the Los Angeles City Council.  He served for two years as the President of the Council, and for over 10 years as the Chair of the Budget Committee.  While on the Council, Mr. Krekorian also served for 11 years on the Boards of Directors of LA Metro and Metrolink.  Prior to his election to the City Council, Mr. Krekorian was the Assistant Majority Leader of the California State Assembly.

In two decades of public service, Mr. Krekorian has been one of Southern California’s most impactful elected leaders in creating economic opportunity, protecting the environment, fighting gun violence, ensuring fiscal responsibility, and restoring integrity in government.  Before entering government, he had a successful 20-year career as an attorney in the private sector.

Mr. Rothenberg is Chairman of 1st Century Bank, an independent bank he founded on the west side of Los Angeles serving, professionals, entrepreneurs, small businesses and high net worth individuals. He also is Chairman of Premier Partnerships, a company that maximizes revenues for professional, collegiate and municipal arenas, stadiums, theaters, buildings and other properties through the sale of naming rights and sponsorships.

In his legal career he was managing partner in Manatt, Phelps, Rothenberg and Phillips and a partner in Latham and Watkins before he retired in 2000. He was President of the State Bar of California and a member of the Board of the Century City and Beverly Hills Bar associations. He currently acts as an Arbitrator in major business disputes.
In the corporate world he has served on the Board of several banks and Zenith National (NYSE), Arden Realty (NYSE) and CPK (NASDAQ).

In the sports world he was Commissioner of Soccer in the 1984 Olympics, President of the United States Soccer Federation, Chairman and CEO of the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Chairman of the FIFA 1999 Women’s World Cup in the United States, Founder of Major League Soccer and the United States Soccer Foundation. He has also served as counsel for and executive with the NBA and several teams including the L.A. Lakers, L.A. Kings and L.A. Clippers.
In community activities, among others he has served as Chairman of the Constitutional Rights Foundation, The Fraternity of Friends of the Music Center, Los Angeles Sports Council, Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board and Los Angeles World Airways (LAX).

Tracy Austin’s meteoric rise in women’s tennis was so startling and attention-grabbing that when, as a 14-year-old she lost in the quarterfinals of the 1977 US Open to Betty Stöve, her post-match cool down included a supportive call from President Jimmy Carter.

Austin’s mature game, exceedingly advanced for a player so young, led her to win two US Opens over the game’s premier legends – Chris Evert in 1979 and Martina Navratilova in 1981 – but in a career moving at the speed of an arrow launched from a bow, assorted injuries (primarily back and persistent sciatica) shortened what had initially appeared to be an assault on the record books. By the time she was 21, Austin’s playing days were over – although she attempted a few comebacks – but her 35 professional titles and No. 1 world ranking in 1980 was more than enough to make her the youngest person (29 years old) inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Tennis observers should have seen her immortality coming. She appeared on the cover of World Tennis magazine at age 4. The Californian had tennis genes – her sister Pam and brothers Jeff and John were all touring professionals. At age 10 in 1972, she won the U.S. National 12s championship and had earned two dozen age-group titles. On March 22, 1976, she appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headline, “A Star Is Born.” When as an unseeded player Austin steamrolled into the 1977 US Open quarterfinals with four impressive victories, three of which were in straight sets, she had become the youngest quarterfinalist in a major event in history. In 1990, a younger Jennifer Capriati secured that distinction at the French Open.

At Wimbledon in 1979 she was seeded No.4 and still wearing braces when she defeated 35-year-old Billie Jean King in the quarterfinals, 6-4, 6-7, 6-2. She lost to Navratilova in the semifinals, 7-5, 6-1, but the promise of what the US Open would hold a few months later was palatable. As the third seed, Austin won four of her first five rounds in straight sets, and then produced a memorable 7-5, 7-5 upset over Navratilova in the semifinals. Against No. 1 Evert in a finals match that set US Open attendance records, Austin was relentless from the baseline, looking like a human ball machine. The rallies were long – many surpassing 40 strokes – and tactical with ball placement, but Austin was in a zone throughout, registering a 6-4, 6-3 victory. Austin again donned a Sports Illustrated cover (September 17, 1979), the headline reading “Yowee,” and a story heavy on the proclamation by Austin that “she simply couldn’t believe it.”

