Obama Scholars Program, 2021-22 Annual Report

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRS

Dear Friends,

This has been a year of reenergizing for many, including the Obama Scholars Program at Occidental. Two of our first scholars, Sherin Aboobucker ’22 and Noa Richard ’22, graduated and received a generous grant from the program to assist them in their postgraduate careers as they begin their lives as Oxy alumni dedicated to the public good. After a two-year delay we officially inaugurated Harry J. Elam, Jr. as the College’s 16th president. Finally, and importantly, we reimagined how the Obama Scholars Program can better provide access to leadership possibilities for a greater number of outstanding students.

Thank you for your support of this groundbreaking program. Because of your generosity, seven Oxy students were named the newest Obama Scholars for the 2022-23 academic year. This report gives a glimpse of their passionate work to date, and we’re looking forward to seeing how that work continues through the program. They have been working diligently this summer, gaining valuable knowledge on social advocacy and change management from program advisors and faculty.

The reinvigoration of the program centers around a central value held by both Occidental and President Obama: empowering exceptional students committed to the public good. We are grateful to the Obama Scholars Advisory Council for its thoughtful approach to structuring the new program, to President Elam for his enthusiastic support, and to Oxy faculty and staff for swift and effective implementation.

Special thanks to Barbara Dugan Johnson and Chris Johnson ’83, whose leadership helped inspire 71 donors on the Day For Oxy to raise $76,809 for the Boesche Society, which provides immediate funding for enriching programming in recognition of the legacy of Professor Roger Boesche, whose early guidance to Barack Obama at Oxy informed his pursuit of a life of service at the highest levels.

As our country and the world continue to push, pull, strain and progress, we are proud and confident that the Obama Scholars Program will create the leaders needed to shape the future.

With thanks, Hector De La Torre ’89 P’20 and Sara El-Amine ’07 H’18 Obama Scholars Program Advisory Council Co-chairs

Co-chairs De La Torre and El-Amine

THE OBAMA SCHOLARS

The re-envisioned program, open to rising juniors and seniors, is now more in line with Oxy’s Kahane United Nations and study abroad programs, which also focus on students in their third and fourth years, says El-Amine. “A program this accessible and interdisciplinary—there really is nothing like this elsewhere.”

Obama Scholars will:

• Participate in the Obama Scholars Seminar during the academic year.

•

Engage in a fully funded 10-week summer program of experiential learning and leadership training. Scholars who enter as sophomores will also receive a second summer of funding for an independent internship, research project, or community service opportunity, either at home or abroad.

• Be mentored by Obama Scholars Program faculty advisors and members of the Obama Scholars Advisory Council, who make themselves available to provide insight into their fields and their careers.

• Have networking and leadership development opportunities with partner organizations.

• Receive up to $10,000 in postgraduate funding to launch their career in support of the public good. This fellowship can be used to fund graduate school tuition, qualifying living expenses while continuing their studies or working at a first job, or a selfdesigned service project.

THE 2022-23

OBAMA SCHOLARS

Jaya Duckworth ’23 is a diplomacy and world affairs major from Seattle with a minor in gender, women and sexuality studies. She is committed to making our education system more equitable, especially for women and girls of color. Over the last three years, she has served as an education rights legal intern for Public Counsel, a policy research and advocacy intern for the Justice for Girls Coalition for Washington State, and as a member of Oxy’s Diversity and Equity Board and its Equity and Justice Committee.

Lorenzo Vargas ’23 is a first-generation English major and community college transfer from Los Angeles who wants to create equitable opportunities for low-income students. Lorenzo worked in a food processing factory and witnessed hazardous working conditions before enrolling at East Los Angeles College and joining the John Delloro Transfer Program in Social Justice. These experiences furthered his interest in increasing social mobility for low-income students.

Deandre Ortiz ’24 is a politics major from Fitchburg, Massachusetts, who wants to close the education gap between low-income and more affluent students. As senior intern for the state senator representing the Worcester and Middlesex district of Massachusetts, Deandre helped make COVID vaccine distribution more accessible and equitable for low-income families and worked as a translator and advocate for Spanish-speaking constituents.

