Executive Director, Leonetti/O’Connell Family Foundation
Dr. Esposito is the Executive Director of the Leonetti/O’Connell Family Foundation, which funds innovative projects and initiatives that benefit Los Angeles County and improve the wellbeing of its communities. In May 2021, she launched a social enterprise under the governance of the foundation called Arete Rising, LLC, to support economic mobility for first-generation college students. Prior to her role as Executive Director, Dr. Esposito spent nine years as a Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney, with special emphasis in Juvenile Prosecutions.
Dr. Esposito graduated with a BA from Harvard University, a JD from Loyola Law School, an MPA and a Doctorate in Policy Analysis and Planning from USC’s Price School. Her doctoral dissertation evaluated collaborative governance, network partnerships and implementation of participative systems specifically focusing on service delivery and intrinsic transaction costs between for profit, non-profit and governmental organizations. In 2025, she will complete an Executive MBA from USC Marshall.
She is an adjunct associate professor at the USC Price School, where she teaches non-profit policy and theories of governance. She is the Board Chair of the Board of Councilors at USC Price and sits on the board at Loyola High School. Cara is a lifelong resident of Los Angeles and is married to Joseph Esposito with two sons.
Principal and Founder, Greenlaw Partners, LLC and Greenlaw Management, Inc.
Mr. Smith is the owner, CEO, and president of Greenlaw Partners, LLC, which he founded in March 2003. Greenlaw Partners is a California-based full-service real estate development and operating company, and Greenlaw Management, Inc., is a commercial property management company—collectively known as Greenlaw. Mr. Smith personally oversees all aspects of the company’s acquisition, operations, and investment development/redevelopment programs.
Since its inception and under Mr. Smith’s leadership, Greenlaw has completed more than $5 billion in acquisitions and dispositions of 150 commercial real estate properties. In addition to land holdings, Greenlaw maintains a diverse and balanced income portfolio. The portfolio approaches $3 billion in value and has approximately 10 million square feet of income assets and over 10,000 acres of land.
Mr. Smith is a licensed California real estate broker and an active member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO), where he currently serves on the Orange County Gold Chapter board. In addition, Mr. Smith is a founding member of Tiger21 Orange County Chapter and serves as an independent director of the Griffin-American Healthcare REIT IV. As a proud USC alum, Mr. Smith sits on the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate executive board and the USC Price School Board of Councilors.
USC recently announced the USC Price Wilbur H. Smith III Department of Real Estate Development, representing the first naming gift of a department at the USC Price School. Funds donated by Mr. Smith are used for student scholarships and a summer research fund for faculty members.
Chief Operating Officer, The Bedrosian Trust
Mrs. Bedrosian Coyne currently serves as COO of the Bedrosian Trust, where she is responsible for the trust’s day-to-day operations, as well as the operations of companies under control of the trust. She also serves as a director and CFO for the Karisma Foundation, a private charitable foundation focused on serving disadvantaged youth.
Mrs. Bedrosian Coyne served for nine years as a trustee of the UC Santa Barbara Foundation starting in 2013. She served as vice chair, development from 2015-2018 and has served on the investment and executive committees. At UCSB, she also served as a member of the Dean’s Cabinet for the Division of Science from 2009 to 2022.
In June 2022, Mrs. Bedrosian Coyne completed her third term on the board of The Blue Ribbon – a women’s organization founded in 1968 by Dorothy Chandler to support the Music Center of Los Angeles. From 2009 to 2017, she served as president of The Founding Associates of The John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Foundation, which provided financial support to The John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Foundation to fund promising Alzheimer’s research.
She also presides on the advisory boards for the Bedrosian Center of Governance and the Public Enterprise at the USC Price School and the school’s Board of Councilors.
After graduating cum laude from UCSB with a double major in biological sciences and linguistics, Mrs. Bedrosian Coyne received a JD from USC. She was admitted to the State Bar in December 1995 and has been a member continuously since.
Founder, President and CEO, Adept
Mr. Chraghchian is the founder, president and CEO of Adept, a vertically integrated development, architecture and construction firm based in Pasadena, Calif. With more than 35 years of experience in the industry, Mr. Chraghchian has utilized his unique skills in design, technical engineering, construction management, finance, and entitlement to deliver a range of building typologies. He is involved in every project to ensure that the work follows Adept’s commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles.
Adept projects focus on sustainable living through the creation of transit-oriented developments and the rehabilitation and adaptive re-use of existing structures, which minimizes the impact of new construction while recycling and reusing existing resources.
