2015 Annual Report

THE NATIONAL LGBTQ SCHOLARSHIP FUND 2014 | 2015 Annual Report Point Foundation empowers promising LGBTQ students to achieve their full academic and leadership potential—despite the obstacles often put before them—to make a significant impact on society. Table of Contents 2015 Point Scholar Class 2 Executive Message 4 Scholar Support & Selections 6 Scholarships & Named Scholarships 10 Leadership 12 Community Service 14 Mentoring 16 Internships 18 Alumni 20 Point Honors 22 Voices On Point 24 Sponsorships 26 Corporations and Foundations 28 Legacy Circle Donors 30 Cornerstone Society and Donors 32 Table Sponsors 41 Valadiction Society 42 Boards & Staff 46 Financials 48 1 2014-2015 Annual Report 2015 Point Scholar Class Adrienne Erik Jack Sarah Adams Aguilar Andraka Bacot Tiffany Chanda London Atticus Barillas Brown Cluff DeProspo Brittany Angie Lauryn Casey Ellenberg Gonzalez Hansen Hoke Julia Matthew Brian Samantha Horwitz Kaplan Kaplun Grant Point Foundation 2 Siche Gabriel Jordan Shayle Green- Maffuz- “Jay” Matsuda Mitchell Anker Moore Joan Brit Lindsey Marcus Mosyjowski Ouchida Kirkham Lee Jose Skylar Dani Sydney Lopez Pardue Planer Roberts Mia Kevin Lane Ibrahim “Tu-Mutch” Robertson Rosen Vicks Satya Kylie Landon Aquino “LJ” Waddy Woolston 3 2014-2015 Annual Report Executive Message Dear Friends, Since 2001, Point Foundation has helped LGBTQ students move forward in life despite barriers they face because of financial difficulties and their gender identity and/or sexual orientation. To date, we have invested more than $18 million in the education and support of our scholars, and developed an intergenerational community of LGBTQ and allied professionals. These achievements inspire the hashtag campaign we are using this year on social media, urging LGBTQ students to #PointTo a college education, #PointTo greater opportunities, and #PointTo a brighter future, by applying for a Point Foundation Scholarship. The forward momentum of Point and our scholars is because of your generosity and that of many visionary supporters. This year, the Elton John AIDS Foundation made it possible for 12 Point Scholars to have internships with non- profit organizations addressing HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention in communities across the U.S. With support and hands-on help from our directors, trustees, honorary board members, and mentors, we also launched our new Leadership Education and Affinities Development (LEAD) Consortiums this year. Each LEAD Consortium focuses on specific professions, such as business, entertainment, and medicine. LEAD Consortiums offer our scholars and alumni, as well as high school and community college students, skill building opportunities, professional development workshops, and networking. Point Foundation 4 Point Alumni are at the forefront of change in society and this year we were able to recognize two of them, Rhys Ernst, and Zach Zyskowski, at our Voices On Point celebra- tion. Caitlyn Jenner presented the Point Horizon Award to each for their work in film and television, in particular on groundbreaking shows such as Amazon’s “Transparent” and ABC Family’s “Becoming Us.” The Point family celebrated the Supreme Court’s historic marriage equality decision in June, a cause many of our scholars and alumni have been involved in as part of their community service and advocacy. Just as important as making history, however, is ac- knowledging and celebrating history. Point was privileged this year to present civil rights leader David Mixner’s autobiographical stage work “Oh Hell No!” in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Chicago. To better reflect the vigor of Point and the effusive spirit of our 85 current scholars and 214 alumni, we relaunched our website in November with a new design and im- proved features. It is a reflection of the hope and promise that, with your continued support, Point can bring to LGBTQ young people and our entire community. Because of you, we can #PointTo even greater things to come. Sincerely, KEVIN CHASE JAMES CUMMINGS JORGE VALENCIA Board of Directors Board of Directors Executive Director Co-Chair Co-Chair & CEO In November 2015, Point unveiled its updated website. 