Zander Patent ’24 is a junior from Chicago planning a double major in politics and economics. He is committed to helping to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. In high school, Zander created an organization to support students struggling with mental health and addiction. Since joining Oxy, he has served as an RA and as a summer intern for U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.). He has also served as a sophomore class senator.

Will Powers ’23 is a diplomacy and world affairs major and politics minor from Somerset, Kentucky. He is committed to working to improve the global crisis in primary school enrollment. In high school, Will founded and directed the Student Alliance for Mental Health Innovation and Action, served as the student advisor to the Kentucky Commissioner of Education, and was a leader and researcher for the Kentucky Student Voice Team. Last fall, he served as a research and project management intern at the Brookings Institution Center for Global Economy and Development.

Nathan Tam ’23 is an urban and environmental policy major from San Francisco. He is committed to ending violence against the AAPI community and to working to make urban spaces and resources more accessible and equitable. On campus, Nathan is a member of the Diversity and Equity Board and participated on the Equity and Justice Committee working to address student concerns and defining the vice president for diversity and equity position. He also conducted research on the caste system and caste discrimination toward Dalits while studying abroad in Nepal in 2021.

Sunari Weaver-Anderson ’24 is a first-generation college student from Richmond, California, majoring in politics with a minor in critical theory and social justice. A fifth-generation Bay Area resident, she is committed to increasing access to legal aid for historically underserved communities. Sunari is a UCLA Law Fellow and member of the Diversity and Equity Board and Oxy Law Society.

THE

SCHOLARS PROGRAM SPEAKER SERIES

During our Homecoming and Family Weekend celebration in October, we welcomed Broderick Johnson as the Obama Scholars Program Speaker. Broderick serves as chair of the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance Advisory Council and as executive vice president, public policy, and executive vice president, digital equity, for Comcast Corporation.

Broderick has more than three decades of experience as a lawyer, policy advisor and political strategist. He has served under two U.S. presidents, as deputy assistant to the president for legislative affairs under President Clinton and as assistant to the president and secretary of the cabinet under President Obama.

During this virtual event, Broderick and President Elam discussed his work with President Obama to launch the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance in 2014 to address the persistent opportunity gaps boys and young men of color face and to ensure all young people can reach their full potential.

Broderick Johnson

OUR SUPPORTIVE ADVISORS

CO-CHAIRS

Hector De La Torre ’89 P’20

Public Policy Leader

Sara El-Amine ’07 H’18

Political Strategist

MEMBERS

David H. Anderson ’63 Environmental Attorney

Denise Campbell Bauer ’86

U.S. Ambassador to France and Monaco

Ann Blume P’14 Community Leader

Bruce Blume P’14 Community Leader

John Branca ’72 Entertainment Attorney

Bill Davis ’80

Former Public Radio Executive

Laurent Delanney ’82 Global Sports Marketing Executive

Dr. Susan DiMarco P’17

Civic Leader

Fred DuVal ’76 Policy Consultant

Mark Fabiani P’21

Political Strategist

Alan G. Freeman ’66 M’67 P’89 P’91 Theater Director and Writer

Maurine Halperin P’16

Education Leader

Philip Halperin P’16 Education Leader

Wahid Hamid ’82 H’11

International Investor

Octavio Herrera ’98 Software Entrepreneur

Bob Johnson ’77 Entertainment Attorney

Chris Johnson ’83 Business Executive

Jeh Johnson H’15 P’17 Former Secretary of Homeland Security

Rob McKay ’86 H’03

President, McKay Family Foundation

Ian McKinnon ’89 Investment Manager

Ted Mitchell H’07 President, American Council on Education

Steve Olson Attorney

David Plouffe Campaign and Policy Advisor

Prof. Ryan Preston-Roedder Faculty Mentor

Ben Rhodes Writer and Political Commentator

Eve Riley P’17 Mentor

Joel Riley P’17 Mentor

Janette Sadik-Khan ’82 H’10 Urban Transportation Planner

John Brooks Slaughter H’99 Professor of Engineering and Education

Roger Guenveur Smith ’77 H’11 Actor, Director and Writer

Maya Soetoro-Ng H’18

Matsunaga Institute for Peace, University of Hawaii

Joe Solmonese Corporate Consultant

Vinai Kumar Thummalapally Former Ambassador

Jonathan Veitch Occidental President Emeritus

THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS

WHY I GIVE

Chris Johnson ’83 worked for one company for his entire career. His 38 years with Nestle S.A. covered a wide range of responsibilities—sales, marketing, IT and human resources in addition to general management—on five continents. (It also gave him the opportunity to perform stand-up comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and portray a U.S. diplomat in a feature film.)