Mr. Chraghchian graduated from USC with a B.A. in civil engineering. He has served as the chairman of the Old Pasadena Management District and chaired its Economic Development Committee. He supports the Western U.S. Regional Offices of the Homenetmen Armenian youth organization. He also serves on the USC Keck Verdugo Hospital Foundation Board, the board of councilors for the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, the advisory board of the USC Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the advisory council for the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, and on the Flintridge Prep Board of Trustees.
Former California State Treasurer and former California State Controller
Mr. Chiang serves on the Board of Directors of Astrana Health, Chijet Motors, GrubMarket, Pasadena Private Lending, Boom Interactive and Chime TV as well as the corporate advisory boards of Adept Development and AlphaX. From 2015-2019, he was California’s 33rd State Treasurer, and from 2007-2014 he was the California State Controller. Earlier in his career, he was elected to the Board of Equalization in 1998, where he served two terms, including three years as chair. Mr. Chiang grew up in Chicago and earned an undergraduate degree from the University of South Florida and a J.D. from Georgetown University.
President, DeBeikes Investment Company
Mr. DeBeikes is president of the diversified real estate corporation DeBeikes Investment Company. DeBeikes Investment Company has specialized in reuse or in-fill projects, developing vacant or available land within otherwise built-up areas, creating innovative new spaces. With more than 30 years of experience in real estate development, Mr. DeBeikes has been a principal and/or owner of properties ranging from office and retail spaces to multi-family and master-planned residential developments.
A 1978 graduate of the USC School of Policy, Planning and Development (now the USC Price School), he was the president of the USC Alumni Association Board of Governors, having served in 2008-2009. He currently sits on the USC Price School Board of Councilors and is a member of the Lusk Center for Real Estate, where he serves as a guest speaker and mentor to students pursuing master’s degrees in real estate development.
Principal, Dollinger Properties
Mr. Dollinger graduated with honors from the University of California at Los Angeles in Economics/Business in 1986. He obtained a master’s degree in Real Estate Development from the School of Urban and Regional Planning, now the USC Price School in 1987. Mr. Dollinger is a licensed general contractor and real estate broker. Originally founded in 1946, the Dollinger group of privately held companies consists of over 35 interlocking entities of construction, property management, leasing and development concerns that develop, acquire and manage only their own portfolio of industrial/R&D/office and retail properties throughout California. The present portfolio consists of over 7 million square feet of properties worth an excess of $3 billion.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, U.S. International
Mr. Holt launched Western International Media (now Initiative Media) in 1970 and grew the business into an $11 billion media management company — the largest in the world. In 2004, he changed the industry, founding U.S. International Media. Today, USIM is 246 media experts strong, entrusted by clients in various industries, with billings of over $1 billion per year. Mr. Holt is a fearless entrepreneur who recognizes that “all business is personal” and believes you seldom go wrong if you stay client-focused.
Mr. Holt is an advertising industry champion, humanitarian, and philanthropist. He co-founded Ad Relief of Greater Los Angeles, a non-profit organization comprised of industry professionals united to help their colleagues in times of life crisis. This group has distributed more than $2 million to deserving individuals in the Southern California advertising and promotions community. He is a recipient of the Horatio Alger Award, which honors individuals who have succeeded despite adversity and encourages young people to pursue their dreams through higher education.
Recently, Mr. Holt was awarded The Order of the Palmetto and The Order of the Silver Crescent, the highest civilian honor given by the State of South Carolina, where he built and maintains a 7,000-acre Wetland Wildlife Preserve.
Founder and CEO, Seaforth
Mr. Goodwin established Seaforth in 2015 to serve as the operating and development partner of choice to the world’s leading institutional investors. Assets under management in 2023 total more than 600,000sf of Zone 1 London commercial buildings. Seaforth are one of few London developers to develop a BREEAM Outstanding building and the first to do so with a listed building. They are also one of the few developers to build with Mass Timber and to reposition a 1970’s EPC E rated building to an EPC A rated building. One of their developments, Space House – a listed mid-century building – won the bronze World Architecture News Award and their 8 Bleeding Heart Yard development won Gold in the New London Architecture Awards and was recognised by Dezeen Magazine as one of the world’s top 15 commercial developments in 2023. In 2023 they were also recognised with the BizNow Rise award for their innovative grassroots approach to improving diversity in our industry. In addition to mixed use offices, Seaforth is pursuing office-to-resi conversions and life sciences developments and in 2023 established Seaforth Solutions – an advisory business to serve owners of buildings seeking redevelopment advice.
