Cindy and Bill Simon established and funded the Sound Body Sound Mind program to provide scholarships and other incentives to encourage a balance of academic and athletic achievement among “everyday” students-neither star athletes nor star students-in Los Angeles high schools. Like many Californians, both Cindy and Bill Simon and their children enjoy outdoor activities and sports. They believe that physical education contributes to intellectual functioning and academic achievement, and that it can increase confidence and improve self-image.
Moreover, Cindy and Bill Simon believe experiences in physical activity enhance social effectiveness, providing students with numerous opportunities to practice and evaluate interpersonal skills. Sharing equipment, interacting with teammates, choosing activities, managing frustration, and resolving conflict are experiences that help students anticipate the consequences of personal behavior and enable them to predict peer reaction. Working cooperatively to achieve mutually defined
and desired goals increases the likelihood that students will accept and respect individual differences.
Cindy and Bill Simon have provided grants to build state of the art fitness centers and support college scholarships to 50 schools. Over 40, 000 students are served in these ethnically and racially diverse schools each year. Sound Body sound Mind is in the process of expanding the program to middle schools throughout the Los Angeles County.
Lance T. Izumi is Senior Fellow in California Studies and Director of Education Studies at the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy (PRI), California’s premier free-market public-policy think tank based in San Francisco. Mr. Izumi received his J.D. from the University of Southern California School of Law and his Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of California at Davis. He received his Bachelor of Arts in economics and history from the University of California at Los Angeles.
Kym Begel is the executive director of the Carl Lewis Foundation, a non-profit started by the 9-time Olympic Gold Medalist in 2002 to help empower youth. Kym is a 1992 Olympian and finished 11th in the heptathlon at the Games in Barcelona, Spain. During her nearly 20-year athletic career, Kym won a number of Indoor/Outdoor U.S.A. National Championships and was ranked #1 in the United States, and # 8 in the World by Track and Field News magazine. Kym was also twice selected, "Heptathlete of the Year", by the United States Track and Field Association. She received her B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from Louisiana State University, and is the proud mother of 9-year old boy/girl twins. Kym feels strongly that there is a shared obligation to help improve the lives of young people all across the great state of California.
Ms. Caster is an active member of the West L.A. community. As founder of the Everychild Foundation she is continually working to improve the lives of children in Los Angeles. Prior to starting the Everychild Foundation, Ms. Caster worked in real estate law with Loeb and Loeb and the Disney Development Company. She then started her own consulting firm specializing in large scale urban projects and worked with many Fortune 500 clients. Ms. Caster earned her B.A. from Pomona College, her Masters degree in City and Regional Planning from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and her J.D. from Boston University School of Law. Ms. Caster is a member of the AVIVA Platinum Associates and on the Board of Trustees for Alternative Living for the Aging and the Blue Heron Foundation which serves Romanian orphans. She was the recipient of the Humanitarian Award for First Star in 2004, The Optimist Youth Home in 2005 and Shane's Inspiration in 2006. She was also named one of the Santa Monica/Westside YWCA Women of the Year for 2005.
Jesse Casso lives in the Los Angeles area and has been the managing member for Casmar Capital Partners, LLC, a private investment and advisory firm, since 2004. He serves on the Board of the California Endowment, First Federal Financial Group, and Entravision Communications Corporation. He is also chairman of Camino Real Foods and a former Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs investment banker. Mr. Casso attended the University of California, San Diego undergraduate and received his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. In 2003 he was named one of the most influential Hispanics by HispanicBusiness.com.
Christine W. Jenkins is a Vice President and Compliance Officer of William E. Simon & Sons, L.L.C. Prior to joining William E. Simon & Sons, Ms. Jenkins was an Assistant Secretary and Senior Legal Administrator for Alliance Capital Management, L.P. and an Administrative Manager and Compliance officer for Deutsche Genossenschafts Bank. Ms. Jenkins has also served as Treasurer and Director of Good Counsel, Inc. a non-profit organization that provides food and shelter to unwed mothers and their children. Ms. Jenkins received her Bachelor’s of Science degree from Fordham University College of Business Administration and her Masters of Arts Degree from New York University.
