A lively look back at the 2026 Bar Raiser Summit, where Bruin MarComm staff connected virtually via Zoom.
Explore speaker sessions, useful templates, tiny desk concerts, recipes, Zoom backgrounds, creative takeaways,
and this year’s Most-Likely-To winners—a mix of inspiration, fun, and memorable moments
How to procure and maintain partnerships and sponsorships around new and existing initiatives/programs on and off campus.
How to create and work with influencers on and off campus; explore opportunities for higher-ed to collaborate within the burgeoning space.
How to procure and maintain partnerships and sponsorships around new and existing initiatives/programs on and off campus.
How to create and work with influencers on and off campus; explore opportunities for higher-ed to collaborate within the burgeoning space.
Anne Dahlem & Michelle Popowitz
Greatest Health Issue of our Time
UCLA's groundbreaking Depression Grand Challenge is focused on better understanding types and causes, developing new treatments and putting understanding and strategies into practice, especially for communities underserved by current systems and methods. Join this 40-minute speed ideation session, where you will bring your storytelling expertise, creativity and passion for UCLA to work on a team with fellow UCLA communicators to simplify and reimagine key descriptors of the overarching strategic objectives of the Depression Grand Challenge. Apply your disrupter mindset to better articulate the complexities of the DGC and the leading work of UCLA to inspire and engage stakeholders, our vast Bruin network and the world.
With enlightenment as its core purpose, UCLA possesses the means and responsibility to influence and impact lives of individuals and communities in Los Angeles and beyond. Featuring leaders furthering cause via their work, this session aims to embolden and inspire action among our diverse storytellers.
Located in the nation’s largest, most diverse market, home to industry centers and clusters including bioscience, design, entertainment, manufacturing, tech, and transportation, UCLA possesses an opportunity to support Los Angeles. Take a look from several POVs and explore new ways to connect UCLA with Los Angeles.
Cassie Rauser & Jonathan Van Dyke
Sustainably Sourced
The Sustainable LA Grand Challenge is different things to different people — and as a campus wide initiative that engages faculty and students from all disciplines, in some ways that was by design. Although it is one of UCLA’s most well-known brands to its external partners, the “challenge of the grand challenge" has always been how to talk narrowly about such a complicated topic. In this 40-minute workshop, we re-introduce the Sustainable LA Grand Challenge brand through its new signature programming Transformative Research and Collaboration (TRACtion) focused on transforming transportation. This workshop will give you an opportunity to find that "through line" message when the message for your audience is everything — working together to put the initiative on its best foot, as it embarks on a new way forward.
Rob Whitfield
In today’s hybrid world, finding new ways to build trust, partner together in faster and more effective ways and deliver with more joy are even more important than they used to be. This experience will provide new ways of thinking – and practical tools – to help you be more successful in your role, whoever you work with and wherever they are.
Paco Retana, Blair Taylor, & Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks
With enlightenment as its core purpose, UCLA possesses the means and responsibility to influence and impact lives of individuals and communities in Los Angeles and beyond. Featuring leaders furthering cause via their work, this session aims to embolden and inspire action among our diverse storytellers.
Stephen Cheung, Trish Halamandaris, & Michael Lejeune
Shalom Staub (Moderator)
Located in the nation’s largest, most diverse market, home to industry centers and clusters including bioscience, design, entertainment, manufacturing, tech and transportation, UCLA possesses an opportunity to support Los Angeles. Take a look from several POVs and explore new ways to connect UCLA with Los Angeles.
Olivia Cheng brings over a decade of integrated marketing and brand engagement experience leading successful marketing campaigns in storytelling and digital content. At LA28, Olivia leads marketing and brand engagement efforts which include the development of digital media, community and fan experience strategies. Prior to LA28, Olivia spent approximately five years at Legends, an experiential company that offers 360° innovative solutions within the sports, entertainment, hospitality, retail, and attractions business. At Legends, Olivia oversaw all aspects of Legends’ marketing, advertising, and creative services, specializing in traditional and digital marketing and strategy development. Prior to Legends, Olivia served in multiple marketing roles at Philadelphia 76ers and Paragon Sports. A proud New York native, Olivia currently resides in LA and holds a BS in public relations and sport management from Syracuse University. When she isn't planning the LA28 Games, Olivia can be found marathon training or spending time with her puppy, Red.
