Want to support students in underserved communities achieve success in college, career, and life?
Join the LA Promise Fund Young Professionals Council. Together, we’ll generate resources and opportunities to support the LA Promise Fund’s work.
To apply, complete the Young Professionals Council application for review.
Diana Becnel is a Global Business Manager for Microsoft focusing on empowering teams to deliver high-quality innovative technical solutions to customers. Diana was born and raised in Los Angeles and was brought up through the LAUSD school district. She attended Boston University where she received her Bachelors of Science in Business with a concentration in Management Information Systems. Joining Microsoft right out of college, over the last seven years Diana has been a transformative and passionate technology professional.
She has experience in consulting, project management, and business strategy planning. She is passionate about diversity in tech and currently leads the Microsoft Services Business Applications Women’s Community and serves on the SoCal Blacks at Microsoft board.
She is involved with DigiGirlz, Black Girls Code, and the American Cancer Society to help give back to her community. In her free time, Diana enjoys a good book, dancing on a bike in spin class, traveling, and cooking new recipes.
Desiree Flores is the Director of Social Impact of the UTA Foundation, UTA’s philanthropic arm. UTA is a global entertainment and media company representing some of the most acclaimed figures in film, television, news, music, sports, theater, fine art, and more. Desiree oversees employee volunteerism initiatives and community partnerships for the agency globally. She leads the UTA Foundation’s Employee Social Impact team, with a focus on year-round volunteerism, youth mentorship, climate focused initiatives, and civic engagement. Desiree joined UTA as an intern in the summer of 2012, and directly after graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2013, joined the entertainment company as a full-time employee in the UTA Mailroom and worked her way up the ranks to her current position. Desiree currently serves on the UC Santa Barbara Department of Communication Alumni Council as well the Creative Workforce Equity Advisory Board for Venice Arts. She also serves on the Young Professional Council for LA Promise Fund. Desiree lives in Los Angeles with her husband.
Court Laster is an Employee and Labor Relations professional with a focus on Alternative Dispute Resolution currently working at Google. Court’s father was an active duty Air Force service member so she had the privilege of growing up in Ohio, California, Texas, Virginia and Florida. She earned a BS in Finance from Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL and her Juris Doctor from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York, NY. Prior to Google, Court has worked for Exxon Mobil, Coca-Cola and Disney managing operations and as a Labor and Employee Relations partner.
She has a strong passion for supporting first generation college and law school students through mentorship, career development, and internships. She has supported these efforts for several years in New York and California through America Needs You. In her free time, Court enjoys spending time with her puppy, photography, running, book clubs and planning trips and social events for her family and friends.
Bryant Lee is a Real Estate Associate at Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Bryant was born in New York City and raised in the Los Angeles area, where he attended the University of Southern California and received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. After graduating, Bryant worked in a variety of different roles—including as an intern at a local non-profit organization, seasonal tax associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers, manager at a local small business and Lyft driver—after which he eventually found his way to The George Washington University Law School. During law school, Bryant was an honors intern with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission, judicial extern to the Honorable Thomas F. Hogan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and judicial extern to the Honorable Martin Glenn of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. These experiences have given Bryant an insight into the legal and financial services industries, as well as a passion to help bridge gaps towards broader equity. In his free time, Bryant also enjoys his work as a self-professed renown pizza critic and connoisseur.
Courtney A. Paul is an Employee Communications Manager at LinkedIn, where she focuses on coaching leaders and engaging employees through storytelling and consistent messaging. Courtney was born and raised in the Los Angeles area and holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Media Studies from San Diego State University, and a master’s degree in Digital Journalism from National University. She’s also a graduate of the UCLA Anderson Women’s Leadership Institute.
Courtney has over 10 years of professional experience, with strong executive, change management, and culture communications expertise. She has successfully led, advised, and executed external and internal communications campaigns, helping drive organizational initiatives and priorities.
Courtney strongly believes that fostering mentor and mentee relationships early is a key to success in career and professional development, and supports these efforts by working with YearUp and the Global Mentorship Initiative programs.
She is passionate about diversity and inclusion, and is a member of LinkedIn’s Black Inclusion Group and Women@LinkedIn. She is also part of ColorComm, a national professional women’s membership organization addressing diversity, inclusion, and equity across the communications and marketing industries. In her free time, she enjoys traveling to new places with friends and family, experimenting in the kitchen, spending time outdoors, and being active.
An East Coast native, Samantha Scott relocated to Southern California almost four years ago – moving quickly into the world of Hollywood and entertainment. Looking for a way to integrate her social impact interest and blend her media and non-profit background, landing at Participant Media allowed for an ideal mix.
As Human Resources Manager, Samantha was able to lead recruitment efforts, corporate volunteerism, internship programs, and a number of other elements for Participant Media and SoulPancake. Samantha has most recently joined the HR team for NBCUniversal’s Operations & Technology division where she will focus on labor and employee relations, compensation, performance management, and reporting/analytics.