The youngest member of Nestle’s executive board in company history, the Phi Beta Kappa economics major with an MBA from UCLA knows something about the importance of leadership. He has been a member of the Obama Scholars Program (OSP) Advisory Board since the program, dedicated to empowering the next generation of leaders to pursue the public good, was launched in 2017.

He and his wife, Barbara, whom he met at Nestle, “love the idea of supporting Oxy students who are committed to pursuing the public good,” says Johnson. “We are very supportive of the new direction to open the program to rising juniors and seniors. Oxy played a big role in my life and we are happy to give back.” For the Johnsons, giving back includes being generous donors as well.

In line with the OSP’s mission, the Johnsons are moving back to the United States for the first time in 31 years to enroll in a master’s program in religion and public life at Harvard Divinity School. “It’s a one-year program that focuses on understanding religion in context, with special attention to questions of power, peace and conflict,” he explains. “We both are looking to do something meaningful and different for our next chapter.”

Barbara and Chris Johnson ’83

FOUNDING DONORS

We are grateful to these leaders who have made cumulative gifts of $1,000,000 and above since the inception of the Obama Scholars Program.

David H. Anderson ’63 and Linda L. Anderson

Ann and Bruce Blume P’14

Estate of James A. Conlin ’74

Helen* and Carl Craig P’63* Janice C. Gonzales ’63 and Joe Gonzales* Anonymous

We thank and recognize the following donors who made generous gifts, estate gifts and/or pledge commitments to the Obama Scholars Program during the 2022 fiscal year, which began on July 1, 2021, and ended on June 30, 2022.

Estate Gifts

We appreciate those individuals who included Occidental’s Obama Scholars Program in their estate plans during this past fiscal year.

Lonnie Adams Hilliard, III ’76

Sharon S. Jones ’67 and Robert D. Jones ’67

Gifts of $25,000 and above

John G. Branca ’72

Janette I. Sadik-Khan ’82 H’10 and Mark Geistfeld Diane Schinnerer ’60 and Dr. Donald Schinnerer ’59

Gifts of $10,000 and above

Liz B. Blackman ’80 and Victor M. Mason ’81 Barbara Dugan Johnson and Christian M. Johnson ’83

Gifts of $5,000 and above

Dr. Susan J. Bethanis ’82

Linda Brandenburger ’60

Alice S. Dean and John C. Dean, Jr. Suzanne F. Greenberg ’82

Dr. Greta J. Mandell ’72 and Peter Mandell P’92

Dr. Christine Beckman and Dr. Theodore Mitchell H’07

Gifts of $2,500 and above

Kathie Freeman ’65 M’72 and Prof. Alan Freeman ’66 M’67 P’89 P’91

*Deceased

Nina J. Gutin, Ph.D. ’85

Leni Richardson ’56 P’85

Gifts of $1,000 and above

Lyssa Axeen and Dr. David Axeen H’07

John C. Collinson ’89

Jane (Zimmerman) Ettinger ’81 and Robert M. Ettinger Patricia K. Gillette ’73 and Dane R. Gillette ’72

Ferial Hamid and Wahid S. Hamid ’82 H’11

Janice R. Johnson ’75 and Bob L. Johnson ’77

Debra F. Kipp ’76

Isaac Kos-Read

Melody L. Malmberg ’79 and Joseph M. Rohde ’77 Thanh N. Mougeot and Robert F. Mougeot ’65