Pete Angelis has served as Assistant Vice Chancellor of UCLA Housing & Hospitality (H&H) since 2007. He oversees the entire H&H operation which houses nearly 20,000 students, faculty and staff and serves roughly 32,000 meals daily. The hospitality division of H&H includes the 4 star Meyer & Renee Luskin Conference Center, UCLA Guest House and Lake Arrowhead Lodge & Bruin Woods Family Resort. Prior to his appointment as Assistant Vice Chancellor, Pete worked in the hospitality industry for more than 20 years with industry leaders such as Hyatt Corporation and Hilton Worldwide Hotels. Pete received his B.A. in Economics at the University of California, Berkeley and completed the Executive Program at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.
Yann is the Executive Creative Director of Left Field Labs, a creative technology agency where he leads the creative vision across a multidisciplinary team. With his extensive experience in design and digital marketing combined with emerging technologies, he has helped some of the most ambitious brands embrace new innovation to make calculated leaps forward. Yann has worked with well-known brands such as Google, Meta, Amazon, Ford, Estée Lauder, Cisco, Nokia, Sony, Unity and Mercedes-Benz amongst others.
Previously, he led the creation of content, human machine experience design and digital experiential for both Ford and Lincoln in North America, where he co-invented a Level-2 autonomous driving feature. Yann is a frequent speaker at industry conferences such as World Disrupt Forum, SAE World Congress, SXSW and Event Marketer, with topics ranging from neuroscience applied to experience design, or how AI has been positively disrupting the creative industry.
At Leftfield Labs, Yann and his team use technology and storytelling to design experiences that bring joy to customers, while exceeding strategic objectives for clients. His team is at their best when delivering innovative work that combines a thoughtful, results-oriented approach with deeply human experiences that re-engage storytelling and promote a sense of joy.
Stephen Cheung ('00, MSW '07) is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) and its subsidiary, the World Trade Center Los Angeles (WTCLA). As CEO of the LAEDC, Mr. Cheung brings together the capabilities of LAEDC’s mission-delivery department areas, including the Institute for Applied Economics (Research), Business Assistance, Industry Cluster Development, Workforce Development, World Trade Center Los Angeles (International), Strategic Relations, Communications & Marketing, and Public Policy, into a single team that delivers the LAEDC’s critically important, public-benefit mission—reinventing
Prior to joining LAEDC and WTCLA, Cheung was the Secretary General and Managing Director of International Trade and Foreign Affairs for Los Angeles Mayors Eric Garcetti and Antonio Villaraigosa and was responsible for managing policies and programs related to the Port of Los Angeles, Los Angeles World Airports, International Affairs, Global Trade and Clean Technology.
Cheung currently sits on the Board of Advisors of UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs, UCLA Extension, Coro Southern California and Sister Cities of Los Angeles, while also serving on the Los Angeles County Workforce Development Board.
Michael Dirda leads a team of writers and advisors who support UCLA executives — including Chancellor Gene Block and EVCP Darnell Hunt — with their communications needs. He also works on strengthening UCLA’s systems of internal communications through the use of new technology and improved processes. An honorary Bruin since 2020, Mike previously served as speechwriter to UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ and has also worked with Stanford, Yale, Penn State, Oberlin, NYU, Harvard, and the College Board.
Rob English is a Cultural Change Specialist. Starting his career in traditional advertising he learned Brand Architecture while leading the creative vision on initiatives for Fortune 500 brands such as Vitamin Water, Reebok and Volkswagen. Specializing in brand development, he has a proven passion for breakthrough creative that can penetrate elusive and rapidly evolving targets such as youth, tech and fashion.
Specializing in merging brands with culture, Rob led the creative vision of Vitamin Water’s first national advertising campaigns with 50 Cent. Following this he was an agency creative lead for the Lifestyle division of Reebok which included women’s fashion and their legendary music programs. Through this work Rob’s brand and culture talents were utilized in launches for the Ice Cream Skate Shoe brand with Pharrell Williams, Scarlett Hearts with Scarlett Johansson, S. Carter with Jay Z and the G-Unit brand with 50 Cent.