5 2014-2015 Annual Report Scholar Support & Selections A higher education degree became possible for 36 new undergraduate and graduate students who received a Point Foundation Scholarship in 2015. Each recipient demonstrates academic excellence, leadership skills, community involvement, financial need, and the ability to overcome obstacles. The 36 driven and talented young people were chosen from nearly 2,000 scholarship applicants. For 2015 – 2016, Point is providing financial assistance and programmatic support to 85 students. Point’s support for its scholars extends beyond a direct financial contribution to the cost of their education. Point provides leadership development and training for each scholar and pairs each with a mentor in their professional field or community. Point Scholars give back to the LGBTQ and allied community through the completion of an individual community service project each year. Point Foundation 6 Audrey is a seven-year Army veter- an who has served multiple tours overseas, rising through the ranks to Captain. She earned a B.S. from the United States Military Academy and an M.A. from the University of Texas at El Paso. She grew up in a multiracial family and was often the only minority child in her class- es and extracurricular activities. At the United States Military Academy, she studied under the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy and saw firsthand the effects it had on her classmates. Today, as a transgender woman of color, she is acutely aware of the intersectional marginalization felt by many members of the LGBTQ community. “ Point’s application process was one of the most rigorous self- reflection endeavors I’ve ever undertaken. Having to ask myself questions like ‘what significant contributions have I made to the LGBTQ community’ or ‘what do I intend to achieve with the support of Point’ left me with a sense that I wanted to do more, that I could do more, and that I would do more.” — AUDREY STEWART Janssen Therapeutics Point Scholar, Columbia Business School 7 2014-2015 Annual Report Growing up in a small town near New Orleans, Louisiana, Julian Turner ex- perienced racism, homophobia, and discrimination. As a result, he had begun to make his community more knowledgeable about the struggles LGBTQ youth face. In his senior year of high school, Julian started his area’s very first gay-straight alliance. After years of battling depression in the process of finding himself, Julian decided that he would use his experiences to help others have a more peaceful process of self-acceptance. “ Without my Point Scholarship, I would have ended up going to school in the middle of the country in Louisiana where flowers like me don’t really get to bloom. Point Foundation makes it possible for every scholar to find the place where they belong.” —JULIAN TURNER HSBC Point Scholar, University of Southern California Point Foundation 8 Point Scholars are enrolled at: Adler University Stanford University American University SUNY Upstate Medical University Boston University Temple University Bowling Green State University The Culinary Institute of America Brown University Towson University California State Polytechnic Tufts University (abroad at SOAS, University University, Pomona of London) Columbia Business School UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs/David Columbia University Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA Columbia Engineering UCSF School of Medicine Duke University UCSF-UC Berkeley Joint Medical Program Eastern Washington University University of Alabama Florida International University University of Alabama School of Law Grand Valley State University University of California: Berkeley; Davis; Harvard College Los Angeles; San Francisco Harvard Law School University of Chicago Harvard Medical School University of Chicago - School of Social Harvard University Service Administration Johnson & Wales University University of Chicago Law School Lewis and Clark College University of Hawaii, Manoa Medical College of Georgia at Georgia University of Maryland, Baltimore County Regents University University of Miami Mills College University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Mount Holyoke College University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill New York University School of Law University of North Texas Northwestern University School of Law/ University of Pennsylvania Kellogg School of Management University of Southern California New York University University of Utah Occidental College University of Washington School of Law Oklahoma State University University of Washington, Seattle Rice University Vanderbilt University Sarah Lawrence College Yale University Simmons College Yale School of Management Stanford Graduate School of Business 9 2014-2015 Annual Report In conservative rural China, Shane battled incessant harassment because of his gender expression. Shane obtained a B.S. in chemical engineering and came to the U.S. with a graduate engineering scholarship. Shane served as a pride events leader at the University of Kansas and continued to promote LGBTQ acceptance in the workplace while working as an openly LGBTQ manager at Farmers Insur- ance Group. Shane is deeply concerned about the lack of access to compassionate health care for LGBTQ patients and is determined to lead positive changes to LGBTQ health care. Shane aspires to work as a primary care physician caring for LGBTQ patients. “ Financial support from the Point

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