Available for Purchase
Honoring
Bruce Andelson, Legacy Award
Bruce graduated from Brown University, magna cum laude and a member of Phi Beta Kappa and then earned his J.D. from Stanford School of Law. He has been consistently honored by Best Lawyers since 2013. He is also part of the Joint Advisory Committee on Continuing Education through the State Bar of California, in addition to other various professional affiliations such as Provisors and the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Bruce has been a long-time partner in the Business and Tax Group at Greenberg Glusker LLP in Los Angeles.
Outside of his own family, Bruce's proudest achievements are the work he has done for the Aviva Family and Children's Services. Bruce and his wife, Jan, have been involved with Aviva, helping thousands of children, for more than 15 years. Currently a Board member, Bruce has served as Chairman of the Board, on the Executive Committee, the Finance Committee and the Audit Committee. In doing so he is continuing a long tradition of the Andelson Family, who have served on Aviva Boards from more than 30 years, with the next generation also now serving on the Board.
Amber McCline, Inspiration Award
In March 2020, Amber found a home at Wallis House after having endured extensive trauma and numerous trials. Amber describes the next five months, until July 2020, as a time when she found a safe, healing and supportive space at Wallis House. While living at Wallis House, Amber was provided the resources, tools and encouragement to replenish her inner strength and determination and to regain her sense of confidence which would be instrumental in rebuilding a stable, healthy and fulfilling life. Amber expresses her great appreciation for the many gifts Walls House offered her: a physically secure and calm home with privacy for sleep, community spaces for social connection, good food and abundant resources in contrast to the chaotic environments she'd experienced in other shelters.
Since leaving Wallis House Amber has flourished in a myriad of ways. She has established a permanent home, given birth to her fourth child and her three children were reunited to live all together. Her growth and accomplishments abound!
At present she works as a case manager, youth mentor and first responder supporting youth who have been sexually exploited (CSEC). She is writing two books, designing a coloring book, has been a guest speaker at Marching Beauties, a foundation supporting at-risk girls in South Central Los Angeles, and at Loyola Marymount University addressing domestic violence and human trafficking, and was recently featured in a film for the Avery Centre for Counseling. Amber's art has been featured at Los Angeles City Hall and Mount Saint Mary's University Gallery.
Today, Amber and her children are thriving!
Shining Star Award Recipients
Lisa Joyner
Widely recognized as one of Southern California's most versatile and talented broadcasters and producers, Lisa Joyner has earned five Emmy awards, two Golden Mikes, and a Los Angeles Press Club Award for her work. A co-host of TLC's hit series, Long Lost Family, Joyner (an adoptee herself) guided the show's guests through the discovery process of finding their biological families. Joyner also co-hosted TLC's Taken At Birth, a show that explored the secret stories of the "Hicks Babies," the moniker given to the more than 200 newborn babies sold or placed illegally from a small-town Georgia medical clinic run by Dr. Thomas J. Hicks during the 1950s and 1960s.
Rounding out her TLC grand slam, Joyner twice co-hosted the network's groundbreaking event, This is Life Live, which followed the journeys of families about to experience an extraordinary circumstance on live television. Additionally, she hosted the two-part reunion special for the highly anticipated return of Trading Spaces. Joyner sat down with the designers to discuss what they have been up to and what to expect in the new, updated version of the show.
Along with her busy career, Joyner has worked as an adoption advocate with various organizations. She is part of a mentoring group for the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission and sits on a committee that helps to foster inclusion and diversity in school. Before her career in television, Joyner was a pastry cook who now demonstrates her culinary prowess for her two kids, husband and rescue dogs.
Jon Cryer
Throughout his award-winning career, Jon Cryer has turned in outstanding, eclectic performances in film, television and on stage. Cryer returns to network television in the upcoming Mike O'Malley project debuting in the fall. Cryer stars in and serves as Executive Producer of this as-yet untitled comedy. Previously he received rave reviews for his performance of the ultimate villain, Lex Luther, on the CW's "Supergirl."
A native New Yorker, Cryer is the son of actor David Cryer and writer and actress Gretchen Cryer. Alongside his mother, he did his first commercial at the age of four and was so excited that he broke out in hives, halting production. He studied acting at Stagedoor Manor, a summer acting camp featured in Todd Graff's Sundance favorite "Camp," before being accepted to the London's prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
Eric Garcetti & Amy Wakeland, Children's Advocacy Award
Eric Garcetti is a committed public servant, educator, and environmental activist. After serving twelve years as a Los Angeles city councilmember, including six as City Council President, Garcetti was elected as the 42nd Mayor of the City of Los Angeles in 2013 as the youngest mayor in Los Angeles history, and he was re-elected in 2017 with the widest margin ever recorded in his city.
During his mayoralty, Garcetti led Los Angeles through crisis, charted a bold green future, and launched record investments in infrastructure. Under his watch, Los Angeles was named the best run city in America by the What Works Cities initiative of Bloomberg Philanthropies. Named Public Official of the Year in 2019 by Governing Magazine, Garcetti brought a strong management culture of innovation, equity, and accountability to the 41 city departments he oversaw. He passed ten balanced budgets and left the city with a record budget surplus.
Previous to his election as a city councilmember, Garcetti taught at Occidental College's Department of Diplomacy and World Affairs, as well as at the University of Southern California's School of International Relations. He has lived and conducted field work on nationalism, ethnicity, and human rights in Southeast Asia and Northeast Africa. He was the founding Chair of the Latino Alliance of Mayors at the U.S. Conference of Mayors, serves on the Board of National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, and speaks fluent Spanish. He currently serves as a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Columbia University Center for Global Energy Policy at the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs and the Columbia Climate School and is an Honorary Fellow of The Queen's College, Oxford. He has been nominated by President Biden to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of India.
Amy Elaine Wakeland is a political strategist, public policy expert, and advocate for women and children. She is active with organizations focused on combatting sexual and domestic violence and protecting vulnerable children from abuse and neglect. She has spearheaded several projects that provide women and girls with the resources and opportunities to which they are fairly entitled and that serve low-income Angelenos, undocumented immigrants, and families and military veterans without homes.
During her time as the First Lady of L.A., Ms. Wakeland hosted and organized dozens of events focused on diversifying women's leadership and employment in L.A. Many of these events supported women and girls in professional fields where they are dramatically under-represented, such as firefighting, technology, and engineering.
Wakeland's professional career includes positions with the Community Action Agency of Southern Michigan, Michigan's 37th Circuit Court, and the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families. In L.A., she served as Strategic Planner for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services and Director of the Progressive L.A. Network, prior to her work on presidential, statewide, and local political campaigns. Ms. Wakeland has been a resource parent a with our county's foster care system for over a decade.
Mistress of Ceremonies
Erica Olsen
Erica Olsen is an Emmy-winning On-air Host and Producer for CBS News and Stations. She is the Host and Executive Producer of Inside SoCal, a weekly 5-minute lifestyle series airing on CBS & KCAL Los Angeles. Erica is the Past President of Alliance for Women in Media (AWM) SoCal Affiliate. She has her Intermediate Sommelier certification and completed her Winemaker Certification from UC Davis. She was born and raised in Nebraska but now calls Los Angeles home. When she's not working, she loves hiking with her dog, Caesar, trying new wines, being in the kitchen and traveling the world.
$150000 Goal
$196868
Total Raised
Hosted By