This path soon led Rob to leave traditional advertising and begin working directly with artists and cultural figures. Establishing a more nimble approach to branding, storytelling and artist campaign development he creative directed marketing campaigns for Lady Gaga including her retail experience “Gaga’s Workshop” with Barney’s New York and her global perfume launch called Lady Gaga FAME. In 2016 Rob joined Ty Stiklorius to co-found the Artist Management firm Friends At Work, where he has creative directed for artists including John Legend and Lindsey Stirling. Rob now heads THE WORK bringing culture to the Social Impact space, Rob has worked on impact initiatives focused on the future of learning (MacArthur Foundation, CZI, SNHU) and criminal justice reform (John Legend's FREEAMERICA). Rob and THE WORK team conceptualized and produced “The Stinky Booty Song” Pampers Pure campaign with John Legend, which started a conversation about men and parenthood.
Dr. Nicole Green currently serves as the Senior Executive Director of UCLA Student Resilience and Mental Health Services. In her role she oversees Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), the Campus Assault Resources and Education (CARE) program, which provides sexual harassment and sexual violence prevention and advocacy services, and the Resilience In your Student Experience (RISE) Center, which provides mental health and well-being education and prevention services for students. Dr. Green is a counseling psychologist who received her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the University of Southern California. She received her Ed.M. from Harvard University Graduate School of Education and her BA in Psychology from UCLA. Her areas of interest include student resilience and academic success, particularly among students of color, African American family issues, and sexual assault, and intimate partner violence issues. Dr. Green is actively involved in the Organization of California Counseling Center Directors in Higher Education (OCCDHE).
Elaine Hagan (MBA '91) has worked for 30+ years at UCLA Anderson, where she serves as associate dean, entrepreneurial initiatives and as executive director of the school’s Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. She worked previously in project management for a San Diego-based engineering firm, as well as in development for Stanford University. Elaine earned her MBA at UCLA Anderson and her bachelor’s degree from UC Irvine.
Trish Halamandaris (MBA '92) returned to UCLA Anderson in 2017 as the Director of the Venture Accelerator at UCLA Anderson to initiate and build the program. The Accelerator operates year-round operating three curated programs for early stage startups to translate their entrepreneurial visions into innovative solutions. The program is running at an 85% success rate having supported over 225 companies to date with 8 exits, $176M in venture funding and $67M in sales. Trish is an award-winning chief marketing officer where she launched several #1 products at Disney, Electronic Arts, and Procter & Gamble. Prior to returning to UCLA Anderson, she was head of cloud marketing for Amazon’s games, and previously was CMO for XPRIZE, where she developed a number of corporate partnerships that stimulated innovation and investment. Trish earned a BS in finance and accounting from the Haas School of Business at the University of California Berkeley, and her MBA in marketing and finance from UCLA Anderson.
Darnell Hunt began serving as UCLA’s executive vice chancellor and provost — responsible for administering campus operations and the academic enterprise — in September of 2022. A celebrated scholar of race and media whose work has focused largely on the entertainment industry, EVCP Hunt is also well known for his longstanding commitment to high-quality public education, support of interdisciplinary research for the common good, and vision for inclusive excellence.
Since joining UCLA in 2001, EVCP Hunt has served as dean of the UCLA College’s Division of Social Sciences, chair of the Department of Sociology, and director of the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies. He currently holds faculty appointments in the departments of sociology and African American studies. EVCP Hunt received his Ph.D. and M.A. in sociology from UCLA, an M.B.A. from Georgetown University and an A.B. in public relations from USC.
Charlie Jensen is the program director of the Writers’ Program at UCLA Extension, one of the largest and most prestigious open enrollment programs in creative writing in the nation. He holds a BA in film studies and cultural studies & comparative literature from the University of Minnesota and an MFA in creative writing from Arizona State University. During this time at the Writers’ Program, Charlie has overseen enrollments double and revenue increase by $1.8M. He is the author of three collections of poetry, seven chapbooks, and his memoir, Splice of Life, will be published in 2024. The City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs awarded him a Cultural Trailblazer fellowship in 2019-2020.