Mr. Goodwin has 35 years of global real estate experience including 20 years working in markets across Asia as a property developer, investment banker, investment manager, and a principal investor including at both Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan. He is a frequent public speaker, is a champion for sustainable, experiential design development and, through the Seaforth’s Scholar program is focused on grass roots improvement to diversity in our built environment.
Prior to establishing Seaforth, Mr. Goodwin was the CEO of Lodha UK, where under his leadership they were awarded Property Week Resi 2014 Deal of the Year for their £306 mn acquisition of One Grosvenor Square. Mr. Goodwin earned his master’s degree in real estate development at The University of Southern California’s Price School of Public Policy where he has served on their Board of Councillors for since 2010.
Founder and Chairman Emeritus, FivePoint Holdings
Mr. Haddad is founder and chairman emeritus of FivePoint Holdings, LLC (NYSE: FPH). FivePoint, headquartered in Irvine, designs and develops large mixed-use communities in Orange, Los Angeles, and San Francisco counties that combine residential, commercial, retail, educational, and recreational elements with public amenities, including civic areas for parks and open space. FivePoint’s communities include the Great Park Neighborhoods® in Irvine, Valencia® (formerly known as Newhall Ranch®) in Los Angeles County, and Candlestick® and The San Francisco Shipyard® in the City of San Francisco.
Mr. Haddad most recently served as chairman and CEO of FivePoint. Prior to founding FivePoint, Mr. Haddad was the chief investment officer of Lennar Corp., one of the nation’s leading homebuilders, where he was in charge of the company’s real estate investments and asset management. Mr. Haddad was a founding member of Lennar in California and was instrumental in its growth.
To address issues and propose solutions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Haddad was appointed to the California Business and Jobs Recovery Task Force by Gov. Gavin Newsom, where he also serves as co-chair of the Capital Markets & Infrastructure subcommittee. He also serves or has served on the boards of several universities, including serving as: chairman emeritus of USC’s Lusk Center for Real Estate; a member of the USC Price Planning Program Advisory Board; a member of Chapman University’s Board of Trustees; and past chair of the Board of Trustees at the University of California, Irvine.
Mr. Haddad holds a civil engineering degree from the American University of Beirut.
Senate Majority Leader Emeritus
A native of Los Angeles, Mr. Hertzberg served both as Speaker of the California State Assembly (elected unanimously on a bi-partisan basis) and Majority Leader of the California State Senate. He is a lawyer and clean tech entrepreneur. In 2008, the UK Guardian Magazine named him one of “50 People Who Could Save the Planet”, where only four Americans were included.
His company won the World Bank Award for a project in Rwanda, the United Nations recognized him for his renewable “wind made” solar, and his company won The Wall Street Journal Award for Innovation in the Field of Energy.
Mr. Hertzberg has three children: David, Daniel and Athena. David is a Juilliard graduate composer whose opera won the North American Music Critics award for best new opera. Daniel is a political activist, and his 3-year-old daughter, Athena Grace, is a miracle.
Senior Executive Vice President, Marketing, Lewis Management Corporation
With over 50 years of experience in the real estate industry, Randall Lewis is Senior Executive Vice President of Marketing and a Principal of Lewis Management Corp., a member of the Lewis Group of Companies.
The Lewis Group of Companies is one of the most active real estate developers in California and Nevada. They are developing a dozen significant master planned communities and own over 30 shopping centers. In addition, the Lewis Group has many apartment and industrial projects underway throughout California and Nevada. The Lewis Group owns over 13,000 apartments and controls land for over 30,000 future homes and apartments. Throughout its history, they’ve built nearly 60,000 homes.
Mr. Lewis is an active and philanthropic supporter of health, education, and the arts. He is active with the Southern California Association of Governments, as well as being a member of the Southern California Leadership Council. Mr. Lewis is a past Trustee of the Urban Land Institute and is a current Governor of the Urban Land Institute Foundation. He serves on several executive boards, including the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. Mr. Lewis and his wife, Janell, sponsor the Randall Lewis Health Policy Fellowship and he is heavily involved in the Healthy Cities movement in the Inland Empire.
