THE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL ALLIANCE FOR MINORITY AFFAIRS TO HONOR BARON DAVIS, JOSHUA G. HAMILTON AND MARIA & JEFFREY HARLESTON

The Independent School Alliance for Minority Affairs (The Independent School Alliance) will honor outstanding members of the Los Angeles community at its annual Impact Awards gala, March 22, 2016 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. NBA veteran Baron Davis; Joshua G. Hamilton, Partner, Paul Hastings LLP; Jeffrey Harleston, General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs, Universal Music Group and Marial Harleston, CPA, will be honored. Brian Laibow, Managing Director, Oaktree Capital Management; Benjamin Nazarian, Managing Partner, Omninet and Nina Shaw, founding partner, Del, Shaw, Moonves, Tanaka, Finkelstein & Lezcano, Chair.

“Our organization is so fortunate to have such extraordinary and dedicated supporters who have demonstrated a long-standing commitment as role models for the children we serve, said Keishia Gu, Executive Director. “We are extremely grateful for their generosity and efforts to help our young people achieve their dreams and support our goal to provide the option of independent school education to members of racial communities presently underrepresented in independent schools and to address issues of racial diversity and multicultural education.”

A native of Los Angeles, Baron Davis is a 13-year NBA veteran and a two-time All-Star. He was drafted third overall in the 1999 NBA draft after an All-American season at UCLA. A true renaissance man off the court, Davis has been an investor, entrepreneur and advisor in a variety of entertainment, technology and consumer product endeavors, including VitaminWater, Popchips, and Songza. He has made a name for himself in the world of film and television, as the producer of the Emmy-nominated documentary Crips and Bloods: Made In America, and most recently as producer/director of the upcoming documentary The Drew: No Excuse, Just Produce. A true champion of youth, Baron has supported charitable endeavors across Los Angeles, from the Boys and Girls Club of Venice to his childhood elementary school, South Park.

Joshua G. Hamilton is a partner in the litigation practice of Paul Hastings LLP and is based in the firm’s Los Angeles office. A complex litigator and trial lawyer, Hamilton concentrates his practice on securities and corporate governance related litigation and investigations, defense of class actions, and representation of investment firms and their portfolio companies in high-stakes disputes. He has been recognized for his legal achievements, including being named one of the Top 20 Lawyers under 40 in California by the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal and consistently being named a Super Lawyer in Securities Litigation by Super Lawyers Magazine. Mr. Hamilton has proudly served on the Board of the Alliance for many years and is currently the Board Secretary. He and his wife Marissa have two children who attend independent schools and see first-hand the critical work of the Alliance.

Jeffrey Harleston, General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs for Universal Music Group is a key member of the senior executive team and responsible for overseeing all business transactions, contracts, and litigation related to UMG’s operations. Harleston has held a variety of senior legal and operational positions at UMG over the years. He also worked as a litigation associate with the firm of Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. and, before law school, as an Account Executive for Saatchi & Saatchi Compton Advertising in New York. Jeff received a B.A. in Political Science from Williams College and his J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law at U.C. Berkeley.

Maria Harleston is a CPA who spent her corporate career with positions at Price Waterhouse, The Coca Cola Company, DreamWorks and Showtime. A generous amount of time was also spent at home raising their four children. She received her B.S. in accounting from the University of Virginia. Both Maria and Jeff are very active in the independent school community with children who have attended The Center for Early Education and Harvard-Westlake. Their oldest is now matriculating at Tufts University.

Established in 1985 by a group of Southern California school heads, The Independent School Alliance is an organization of 54 private, independent elementary and secondary schools that endeavor to increase their diversity. It is the mission of The Independent School Alliance to inform members of racial communities presently underrepresented in independent schools of the option of independent school education; to identify applicants from these communities and assist them in the application process; to provide on-going support programs for students and their families; and to act as a resource to member schools assisting them in their individual efforts to address issues of racial diversity and multicultural education. Over the past 14 years, The Independent School Alliance students have received nearly $70 million in financial aid from member schools. For further information on The Independent School Alliance, please visit independentschoolalliance.org.

Individual tickets begin at $500 and packages begin at $2,500. For ticket information, please call Rebecca at Grant Associates (323) 904-4400.

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