10th
Annual Breakfast®
W e d n e s d a y, A p r i l 2 7, 2 0 2 2 | T h e W e s t i n S o u t h C o a s t P l a z a
“The Wooden Floor is not just a dance place, it is a family. They help with personal problems and school problems, and anything else. There is always someone here to help you. It has become my second home.”
Michelle, Class of 2022
Michelle has been at The Wooden Floor for nine years. She says that dance has taught her that, “corrections and mistakes are not a bad thing - they are for your own good to help you grow.” Michelle discovered aerospace engineering after joining a rocketry club in middle school and, “fell in love with the field.” She dreams of studying Aerospace engineering at any UC school.
WELCOME Wednesday, April 27, 2022
THE MORNING 8:00am
n Welcome Theresa Allen, Chair, Board of Directors Dawn S. Reese, Chief Executive Officer
n Stand For The Arts Award Keri Askew Bailey, Group Vice President, Charter Communications Jennifer Kanter, Director, Partner Marketing, Ovation TV Jessie Lopez, Councilmember, City of Santa Ana
n Keynote Speaker Honorable Elizabeth G. Macias, Judge, Superior Court of California Judge Macias is the first in her family to graduate from college. Immediately after graduating law school, she was hired by the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District of California where she spent the next 14 years defending persons accused of some of the most serious federal crimes. In December of 2012, Judge Macias was appointed to the California Superior Court for the County.
n Class Partner Recognition Dawn S. Reese, Chief Executive Officer
n Class of 2022 Student Address Victoria Ocampo
n Presentation of the Class of 2022 and College Announcements Diana Barriga, College & Career Readiness Coordinator
9:30am
n Closing Remarks Dawn S. Reese, Chief Executive Officer
READ MORE:
The Wooden Floor was selected as the only nonprofit organization in California to receive the 2021 Stand for the Arts award from Ovation TV and Charter Communications.
THIS MORNING’S MENU B R E A K FA S T : ■
Cheddar, Spinach, and Sundried Tomato Quiche
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Breakfast Potatoes
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Tomato Provençal
ACCO M PA N I M E N TS : ■
House Made Granola Yogurt Parfait with Strawberry or Vanilla Yogurt and Fresh Berries
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Fresh Baked Croissants and Preserves
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Freshly Brewed Starbuck’s Coffee, Decaffeinated Coffee, and Selection of Teas
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Fresh Orange Juice
THANK YOU TO OUR 2022 STEP BEYOND
LEAD CLASS PARTNERS Bank of America Foundation
The Beall Family Foundation
Jessica Camacho & Christopher Reyes
Capital Group Companies
Carl and Roberta Deutsch Foundation
Suzi Chauvel / Chauvel Foundation
Green Foundation
Linda and Tod White Charitable Fund
My Heart Charitable Fund
New York Life Insurance Company
Gail & Peter Ochs
O.L. Halsell Foundation
PIMCO Foundation
Segerstrom Foundation
Sharon D. Lund Foundation
Constance & Donald Sperling
Sun Family Foundation
Ueberroth Family Foundation
Willette Charitable Foundation
CLASS PARTNERS Charles and Mildred Schnurmacher Foundation, Inc
Charleys Kids Foundation
Crevier Family Fund
Croul Family Foundation
Don Yoder Foundation
Edwards Lifesciences Foundation
KER Legal Group, APC
KNU For Kids Foundation
Robert J. Mairena / Office Solutions
TROY Group, Inc. - The Dirk Family
ANNUAL BREAKFAST UNDERWRITERS
INNOVATION UNDERWRITERS Advance Beauty College
Theresa & Jonathon Allen
Crean Foundation
Michelle & Timothy Dean
Frome Family Foundation
Gochnauer Family Foundation
The Golden Eagle Foundation
Yvonne & Damien Jordan
Michelle & Robert Kargenian
Joanne & Dennis Keith
Carole & Rich Lee
The John & CC Nelson Family
Trish O’Donnell
Nicholas Pardon & Sean Devlin
Swartzon Family Foundation
US Bank
Deborah & Harold Ward
CREATIVITY UNDERWRITERS Huneycutt Family Foundation
Jehan Jayakumar Carlson & Jayakumar LLP
Kathleen Lockhart
Leigh A. Morris
Ginger & Arthur Ong
Union Bank
ENCOURAGEMENT UNDERWRITERS Laura Curran Judith F. Posnikoff
Haskell & White LLP Teddie Ray
Mrs. Sandy Fainbarg
Cath MacIver & Jim Slaughter The Strelow Family
Pamela & James Markman Judy & David Threshie *as of April 18, 2022
INTRODUCING
Giselle Arteaga
Isabella Botero
Melany Brondo
Rafael Corona
Evy Gonzalez
Stephanie Gonzalez
Kassandra Guevara
Michelle Guzman
Victoria Ocampo
Vanessa Ochoa
Chelsea Olivarez
Juanita Oñate
Trinity Tran
Karla Valle
THE CLASS OF 2022 HAS BEEN ACCEPTED TO THE FOLLOWING COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES:
Babson College Boston University Brigham Young University Cal Poly Pomona California State University, Dominguez Hills California State University, Fullerton California State University, Long Beach California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Northridge Chapman University Golden West College Irvine Valley College
