Tuesday, May 21st, 2019

Special Event - The Evening Celebration

6:15 PM - 8:30 PM

The Power of Sports, Healing and Building Communities

Leilanie Ayala, Manager, NPH Nursing Education, Performance Improvement and Magnet Program, UCLA-Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital

Jason Witt, Community & Citizenship Specialist, Turner Construction Company

Cathy Landrum, NPH Nursing Education, Performance Improvement and Magnet Program, UCLA-Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital

Dr. Jonathan E. Sherin, Director, Department of Mental Health, Los Angeles County

David Siegel, President, Los Angeles Sports Council

Moderator - Peter Straus, Executive Director, Team Prime Time

Dr. Sherin, a psychiatrist and neurobiologist by trade with a wide range of professional experience, was appointed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors as the County’s Director of Mental Health effective November 1, 2016. In this role, he leads the largest public mental health system in the country, serving over 250,000 clients annually in the most

populous and one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the nation. Most recently he served as both the chief medical officer and executive vice president of military communities for Volunteers of America, an organization with a vast national network that serves a full spectrum of vulnerable clients including at risk youth and family, intellectually disabled, veteran, frail elderly and prison re-entry populations. In these posts he brought key clinical, research and systems as well as policy expertise to the organization as a whole and oversaw a massive expansion of its services to military community members, particularly homeless veterans. Dr. Sherin is a leading authority on the care of veterans struggling with trauma and reintegration challenges. He has testified in Congress on veteran homelessness and suicide. Prior to joining Volunteers of America, he had a distinguished career in the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) where he held various clinical, teaching, research and administrative leadership positions. In his last VA post, he served as chief of mental health for the Miami VA Healthcare System. He has also held a variety of full academic appointments, most recently as professor and vice chairman for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Miami. Dr. Sherin is an accomplished neurobiology researcher with notable achievements including his work discovering a core sleep circuit in mammals, published in “Science” magazine that garnered international recognition. In addition, he is a recipient of the prestigious Kempf Award from the American Psychiatric Association for his conceptual model of the psychotic process. More recently, his efforts have focused on developing access programs to dismantle myriad barriers facing vulnerable populations as well as methods for measuring wellbeing (and human flourishing) as an outcome. Dr. Sherin completed his undergraduate studies in neuroscience at Brown University, his graduate work at the University of Chicago and Harvard, and his postgraduate training at UCLA. He is a volunteer clinical professor as well as a member of the Center on Aging at the University of Miami and a volunteer clinical professor at UCLA.

David Siegel, President, Los Angeles Sports Council: David joined the Los Angeles Sports Council and Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games as President and Chief Executive Officer of both organizations in December 2018 after a 22-year career in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. With the Dodgers, he worked in every revenue producing department, most recently as Vice President of Global Partnerships, after spending 10 years as the Vice President of Ticket Sales. Under his leadership, the Dodgers achieved the highest attendance in Major League Baseball for five consecutive seasons. David is a leading expert in sports marketing, ticket policy, pricing and promotion, as well the development of unique product offerings. He frequently shares his expertise, delivering presentations and lectures at industry events and meetings, in addition to university undergraduate and graduate sports business programs. David also serves as a Director for Team Prime Time, a non-profit program for at-risk children from low-income areas of Los Angeles. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from the University of California, San Diego, where he played on the school’s nationally ranked baseball team.

Jason Witt, Community & Citizenship Specialist, Turner Construction: Jason began working for Turner Construction Company in 2013 as a field engineer in the Special Projects Division (SPD) managing interior renovation projects in San Diego for through 2015. Jason moved back to Los Angeles in November of 2015 to pursue a career in Community and Citizenship within Turner Construction Company. Community & Citizenship is a division in Turner dedicated to increasing the

Minority, Women-Owned, Small, Disadvantaged, and Veteran Owned Business Enterprise partnerships with Turner and incorporating them on Turner projects. Jason received his Bachelor of Science in Construction Engineering and Management in 2013 from San Diego State University. As a professional, Jason has been an ACE (Architecture / Construction / Engineering) Mentor since 2014 working with high school students in order to increase the number of college students in the STEM field from underserved neighborhoods. Jason currently works at the Los Angeles Stadium and Entertainment District at Hollywood Park project in Inglewood, California on the Community Engagement Team working to maximize the participation of Minority and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, local hire initiatives, and partnering with the community.