At 16 years, 8 months and 28 days, Austin became the youngest male or female champion in US Open history, a distinction that still remains today.

Two years later, Austin was back in the US Open championship match. She was still three months away from turning 19, but Austin emerged as champion, once again rolling through the draw as the No. 3 seed. Navratilova’s serve-and-volley game was nullified by Austin’s precise groundstrokes on a windy afternoon in Flushing Meadow, 6-1, 7-6, 7-6. Austin was at her best in New York, but on two occasions she was a semifinalist at Wimbledon (1979, 1980) and a quarterfinalist at the French Open (1982, 1983). She was a quarterfinalist at the Australian Open in 1981. One of her biggest tournament victories came at the 1981 Toyota Championship where she defeated both Evert (6-1, 6-2) and Navratilova (2-6, 6-4, 6-2) back-to-back, one of only three players in history to earn that distinction.

She teamed with her brother John to win the 1980 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles Championship, the first brother-sister combination to achieve that feat, over Aussie’s Dianne Fromholtz and Mark Edmondson, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3.

Austin was ranked in the world Top 10 six times from 1978 to 1983. She played on Federation Cup winning teams in 1978, 1979, and 1980 and was part of Wightman Cup winning teams in 1979 and 1981.

Following her playing career, Austin delved into broadcasting, becoming a premier analyst with several networks, including ESPN, USA Network, Fox Sports, and the TennisChannel. In 1992 she published her autobiography Beyond Center Court.

From starting his career on Wall Street at the age of 23 to now, four decades later focused on the underserved communities in Los Angeles, Doug Kimmelman has built a life around solving complex challenges—and doing so with purpose.

Doug’s career began at Goldman Sachs, where he developed a deep expertise in energy and infrastructure. Joining the firm in 1983 in its Pipeline and Utilities Department, he quickly immersed himself in the high-stakes world of energy investment. Over the next two decades, he rose to General Partner and played a key role in launching Goldman Sachs’s electricity trading business while expanding its energy infrastructure portfolio. His work wasn’t just about profits — it was about building systems that powered cities, fueled economies, and addressed the evolving demands of the energy sector.

In 2005, driven by a desire to tackle even bigger challenges, Doug founded Energy Capital Partners (ECP), a private equity firm focused on the transition to a more reliable and cleaner energy future. Under his leadership, ECP has become the largest private owner of power generation in the United States—including, for many years, the largest generator in California and Texas—and today manages over $35 billion in assets. ECP’s investments span natural gas, renewables, battery storage, carbon capture, and recycling, always with a focus on long-term sustainability and innovation.

Doug’s ability to navigate complexity and drive impact extends well beyond the boardroom. After the passing of his wife, Carol “Lulu” Kimmelman, from ovarian cancer in 2017, Doug and his four children set out to honor her legacy as a devoted mother, educator, California native, and collegiate tennis champion at USC who believed deeply in the transformative power of education, sports, and wellness.

The result is Lulu’s Place—a bold, 34-acre nonprofit campus in Los Angeles, steps from LAX, designed to serve thousands of under-resourced youth annually. The campus will feature state-of-the-art facilities, including a STEAM learning lab, 24 tennis courts, multi-use athletic fields, sports medicine and wellness facilities, and vibrant community spaces. Like Doug’s work in energy, the project is ambitious in scope and grounded in impact.

Lulu’s Place is made possible through powerful partnerships with the United States Tennis Association and its charitable arm, the USTA Foundation; TGR Foundation, a Tiger Woods charity; Winward Academy; Cedars-Sinai; and Providence. It stands not only as a tribute to Carol’s legacy but also as a solution to long-standing inequities in access, opportunity, and health.

