06/25/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/25/2024 17:44
Two new members have been elected to the The UCLA Foundation board of directors this year, along with a new board chair. UCLA alumni Edward Barnett and Matt Kaczmarek, who began their terms March 7, join Cheryl Lott, a current board member whose election as chair was announced in Januaryand who will begin her two-year tenure on July 1.
Lott succeeds outgoing chair Alicia Miñana de Lovelace, who will continue her service on the board as immediate past chair.
The volunteer-led board is made up of staff, ex officio and elected members who serve as key advisors to UCLA and promote philanthropy for areas across the campus. The board oversees the UCLA Investment Company, which manages the foundation's endowment and assets and sets the payout rate from endowed funds to campus units.
♦ ♦ ♦
Barnett earned his bachelor's degree from UCLA, where he competed in track and field and was an all-conference high jumper. His professional accomplishments and philanthropic endeavors later earned him the UCLA Black Alumni Association's Tom Bradley Alumnus of the Year award.
Barnett is also the founder of the Choices Mentoring Program for Young Men, which preparesyoung African American males for college and life success by developing and strengthening their decision-making skills and expanding their perspective of opportunities. He is also a board member of Hav A Sole, a nonprofit that provides marginalized populations with quality footwear to encourage healthy lifestyles, and serves as an advisor to the National College Resources Foundation, a nonprofit focused on curbing the high school dropout rate and increasing educational opportunities for underserved, underrepresented, at-risk, low-resource, homeless and foster students.
♦ ♦ ♦
Kaczmarek received his bachelor's degree in 2005 from UCLA, where he was president of the University of California Student Association, before earning a master's from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, where he was editor-in-chief of the SAIS Review of International Affairs. In addition to serving on the board of the UCLA Alumni Association, he is a member of the campaign board of the National LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy and the Council on Foreign Relations.