Pete Angelis has served as Assistant Vice Chancellor of UCLA Housing & Hospitality (H&H) since 2007. He oversees the entire H&H operation which houses nearly 20,000 students, faculty and staff and serves roughly 32,000 meals daily. The hospitality division of H&H includes the 4 star Meyer & Renee Luskin Conference Center, UCLA Guest House and Lake Arrowhead Lodge & Bruin Woods Family Resort. Prior to his appointment as Assistant Vice Chancellor, Pete worked in the hospitality industry for more than 20 years with industry leaders such as Hyatt Corporation and Hilton Worldwide Hotels. Pete received his B.A. in Economics at the University of California, Berkeley and completed the Executive Program at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.
In 2019, Damien S. Navarro was selected by the Board of Outfest to become its next Executive Director. As Executive Director Damien oversees all day-to-day leadership and oversight responsibility for Outfest staff and programs, including fundraising, finance and administration, staff supervision, and external relations. In partnership with the Board of Directors, has been specifically tapped to lead Outfest into its next 40 years, including the implementation of a strategic vision and direction for the organization, as informed by a recently completed five-year Strategic Plan that expands its footprint nationally, globally and digitally.
Damien is a native Angeleno and a graduate of film studies from California State University, Fullerton. He began his career as a start-up entrepreneur, building the LA-based digital marketing and tech agency, Earthbound Media Group (EMG) / Brighter. Following it’s in 2013, Damien co-created The Institute, a boutique marketing and fundraising consulting firm and joined the faculty of Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. In 2017, he became President of VIMBY, a global content and brand entertainment studio previously co-owned by Mark Burnett and MGM.
His business and creative portfolio includes award-winning docs-series, as well as national and international advertising, events management, public relations, and fundraising campaigns for several Fortune 100 global brands, studios, nonprofits and publishers. He has sat on the boards of a number of Southern California trade and industry organizations, including the OC Ad Club and Think LA, and has been selected regularly as a public speaker and mentor for South by Southwest (SXSW), the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
Damien is the proud owner of Monkey Business Farms, a sustainable urban farm in LA’s Laurel Canyon, where he lives with his husband Dr. Adam Kawalek.
Michael Lejeune ('86) is Creative Director for Metro (Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority). Metro’s Design Studio creates award-winning core communications elements for the nation’s third largest transit agency, including advertising, wayfinding and environmental graphics, timetables, maps, fare media and customer information, bus and rail fleet design, web and mobile presence, and merchandising. For the past 20 years, Metro's communications work has been a critical component in successfully winning new riders and new funding, including the passage of two sales tax ballot measures (2008 and 2016) which together create a funding stream of some $140 billion over the next 40 years.
The agency has more than 100 awards since 2002, including honors from the American Public Transit Association (APTA), Harvard University, The World Bank, the Society of Environmental Graphic Designers and the Public Relations Society of America. Metro's work is included in AIGA's Design Archives and has been featured in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Communication Arts, Creative Review, Fast Company, Print, STEP Inside Design, HOW and Los Angeles magazines. In 2006, APTA named Metro the nation's Outstanding Transportation System, and in 2008, Metro received a ReBrand 100 Best Of Award. In 2009, the Washington DC-based sustainable transit think-tank, EMBARQ, created a short film profiling Metro’s approach to promoting transit.
Prior to joining Metro, Michael was Project Director at KBDA, the award-winning design and branding studio in West Los Angeles. He managed projects for Acura, Nike, 3Com, UCLA and Hilton Hotels, as well as writing for the City of Monterey, La Opinion and MicroTherapeutics. He also served as Creative Director for the 32-member in-house marketing agency of City of Hope Cancer Center. Freelance projects include work with The Music Center, The Natural History Museum of LA County, Crossroads School and The Brentwood School. Michael graduated from UCLA in 1986 with a degree in Communication Studies. He has presented more than three dozen talks on strategic communications, design and design management, including visits to Austin, Boston, Chicago, Memphis, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, San Antonio, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington DC. He is a graduate of the AIGA/Harvard Business School “Business Perspectives for Design Leaders” program and a past president of AIGA’s Los Angeles chapter.
Mary Osako is UCLA’s inaugural vice chancellor for strategic communications. In this role since September 2019, she oversees communications and media relations, brand marketing, and insights, and helps maintain and enhance UCLA’s reputation as a world-class public research university.
