Board Membership

Board of Directors

Frank Reddick - bio
Board Chair
Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP

Joe Cilic - bio
Board Secretary
Vice President, Sotheby’s International Realty

Marcia Aaron - bio
Ex-Officio Member
Executive Director, KIPP LA

Loren Bendele - bio
CEO, Savings.com

Jeffrey Strnad - bio
Founder & Principal, Beach House Design & Development

Ryan Tarpley - bio
Executive, The Foundation at Creative Artists Agency

Blair Taylor - bio
President & CEO, Los Angeles Urban League

Mikelle Willis - bio
Director of New Site Development, KIPP Foundation

Rebecca Wolf DiBiase - bio
Director, The Broad Foundation

 

Advisory Board

Marcus Allen - bio
NFL Hall-of-Famer

Maria Casillas - bio
President, Families in Schools

Martha Karsh - bio
Attorney; Co-Founder, Clark & Karsh

Richard Lovett - bio
President, Creative Artists Agency

Don McCammack - bio
Retired; Former President, Avis Rent a Car

Judge William A. Norris  - bio
Senior Counsel, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP

 

 

About Our Board Members 

Frank Reddick is a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and has more than 25 years of experience in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and public company representations. Mr. Reddick is a Practice Manager of the firm’s corporate practice and serves on its Policy and Planning Committee and Management Committee. He is principally engaged in the practice of corporate and securities law, with a concentration on corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and other strategic alliances. He advises clients in a wide range of industries, including the media, entertainment, and gaming industries. Mr. Reddick received his BA with high honors and great distinction from California State University at San Jose in 1977 and his JD in 1980 from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where he was a member of Order of the Coif. He is a member of the California Bar.

 

Joe Cilic currently serves as a Vice President and Branch Manager for the Beverly Hills office of Sotheby's International Realty, a prominent residential real estate company. Mr. Cilic’s duties include recruiting, hiring, budgeting, training, and supervising nearly 100 agents and employees. Prior to joining Sotheby’s, Mr. Cilic worked as an attorney with the law firm of Ervin, Cohen & Jessup, LLP. During his legal career, he specialized in business litigation, real estate disputes, and employment law. Active in the community, Mr. Cilic currently serves as Financial Secretary for the Slovenian Benevolent Society, is on the Board of Directors for the Mount Olympus Property Owner’s Association, and is a member of the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce and Board of Realtors. Mr. Cilic holds a Juris Doctorate from UCLA School of Law and did his undergraduate work at St. Edward’s University, in Austin, Texas, where he served as Student Body President and graduated summa cum laude.

 

Prior to being named Executive Director of KIPP LA, Marcia Aaron was the founding Board Chair of KIPP LA and the Board Chair of KIPP Academy of Opportunity in LA. Previously, she worked as a Senior Analyst at Pacific Growth Equities, and as a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank and Montgomery Securities. She is currently a member of the University of Oregon Alumni Center Campaign Committee and the All Stars Helping Kids’ Board of Directors. She previously served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Oregon Foundation and the University of Oregon Journalism Advancement Council. Ms. Aaron holds a BA in Journalism from the University of Oregon.

 

Loren Bendele joined Savings.com in January 2007 as the company’s CEO. Previously, he ran Teleflora’s Partner Marketing business and served as a strategy/management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group. He has also served as an independent consultant focusing on strategy, business development, fund raising, product management, and M&A for companies ranging in size from emerging ventures to established companies. He started his career at Dow Chemical, initially serving as a chemical engineer in Dow’s Strategic Services group. Mr. Bendele graduated with honors in chemical engineering from The University of Texas A&M.

 

Jeffrey Strnad is the founder and principal of Beach House Design & Development, a residential design and development company. Mr. Strnad has worked in corporate real estate and residential development for over 20 years. He previously worked for Credit Suisse First Boston Realty Corp. as a Managing Director and Co-Manager of the Los Angeles regional office, as well as National Director of Advisory Services. He also was a Senior Vice President at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette; Regional Leasing Director for Jones Lang LaSalle; and a Senior Management Consultant with KPMG Peat Marwick. Mr. Strnad is a Licensed Public Accountant in Ohio, a licensed General Building Contractor in California, a Licensed Real Estate Broker in California, and a certified Financial Analyst (AMA). He was named a Southern California Commercial Broker All-Star by Real Estate Forum magazine. Mr. Strnad received his BS in Accounting from Bowling Green State University, and has a post-graduate degree from the UCLA Extension in Arts, Architecture, and Interior Design.