Amy L. Roegler ’98 M’99 and Octavio V. Herrera ’98

Brenda Y. Shockley ’68 H’17

Lisa Ferreira and Kenneth D. Sulzer ’82 P’14 Rondal D. Tobler ’84 P’17

James R. Tucker ’67

The Rev. Jon S. West ’61 and Marcia West Dr. Pamela P. Young ’68 Anonymous

Gifts up to $1,000

Heather A. H. Baraga ’92 and Robert A. Baraga ’92 P’21

Kelsey R. Belli

Sandra Santana and Manuel H. Bernal ’87

Amanda J. Boesche

Greg Boesche

Dana V. Brandsey ’02

Dr. Brita A. Bruemmer ’82 and Steve Bruemmer

Jennifer Cardillo and Charles W. Cardillo Hedy N. Chang ’86 and Jack Chin

Gretchen R. Cheney

Robin A. Craggs and Garret R. Keith P’21

Emily N. Davis ’11

Greg Fishwick, Ph.D. ’72

Rosalyn (Harrison) Fleischer ’87 M’89 and Gregory R. Fleischer

Denise Frost and Saul S. Gonzalez P’19

Lisa J. Garcia and Mark D. Garcia ’87

Bethany Golden

Lauren D. Greeno ’06

Jessie Reynolds Groothuis

Dr. Patricia N. Halagao ’92 and Avelino J. Halagao

Victoria G. Harding ’87

Margaret G. Hirsch ’83

While great care has been taken in preparing this honor roll, occasionally mistakes may occur. Please inform the College of any errors or omissions by contacting the Office of Donor Relations at donorrelations@oxy.edu.

Gifts up to $1,000 (continued)

Charlene Ho ’01

Prof. Maryanne Horowitz and Prof. Ellis Horowitz

Uzma Husain and Imad Husain ’83

Mackenzie L. Israel-Trummel ’09

Hillary Johns ’90

Gail Kemper and Dr. Lawrence B. Kemper ’57

Jonathan A. Lanning, Ph.D. ’99

Charles E. Letts, III ’73

Kairos G. Llobrera ’99

Delmy G. Lopez ’96

Laura Mahaffey

Roberta R. Mathews ’72 and Daniel A. Mathews ’72

Prof. Candace Mixon

John E. Mueller ’66

Stephanie L. Negin ’04

Janet A. Nippell ’73

Andrea K. Olebe ’98 and Leo M. Olebe ’97

Jennie Marie Petrini

Jacinta Pister and Richard Whitmore P’12 P’16 P’20 M. E. Read

Sonya M. Reese ’08

Bonnie E. Regan ’96 and Scott Regan

Ann E. Rendahl and Paul E. Sachs P’21 P’23

Brittany Reynolds

Betsy Boesche Rhines

Vanessa A. Robinson-Kim ’07 and Bryan E. Kim ’07

Flora E. Rodriguez-Mann ’98 and Gerald R. Mann ’97

Michelle Saldana ’03

Deborah Scott ’72 and Jonathan W. Scott ’70

Michelin Rowars Sharp ’96

Jessica G. Snyder ’09

Wendy Sternberg

Sheri M. Stonier-Montoya ’88 and Steven C. Montoya

Jennifer A. Strong Raymond ’92

Erin D. Swezey and Timothy P. Leary, Ph.D. P’18

Carolyn E. Tanner ’90

Jill A. Thompson ’86 and Steve Horn

Dr. Nalsey B. Tinberg and Steven W. Fader P’11 P’12

Lorraine Toly ’68

Breck C. Tostevin ’83

Linda S. Warren ’81

Gabriella Weltman ’20

Stephanie F. West, D.V.M. ’80

Linda C. Whitney and Dr. James D. Whitney

Janice R. Willson ’64 and Prentiss Willson, Jr. ’65

Katherine Wimmer

Chloe G. Woodruff ’16

Ina S. Woolman ’67 and David Woolman

Whitney Worster ’00 and Brian L. Worster ’97

William S. Yee ’86

Anonymous

PRESIDENT HARRY J.

JR.

“Over this last year I have had the privilege of working closely with our talented Obama Scholars and Fellows, the Advisory Council and our Obama Scholars guest speakers. It is an honor to witness our community’s collective pride in this program. As we develop a new strategic plan for Occidental, this program will play a key role in defining what makes Oxy special while also strengthening Oxy’s leadership in the liberal arts.”

Los Angeles, CA 90041-3314