A Los Angeles native and UCLA alumna, Mary has extensive experience leading complex communications efforts at some of the most innovative Fortune 500 companies in the world. She is well-versed in all facets of communications, reputation management and brand marketing, encompassing media relations, crisis communications, public affairs, executive communications, events and social and digital marketing.
Previously, Mary served as chief communications officer of Activision Blizzard; head of global corporate communications at Amazon; and vice president of corporate, international and public policy communications at Yahoo! Immediately prior to joining UCLA, she was a partner and chief operating officer at Haven Tower Group, a leading strategic communications and marketing firm based in Santa Monica that serves corporate clients across the country, where she currently serves as vice chair of the firm’s board of advisors.
Mary serves on the board of directors of the Hammer Museum and the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles and is a PRWeek 2021 Hall of Femme honoree. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and a specialization in Asian American studies from UCLA in 1996.
Michelle Popowitz ('91, MPH '97), JD began working at UCLA in 2001 in the School of Dentistry administration. She was recruited to work for the Vice Chancellor for Research & Creative Activities (ORCA) in 2011. In April 2012, she and a colleague started a pilot program to catalyze team research on campus that blossomed into the campus-wide UCLA Grand Challenges initiative which now consists of two Grand Challenges. In 2020, Michelle moved from the Research Enhancement department within ORCA to the newly formed Depression Grand Challenge department, as the Executive Director. The Depression Grand Challenge has the central goal of cutting the global burden of depression on health and well-being in half by 2050. In her role as the administrative lead, Michelle is involved with all strategic and operational matters related to the Depression Grand Challenge including strategic planning, budget, fund management, various operations, fundraising, governance, intellectual property, partnerships and communications. Michelle is a thought leader in the university-led grand challenge space and has engaged in approximately 40 speaking engagements and consultations with universities regarding grand challenges and public impact-focused research. Prior to joining UCLA, Michelle worked as a transactional attorney and in hospital administration.
Dr. Cassie Rauser is the Executive Director of UCLA’s Sustainable LA Grand Challenge where she leads and coordinates efforts to transform Los Angeles into the most sustainable mega-city by 2050. In this position, Cassie uses her demonstrated ability to build relationships and forge collaborations among diverse groups inside and outside of the university to identify challenges specific to the L.A. region, and implement solutions with the goal of creating a more equitable and livable world. She was part of the consultant team that led the development of the first-ever sustainability plan for L.A. County — OurCounty — which was unanimously approved in 2019, and serves on the City of L.A.’s biodiversity expert council. She also has experience coordinating and developing major interdisciplinary grant proposals, and has contributed to the funding of multiple campus research centers, capital projects, graduate and undergraduate degree programs, and numerous individual faculty grants.
Previously she worked abroad building partnerships among private companies, local and national government and the community to create a public-private nature preserve in the tropics. She received her B.S. in biology from Arizona State University and her Ph.D. in ecology & evolutionary biology from University of California, Irvine
Sahil Punamia ('13) earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from UCLA in 2013. Upon graduating, Sahil received the Chancellor’s Service Award for his contributions to the university by leading a number of student organizations geared towards career and leadership development. Sahil spent several years after college as a management consultant for L.E.K. Consulting, where he helped C-Suite executives at major film studios, professional sports teams, and media investors pivot to the digital world of content creation, distribution, and consumption. Sahil left L.E.K. to join Discovery Communications, where he helped lead digital and content strategy efforts for Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and Science Channel, along with the $15B acquisition of Scripps Network (HGTV / Food Network). Sahil then joined Netflix as part of the Marketing Strategy team for the U.S. helping lead marketing for Netflix's Original Series, Documentaries, and Stand-Up Comedy Specials. In addition to his fulfilling career in entertainment, Sahil is passionate about helping college students with their careers and leadership development, through his company, The Career Launchpad. Through one-on-one coaching, immersive keynote workshops, and consulting for universities / career centers, Sahil has helped thousands of college students across the nation become better student leaders and build their careers in corporate America at world-class companies like Amazon, SpaceX, Disney, and more. Sahil also serves as Vice President of the board of the UCLA Alumni Association, where he helps lead alumni support and engagement efforts for UCLA's 500,000 alumni.