CEO Emeritus, HealthCare Partners
Dr. Margolis is CEO Emeritus of HealthCare Partners LLC and former Co-Chairman of the Board of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. Dr. Margolis served as the managing partner and CEO of HealthCare Partners from the formation of the company in 1992 through February 2014. Dr. Margolis was a founding partner and managing partner of HealthCare Partners’ predecessor, California Primary Physicians Medical Group. Under Dr. Margolis’ leadership, HealthCare Partners became a highly respected, value-based and innovative physician-owned and operated medical group, independent physician association, and management services organization.
He is founder of the Duke-Margolis Health Policy Institute at Duke University and serves as Chairman of the Advisory Board.
Dr. Margolis serves on the boards of several prestigious healthcare organizations including the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital, Duly Medical Group in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa and Welbe PACE. He is as a past member of the HealthCare Policy Advisory Council for Harvard Medical School and former member of the Advisory Board of the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics. He is a former director and chairman of National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the Directors of the Association of Physician Groups (APG), and the California Hospital Medical Center, Los Angeles.
Dr. Margolis is board certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology. He is a graduate of Rutgers University (Henry Rutgers Scholar) and the Duke University Medical School (AOA) and served a fellowship at the National Cancer Institute.
Retired Vice Chairman, Provident Investment Counsel
Mr. Miller is a retired vice chair of Provident Investment Counsel, an asset and fund management company. He is married to USC Dornsife alumna Paula Miller, B.S. ’72 and M.A. ’75 in physical education. He serves on the USC Price School Board of Councilors and is a former member of the Keck School of Medicine of USC Board of Councilors. In 1996, the Millers, who are members of the USC Widney Society, endowed the Miller Chair in Government, Business, and the Economy with a gift to the USC Price School.
President and CEO, Cordoba Corporation
Mr. Pla is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and author whose business and civic activities focus on enhancing and empowering communities throughout California. He is the founder, president and CEO of Cordoba Corporation, a nationally recognized civil engineering, program, and construction management firm specializing in transportation, education, and water and energy infrastructure.
Mr. Pla was raised in East Los Angeles, after arriving in the US undocumented from Zacatecas, Mexico. He was the first in his family to graduate from college, earning a B.A. in Sociology from California State University, Los Angeles, in 1972 and a Master of Public Administration from the USC Price School in 1974.
He is the president of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission, which is helping prepare for the 2028 Summer Olympics. He served on the California Science Center Foundation Board of Trustees and led the planning of Cordoba’s historic transport of the Space Shuttle Endeavour through Los Angeles in 2012. He is a co-founder of the City Club, a private club in Los Angeles that reflects the diversity and spirit of the city.
Mr. Pla co-authored “Power Shift: How Latinos in California Transformed Politics in America”, which recounts the history of Latino political empowerment in California and beyond.
He is an inaugural member of Cal State LA’s President’s Council. In 1991, he was honored as Cal State LA’s Alumnus of the Year, and in 2016, he received the Joe Shapiro Humanitarian Award. In 2017, he was awarded the Presidential Medallion. The Board of Trustees of Cal State LA gave him the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters in May 2023.
Former Executive Vice President and COO, Lowe Enterprises
Mr. Poladian is currently a director and the former Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (2002-2016) of Lowe Enterprises, Inc., a privately held diversified national real estate company active in commercial, residential and hospitality property investment, management and development. During his tenure as Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Poladian oversaw human resources, risk management, construction, finance and legal functions across the firm. Mr. Poladian was with Arthur Andersen from 1974 to 2002, admitted to Partner in 1984, Managing Partner, Pacific Southwest in 1989, and is a certified public accountant (inactive). He is a past member of the Young Presidents Organization, the California Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs. Mr. Poladian was appointed to the California State Board of Accountancy and served in the position for nine years. He is a Director Emeritus of the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles, a member of the USC Price School Board of Councilors, a member of the Board of Advisors of the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and a former Trustee of Loyola Marymount University. He currently serves on the boards of Occidental Petroleum Corporation, Public Storage and Western Asset Management Funds. Mr. Poladian holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Loyola Marymount University.
Executive Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer, PriceSmart Inc.
Mr. Price serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer at PriceSmart Inc., the largest operator of retail warehouse clubs in Central America, the Caribbean, and Colombia. He also serves as President of the PriceSmart Foundation, PriceSmart’s philanthropic partner. In his role as Chief Transformation Officer at PriceSmart, he leads strategic initiatives focusing on promoting better collaboration, alignment, and agility within the organization while driving improvements in the member experience. Mr. Price oversees several functional teams within the company including Information Technology, PriceSmart.com, Payment Services, and the Project Management Office.