Doug’s story is one of scale and heart. Whether leading global investments through ECP or helping build a brighter future for children in Los Angeles, his approach remains consistent: identify the need, assemble the right team, and stay mission focused.

A proud New Jersey native, Doug holds a B.A. in Economics from Stanford University and an MBA from the Wharton School. He divides his time between New York and Miami but remains deeply connected to Los Angeles, the city where he and Carol met and lived as newlyweds and where she taught at Raymond Avenue Elementary in South Central LA.

Michael (“Mike”) McKee is a Principal of The Contrarian Group, a boutique private equity and investment firm in Newport Beach, California, specializing in real estate, technology, and operating business investments.

Prior to joining Contrarian Group, Mike had an extensive career in senior executive roles in the real estate industry after a distinguished legal career in the earlier years. His is a rare example of seamlessly blending service to others with top-tier business leadership and legal expertise. Mike began his professional life as an Episcopal priest at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena (1971–1977), an experience that grounded him in community service, empathy, and a deep understanding of human needs. After earning his Juris Doctor from UCLA School of Law, he entered corporate law at Latham & Watkins LLP in 1979, becoming a partner in 1986. There, he honed his legal acumen, strategic thinking, and ability to navigate complex corporate and real estate transactions.

In 1994, Mike joined Irvine Company, a privately held real estate development and investment company, where he served as Vice Chairman, CFO, and COO, ultimately becoming CEO in 2007. From 2010-2016, he was CEO of Bentall Kennedy (U.S.), a leading real estate investment advisor. From 1989 to 2018, Mike served as a director of HCP, Inc. (NYSE: HCP), including as Executive Chairman from 2016 to 2018, and as Interim CEO and President in 2016.

Today, Mike chairs Realty Income Corporation (NYSE: O), a Fortune 500 real estate investment trust, and TGR Foundation, a Tiger Woods charity, focused on empowering students to pursue their passions through education. He also serves as Vice Chairman of Lulu’s Place, advancing opportunities for underserved youth in Los Angeles, and is a director on the board of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE: FAF). Prior board experience includes Healthpeak Properties, Inc. (NYSE: DOC), Irvine Apartment Communities, Mandalay Resort Group, Oasis Residential Inc., The Donald Bren Foundation, Hoag Hospital Foundation, and the Fletcher Jones Foundation.

In addition to his law degree from UCLA School of Law, Mike holds a Master of Social Ethics from the University of Southern California, a Master of Divinity from the California Seminary of the West, and a bachelor’s degree from Azusa Pacific University, where he served as Student Body President. Mike lives in Laguna Beach, California, with his wife, Cindy, and they have two grown children and four delightful grandchildren.

Pam Shriver, born on Independence Day, first picked up a tennis racquet at the age of 3. The middle daughter of Sam and Margot Shriver showed early promise in a sport she grew up watching her parents and grandparents enjoy. As her tennis game blossomed, she showed her prowess as center on the girls’ varsity basketball team at McDonogh School where she graduated in 1979.

Bursting onto the national tennis stage in 1978, Shriver was billed the “Legend of Lutherville” when she reached the finals of the U.S. Open as an amateur at the age of 16 (losing to Chris Evert). During this run, Shriver made famous the revolutionary Prince oversized racquet invented by the late Howard Head. Throughout the 1980s, she was ranked among the top 10 women’s singles players in the world, peaking at number three and winning 21 singles titles. Meanwhile, her doubles career also flourished, winning 112 titles, including 22 Grand Slam titles, 21 in women’s doubles (20 paired with Martina Navratilova and 1 with Natasha Zvereva), seven Australian Open titles, four French Open titles, five Wimbledon titles, and five U.S. Open titles, plus one mixed doubles with Emilio Sanchez at the 1987 French Open. While teaming with Navratilova, the two set the record of 109 consecutive match wins from April 1983 thru July 1985. This winning stretch included winning The Grand Slam in 1984. (Winning all four majors in the same calendar year) While partnering with Zina Garrison, she captured the 1988 Olympic Gold Medal in doubles in Seoul.