For more than 35 years, Paco Retana ('87, MA '90) has served underserved and marginalized communities. As Chief Program Officer at Wellnest, he is responsible for all clinical services, including program evaluation and training. He also oversees the areas of outpatient, early intervention, intensive services and life learning/transition age youth services. Previous roles Paco has held include: Clinical Supervisor at Green Dot Public Schools, Regional Director of Community Mental Health Services at Children’s Institute, Inc., Director of Outpatient Services and Vice President of Programs at Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic, Co-founder of the Youth Development Project of St. John’s Health Center, and Clinical Coordinator of the Child and Family Development Center at DiDi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center. Paco was formerly a voting member of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (DMH) System Leadership Team, former co-chair of the Latino Underserved Cultural Communities for DMH, and former co-chair of the Service Area Advisory Committee for South Los Angeles. Paco currently serves on the UCLA Alumni Association Board of Directors where he Co-Chairs the Diversity Committee and he’s on the Governance and Nominations Committee. Previously, he has been an invited expert panelist at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and was a member of the UCLA Structural Racism/Sexism Steering Committee. He is also Gold Member of the Alumni Association, and is a Member of the Order of the Blue Shield. Paco is the recipient of the Humanitarian Award from the National Conference for Community and Justice and an Honoree of NAMI Urban Los Angeles. He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and his Masters in Social Welfare from the University of California at Los Angeles.
Adam Robles ('07) is a Senior Vice President at Fenton, where he utilizes his more than 15 years of experience across public relations, corporate social responsibility, and diversity & inclusion to develop and implement strategic communications strategies designed to help clients communicate and create positive social impact.
Adam joins Fenton from Hyundai Motor America, where he helped lead the company’s corporate social responsibility, diversity & inclusion, and corporate culture efforts. Prior to joining Hyundai, Adam spent nearly 10 years at Finn Partners, where his work was focused on developing integrated communications campaigns that were culturally competent and creatively tailored to reach diverse audiences, influence purchase consideration, create public awareness and encourage positive behavior change.
Adam was born and raised in Southern California and is a proud Bruin alum. While at UCLA, he majored in sociology and worked as a student intern at the university’s marketing and communications department.
Matt Saucedo ('11) is the Head of Core Product Adoption at Meta, responsible for driving product adoption globally across Meta’s highest-priority content partners. He focuses on short-form video, digital collectibles, audience development, and creator monetization. Before this, he led an Entertainment Partnerships team for Facebook and Instagram that worked with the platforms’ top Film, Television, Music, and Talent partners. Matthew also has experience as the Head of Product & Partnerships at Pupster and as a Case Writer/Business Analyst at Stanford Graduate School of Business. He holds an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. Matthew also volunteers as a Member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Strategic Plan committee at the UCLA Alumni Association.
Blair Taylor has joined the Accenture team as Managing Director of Talent & Organization/Human Potential and Leader of the firm’s North American Inclusion and Diversity (I&D) efforts, working within Accenture’s commercial CEO Transformation practice. Blair brings more than 25 years of experience across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. Just prior to joining Accenture, Blair was a Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), where he was part of the People and Organization Practice and served as the US Lead Partner for Diversity & Inclusion practice. Blair also managed his own consulting practice focused on I&D just prior to joining PwC. Blair’s career and passion revolve around finding innovative and scalable ways to help organizations develop their own people and the communities of which they are a part. Prior to his consulting work, Blair was the Chief Executive Officer of My Brother’s Keeper Alliance (MBKA), a nonprofit launched by then President Obama. In this role, he led one of the nation’s most dynamic and ambitious BIPOC initiatives, engaging leading corporations, nonprofits, and Mayors to advance low-income communities and populations. Before leading MBKA, Blair was a member of the Starbucks Coffee Company’s senior leadership team, where he led the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR), community affairs, and government affairs functions, while also serving as Executive Vice President (EVP) of Starbucks Global Human Resources and President of the Starbucks Foundation. Blair also served for seven years as President and CEO of the Los Angeles Urban League, then among the largest nonprofits in LA, and four years as the Executive Vice President of College Summit, one of the nation’s most successful college access initiatives. His private sector experience also includes four years as the President and CEO of a private retail franchising company focused on low-income communities in the U.S. and the Caribbean, and eight years of leadership with PepsiCo and IBM, where he held various brand marketing, strategy, and executive sales positions.