THE CLASS OF 2022
Viviana Davalos
Ashley Diaz
Mariana Garcia
Yetza Garcia
Leilani Lace
Cesar Luna
Rafael Miranda
Diana Montiel
Mayerli Parra
Ian Roman
Xitlalli Salgado
Moises Santiago
Jurithma Velazquez
Mateo Zarate
Lewis & Clark College Life Pacific University Loyola Marymount University Point Loma University Orange Coast College Oregon State University San Diego State University San Francisco State University San Jose State University Santa Ana College Santiago Canyon College University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Davis University of California, Irvine University of California, Riverside University of California, San Diego University of California, Santa Barbara University of California, Santa Cruz University of La Verne University of San Diego University of San Francisco University of Southern California Vanguard University Woodbury University *as of April 4, 2022
Thank you for what we have accomplished together In 2020, we culminated our 4-year comprehensive campaign called Lift: Inspiring Young People. Building Our Community. This monumental campaign within our organization’s history sought to bring our entire community together in support of our mission, our incredible outcomes, and the future generations of students served by The Wooden Floor. Thanks to these efforts, the funds raised have provided the resources necessary to advance student success through:
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Growth and excellence of existing programs
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Investment in campus expansion
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Building upon The Wooden Floor Endowment Fund to increase long-term organizational sustainability and endow The Wooden Floor Scholarship awards
Scholarship Endowment Fund Underwriters We are grateful to the following supporters who have invested in The Wooden Floor’s Scholarship Endowment Fund through direct scholarship gifts, pledges and bequests during the Lift campaign, which now totals over $2.0M to date: Dawn & Charles Antis Constance & Donald Sperling Foundation Michelle & Tim Dean Fainbarg Family Foundation Cheryl Finley & Barry Neal Mary Ann R. Finley Family Foundation
Suzanne Finley Friend & David Andrew Friend Frank & Sharon Govern Adele & Bryan Green Linda & Tod White Charitable Fund Teresa Loughlin & Brent Finley
Annual Scholarship Underwriters Thank you to Suzi Chauvel and The Chauvel Foundation for underwriting The Wooden Floor scholarship awards for up to four consecutive years during a student’s college tenure, lovingly known as the Chauvel Scholars in the Classes of 2018-2022.
Legacy Scholarship Underwriters In honor of their legacy at The Wooden Floor, we would like to acknowledge Board Emeriti Virginia and Richard Hunsaker, who before their passing in 2021, have ensured that any student of The Wooden Floor who is accepted to the University of Redlands will receive a full scholarship award through the university’s Hunsaker Scholars Award, in perpetuity.
About Our Scholarship Awards The Wooden Floor recognizes graduating seniors with 4-year scholarships totaling $4,000 to $10,000 over their college tenures, based upon eligibility requirements. These important annual scholarship funds ensure that our students have the financial resources to access and matriculate from higher education. Since 2005, over 50 percent of our alumni have graduated from colleges and universities across the nation with a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, as compared to about 12 percent of their socio-economic peers.
“The Wooden Floor helps so many kids live out their dreams and helps them reach their goals towards their next step in life.” Rafael, Class of 2022
Rafael has been at The Wooden Floor for 10 years. He said when he started his journey, “it was somewhere safe to go and something productive to do.” As he progressed, the organization helped him understand what he enjoyed studying and his career path towards civil engineering became clear. He says The Wooden Floor also helped him navigate the college application process. Rafael’s dream school is California State University, Fullerton.
BUILDING THE SUCCESSFUL COLLEGE PATHWAY For most of our students, there are many obstacles to overcome in order to pursue higher education. Tackling them begins on the first day of classes at The Wooden Floor when third graders are referred to by their graduating class, which continues for the entirety of their 10year path at the organization. This instills the goal of college in their minds. Upon reaching the 6th grade, students enter into intensive pre-collegiate mentoring with staff. Building upon the creative problem solving and self-discipline these students learn on the dance floor, they strive toward the ultimate goal of graduating high school on time and enrolling in college.