A top player on the women’s tennis tour for more than 15 years and a 2002 inductee into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Shriver also has become a valued and respected member of the sports media community. She has been a member of ESPN’s tennis broadcast team starting in 1990 where she worked even as she continued to play on the professional tour until 1997 when she retired. Her work for ESPN at Wimbledon and the US Open has been viewed by millions as she calls matches from either the play by play or analyst positions in the booth or sit’s court side sharing her mid match observations. In 2021, Shriver expanded her tennis broadcasting skills to the Tennis Channel. In recent years, Pam has become a regular contributor to the highly touted and informative The Tennis Podcast.

Well known for her interviews with fans and celebrities, Shriver’s approach is both straightforward and entertaining. Whether talking strategy with a coach in the player’s box – discussing the lure of tennis with the likes of Tony Bennett, Alec Baldwin, Michael Phelps, Henry “Hank” Aaron and Anna Wintour – or mixing it up with the British fans on Wimbledon’s Henman Hill (aka Murray Mound), Shriver’s charm and professionalism enhance the action on the court for millions of viewers. Shriver is a go-to-interview for all major media outlets across the globe when any major tennis story breaks. Shriver’s coverage of Roger Federer’s final match at the 2022 Laver Cup was a prime example of her acumen for covering the sport.

In 2022, Shriver came forward with her story about an inappropriate relationship with her tennis coach, which began when she was 17 and ended five years later. Safeguarding current and future athletes from this type of traumatic experience as well as personal healing were reasons for speaking her truth.

Until late Spring 2025, Shriver served as a coach to current WTA Tour player Donna Vekić of Croatia. Vekić reached The Championships at Wimbledon 2024 singles semifinals and achieved a Silver Medal for Croatia at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games during their time as mentor/mentee.

The busy mother of three, Shriver is very active in a wide range of charities, including many in her native Baltimore, MD as well as her current hometown of Los Angeles, CA. From 1986 to 2010, Shriver hosted an annual charity tennis event in her hometown raising $4 Million for local causes including Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Baltimore Community Foundation. A past president of the Women’s Tennis Association (1991-1994), first elite player to join the USTA board of directors 1997-2003, first USTA Foundation President from 2000-2005. Pam is also on the WTA Charities Board of Directors and volunteers for Southern California Tennis Association (SCTA), Coaches Across America (formerly Up2Us Sports), ACEing Autism and JDRF respectively.

Wendy Wachtell is the Chair of the Board of the Joseph Drown Foundation, a private foundation that distributes approximately $10,000,000 annually to nonprofits in the Los Angeles area. The primary focus of the Foundation is education, with a particular interest in supporting strong K-12 public schools and college access programs. Other fields of interest include medical research, community, health and social services and arts and humanities. Until her retirement this past spring, after 38 years, Ms. Wachtell was the President and CEO of the Foundation and as such was responsible for all grant evaluation, site visits, recommendations to the Board of Directors and post-grant evaluation. In addition, Ms. Wachtell oversaw the investment portfolio of approximately $100 million in assets. Ms. Wachtell supervised the administrative, legal, tax and accounting activities of the Foundation and represents the Foundation at programs, conferences and special events. .

In addition, Ms. Wachtell is a Director of Emles Trust, an asset manager with transparent, liquid ETFs and mutual funds that provide investors with access to a suite of differentiated investment strategies. Ms. Wachtell also co-manages a family limited partnership that includes marketable securities, investments in private companies, and real estate.

Ms. Wachtell currently serves on a variety of non-profit Boards in Los Angeles, including Harvard-Westlake School, International Medical Corps. Past board service includes The John Thomas Dye School, The Accelerated School, Southern California Grantmakers, and Los Angeles Urban Funders.

She holds an MA in Journalism from the University of Southern California and a BA from Wellesley College. Ms. Wachtell is married to Bob Graziano and they have five children and two grandchildren.