Shalom joined the Center staff in September 2018. He has been involved in collaborative, community-engaged program development, pedagogy and research over his multi-sector 42 year professional career in state government, the private non-profit sector, and higher education.
At the Center, Shalom is responsible for strategic leadership to advance community-engaged learning and research opportunities as a cornerstone of the UCLA undergraduate experience. He introduced the new community-engaged course framework in 2019 and secured the approval of the Undergraduate Council for this open, expansive approach. He led the re-design of the Community Engagement and Social Change (CESC) minor, which is now a flourishing free-standing minor with over 90 students. He redesigned the Engaging Los Angeles course, which he now offers each quarter for 120 students. Engaging Los Angeles serves as the gateway to the CESC minor, focusing social inequality in contemporary Los Angeles and strategies for social change. Students in that course are matched with one of nearly 40 nonprofit partners, working with those organizations and gaining insights into the core themes of the course. Shalom has teamed with Prof. Andy Atkeson (Economics) to design and offer a social entrepreneurship practicum each fall quarter. Shalom also developed and new teaches a new online course on Intercultural Communication for the Global Workplace available to students participating in the new summer Global Internships program.
Shalom leads implementation planning for Goal 1 of UCLA’s Strategic Plan: Deepening UCLA’s Engagement with Los Angeles, providing leadership across the university to build the institutional structures and policies that enable community-engaged scholarship to flourish at UCLA. His efforts have successfully increased recognition for community-engaged research and teaching in the academic personnel review process. He designed the Chancellor’s Award for Community-Engaged Scholars program which has now recognized 16 faculty for their community-engaged research, and supported them to develop new undergraduate community-engaged research courses. His efforts have contributed to securing national recognition for UCLA faculty from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Engagement Scholarship Consortium: “Exemplary Work” recognition in 2020 for Million Dollar Hoods and the Kellogg Community-Engagement Scholarship Award in 2021 for Congo Basin Institute.
Prior to arriving to Los Angeles, Staub was Associate Provost for Academic Affairs and Civic Engagement at Dickinson College. In his 14 years at Dickinson, he collaborated with faculty colleagues to develop a civic learning and community-engagement program that was embedded in the curriculum spanning the arts, humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. While at Dickinson College, Staub was also a contributing faculty member to the departments of Religion, Sociology, Judaic Studies, Middle Eastern Studies and Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He created Dickinson’s Conflict Resolution Resource Services program, offering conflict coaching, mediation, group facilitation, and conflict skills education to the campus community. Prior to his work at Dickinson, Staub was the founding President/CEO of the Institute for Cultural Partnerships, a non-profit organization located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He had also served as the State Folklorist and later Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Heritage Affairs Commission, a state agency.
Staub’s publications include Yemenis in New York City: The Folklore of Ethnicity; Craft and Community: Traditional Arts in Contemporary Society; Conference Proceedings: Governor’s Conference on Ethnicity—Exploring the Impact of Pennsylvania’s Cultural Diversity on Public Policy, and numerous articles on Yemeni Jews in Israel, Yemeni Muslims in New York, folk culture and cultural conservation, and civic engagement work in higher education.
Staub received his BA and MA in Anthropology from Wesleyan University, and a Ph.D. in Folklore and Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania. He holds practitioner certification in conflict mediation and as a conflict resolution educator.
Jonathan Van Dyke is the Communications and Public Relations Manager for the Sustainable LA Grand Challenge. In this position, he maintains the initiative’s website and social media accounts, while implementing outreach on urban sustainability news and special events through written materials and media relationships.
An important part of the communications goals of SLA GC is to have the initiative serve as a connector for the promotion of interdisciplinary work at UCLA, while amplifying with external partners the societal impacts that are gained when research flows into tangible policy.
Before joining SLA GC, Jonathan worked at UCLA’s Government and Community Relations department for five years, helping communicate the university’s collaborations with local, state and federal government partners, while advocating for investment into making college more affordable and accessible to all students. Prior to that, he was an all purpose reporter at multiple newspapers including the Pinedale Roundup, Long Beach Grunion Gazette and Park Labrea News & Beverly Press. He received his B.A. in journalism at the University of Iowa.