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For questions or comments, contact Michelle Cheang at Michellec@lapromisefund.org.
An East Coast native, Samantha Scott relocated to Southern California almost four years ago – moving quickly into the world of Hollywood and entertainment. Looking for a way to integrate her social impact interest and blend her media and non-profit background, landing at Participant Media allowed for an ideal mix. As Human Resources Manager, Samantha was able to lead recruitment efforts, corporate volunteerism, internship programs, and a number of other elements for Participant Media and SoulPancake. Samantha has most recently joined the HR team for NBCUniversal’s Operations & Technology division where she will focus on labor and employee relations, compensation, performance management, and reporting/analytics.
Heather Powen is a Marketing and Community Relations Director who is committed to advancing the AEC space through technology and community development. After spending nearly a decade working in marketing and research for the AEC space, Heather truly knows what drives progress and understands the hurdles to overcome – and it’s not mastering the marketing flavor of the week. It’s how well you connect with the leaders in the industry and understand their pain points and deliver strategic solutions through technology and education. Her diverse experience in the industry includes; product material development, architectural sales representative, and is currently the Director of Marketing and Community Relations for Martin Bros.
Heather holds a Masters in Architecture from the University of Kansas.
Richard Maloof is the Director of Sourcing and Leasing with Redcar Properties, LTD., a real estate development company that invests in high growth urban areas throughout Los Angeles, California and is a Partner at Industry Partners. Richard was born and raised in Los Angeles, and has developed a passion to help serve the local community. He attended The University of Southern California where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Public Policy, Planning, and Development with a concentration in Real Estate Development and a Minor in Entrepreneurship. Over his past five years with Redcar, Richard has developed relationships with Landlords and Businesses in Los Angeles, who share his passion in seeing our city continue to evolve into a diverse, prosperous, and safe place for all to live, work, and play. He has experience in consulting, project management, and fundraising and is passionate about education and mitigating homelessness in Los Angeles.
Bryant Lee is a Real Estate Associate at Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Bryant was born in New York City and raised in the Los Angeles area, where he attended the University of Southern California and received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. After graduating, Bryant worked in a variety of different roles—including as an intern at a local non-profit organization, seasonal tax associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers, manager at a local small business and Lyft driver—after which he eventually found his way to The George Washington University Law School. During law school, Bryant was an honors intern with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, judicial extern to the Honorable Thomas F. Hogan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and judicial extern to the Honorable Martin Glenn of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. These experiences have given Bryant an insight into the legal and financial services industries, as well as a passion to help bridge gaps towards broader equity. In his free time, Bryant also enjoys his work as a self-professed renown pizza critic and connoisseur.
Christie Hatges is FP&A at FastPay, a financial technology company exclusively serving the media sector. Canadian-born, Christie holds both a BSc with a Double major in Neuroscience and Biology from Dalhousie University and an MBA from the University of Toronto. Prior to joining FastPay, Christie was a Senior Associate at FocalPoint and FBR and an Associate Vice President at Barclays in the Global Healthcare Investment Banking group in New York. Christie has also worked in private equity, operations improvement consulting, and tax. In her free time, Christie loves interior design, DIY home improvements, cooking, and painting.
Shon Davis is an innovative Account Executive at independent TV measurement firm 605. Born in South Central and raised in Washington State, his focus is developing solutions that’ll serve as a pipeline to get inner city students working in Advertising and Entertainment. From his first start in the industry 8 years ago, Shon has been involved in diversifying the advertising industry through organizations like ADCOLOR, ThinkLA, and the Bill Sharp Award. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in communications from Washington State University in 2012 and is passionately working to create more opportunities for students from Compton.
Mike Butler is a native of Brooklyn, New York. It’s there he discovered his passion for the arts, in particular, dance. While still in high school, he created performance groups that traveled throughout the Southeast, where he was well-known and recognized for his prodigious artistic talent in dance. After graduation, Mike continued to focus on dance while pursuing an education in Psychology and Business. Mike’s entrepreneurial mindset led him to start his own dance instruction non-profit called DOIT JAX, Inc. in Jacksonville, Florida; a marketing consultancy called IMAGEacg here in LA; and currently, he serves as Chief of Staff at Jogg where he gets to coalesce his passion for art, media, and business in one.
Diana Becnel is a Global Business Manager for Microsoft focusing on empowering teams to deliver high-quality innovative technical solutions to customers. Diana was born and raised in Los Angeles and was brought up through the LAUSD school district. She attended Boston University where she received her Bachelors of Science in Business with a concentration in Management Information Systems.
Joining Microsoft right out of college, over the last seven years Diana has been a transformative and passionate technology professional. She has experience in consulting, project management, and business strategy planning. She is passionate about diversity in tech and currently leads the Microsoft Services Business Applications Women’s Community and serves on the SoCal Blacks at Microsoft board.
She is involved with DigiGirlz, Black Girls Code, and the American Cancer Society to help give back to her community. In her free time, Diana enjoys a good book, dancing on a bike in spin class, traveling, and cooking new recipes.