Before his current role, he worked in several other capacities at PriceSmart including leading the company’s Environmental and Social Responsibility team, Omnichannel Merchandising team, and Innovation Team. Outside of his work at PriceSmart, he serves as the chair of the Board of Directors at The Wildcoast Foundation and serves on the Boards of Price Philanthropies Foundation and the Aaron Price Fellows Program. Prior to his tenure at PriceSmart, he served as a faculty member for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and worked at Price Philanthropies Foundation as a program officer. Mr. Price holds a Master of International affairs from UC San Diego and a BS in Public Policy from the USC Price School.
Executive Chairman of Southern California Bancorp
Mr. Rainer is executive chairman of Southern California Bancorp and its subsidiary, Bank of Southern California, a position to which he was appointed in November 2020. He was a founder, chairman, and CEO of CU Bancorp and its subsidiary, California United Bank, from 2005 until its sale in 2017 to PacWest Bancorp. Prior to that, he was EVP of commercial banking for the Western United States at US Bank. Mr. Rainer served two terms on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Los Angeles Branch. He is a member of the USC Price School’s Board of Councilors and has been on the boards of InBank, a Denver-based community bank; the Boys and Girls Club of the West Valley; Inner City Arts; the Los Angeles Urban League; Junior Achievement of Southern California; Santa Monica College Foundation; and Operation Hope.
Co-Founder, Fifteen Group
Mr. Sanders is co-founder and principal of Fifteen Group. While he and his brother, Ian, are the entrepreneurial spirit behind Fifteen Group, which they founded in 1992, his primary role is evaluating potential new opportunities and overseeing the transaction side of the business. Mr. Sanders’ responsibilities also include raising capital from investors and lenders and overseeing Fifteen Group’s West Coast operations.
Under his leadership, Fifteen Group has completed more than 75 unique real estate transactions with an investment performance that is extraordinary by any measure. After assembling a portfolio of nearly 20,000 apartment units nationwide, Fifteen Group monetized the majority of its portfolio between 2005 and 2007.
During the subsequent downturn, Fifteen Group strategically deployed its capital in South Florida and Southern California across multiple property types and continues to be an early mover in emerging neighborhoods. Fifteen Group’s transactions range from simple property acquisitions to acquisitions of distressed debt, complex land entitlements, land development and vertical development.
He received a B.S. in Finance and Real Estate from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is active in a number of local and national philanthropies, and he leads the Fifteen Group Foundation with his brother, Ian.
Former CEO and Chairman, WellPoint (now Elevance)
Mr. Schaeffer is the founding Chairman & CEO of WellPoint (now Elevance), which now serves 47 million medical members and has annualized revenues of $170.2 billion. He is currently the Judge Robert Maclay Widney Chair and Professor at USC and is a Senior Advisor to Whistler Capital Partners, a private equity firm.
Mr. Schaeffer was Chairman & CEO of WellPoint from 1992 through 2004 and continued to serve as Chairman through 2005. Under his leadership, WellPoint was selected by FORTUNE magazine as America’s “Most Admired Health Care Company” for six consecutive years; named by BusinessWeek as one of the 50 best performing public companies for three consecutive years; and identified by Forbes magazine as America’s best large health insurance company. Mr. Schaeffer was selected by BusinessWeek magazine as one of the “Top 25 Managers of the Year” and by Worth magazine as one of the “50 Best CEOs in America.”
In 2009, he established the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics at USC which emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to research and analysis to support evidence-based health policy. In 2014, he established the Schaeffer Fellows in Government Service program which has supported 368 undergraduates to date in high-level, summer government internships. In 2024, he established the Schaeffer Institute for Public Policy & Government Service. He has also endowed chairs in health care financing and policy at the Brookings Institution, Harvard Medical School, the National Academy of Medicine, UC Berkeley and USC.
In the federal government, Mr. Schaeffer served as Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration (now CMS) and was responsible for the U.S. Medicare and Medicaid programs. He was also the Assistant Secretary for Management and Budget of the federal Department of Health and Human Services. Previously, Schaeffer was Director of the Bureau of the Budget for the State of Illinois and also served as Chairman of the Illinois Capital Development Board and as Deputy Director for Management, Illinois Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities.
