June 2022
Volume 2 Issue 4
Dear Member of the Independent School Alliance Community,
It has been a great privilege and honor to serve the Alliance community for the past five years. Although it was an incredibly difficult decision to end my tenure at the Alliance, the organization is strong which gives me confidence that it will continue to serve its vital mission well into the future. As another school year ends and I conclude my term as the executive director, I am reflective on all that has been accomplished, together, particularly within this last year.
My team and I began the year with several goals to advance and elevate the mission of the Alliance by focusing on our students, families, school partnerships, staff, and the broader community. During the 2021-2022 school year, the Alliance vetted, counseled, and advocated for the newest cohort of Alliance candidates. Our team worked closely with admitted students and families and provided more than nine months of support to help them to prepare and navigate through the independent school admissions process. Thank you to our volunteers, guest speakers, and translators including Mark Mitchell, Zulma Leiva, Elizabeth Chimalpopoca.
I am most proud of the incredibly talented young people who have accessed life-changing educational opportunities at some of the nation’s most rigorous independent schools. Without the Alliance, many of our students would have been overlooked and possibly left behind. At a time when social and economic mobility has declined in many communities of color, these young people are firmly on the path to future leadership. Thanks to the support of our steadfast board of directors and the loyalty of the entire Alliance family, we have successfully advanced the mission to facilitate educational access for underrepresented students of color despite having faced some of the greatest challenges our generation has ever seen.
In addition to our core focus of admissions support, the Alliance also held an amazing virtual Across Colors Diversity Conference (ACDC) that supported and featured students, families, independent school educators, and other organizations. The conference highlight included Nikole Hannah-Jones and Clint Smith as keynote speakers for the conference theme of “Generating Energy for Change,” which challenged attendees to amplify the voice of truth and cultivate activism. Thank you to our ACDC co-chairs for their leadership in organizing and planning a phenomenal virtual conference. We appreciate you Janine Jones, Jeanine Kay, Kirsten Albrecht, and Kelly Gorman!
Lastly, during the fourth and final quarter of this school year, our team continued to support our families with school enrollment and updated our systems in preparation for the next cohort of students and families and the executive leadership transition. We also planned and executed our first in-person fundraiser in over two years! At our Impact Awards Dinner, we celebrated graduating seniors, acknowledged several impactful individuals, and honored philanthropic giant, Nina Shaw. Together, we increased awareness and raised funds to increase educational access in independent schools. The Impact Awards Dinner was thoughtfully planned and executed. Great job Mira Lee, Monica Mange Johnson, and Tiffany Alexander Aldridge!
As I reflect on my last year with the Alliance, I am grateful to everyone who came together to make this a successful year: our talented students who work tirelessly to excel academically; our parents who support our students and the Alliance every step of the way; our alums whose incredible accomplishments inspire me every day and pave the way for others to follow in their footsteps; my incomparable colleagues who work selflessly to ensure that zip codes don't determine life outcomes; our member school partners who wonderfully provide the education, financial support, and opportunities to help make educational dreams come true; and the Alliance’s unbelievably generous, giving, and wise board of directors who enable us to do this critical work. I would particularly like to thank the board chairs who I have been so fortunate to partner with these last 5 years: Bob Riddle, Jeffrey Clifford, and Mark McKee. I am so grateful to every member of the Alliance community for your partnership. It has meant the world to me. The momentum we have created positions us nicely to increase impact as we continue to build a diverse pipeline of future leaders.
There are no words that can express how sincerely grateful I am for the privilege of working with the Alliance. This organization has been my family and home for the last five years. As a lifelong learner and educator, I have been heartened and humbled by the outpouring of support during trying times for our organization, and I have marveled at the dedication of countless people, many who have gone unnamed. So, thank you to every Alliance supporter from every affiliation. We could not have done this without you.
Above all, I share my gratitude for the opportunity to have served the Alliance community over the past five years. I will remain an Alliance supporter and staunch advocate for diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in our schools and in society as a whole.
With heartfelt thanks,
Rob Evans
The Alliance would like to express our gratitude to our departing board members for their service. The dedication and grace with which they took on this most important volunteer role will not be forgotten. Thank you for the generous support of our mission!
