Price Board of Councilors

Richard DeBeikes, Jr.

President, DeBeikes Investment Company

Mr. DeBeikes is president of the diversified real estate corporation DeBeikes Investment Company. With a focus on mixed-use developments, 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 experience in real estate development, Mr. DeBeikes has been a principal and/or owner for 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 a mentor to students pursuing master’s degrees in real estate development.

David B. Dollinger

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 at 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 some 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 well in excess of $3 billion.

Tyler Goodwin

Founder and CEO, Seaforth Land Holdings Limited

Mr. Goodwin was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and since 1992 has lived overseas. He founded Seaforth Land at the start of 2015. Seaforth Land acts as an operating partner to institutional capital and specializes exclusively in Central London experiential, creative offices. In January, 2014 Mr. Goodwin relocated from Asia to London to take on the responsibility of chief executive of Lodha Developers’ UK business. Mr. Goodwin was ranked 35th in the Estates Gazette “Power Fifty 2014” for the 50 most influential people in the UK property industry. Prior to joining Lodha, he was managing director and the head of Asian Client Strategy for JPMorgan Asset Management Global Real Assets based in Hong Kong, where he was responsible for advising Asia’s largest institutions on real assets investing and allocation strategy. During his final two years at JPMorgan, he sat on Asset Management’s Global Advisory Council.

Mr. Goodwin has over 30 years of global real estate experience including in principal investment, asset management, advisory, investment banking and property development.

Emile Haddad

Founder and Chairman Emeritus, FivePoint Holdings

Mr. Haddad is founder and chairman emeritus of FivePoint Holdings, LLC (NYSE: FPH). FivePoint, headquartered in Irvine, California, designs and develops large mixed-use communities in Orange County, Los Angeles County, and San Francisco County 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. These communities are designed to include approximately 40,000 residential homes and approximately 23 million square feet of commercial space. All total, it is projected that these developments will generate approximately 288,000 jobs during construction and $54 billion in activity for the California economy.

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.

He has over 30 years of development experience in the United States and overseas. Prior to joining Lennar, he was a senior executive in charge of land for Bramalea, which was part of the Canadian real estate conglomerate in the 80s and early 90s.

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. He also serves on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors at technology accelerator Octane, and previously served on the Board of Directors at Spain-based AEDAS Homes and the Board of Directors of CHOC Children’s Foundation in Orange.

Mr. Haddad has received numerous honors, including the UCI Center for Real Estate Lifetime Achievement Award, the Chapman University Argyros Medal, the Boy Scouts of America Construction Industry Good Scout Award, and the American Diabetes Association Father of the Year Award. In 2017, he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, presented annually to American citizens whose accomplishments in their field and inspired service to the United States are cause for celebration. Mr. Haddad holds a civil engineering degree from the American University of Beirut.

The Honorable Robert Hertzberg

Senate Majority Leader Emeritus

Senate Majority Leader Emeritus Hertzberg was first elected to the California State Assembly in he served as the 64th Speaker of the California State Assembly, unanimously elected by both parties in 2000 and 2002. After his tenure as speaker, Mr. Hertzberg set out to the private sector as a clean energy entrepreneur, where he helped create one of the first solar companies in Los Angeles, and co-launched a company that produced inexpensive, lightweight solar panels. In 2014, he returned to state government when he was elected to represent nearly 1 million people in the San Fernando Valley in the California State Senate and served as Senate Majority Leader. He is termed out in 2022.

Dennis F. Holt

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 once again, founding U.S. International Media. Today, USIM is 246 media experts strong, entrusted by clients in a wide range of industries, with billings of over $1 billion per year. Mr. Holt is a fearless entrepreneur who recognizes that “all business is personal” and who believes that 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 in spite of adversity and who encourage young people to pursue their dreams through higher education.

Randall Lewis

Executive Vice President and Director of Marketing, Lewis Operating Corporation

Mr. Lewis oversees the sales and marketing operations of the Lewis Group of Companies. Mr. Lewis received his BA from Claremont McKenna College. He is regarded as an industry leader in promoting the arts, education, healthy living and sustainable development initiatives. He has been President of the Inland Empire Arts Foundation, Secretary of the Los Angeles County Citizens Planning Council, director of the HomeBuilder’s Council, and national director of the National Association of HomeBuilders. He was named in the Los Angeles Times 2006 “West 100” list as one of the top 100 influential people in Southern California. He has also received the California Business Properties Association Champion of the Industry Award and has been inducted into the California Building Industry Association Hall of Fame. He is a long-time member of the Urban Land Institute as well as a Governor of the ULI Foundation.

