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For over ten years I have co-chaired the Screen Students writing program which takes public high school students through a seven month process of development and mentorship. In addition to obtaining grant funds from the Eisner Foundation and Final Draft, we have forged relationships with the USC School of Cinema-Television, the Writers Guild Foundation, and the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Above: 2009 Winners Celebrating at the Writers Guild of America; Samantha Brockschmidt Third Place, El Camino Real High School; Amber Dupre Second Place, Granada Hills Charter High School; Fahiya Rashid First Place, Hollywood High School; and program co-chair Tracey Wise.
In 2005 I co-chaired a charity gala at the Beverly Hills Hotel starring Kathy Griffin. We raised $250,000 for the Voice of My People Foundation and Congregation Kol Ami. I was called upon to utilize my design, budgeting, volunteer and staff management, event management, and fund raising skills. I vowed I'd never do it again. Then I did it again.
In 2006 I co-chaired the same event starring Lea DeLaria. We also raised in excess of $250,000 for the Voice of My People Foundation and Congregation Kol Ami.
Upon first arriving in Los Angeles I volunteered at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Center for three years as a hotline volunteer, during the height of AIDS paranoia, when folks would call with fears about things like catching HIV from doorknobs. I was then a youth rap group facilitator for seven years, working with a variety of GLBT kids ranging from those living at home in the suburbs to runaways living on the streets.