Nina Shaw
2006-2022
Jeffrey Clifford
2013-2022
Greg Barnes
2019-2022
2022 Impact Awards
In order to have an impact, you must be impacted first. Future generations will benefit from us having opened doors. That’s real impact.
– Prentice Penny, 2022 Impact Award Honoree
The Independent School Alliance for Minority Affairs celebrated all things impact at the 2022 Awards Dinner held at the Skirball Cultural Center last Thursday evening. After two years of virtual events necessitated by the pandemic, the 2022 Impact Awards Dinner Board of Directors welcomed close to 350 guests to celebrate in person and champion the Alliance’s mission to empower children of exceptional talent and potential from racially underrepresented and economically underserved communities to transform independent schools and society.
Celebrating Alliance Leaders and Partners
The event, co-chaired by Alliance Board members Mira Lee and Monica Mange Johnson, featured awards to Crossroads School and Latham & Watkins LLP, one of the main event sponsors.
Additional Impact Award sponsors included C&D Global Humaniy Foundation, Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein Lezcano Bobb & Dang LLP.
Individual honorees included Saladin Patterson (pictured left), Prentice Penny (pictured right), and Alliance Board member Nina Shaw -- who received the inaugural Alliance Legacy Award. In future years, the Legacy Award will be given as the Nina Shaw Legacy Award for Shaw's long-standing service to the Alliance and enduring advocacy for DEI practices in education.
Celebrating Alliance Talent
Four graduating Alliance scholars
(left to right: Jaylah L., Kennedy R., Milly M., Fanuel A.) were presented with the Ray Michaud Scholarship and Azaliy Hekymara Scholarship by Alliance Executive Director, Rob Evans.
Celebrating Alliance VIPs
Alliance Founding Director, Manasa Tangalin (Center) joined by daughter, Tanynya Hekymara, The Oaks School, Director of Admission and Civic Engagement, and grandson Alliance Alum, Majadi Patterson.
The Azaliy Hekymara Scholarship was established in 2008 in honor of the Founding Executive Director, Manasa Tangalin’s late son.
The Ray Michaud Scholarship was established in 2016 to honor late Board member and former Head of School at The John Thomas Dye School, Ray Michaud.
That’s the brilliance of what The Alliance does for the underrepresented families in our city – it makes them feel seen.
– Saladin K. Patterson, 2022 Impact Award Honoree
CALLING ALL ALLIANCE ALLUMS
Let the Alliance Community know
what is new in your life!
We'd love to connect and reconnect!
Resources
Buckley School Summer Camp
We offer in-person academic programs, visual arts, sports, robotics, dance, and more in a beautiful, natural canyon setting for grades 1-8. Lunch provided. Week-long sessions offered June 6-July 15.
Email summercamp@buckley.org today for more info or visit www.buckley.org/academics/summer-programs/summer-camp-2022.
Camp Los Encinos Summer lets the camper choose from over 30 activities! Classes offered traditionally range from Basketball and Soccer to Lego Robotics, Yoga, Drone-Flying, Cooking, Acting, Magic, 3D-Printing, Movie-Making, Yoga and even Math and Reading Enrichment to keep campers’ minds sharp over the break. Affiliated with award-winning Los Encinos School in Encino, they welcome all children entering 1st grade through 9th grade. (Older kids learn leadership skills as CITs.) Flexible scheduling is offered for those who can only attend partial weeks. Early-bird pricing is available for a limited time. Another fun version of their camp is offered during spring and winter breaks.
The Webb Schools offer a boarding-only program with four distinct tracks: Paleontology, Science and Engineering, Digital Arts and Global Ethics. Summer campers live in our dormitories under the supervision of our experienced faculty and residential staff and have full rein of our beautiful, 150-acre campus. Afternoon
and evening activities complement daily learning goals and engage students in an array of sports, games and outings. From field trips to Southern California’s best tourist attractions to impromptu movies in Claremont Village, from swimming in our aquatics center to hiking the foothills behind campus, students make Webb their summer home. Webb offers two, two-week programs as well as a bridge program for students who will to take both. https://www.webb.org/summer
End of Fiscal Year Giving
There are two days left until the fiscal year ends! Your tax-deductible donation will allow us to continue to pursue diversity, equity, and justice for all in our independent schools. Help us end the fiscal year strong!
The Independent School Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our work relies on the generosity of our donors. To make a tax-deductible gift to the Alliance, click the
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