Chris Helfrich is a social entrepreneur and nonprofit leader committed to finding innovative solutions to community-based issues and problems.

Chris is the President and CEO of Stephen and Ayesha Curry’s Oakland-based charity, Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, which he helped launch in July 2019. With a mission to unleash the potential of every child, Eat. Learn. Play. is committed to improving the lives of kids and families in Oakland, the Bay Area, and across the country. The organization supports children by fighting to end childhood hunger, ensuring students have access to a quality education, and providing safe places for children to play and be active. Chris has expanded the foundation to include over 60+ community and corporate partnerships, including Kaiser Permanente, Workday, Under Armour, Joie, ESPN, KABOOM! and the Alameda County Community Food Bank. Built on more than six years of work supporting Oakland students and public schools, he has played an instrumental role in securing over $90 million in investments toward Eat. Learn. Play.’s “Whole Child, Whole School” approach, which frames how the foundation serves the needs of children by addressing their well-being and the environments where they learn and grow. Through this approach, Eat. Learn. Play. has provided 25 million meals to Oakland kids and families, helped remodel 20 schoolyards and six gymnasiums, redesigned 14 cafeterias, and modernized three libraries across Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). In providing academic support, the foundation recently committed to closing the literacy gap by delivering one-on-one tutoring support for 10,000 OUSD students over the next five years.

Before this, Chris served as CEO of the Starlight Children’s Foundation, the nation’s leading organization working to transform the hospital experience for millions of seriously and terminally ill children across the U.S. In this role, Chris oversaw creating two major, innovative programs that fueled Starlight’s success. First, Starlight Gowns, an effort to revolutionize children’s hospital gowns by replacing ugly, uncomfortable, and embarrassing gowns with ones that are soft, comfortable, and a source of joy for the kids who wear them. Lucasfilm, Marvel, Major League Baseball, and Disney are among the brands that have featured their iconic designs on almost 500,000 gowns distributed to hospitalized kids since the beginning of 2017. Chris also spearheaded the creation of Starlight Xperience, a groundbreaking new program built in collaboration with Google that brings the magic of virtual reality to hundreds of children’s hospitals across the country. The inspiring program allows kids to be virtually teleported out of the hospital to almost anywhere in the world – or beyond – they dream to go. Chris made a significant impact as CEO, with a nearly 400% growth in fundraising and program spending for the foundation.

Before joining Starlight, Chris worked for the United Nations Foundation, where he spent over five years leading Nothing But Nets, the world’s largest global, grassroots campaign to defeat malaria. During his tenure, the campaign delivered more than five million life-saving bed nets and other malaria interventions to families across 30 sub-Saharan African countries. It served as a leading global health advocate on Capitol Hill, reducing malaria deaths by 60%. While leading Nothing But Nets, Chris recruited Stephen Curry to become an ambassador for the campaign. The two traveled together to refugee camps in Tanzania in 2013 and the White House in 2014 to support the fight to defeat malaria.

Chris graduated from Trinity University, where he was named Young Alumnus of the Year in 2018. He is a member of the Board of Directors for Starlight Children’s Foundation and the Leadership Council for Classy. He resides in the Bay Area with his wife, Kate, and three children.

Christopher Schwarzenegger is the Director of Development at Indus Valley Media, a Los Angeles-based production company servicing the global film and television marketplace. Schwarzenegger serves as an Associate Producer on Indus Valley’s upcoming production on the acclaimed global artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, and a Co-Executive Producer on an untitled documentary on Alec Baldwin.

Schwarzenegger came to Indus Valley from Malka Sports where he worked on some of the biggest sports podcasts in the world. Before joining Malka, Schwarzenegger worked for acclaimed sports psychologist Trevor Moawad. Says Schwarzenegger, “Trevor was an incredible mentor, and it was incredible to watch him work with athletes up close. He understood how to motivate and encourage athletes to be at the best even when they didn’t believe in themselves.” Christopher intends to use this experience to empower the millions of athletes competing in Special Olympics events every year and joined the Founders Council in 2024. Schwarzenegger is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in psychology.

