Insurance industry executive Tom Alper and entertainment industry executives Dana Walden and Rick Hersh have joined the board of directors for the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation, the fundraising arm of UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Alper is a senior vice president with Wells Fargo Insurance Services and a longtime supporter of the cancer center foundation. A graduate of San Diego State University, Alper lives in Pacific Palisades and previously served on the board of LA Goal, an organization that assists developmentally disabled adults.
Walden is chairman of 20th Century Fox Television and a 2009 recipient of the foundation’s Gil Nickel Humanitarian Award. Walden serves on several other boards including Chrysalis and the Saban Free Clinic of Los Angeles. She is a graduate of the University of Southern California and lives in Brentwood.
Hersh is a talent agent and the president of Celebrity Consultants LLC. Before starting his own firm, Hersh served as senior vice president and worldwide head of commercial endorsements, licensing and sponsorship for the William Morris Agency, where he worked for 32 years. Hersh attended California State University Northridge and lives in Sherman Oaks.
“We are gratified that such outstanding volunteers are joining the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation board of directors at this critical juncture,” said Judith C. Gasson, the cancer center’s director. “Philanthropic support is a powerful and essential force in moving our cancer research efforts forward. We welcome the participation of Tom Alper, Rick Hersh and Dana Walden in raising funds that further our mission of ending cancer through research.”
Each board member will serve a three-year term that began on July 1, 2010 and concludes June 30, 2013.
The foundation board of directors is led by Chairman Randall M. Katz and Vice Chairman Jay Sures. Katz is president of Milestone Entertainment and a director of the Ron and Maddie Katz Family Foundation. Sures is a partner and board member at United Talent Agency and the 2007 recipient of the foundation’s Gil Nickel Humanitarian Award. Other 2010-2011 foundation board officers include treasurer Jonathan Davidson, a partner at Westridge Capital LLC; and secretary Leonard Rome, senior associate dean for research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the cancer center’s deputy director for strategic planning and partnerships. Gasson also serves as president of the foundation board.
The Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation, founded in 1945, is the single most important vehicle for raising private funds for cancer research at UCLA. Through events such as Taste for a Cure and initiatives such as the recent iChallenge, the Foundation supports a number of high priority cancer research efforts, focused on converting laboratory discoveries into more effective and less toxic therapies for cancer patients.