THE NEED FOR COLLEGE & CAREER READINESS
50%
73%
National percentage of Latino students who receive a high school diploma (Source: Education Week)
33%
100%
National percentage of Latino students who enroll in college
National percentage of Percentage of graduates students who felt they from The Wooden Floor weren’t prepared for college who complete high school (Source: Pew Hispanic Center) and enroll in higher (Source: GOOD) education
COLLEGE & CAREER READINESS AT THE WOODEN FLOOR
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Career Nights
Test Prep
A B C
Financial Aid Workshops
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College Counseling
College Tours
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Interviewing & Professional Skills
College & Career Research
Academic Planning
ONGOING SUPPORT TO ALUMNI IN COLLEGE
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Scholarship Awards & Supplemental Aid
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The Next Step©
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Mentoring, Networking & On-Campus Support
©2014-2022 The Wooden Floor
“The Wooden Floor helped keep my motivation to do well in school, and brought me many opportunities. The College and Career Readiness program helped me not only broaden my options but also narrow them down to help me know what I want to do and where I want to study. College is a lot to think about, and it is easy to freak out. The Wooden Floor helped me to not be afraid and helped ease me into it. I feel prepared.”
Juanita, Class of 2022
Juanita joins her siblings in being the first generation in her family to be on track to obtain a college education. She has a 3.9 GPA and is “enamored” with coding and video game design. Her dream school is USC because she is, “very interested in their game design program as well as their campus.”
THE WOODEN FLOOR
BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2021-2022 Theresa Allen,* Board Chair Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, First Republic Private Wealth Management Judith F. Posnikoff, PhD,* Immediate Past Chair Managing Director, Martlet Asset Management, LLC Saar Swartzon,* Vice Chair Principal Attorney, Cohn & Swartzon, a Professional Law Corporation Yvonne O’Neill,* Treasurer Certified Public Accountant, O’Neill Financial Management Joseph Chatelle,* Secretary Principal, Mercer Sasha Ayloush,* Director of Sales & Marketing, Hydraflow Falon Baltzell, MFA, Artistic Director, The Wooden Floor Seán Curran, Chair, Department of Dance, NYU Tisch School of the Arts Michelle Dean,* Community Leader Brent Funston, Chief Executive Officer, Wind River Group, LLC Elizabeth Gonzalez, Alumni Representative Community Leader Raquel Gonzalez, Parent Representative, Community Leader Bryan Green, Financial Advisor, Edward Jones Jehan Jayakumar, Founding Partner, Carlson & Jayakumar, LLP Naveen Jonathan, PhD, LMFT, Community Representative Clinical Associate Professor of Marriage & Family Therapy, Chair, Marriage & Family Therapy, Crean College of Health & Behavioral Sciences, Chapman University Simon Khinda, Partner, Bridge Law, LLP Jeremy Krout, President/CEO, Environmental Planning Development Solutions, Inc.
Richard Lee, Market President, Retired, Aetna, Southern California Catherine M. MacIver, Community Leader Dana McCollum, General Manager, American Funds/Capital Group Companies, Inc. Linh Nguyen, Vice President, Advance Beauty College Arthur Ong, Executive Vice President, Retired, Deputy General Counsel PIMCO Alix Portillo, Assistant Vice President, Compliance Monitoring Officer, Genesis Bank Dawn S. Reese, CFRE, Chief Executive Officer, The Wooden Floor Jim Slaughter, Partner, Slaughter & Slaughter, LLP Ernesto M. Vasquez, FAIA, NCARB, Partner & CEO, SVA Architects, Inc. Fabiola Velazquez, Parent Representative Community Leader
Board Emeriti Joan Beall, Community Leader Beth A. Burns, Founder of The Wooden Floor and Artistic Director (’83-’05) Sharon Hartshorn, Community Leader Richard C. Hunsaker,** President, Hunsaker Management Virginia Hunsaker,** Community Leader Damien M. Jordan, General Manager, Retired, American Funds/ Capital Group Companies, Inc. Yvonne M. Jordan, Community Leader Socorro Vasquez, Community Leader
* Executive Committee Members. ** In Memoriam.
The Board of Directors would like to thank The Wooden Floor’s staff, faculty, tutors, and musicians whose dedication and hard work help to make our incredible outcomes possible.
ABOUT US Founded in 1983, The Wooden Floor is one of the foremost creative youth development nonprofit organizations in the country. We transform the lives of young people in low-income communities through the power of dance and access to higher education. In Orange County and through national licensed partners, we use a long-term approach grounded in exploratory dance education to foster the confidence and gifts within each child to innovate, communicate, and collaborate – skills necessary for success in school and in life. 100 percent of students who graduate from The Wooden Floor immediately enroll in higher education. Our students become change agents and beacons of hope within
To learn more about The Wooden Floor, contact Tianna Haradon, Director of Development, at 714.541.8314 ext. 124 or Tianna@TheWoodenFloor.org.
TheWoodenFloor.org
Photography by Timothy Agler. ©2022 The Wooden Floor.
their own families, their neighborhoods, our community, and our world.