Renata Simril is President & CEO of the LA84 Foundation and founder of the Play Equity Fund. Together these organizations form an innovative “enterprise” model at the intersection of positive youth development, sports and philanthropy. LA84 invests in research, grants and programs as the legacy of the 1984 Olympic Games, while the Play Equity Fund expands this impact through policy advocacy, coalition building, and strategic partnerships.

Under Renata’s leadership, this model drives systems change to ensure all youth, regardless of their background or zip code, have access to the benefits of sport and play. Renata’s career spans public, private and nonprofit sectors. She is committed to making sure the region’s next era of world-class events — including the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics and Paralympics — leave a lasting legacy of opportunity, equity and thriving communities, proving that sport can be a powerful catalyst for the collective good.

Julie Uhrman is the CEO and Co-Founder of Angel City Football Club (ACFC), Los Angeles’ professional women’s soccer team that debuted in 2022 in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). ACFC is one of the world’s only majority female-founded and run professional sports teams and was recently named the world’s most valuable women’s sports team with a $250 million valuation. Julie co-founded ACFC with Academy Award-winning actress and activist Natalie Portman and technology venture capitalist Kara Nortman.

In recent years, Julie has received numerous accolades for her contributions to the sports industry. In 2024, she was honored with the Brand Genius Award by ADWEEK, was named to the Inc. Female Founders 250 List, and was one of the 50 Most Inspirational Figures in Sport by Sports Illustrated. In 2023, she was recognized as a Sports Business Journal (SBJ) Game Changer and was listed among the top ten Influencers by SportsPro Media. The Sports Business Journal also named her one of the Most Influential People in Sports Business in 2022. Additionally, she has been featured in Adweek’s Most Powerful Women In Sports for two consecutive years. She was also acknowledged as and honored as a Women of Inspiration by WISE (Women in Sports and Events) in 2022.

Under Julie’s leadership, Angel City Football Club has also achieved significant recognition. Most recently, the club was honored by ESPN as the Humanitarian Team of the Year at the 2024 ESPY Awards, in recognition of its incredible community impact work. In May 2023, ACFC was named Sports Team of the Year by Sports Business Journal, making history as the first women’s team to win the category. Fast Company has also recognized the team with several honors, including Most Innovative Companies of 2024, Brands that Matter Awards, and Best Place to Work for Innovators. Furthermore, in 2024, the club received accolades from the Inc. Best in Business Awards in 2024.

Julie is a highly sought-after public speaker, having spoken at events around the globe, including on the main stage at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Global Summit, several World Football Summits across Europe, Asia, and The Americas, Leaders Week, SBJ World Congress, Harvard Business School Fellows Summit, Sportico, MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, SportNXT in Melbourne, Australia, Advertising Week NY and Sydney, and ESPNw.

Julie is active in the Los Angeles sports and technology communities. She is a board member of the LA Sports and Entertainment Council, The Rose Bowl Institute, and the LA Sports Council. She is also an active executive in the LA Chapter of WISE (Women in Sports and Events). Additionally, Julie is part of the DraftKings’ All-Star Network as an Advisor to Drive by DraftKings and earned her FIFA Diploma in Club Management in 2024.

Before co-founding ACFC, Julie was the EVP and General Manager of OTT Ventures at Lionsgate, Head of Platform Business Development at Jaunt, a virtual reality content startup, and founder of OUYA, a pioneering Android-based game console. She is a proud mom of two and resides in Los Angeles.

Reynold Hoover is the CEO of LA28, the Organizing Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. He oversees the planning, delivery and execution of the Games and was appointed to the role in June of 2024.

Hoover’s held various senior civilian roles in the US federal government and leadership positions in the US military in addition as a three-star Lieutenant General. He’s led the United States through the most complex logistics operations and was awarded the highest non-combat award in the Defense Department.

Hoover graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and holds master’s degrees in public and Private Management from Birmingham Southern College, and in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. He received his law degree from The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law.