Mr. Lewis serves on several executive boards, including the USC Price School, the UCLA School of Public Policy, Loma Linda University Medical Center’s Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Institute Advisory Council, Cal Poly Pomona’s National Development Council, and he co-chairs the San Bernardino County Alliance for Education. He is recognized as an expert in the real estate industry and is frequently quoted in various newspapers, magazines and trade journals. Mr. Lewis has over 30 years of experience in the real estate industry.

Robert J. Margolis

CEO Emeritus, HealthCare Partners

Robert Margolis, MD, 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 the 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.

Dr. Margolis has been on the leading edge of the managed care industry for more than 40 years. He is a much sought-after spokesperson because of his vast experience in integrated delivery systems and physician practice management.

Dr. Margolis is founder of the Duke-Margolis Health Policy Center at Duke University and serves as Chairman of the Advisory Board.

Dr. Margolis serves on the Board 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 Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics at the University of Southern California, a former Board member and past Chairman of the Board of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), a former Board member and past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Association of Physician Groups (APG), a former Board member and past Chair of the Board of Directors of California Hospital Medical Center, Los Angeles, and a former Board member for Sutter Health. He is a former member of the Catholic HealthCare West Southern California Board of Directors and its Strategic Planning Committee. Dr. Margolis is past chairman of the American Medical Group Association and a two-time past chairman of the Unified Medical Group Association.
 
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.

Dr. Margolis and his wife Lisa enjoy time with their three wonderful children and six grandchildren. They also enjoy travel, hiking, skiing and golf. And through the work of The Robert and Lisa Margolis Family Foundation remain active in support of innovative initiatives focused on STEM education for minorities, injured and returning veterans, and health policy and the environment.

Jefferey J. Miller

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, BS ’72 and MA ’75 in physical education. He serves on the USC Price School Board of Councilors and is a former member of the Keck 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.

George Pla

President and CEO, Cordoba Corporation

Mr. Pla is a successful entrepreneur, best-selling author, and philanthropist whose work spans business and civic activities that hold the common theme of enhancing communities throughout California.

He is the founder and CEO of Cordoba Corp., a California-based full-service engineering firm specializing in infrastructure projects for the transportation, education, water, and energy sectors.

In August 2018, Mr. Pla added “author” to his resume with the publication of the formative book on Latino politics, Power Shift – How Latinos in California Transformed Politics in America.

His recent philanthropic and civic activities include serving as a member of the Board of Trustees of the California Science Center, a co-founder of the City Club, a member and former co-chair of the Southern California Leadership Council, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Catalina Island Conservancy.

His support for academic institutions includes serving as a regent emeritus at Loyola Marymount University, as a member of the Program Advisory Committee for Stanford University’s Construction Institute, and as a presidential associate at USC. At USC, he serves on the Board of Councilors for the USC Price School. In addition, he is the co-founder of USC’s Latino Alumni Association.

Mr. Pla’s support for educational institutions also includes serving on the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s External Leadership Advisory Council; President’s Advisory Council at Cal State LA; Philanthropic Foundation Board of Governors at California State University, Fullerton; Development Council for the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles at LMU; and Board of Advisors for the Luskin School of Public Affairs at UCLA. He is a graduate of Cal State LA and holds a Master of Public Administration from the USC Price School.

David Price

President, PriceSmart Foundation and Vice President, Environmental and Social Responsibility, PriceSmart Inc.

Mr. Price is the president of the PriceSmart Foundation and vice president of Environmental and Social Responsibility at PriceSmart Inc., the largest operator of retail warehouse clubs in Central America, the Caribbean, and Colombia. In his dual role at PriceSmart, he leads the PriceSmart Foundation towards its vision of creating an environment of opportunity and access for communities in countries in the region where PriceSmart conducts its business. In addition, Mr. Price leads the company’s ESR team in advancing PriceSmart’s strategy and goals towards a more sustainable future. 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. He is passionate about exploring and protecting wild places and spends his free time surfing, cycling, and adventuring in California and beyond.

Mark Sanders

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 BS in Finance and Real Estate from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He currently serves on the Board of Councilors of the USC Price School. He is active in a number of local and national philanthropies, and he leads the Fifteen Group Foundation with his brother, Ian.

Leonard D. Schaeffer

Former CEO and Chairman, Wellpoint

Mr. Schaeffer is the founding chair and CEO of WellPoint (now Anthem), the nation’s largest health benefits company by membership. He is the Judge Robert Maclay Widney Chair at USC and a senior advisor to a private equity firm.