 

Ryan Tarpley is an executive in the Foundation at Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Prior to joining CAA, he served as Upper School Dean and then Assistant Head of Upper School at Harvard-Westlake School. Mr. Tarpley also worked in college admissions at Pomona College and the California Institute of Technology. A prominent member of the philanthropic community, Mr. Tarpley serves on the Board of Directors of Phoenix House of California, The Trevor Project, Global Colors, and the Blackhouse Foundation. He is also very involved in Mentor LA and Heart of Los Angeles Youth. Mr. Tarpley holds a BA in History from Lawrence University of Wisconsin and an MA in Higher Education and Counseling Psychology from Ohio State University.

 

Blair Taylor is the President and CEO of the Los Angeles Urban League. Previously, he served as the Executive Vice President of College Summit. Prior to moving to the non-profit world, he held management positions at PepsiCo and IBM. A committed community servant, Mr. Taylor currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Amherst College and the Board of Councilors for the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education, as well as on the Boards of the California Charter Schools Association, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, the Forum, and the Los Angeles Civic Alliance. Mr. Taylor earned his BA in Economics from Amherst College and his MBA in Marketing and Entrepreneurial Studies from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.

 

Mikelle Willis currently serves as the Director of New Site Development for the KIPP Foundation where she is responsible for helping bring KIPP schools to communities across the country. Attracted to the idea of equal educational opportunities for all, Ms. Willis began her educational career when she joined Teach For America in 1998. Continuing to pursue her dream, Ms. Willis received a Fisher Fellowship in 2002, which allowed her to found KIPP Academy of Opportunity in 2003 in her home community of South Los Angeles. With the goal of raising expectations in a neighborhood with low educational attainment, she presided over KAO for four and a half successful years of consistent academic progress before joining the KIPP Foundation. Ms. Willis holds a BS in Business Administration from California State University, Long Beach; a Multiple Teaching Credential from Chapman University; and an MA in Education from National Louis University in Chicago, IL. She is currently pursuing an MBA in Entrepreneurship from Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management.

 

Rebecca Wolf DiBiase is a director at The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, a national venture philanthropy dedicated to dramatically improving K-12 urban public education. She is an expert in school district accountability, performance management, and charter schools. She manages the foundation’s investments in the strategic redesign of urban school districts through the implementation of performance accountability systems and the improvement of human resources operations. She also oversees the foundation’s investments in the expansion of charter schools nationwide, most notably in Los Angeles, New York City, and New Orleans. She currently sits on the boards of two other high-performing charter school management organizations: Aspire Public Schools and the Alliance for College Ready Schools. Previously, Ms. DiBiase was director of accountability for the Charter School Office of the Massachusetts Department of Education. She also worked for the Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research, where she focused on policy reforms in K-12 education and urban entrepreneurship. Earlier in her career, Ms. DiBiase taught middle school in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. She has a bachelor's degree in international relations and Spanish from the University of Virginia, and a master's in public administration from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

 

Marcus Allen, a University of Southern California standout and Heisman Trophy winner, was the tenth player selected in the 1982 National Football League Draft, playing 16 seasons with the Los Angeles Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs. Considered one of the game’s best goal line and short-yardage runners, Mr. Allen began his pro career as the NFL Rookie of the Year and ended as the game’s all-time rushing touchdown leader. During his 11 seasons with the Raiders, he was named to the Pro Bowl six times, and earned Superbowl XVIII MVP honors when the Raiders defeated the Washington Redskins 38-9. In 1995, Mr. Allen made NFL history when he became the first player in league history to rush for over 10,000 yards and catch passes for 5,000 more. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003. A dedicated supporter of disadvantaged children, Mr. Allen has worked with All Stars Helping Kids to raise nearly $500,000 over the last three years in support of educational programs in Los Angeles.

