Boys & Girls Club of Hollywood Announces New Members to Board of Directors
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mel Culpepper
December 2, 2019
BGCH Announces New Members to Board of Directors
BGCH a non-profit organization that currently serves over 1,200 predominantly underprivileged and low-income students (approximately 5-17 years old) in the Hollywood community announced today that 6 team members have been selected to serve on the organization’s Board of Directors for the remainder of 2019 and into 2020. The increase of 6 board members and ramp up has been successfully aligned to support its first annual Spread Love, Not Hate Concert fundraising concert to promote a Los Angeles free of violence and bullying as well as other events in the coming year.
The new board members are: Christopher Reyes, Diana Spiro, Dionna Harris, Lisa Gannon, Lisa Peagler and Maïté Irakoze Baur.
Christopher Reyes is a Client Service Partner in Media & Communications at Slalom with expertise across Strategy & Operations, Business Transformation and Technology Advisory. He has a B.S. in Public Policy & Management from University of Southern California and an Executive MBA from Pepperdine University, The George L. Graziadio School of Business and Management. He lives in San Pedro with his wife Noel and two daughters.
Diana Castillo Spiro is a television producer specializing in entertainment news. She started her career in 2001 on the show “Entertainment Tonight”. In 2003 she joined the E! Network and became the Assignment Desk Editor for “E! News”. In 2014 she was hired by “Access Hollywood” as their News Producer where she was nominated three times for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Entertainment News Show. Diana grew up in the Los Angeles area and graduated from California State University Northridge (CSUN) with a B.A. in Journalism. She resides in Valley Village with her husband, two daughters, and two mini-schnauzers.
Dionna Harris is a respected philanthropist, long time committee member for OC Fashion Week and Fashion Runway Creative Director for HAPAWARDS. She is a well-known supporter of many charitable causes and the CEO of The Styling Agency and Integrity Modeling Agency based in Los Angeles. For two decades she has consulted businesses in LA and OC on Advertising, Marketing & Branding. She currently resides in Culver City with her dog, Joy Buttercup.
Lisa Gannon earned a BA in Communications from North Carolina State University before spending two decades as a film/tv/commercial actress in New York and Los Angeles. She is an active member of the LA community, having worked extensively in a volunteer capacity with the Larchmont Charter School system and Alexandria House, which provides temporary housing for battered woman and children. Lisa and her husband, Terry, an NBC Sports announcer, have two children who are both currently students at USC.
Lisa M. Peagler is a Partner at Rise Law Firm, PC in Beverly Hills. She has devoted her legal practice exclusively to representing employees in employment law cases and has several years of experience litigating state and federal cases. Lisa has a B.A., Cum Laude Honors, in Psychology from Harvard University and a J.D. from Southwestern Law School. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Harvard Club of Southern California as the VP of Programs. Lisa lives in West Los Angeles with her husband (Vince III), son (Vince IV) and daughter (Eva).
Maïté Irakoze Baur, CFA is an investment professional with global experience in insurance investment management. She is currently the Head of Insurance Investments at Farmers Insurance. Prior to joining Farmers in 2016, Maïté held various positions in insurance investment management in Zurich, Switzerland and New York. She holds a Master of Arts in Information Management from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland and is also a CFA Charter holder. Maïté also serves on the CSUN Foundation Board and lives in Los Angeles with her family.
Board Members who will continue to serve in 2020 include: Anne White, Anthony J. Morris, David Field, Giles Steinberg, Jonathan Jordan, Rick Ghazy, Robert Tietjen, and Tafiq Akhir.
Anthony J. Morris thanked the exiting members who will continue to serve the upcoming year as well as said “Earlier this year I was honored to take the role of Board Chair for the Boys and Girls Club of Hollywood. The Club inspires through education and empowerment. I have seen this firsthand with our 2019 Inaugural scholarship awards to five very deserving Club members. In addition to the scholarship awards I am extremely proud of the six Board Members we have added in 2019. Individually and collectively they have the skills and networks to allow the Club to fulfill its mission and collectively.”
Mel Culpepper Chief Executive Officer added, “I look forward to working with our new board members as we advance our efforts to create opportunities for our children to succeed.”
Boys & Girls Club of Hollywood, is a non-profit organization that offers youth an array of learning opportunities including academic enrichment, leadership skills, physical activity and athletics, computer literacy, music lessons and fine arts programs.
The mission of BGCH is to inspire and empower young people, especially those who need us most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring adults.