Mr. Schaeffer was chair and CEO of WellPoint from 1992 through 2004 and continued as chair through 2005. In 1986, he was recruited to be CEO of WellPoint’s predecessor company, Blue Cross of California, when it was near bankruptcy. He managed the turnaround of Blue Cross and the IPO creating WellPoint. During his tenure as CEO, WellPoint completed 17 acquisitions and endowed four charitable foundations with assets of more than $6 billion. Under his leadership, the value of the company grew from $11 million to more than $49 billion. During his tenure, WellPoint was selected by Fortune 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 as America’s best large health insurance company. Mr. Schaeffer was selected by BusinessWeek as one of the Top 25 Managers of the Year and by Worth as one of the “50 Best CEOs in America.”

His public service included appointments as administrator of the federal Health Care Financing Administration (now the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services), where he was responsible for the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs; assistant secretary for management and budget of the federal Department of Health, Education and Welfare; director of the Bureau of the Budget for the state of llinois; chair of the Illinois Capital Development Board; and deputy director of the Illinois Department of Mental Health.

In 2009, Mr. Schaeffer established the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics, which uses an interdisciplinary approach to research and analysis to promote health and value in healthcare delivery and to support evidence-based health policy. He has endowed chairs in healthcare financing and policy at the Brookings Institution, Harvard Medical School, the National Academy of Medicine, the University of California, Berkeley, and USC.

Previously, Mr. Schaeffer served as president and CEO of Group Health Inc., executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Student Loan Marketing Association (Sallie Mae) and as a vice president of Citibank.

He is a graduate of Princeton University and was the Regent’s Lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, a Gilbert Fellow at Princeton and a Williams Fellow at RAND. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and chair of the Roundtable on Quality Care for People with Serious Illness. He was awarded a doctor of humane letters (hon) from USC and received the inaugural Sol Price Award for his lifetime achievements as a business leader, policy expert and philanthropist.

He is a graduate of Princeton University and was the Regent’s Lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, a Gilbert Fellow at Princeton and a Williams Fellow at RAND. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and chair of the Roundtable on Quality Care for People with Serious Illness. He was awarded a doctor of humane letters (hon) from USC and received the inaugural Sol Price Award for his lifetime achievements as a business leader, policy expert and philanthropist.

He currently serves on the following boards of trustees: Brewster Foundation (chair), Brookings Institution, RAND Corporation and USC. He is a member of the editorial board of Health Affairs and the boards of Harvard Medical School, RAND Health, Pharmaceuticals and USC Health System.

Wilbur H. Smith III

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 also 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 will be used for student scholarships and a summer research fund for faculty members.

Seema Verma

Senior Vice President & General Manager for Life Sciences, Oracle

Seema Verma currently serves as Oracle’s Senior Vice President and General Manager for Life Sciences. She is also on the Board of Directors of Lifestance (LFST) and Monogram and serves on the University of Southern California, Price School of Public Policy Board of Councilors.

Ms. Verma served as the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from 2017-2021. In this role, she oversaw a $1.4 trillion dollar budget, coverage for 145 million beneficiaries, 6000 plus employees, and over 100,000 contractors. She was responsible for federal operations of Medicare, Medicaid, Health Insurance Exchanges, the Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Innovation, and all federal quality and safety regulations. In this role she developed and implemented the federal administration’s health care strategic plan across all programs to advance value-based care, through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) including the Direct Contracting and Kidney models, new regulations that required both insurance companies and hospitals to provide access to their patient’s electronic health records and led the administration efforts to require price transparency for both hospitals and insurers. She also sat on the White House Coronavirus Task Force and was responsible for the regulations that allowed the implementation of Telehealth, Hospital At Home, and Hospital Without Walls across the United States during the pandemic. CMS had numerous accomplishments during her tenure including delivering $35 insulin to Seniors, reducing premiums across Part D, Medicare Advantage and individual insurance market, as well as stabilizing the insurance market and reducing regulations through the historic Patients Over Paperwork Initiative.

Following her tenure at CMS, Ms. Verma served as an 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, Wellsky, ClaimsXten and ShiftKey. Additionally, she provided advisory services to a variety of early stage and large public companies including national payers and technology companies focusing on strategy, value creation and operations. Prior to her role at CMS, she founded and subsequently sold a consulting company and worked as a VP for Policy and Planning for a public hospital and health system.

Named as “Modern Healthcare’s” 2019 Number One Most Influential person in health care and among the Top 25 Women Health Care Leaders. She has published numerous publications which have been published in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Health Affairs, Modern Healthcare, Newsweek, CNN, USA Today, STAT and others.

Wendy Wachtell

President, Joseph Drown Foundation

Ms. Wachtell is the president and CEO of the Joseph Drown Foundation, a private foundation that distributes approximately $6 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 35 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, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, and 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. Ms. Wachtell has lived and studied abroad, both in Argentina and the United Kingdom, and is proficient in Spanish.