BWL Foundation Past Honorees

2018 – 43rd Annual Scholarship Fundraiser & Awards Luncheon

Catalysts for Change: Disrupting the Status Quo
Saturday June 2, 2018 at Marina Beach Marriott, Marina del Rey, CA

• Excellence in Advocacy
  Nina Shaw
  Founding Partner, Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein & Lezcano
• Excellence in the Arts Award
  Nikky Finney
  American poet, author, and college professor
• Community Service Award
  Susan Burton
  Founded A New Way of Life

2017 – 42nd Annual Scholarship Fundraiser & Awards Luncheon

Building Legacies Through Advocacy, Activism, and the Arts
Saturday June 3, 2017 at Hotel Casa Del Mar, Santa Monica, CA

• Judicial Excellence Award
  Hon. Kevin C. Brazile
  Assistant Presiding Judge, Los Angeles County Superior Court
• Excellence in the Arts Award
  Bernard and Shirley Kinsey
  The Bernard and Shirley Kinsey Foundation for the Arts and Education
• Community Service Award
  USC Gould Immigration Clinic
  USC Gould School of Law

2016 – 41st Annual Scholarship Fundraiser & Awards Luncheon

Beyond All Limits: Motivate, Educate, Elevate
Saturday, June 4, 2016 at Hotel Casa Del Mar, Santa Monica, CA

• Judy A. Smith, Founder and President of Smith & Company
• Bonnie Hill, President of B. Hill Enterprises LLC
• Tige J. Charity, Founder and Executive Director of Kids in the Spotlight, Inc.

2015 – 40th Annual Scholarship Fundraiser & Awards Luncheon
Powerful Beyond Measure: Celebrating 40 Years of Excellence in Service
Saturday, May 16, 2015 at Hotel Casa Del Mar, Santa Monica, CA

• June Baldwin, Sr. Vice President and General Counsel, Corporate & Legal Affairs, KCETLink
• Jenesse Center, Inc. / Jenesse Center Legal Services Program

2014 – 39th Annual Scholarship Fundraiser & Awards Luncheon
Breaking Barriers & Blazing Trails
Saturday, May 31, 2014 at Hotel Casa Del Mar, Santa Monica, CA

• Debbie Allen, Actress, Dancer, Choreographer, Television Director/Producer
• Carol Moore, Esq., Vice President and Executive General Counsel, Hyundai Capital America, Inc.
• Loyola Law School’s Project for the Innocent, for its outstanding work to seek justice for the voiceless, especially the most recent exoneration of a 34-year-old wrongful conviction of Kash Register (Nov. 2013)

2013 – 38th Annual Scholarship Fundraiser & Awards Luncheon
Honoring the Dream and Its Legacy
Saturday, June 1, 2013 at the Bel Air Bay Club, Pacific Palisades, CA

• Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director Pasadena Playhouse
• Eva Paterson, President and Co-Founder, The Equal Justice Society

2012 – 37th Annual Scholarship & Awards Luncheon
The Law and Beyond
Saturday, May 19, 2012 at the Sheraton Delfina, Santa Monica, CA

• Major General Marcia Anderson, First African-American Female Two-Star General in the United States Army Reserve
• Kaye Lindsey, former Senior Vice President of Operations for State Farm Insurance Companies – California Zone
• Zola Mashariki, Senior Vice President of Production at Fox Searchlight Pictures
• Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, Senior Vice President and Chief Tax Officer for Wal-Mart Stores

2011 – 36th Annual Scholarship & Awards Luncheon
Laying the Foundation for Greatness: The Sky Is the Limit
Saturday, May 21, 2011 at the London West Hollywood, West Hollywood, CA

• Teenage Pilot Kimberly Anyadike
• County of Los Angeles Fire Chief Daryl Osby
• The Al Wooten, Jr. Heritage Center
• BWL Icon Vera Brown-Curtis Hayes posthumously

2009 – 34th Annual Fundraiser
Celebrating the Literary Arts
Saturday May 2, 2009 at the Luxe Hotel, Los Angeles, CA

• Hill Harper – Acclaimed Actor and Best Selling Author
• Natalie Cole – Publisher, Our Weekly Newspaper
• Tananarive Due – Author
• Pamela Samuels Young, Esq. – Attorney and Author

2008 – 33rd Annual Fundraiser
Filling the Pipeline: Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders
Saturday – May 3, 2008 at the Marriott Marina del Rey, Marina del Rey, CA

• Karen Earl – Executive Director, Jenesse Center, Inc.
• Lydia Cincore Templeton – Founder & CEO, Children Youth & Family Collaborative
• Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

2007 – 32nd Annual Fundraiser
Community Couture: Designing Our Future, Remembering Our Past
Saturday – May 5, 2007 at the Marriott Marina del Rey, Marina del Rey, CA

• Dress for Success – Janet Lavender, Executive Director
• HerShe Group Foundation, Inc. – Kenadie Cobbin Richardson, Founder and Executive Director
• Sandra Evers-Manly, Vice President, Corporate Responsibility – Northrop Grumman & President, Northrop Grumman Foundation