As President and CEO, Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks ('00) leads the strategy and production of environmentally friendly cleaning products at ECOS. She has been widely recognized for her influential voice in the green movement, corporate social responsibility, and sustainable manufacturing.
Under her leadership, ECOS has become a Climate Positive company and has won many awards for its innovations in safer green chemistry, including the U.S. EPA’s Safer Choice Partner of the Year six times.
As a woman of African American and Greek descent, Vlahakis-Hanks has made environmental and social justice a cornerstone of ECOS’s mission and is proud to lead a WBENC and NMSDC certified business.
Vlahakis-Hanks received her undergraduate degree at UCLA and MBA at Chapman University. She has been featured on CNN, CBS, ABC, FOX, NBC, Bloomberg and MarketWatch and in publications such as Fortune, Entrepreneur and the Los Angeles Times. She has received several awards for her sustainable leadership, including Entrepreneur Magazine’s 100 Powerful Women in 2020 and Conscious Company’s World-Changing Women in Conscious Business.
She is an active member of several boards of directors, including the XPRIZE Foundation, the UCLA Stavros Niarchos Foundation, and the Chapman University Board of Governors, where she serves on the Diversity Task Force. She is active in industry councils and public policy advocacy, working to promote higher standards for consumer products to protect human health and the environment. She is also a member of YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization) and Abundance 360, a select community of executives and entrepreneurs using exponential technologies to transform their businesses.
Ann Wang ('13), serves as the current Chair of the UCLA Alumni Board of Directors. As a social entrepreneur, creative strategist and investor, Ann is passionate about the intersection of impact, entertainment and technology to shift culture around topics such as mental health, equality, global health, and poverty. Ann co-founded socially-conscious start-up Enrou, an online marketplace that aimed to create a positive social, financial and sustainable impact on global communities. Enrou won the first Forbes 30 Under 30 Pitch Competition, winning funding from investors such as Steve Case, Troy Carter, and Forbes Media.
Currently, Ann is building a creative studio, Mindful Ambition, that develops, invests in, and advises on projects that generate innovative impact and culture change. Ann has served on the Board of Directors of the UCLA Alumni Association, the UCLA Foundation Board and will begin serving as a UC Regent in 2024.
As Fenton’s CEO, Valarie brings energy, leadership and passion for social change to both her work in strategic marketing communications and her commitment to the community. Prior to joining Fenton, Valarie led the communications and marketing for the California Community Foundation (CCF), one of the largest and most prestigious community foundations in the country.
Valarie is a highly skilled strategist, writer and team builder. She has expertise in marketing, media relations, community outreach and public affairs. While her non-profit and public sector experience run deep, including her representation of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America’s Latino marketing efforts, she has also had an extensive career with major consumer brands. Valarie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from UCLA where she was honored to serve as the first Latina editor-in-chief of The Daily Bruin.
Jessica Wolf is currently serving as the director of arts communications and marketing for UCLA Strategic Communications, working to support of the academic and public entities that celebrate and perpetuate arts and culture throughout our campus community and beyond. A writer and practicing visual artist, she joined UCLA 13 years ago as communications manager for UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance. Most recently, she served as the primary writer and publicist for the social sciences at UCLA with an emphasis on the people and programs that animate UCLA’s unique Institute of American Cultures. By way of that expertise, she also serves as a member of StratComm’s equity, diversity and inclusion council. She began her career as an entertainment business reporter covering Hollywood’s transition to digital media. Her original shift into public relations and communications led her to work with such major brands as National Geographic, Cartoon Network and Sony Electronics as well as dozens of digital infrastructure companies, web startups and digital and entertainment content creators.
As Fenton’s CEO, Valarie brings energy, leadership and passion for social change to both her work in strategic marketing communications and her commitment to the community. Prior to joining Fenton, Valarie led the communications and marketing for the California Community Foundation (CCF), one of the largest and most prestigious community foundations in the country.
Valarie is a highly skilled strategist, writer and team builder. She has expertise in marketing, media relations, community outreach and public affairs. While her non-profit and public sector experience run deep, including her representation of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America’s Latino marketing efforts, she has also had an extensive career with major consumer brands. Valarie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from UCLA where she was honored to serve as the first Latina editor-in-chief of The Daily Bruin.