Executive Vice President & General Manager for Life Sciences, Oracle
Ms. Verma is the EVP and GM of Oracle Health & Life Sciences, where she is leading the charge to achieve the mission of enabling better outcomes for patients and providers, while reducing administrative workload and overall healthcare costs. Prior, she served as SVP and GM of Oracle Life Sciences; she joined Oracle in 2023 to lead the clinical trials-focused life sciences business.
Under Ms. Verma’s leadership, the Oracle Health & Life Sciences organization is working to bridge the gap between clinical research and clinical care to improve patient outcomes and care delivery. Ms. Verma focuses on bringing value and innovation to Oracle Health’s global client base, aligning market strategy with the company’s products and services, and is responsible for Oracle Health’s worldwide client and sales teams as well as services, global operations and the health office.
She is a national health care expert and most recently served as a Senior Advisor to private equity firms TPG and Cressey & Co, serving on the Cressey Distinguished Executive Committee. She also served on the Board of Directors for Lumeris, Monogram, Wellsky, ClaimsXten, Lifestance, and ShiftKey. Additionally, she provided advisory services to a variety of early-stage and large public healthcare companies including national payers and technology companies focusing on strategy, value creation, and operations.
Ms. Verma was the former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) between 2017-2021. Confirmed by the Senate on a bi-partisan basis, she had one of the longest terms in modern CMS history. In this role, she oversaw a $1.4 trillion budget, coverage for 145 million beneficiaries, 6,000+ employees, and over 100,000 contractors. She was responsible for federal operations of Medicare, Medicaid, Health Insurance Exchanges, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), and all federal quality and safety regulations.
In this role, she developed and implemented the federal administration’s healthcare strategic plan across all programs to advance value-based care, innovation, interoperability, and price transparency while reducing drug prices, and regulations through her historic Patients over Paperwork initiative. CMS had numerous accomplishments during her tenure including delivering reduced premiums across Medicare Part D, Medicare Advantage, and individual insurance market as well as addressing the social determinants of health. Her pro-market policies advanced market competition and site-neutral payments. Her leadership on the White House COVID Task Force led to the widespread adoption of telehealth, Hospital at Home, and no-cost vaccines for the entire country.
Before her role at CMS, she founded and sold a national consulting company and worked as a VP for Policy and Planning for a public hospital, public health department, and health system.
Ms. Verma is a seasoned executive leader with deep holistic health care expertise across the healthcare system. She has a strong track record of collaborative leadership, developing partnerships, motivating talent, and delivering results. She was named Modern Healthcare’s Most Influential Person in Healthcare in 2019 and was part of its Top 25 Women Leaders. Ms. Verma’s healthcare-focused articles have been published in The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Health Affairs, Modern Healthcare, Newsweek, CNN, USA Today, Applied Clinical Trials, Clinical Leader, Clinical Research News, PharmaVoice, STAT, and others.
Ms. Verma has an undergraduate degree in Life Sciences from the University of Maryland and a master’s in public health, Health Policy & Administration from The Johns Hopkins University.
President, Joseph Drown Foundation
Ms. Wachtell is the CEO of the Joseph Drown Foundation, a private foundation that distributes approximately $10 million annually to nonprofits in the Los Angeles area. The primary focus of the Foundation is education, with a particular interest in supporting strong K-12 public schools and college access programs. Other fields of interest include medical research, community, health and social services and arts and humanities. Ms. Wachtell is responsible for all grant evaluation, site visits, recommendations to the Board of Directors and post-grant evaluation. In addition, Ms. Wachtell oversees the investment portfolio of approximately $100 million in assets. Ms. Wachtell supervises the administrative, legal, tax and accounting activities of the Foundation and represents the Foundation at programs, conferences and special events. Ms. Wachtell is a director of the Foundation and chairs the Investment Committee. She has been at the Foundation for 36 years.
In addition, Ms. Wachtell is a director of Emles Trust, an asset manager with transparent, liquid ETFs and mutual funds that provide investors with access to a suite of differentiated investment strategies. Ms. Wachtell also co-manages a family limited partnership that includes marketable securities, investments in private companies, and real estate.
Ms. Wachtell currently serves on a variety of non-profit boards, including Harvard-Westlake School, The Rape Foundation, and the Leadership Council for International Medical Corps. Past board service includes The John Thomas Dye School, The Accelerated School, Southern California Grantmakers, and Los Angeles Urban Funders.
She holds an MA in journalism from USC, where she taught Freshman Writing, and a BA from Wellesley College.