2006 – 31st Annual Scholarship Fundraiser
Footprints to the Future … The Power of One (Remembering Rachel D. Young, Esq.)
Saturday, May 20, 2006 at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, Santa Monica, CA

• Justice Candace Cooper, Presiding Justice, Division 8 (Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District)
• Laurie Robinson, Esq., Assistant General Counsel, CBS Broadcasting (Founder & CEO, Corporate Counsel Women of Color)
• Kriss Turner, Film & TV Writer Hit Movie “Something New”

2005 – 30th Annual Scholarship Fundraiser
Reflections from the Past: A Mirror to the Future
Saturday, May 21, 2005 at Casa Del Mar Hotel, Santa Monica, CA

• Law Practice Rising Stars & Entrepreneurs – Jean Murrell Adams, Esq.
• Law Practice Rising Stars & Entrepreneurs – Nedy A. Williams, Esq.
• Law Practice Rising Stars & Entrepreneurs – Julianna Yasinski-Edwards, Esq.
• Outstanding Leadership in the Community – Ivie, McNeill & Wyatt
• Corporate Practice Excellence – Avis Frazier-Thomas, Esq.
• Corporate Practice Excellence – Sandy Williams, Esq.

2004 – 29th Annual Scholarship Fundraiser
All That You Touch, You Change
Thursday, June 24, 2004 at the Omni Hotel, Downtown Los Angeles, CA

• Bebe Moore Campbell
• Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
• Danny Bakewell
• President Robert Brown, University of West Los Angeles

2003 – 28th Annual Scholarship Fundraiser
Community Commitment – Realized
Saturday, May 17, 2003 at the Hotel Fairmont Miramar, Santa Monica, CA

• Paul C. Hudson
• Karen Hill-Scott
• Honorable Bobbi Tillmon
• Donna Mills

2001 – 26th Annual Scholarship Fundraiser
Back to Secure Our Future
Saturday, May 12, 2001 at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel, Santa Monica, CA

• Anita DeFrantz, Esq., President, Amateur Athletic Foundation and Member, International Olympic Committee
• Kika Keith, Founder/Executive Director, Youth Empowerment Center for Creative Achievement
• Bruce Brodie, Esq., Head Deputy, Office of the Alternate Public Defender & Bar Review Instructor
• Glynn and Jo-An Turman, Founders, Camp Gid D Up and IX Winds Ranch Foundation

2000 – 25th Anniversary Scholarship Fundraiser
Honoring Our Past Celebrating Our Future — ‘Still I Rise’…
Saturday, May 6, 2000 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA

• Millennium Award Recipient – The Honorable Vaino Spencer, Presiding Justice, California Court of Appeal, 2nd District
• Silver Anniversary Award Recipient – Sylvia Drew Ivie, Executive Director, T.H.E. Clinic, Inc.
• Silver Anniversary Award Recipient – Wanda K. Denson-Low, Vice President and General Counsel, Hughes Space and Communications Company
• Silver Anniversary Award Recipients – James Fugate and Thomas Hamilton, co-owners, Eso Won Books
• Silver Anniversary Award Recipient – Dr. Tedd Davis, Founder and Director, California Dance Center

1999 – 24th Annual Scholarship Fundraiser
The Spirit of Change
Saturday, April 24, 1999 at the Petersen Automotive Museum, Museum Row, Los Angeles, CA

• Reggie Andrews, Educator
• Carol Joan Bennett, M.D., Urologist
• Mablean Ephriam, “Divorce Court” Judge
• Rhonda Windham, General Manager of the L.A. Sparks

1998 – 23rd Annual Scholarship Fundraiser
Envision 2001
Saturday, May 16, 1998 at the Los Angeles Sheraton Downtown, Los Angeles, CA

• Synthia Saint James, Artist
• Women of Vision Award – Constance L. Rice, Civil Rights Attorney
• Women of Vision Award – Myrtle Faye Rumph, Community Activist
• Women of Vision Award – Sylvia Serena Swilley, M.D.

1997 – 22nd Annual Scholarship Fundraiser
A Salute to Women Beyond The Millennium
Saturday, May 17, 1997 at Loews Hotel Santa Monica, Santa Monica, CA

• Millennium Award Recipient – Hon. Joyce London Alexander (Chief U.S. Magistrate, Boston, Mass.)
• Community Service Award – S.L.A.A.A.P. (Greater South Los Angeles Affirmative Action Project)

1996 – 21st Annual Scholarship Fundraiser
BWL Salutes African-American Scholars
Saturday, May 18, 1996

• Corporate Vanguard Award – Magic Johnson Theatres
• Community Service Award – Gregory and Yasmin Delahoussaye (Educational Student Tours)
• Community Service Award – Dr. Carolyn Reid-Wallace (Corporation for Public Broadcasting)

1992 – 17th Annual Scholarship Fundraiser
An Evening in Celebration of the African-American Arts
May 16, 1992 at the Olympic Collection, West Los Angeles, CA

• All That Dance Company (Ruth Ashton-Blake, Choreographer)
• Larry D. Drew (V.P., Magic Johnson Foundation, Inc.)