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Los Angeles – (May
7, 2014) The Independent School Alliance for Minority
Affairs (Independent School Alliance) honored outstanding
members of the Los Angeles community at its annual Impact
Awards dinner, May 6, 2014 at the Four Seasons Beverly
Wilshire Hotel. Loretha Jones, President of Original
Programming for BET Networks, was honored with the Impact
Award; Michael J. Richter, Managing Director, Lazard
Frères & Co. LLC, received the Visionary Award and
Peter Smailes, Headmaster of Curtis School, was presented
the Founder’s Award.
Co-Chairs Beth
Friedman and Nina Shaw welcomed the more than 400 guests and
introduced co-hosts, Wendy Raquel Robinson and Hosea
Chanchez, co-stars of The Game. A highlight of the
evening included three Alliance students who spoke
poignantly about how the organization has changed their
lives. The multi-talented, Grammy Award-winning recording
artist and actress Brandy wowed the crowd with her
performance of “Almost Doesn’t Count,” “What About Us”
and “Have You Ever.” The Harvard Westlake
student jazz band opened the evening and Jeremy Weinglass
entertained on piano.
“Independent School
Alliance is fortunate to have three such extraordinary and
dedicated supporters,” said Keishia Kemp, Executive
Director. “Our honorees understand that Alliance students
strengthen independent schools and they are committed to
providing extraordinary educational opportunities that
independent schools offer to children of all backgrounds.”
Co-chair and
Alliance board member Nina Shaw presented the Impact
Award to Loretha Jones, President of Original
Programming for BET Networks. BET Networks is the
leading provider of entertainment for the African-American
audience and consumers of Black culture globally. Jones
oversees original programming, news, development, planning
and acquisitions for BET including such hits as Being
Mary Jane, Let’s Stay Together, The Game and Sunday
Best to name a few. She is a member of the Directors
Guild of America, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Producers
Guild of America and New York State Bar Association.
Michael J. Richter,
Managing Director at the global investment banking firm
Lazard Frères & Co. LLC was honored with the Visionary
Award presented by board member and previous
Visionary Award honoree, Barry Porter. As the head of
Lazard’s Aerospace and Defense Group, Richter has become one
of the most active investment bankers in the global
Aerospace industry, having completed more than $25 billion
in transactions. The father of four children, he and his
wife, Laura, are dedicated to providing educational
opportunities for students of color in our community’s top
independent schools. Richter is primarily focused on
capital fundraising to ensure that all deserving students
from under-served areas can benefit from the Independent
School Alliance.
Headmaster of the
John Thomas Dye School and 2007 recipient of the
Founder’s Award and one of the founders of the
Independent School Alliance, Raymond Michaud, Jr., presented
the 2014 Founder’s Award to his friend and colleague,
Peter Smailes, Headmaster of Curtis School. During
his eighteen years at Curtis, he has held many titles
including teacher and division head and Headmaster. Born
and educated in South Africa, he is respected as an
educational leader in West Los Angeles and widely credited
for many of the institutional improvements made at Curtis
over the last two decades. He also serves on the Board of
Trustees at Windward School and has been a tireless
supporter of the Independent School Alliance for Minority
Affairs for almost twenty years.
Established in 1984 by a group of Southern California school
heads, the Independent School Alliance is an organization of
48 private, independent elementary and secondary schools
that endeavor to increase their diversity. The Independent
School Alliance provides assistance to families of color
with the application process to its member schools and
counsels families on appropriate school choice; entrance
testing information and, if necessary, how to apply for
financial aid. Over the past 14 years, the Independent
School Alliance students have received nearly $70 million in
financial aid from member schools. Additionally, the
Independent School Alliance provides a variety of support
programs and acts as a resource to member schools on issues
of diversity and multiculturalism.
It is the mission of
the Independent School Alliance to inform members of racial
communities presently underrepresented in independent
schools of the option of independent school education; to
identify applicants from these communities and assist them
in the application process; to provide on-going support
programs for students and their families; and to act as a
resource to member schools assisting them in their
individual efforts to address issues of racial diversity and
multicultural education.
For further information on the Independent School Alliance,
please visit
independentschoolalliance.org. |