2022 USC Neighborhood Academic Initiative Annual Gala and Awards Ceremony Invitation

2022 SPONSORSHIP & TICKETS

$50,0000 Signature Diamond Sponsor

• 10 NAI student scholarships in your name*
• Two prominent tables for 9 each**
• Recognition: website, social media, event signage and collateral

$25,000 Platinum Sponsor

• Eight NAI student scholarships in your name*
• Table for 9 with VIP seating**
• Recognition: website, social media, event signage and collateral

$15,000 Gold Sponsor

• Six NAI student scholarships in your name*
• Table for 9 with Premiere seating**
• Recognition: website, social media, event signage and collateral

$10,000 Silver Sponsor

• Four NAI student scholarships in your name*
• Table for 7 with preferred seating**
• Recognition: social media, event signage and collateral

$5,000 Bronze Sponsor

• Two NAI student scholarships in your name*
• Table for 7**
• Recognition: event signage

$3,500 Friend of NAI

• One NAI student scholarship in your name*
• Seating for 4 guests

Individual Ticket: $500

*All scholarships will be awarded that evening

Dinner contributions are tax deductible except for $150 per person

**Table sponsors will host one (1) NAI Scholar and their parents or guardians at their table

2022 TRIBUTE ADS

Legacy

• Back Cover- $5,500

Benefactor

• Inside Back Cover- $3,500

Partner

• Full-page color- $2,000

Gold

• Half-page color- $1,500

Cardinal

• Full-page B&W- $1,000

Friend of Troy

• Half-page B&W- $750

Full page- 5′ wide x8′ tall | Half page- 5′ wide x 3.875′ tall

All ads need to be a maximum of 300 dpi and in JPG, TIF or PDF format

Color: CMYK

Artwork due by April 20, 2022

Proceeds will benefit the USC McMorrow Neighborhood Academic Initiative Fund

For sponsorship or to make a donation, please contact Ivonne Rodriquez via email: ivonnero@usc.edu

2022 Champion Award Honorees

Richard Weitz and Demi Weitz

RW Quarantunes Founders

When the pandemic began in March 2020, William Morris Endeavor (WME) Partner, Richard Weitz and his then 17-year-old daughter Demi took action to support vulnerable communities by creating a Zoom fundraiser series from their kitchen named RWQuarantunes. Since then, Richard and Demi have raised an incredible $31 million for various charities, including the Neighborhood Academic Initiative.

Richard and Demi expanded RWQuarantunes outside of their kitchen to broadcast live from The Hollywood Bowl, Dodgers Stadium, the Ahmanson Theater, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at USC and on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theater. By mobilizing his network of entertainment industry luminaries, Richard secured over 500 performances for RWQuarantunes by high-profile artists including Barry Manilow, Beck, Carly Simon, Coldplay, Dolly Parton, Jennifer Hudson, Lin Manuel Miranda, Rod Stewart, Shawn Mendes, Sting, The Killers and many, many more. Demi is now attending college at Stanford University and hopes to continue making a global impact on communities in need.

2022 Mistress of Ceremony

Cristela Alonza

Cristela Alonzo made history in 2014 when she became the first Latina to create, produce and star in her own network sitcom, “Cristela” for ABC. During that same year, she split her time between LA and NYC to serve as one of ABC’s favorite guest hosts on their hit daytime talk show, “The View”.  In 2017 Cristela made history again when she became the first Latina lead in a Disney Pixar film when she voiced the part of “Cruz Ramirez” in Cars 3. Her first stand-up special, Lower Classy, is currently streaming on Netflix.  Cristela’s memoir, “Music to My Years,” was released in October of 2019 by Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Her new stand-up special, Middle Classy, is set to release on Netflix June 2022.

Aside from comedy, Cristela focuses on advocacy work, fighting for issues such as immigration, universal healthcare and lower income communities. She works with numerous organizations including Special Olympics Texas and Planned Parenthood, and is a board member of LUPE (La Union del Pueblo Entero) and an advisory board member for Define American.

2022 Keynote Speaker

Lourdes Baezconde Garbanati

Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati, PhD, MPH is a Professor in Population and Public Health at the Keck School of Medicine, USC, under the new KSOM Dean, Dr. Carolyn Meltzer. She is Associate Director for Community Engagement at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Associate Dean for Community Initiatives at the Keck School of Medicine, and Director for the Center for Health Equity in the Americas. Dr. Baezconde-Garbanati holds a courtesy faculty appointment at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at USC. Dr. Baezconde-Garbanati is engaged in multiple COVID-19 efforts, including Vaccinate LA, Stay Connected LA, and the Coronavirus Pandemic Research Center. Her research focuses on health disparities and efforts to achieve community health equity, and on cancer prevention. She utilizes community-based participatory research methods and actively engages stakeholders, patient advocates and community residents in research. For almost two decades she has been working with Promotores de Salud (Lay community health workers). She is a recognized scholar nationally and internationally, with over 200 publications on risk behaviors with a focus on racial/ethnic disparities. She has published in prestigious peer-reviewed journals in her field. Dr. Baezconde-Garbanati has worked closely with media and public relations agencies and has been responsible for implementing community outreach and engagement of diverse and vulnerable populations in research. Dr. Baezconde-Garbanati is trained in public health and community engagement. She has received funding from several NIH institutes and been part of seven NIH Centers, including the Southern California Research Center on Chronic Diseases for Latino Children and Families. She has taught courses on Cultural Competency, Health Equity, Sociodeterminants of Health, Gender and Minority Health, Culture and International Health, and Community Organizing and Mobilization for Health. She has mentored over 200 students and supported their efforts in moving into medical and public health careers and higher education.

USC McMorrow 2022 NAI Gala Sponsors

PRESENTING SPONSOR

Bill and Leslie McMorrow

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SIGNATURE DIAMOND SPONSOR

Van Konynenburg Foundation

Steve and Sue Silk Foundation

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PLATINUM SPONSOR

Ricks Blagden Family Charitable Foundation

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GOLD SPONSOR

Marilou and Mark Hamill

Rod and Elsie Nakamoto

Kent and Megan Mouton

Ilene and Jerry Sraberg

Elissa and Matt Windisch

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SENIOR GIFT SPONSOR

The USC Neighborhood Academic Initiative program is in the midst of a brand new expansion of our program investing an additional $5 million dollars over the next seven years in the communities of east and south Los Angeles. Our intent is to 

1) add an additional 350-400 students to the college pathway and 

2) widen our geography to increase access to more African American families and students.

The current policies for this event are:

• While masks are not required for this event, we ask that attendees, vaccinated or unvaccinated, consider wearing them for their own protection and the protection of others. Unvaccinated individuals must wear a mask whenever they cannot maintain a 6’ physical distance from those outside of their household.
• Please note that protocols are subject to change. Information on protocol updates will be communicated to guests by email or other appropriate mechanism.

USC policies are subject to change.