 

Maria Casillas is President of Families in Schools, an organization created by the Los Angeles Annenberg Metropolitan Project in 2001 to engage parents in the education of their children and to strengthen the relationship among families, schools, and communities. Ms. Casillas also supports K-12 school reform through community-based coalition efforts such as the Boyle Heights Learning Collaborative and Communities for Educational Equity and as an active member on various non-profit boards and advisory committees. Prior to her work in the non-profit sector, Ms. Casillas was a teacher and principal in Guadalajara, Mexico; held the position of Executive Director in the Educational Service Center in Texas, serving the greater El Paso community; and gave more than 20 years of service to the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) as a teacher, elementary school principal, and regional superintendent. Ms. Casillas has also taught at various campuses in the California State University (CSU) system and has collaborated with the Chancellor of the CSU system in the creation of special teacher development initiatives aimed at improving teacher quality. She has held leadership roles through the California State Department of Education and served on the Commission for Children Youth and their Families for the City of Los Angeles.

 

Martha Karsh has practiced law, done extensive non-profit work, and run a number of design and construction projects. In 2009, Ms. Karsh co-founded Clark & Karsh, a residential architecture, design, and development firm, with architect Brad Clark. The new firm is presently at work on projects in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, and Montecito. For more than a decade between 1981 to 1994, Ms. Karsh worked as a business litigator in private practice, and as a counseling attorney and lecturer at UCLA. In 1998, together with Bruce Karsh, now President of Oaktree Capital Management and her spouse of almost 30 years, Ms. Karsh founded the Karsh Family Foundation, a charitable organization focused primarily on supporting education. To date, the Karshes and their Foundation have made gifts and pledges in excess of $50 million to support scholarship and education at all levels. Ms. Karsh has served on the boards of numerous non-profit organizations. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the University of Virginia Law School Foundation, the Los Angeles Parks Foundation Board of Directors, and the University of Pennsylvania Parent Leadership Committee (Chair). Ms. Karsh is a graduate of the University of Virginia and Virginia Law School.

 

Richard Lovett is President of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), an entertainment and sports agency based in Los Angeles. His clients are among the world’s most successful actors, directors, and producers. Since his appointment to President in 1995, Mr. Lovett has directed the company’s growth throughout the entertainment, sports, and corporate sectors. In 1996, Mr. Lovett and his partners created the CAA Foundation. The Foundation harnesses the power and reach of the entertainment industry to create positive social change through forging strategic partnerships, encouraging volunteerism, granting financial contributions, stimulating public awareness, and providing in-kind donations. Mr. Lovett has received numerous awards for his activism and serves on several national boards focusing on education and the arts. Among his honors, Mr. Lovett has received the Shoah Foundation’s Ambassador for Humanity Award from Steven Spielberg. A Milwaukee, Wisconsin native, Mr. Lovett attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he majored in English. Named “the most powerful agent in Hollywood” by the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Lovett has been called one of the most influential people in entertainment by media outlets such as Vanity Fair and Entertainment Weekly.

 

Don McCammack, now retired, was President of Avis Rent a Car in Southern California from 1983 to 1997. He began his career at Arthur Young and Company, then joined Avis in Southern California, serving as its Controller and Vice President of Finance before being promoted to President. Mr. McCammack is a longtime KIPP LA volunteer and supporter: he runs the Career Guest Speaker Program at KIPP Academy of Opportunity. In addition to his work with KIPP LA, he currently is a Friend of St. Raphael Elementary School. In the past, he served as a Board member of the Pacific Outward Bound School and as Chairman of the St. Michael’s Elementary School Development Council. A longtime Los Angeles resident, Mr. McCammack received his undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California.

 

Judge William A. Norris is a senior counsel at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. He served as a business litigator for 25 years and a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit for 17 years. During his career on the bench, Judge Norris wrote landmark opinions in many areas, including securities, tax, class action litigation, election law, and the First Amendment. Judge Norris is the founding president of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. His career highlights also include serving as president of the Los Angeles Police Commission on appointment by Mayor Tom Bradley, and as a member of the California State Board of Education and the Board of Trustees of California State University on appointment by Governor Edmund G. “Pat” Brown. In 2002 he was inducted as a fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. Judge Norris received his B.A. from Princeton University and his J.D. from Stanford Law School, where he was a member of Order of the Coif and executive editor of the Stanford Law Review. He clerked for Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas.