Dear friends and partners of Michelson Philanthropies,
With students back in school, it’s time to celebrate innovative educators! This week at the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship’s (NACCE) annual conference, the Michelson 20MM Foundation awarded the Michelson IP Educator of Excellence Award to professors Diane Sabato and John Diffley of Springfield Technical Community College.
The two recipients demonstrated leadership through their innovative and successful approaches to teaching IP that inspired students and fellow educators with workshops and other programs to expand intellectual property literacy in the community college population.
The award is presented in partnership with NACCE and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to IP education for budding entrepreneurs, inventors, makers, and creators.
Last year, three Santa Monica College faculty members received the inaugural award for their leadership in championing intellectual property and entrepreneurship education.
In the newsletter below, on behalf of Alya and Dr. Michelson, I am pleased to share more news, updates, and upcoming events from across our network of foundations working to make life less unfair.
L.A. Times B2B Publishing has recognized Alya Michelson as a shortlisted nominee for the Inspirational Women Forum and Leadership Awards ceremony on October 18.
Better Neighbor Project’s next Pet Wellness Day will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 22, at McCambridge Park in Burbank. Free pet hygiene services, vaccinations, microchipping, and other services will be provided by appointment. Free dog and cat food and supplies will be distributed through a drive-thru pantry.
Join the Michelson 20MM Foundation and California’s leading digital equity advocates and community champions November 16 for a special, in-person town hall conversation on ending digital discrimination. FCC special advisor Sanford Williams and FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel will discuss the Task Force to Prevent Digital Discrimination.
This year’s Saving Pets Challenge raised $1,035,770 from 7,254 donors in one month to benefit organizations dedicated to improving the quality of life for companion pets and their humans. The challenge has raised more than $10 million over the past eight years.
LA Animal Services, Michelson Found Animals Foundation, Los Angeles Chargers Fund, and a coalition of other organizations tackled the backlog of dogs and cats awaiting spay and neuter surgeries due to the pandemic and a shortage of veterinary staff. Financial support was provided by the Chargers Fund and the Robert and Erika Brunson Spay & Neuter Fund at the Michelson Found Animals Foundation.
This month, 17 national organizations invite animal shelters and rescue organizations who handle lost/stray/at-large dogs and cats to elevate Return to Home by creating or expanding inclusive and diverse programs or practices to make it easier for communities to help a lost pet or find a pet they have lost.
Michelson Found Animals Foundation CEO Brett Yates joined the third annual Pet Week on Capitol Hill to discuss how we can build healthier communities and save lives through pet-inclusive housing.
Representatives Adam Schiff, Jason Crow, Cori Bush, and 26 members of Congress urged the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department to curtail exorbitant pet fees for public housing residents, which can be a tremendous barrier for low-income families seeking safe and affordable housing. The bipartisan letter is co-signed by the Michelson Center for Public Policy.
The U.S. Senate passed the FDA Modernization Act, spearheaded by the Michelson Center for Public Policy and other partners. Sponsored by Senators Rand Paul and Corey Booker, it advances policies that will dramatically reduce the use of dogs, primates, and other animals in drug testing.
The Digital Equity Pooled Fund is a new partnership between the Michelson 20MM Foundation, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and California Community Foundation that is focused on advancing digital equity in California. The partners aim to position equity at the forefront of how broadband infrastructure dollars are spent in California.
The Michelson 20MM Foundation, in partnership with Root and Rebound, formed the Smart Justice Think Tank to map out best practices to support currently and formerly incarcerated students in California. Read about the first of three discussions that will seek to lay out detailed strategies to support incarcerated students.
As an individual directly impacted by the justice system and an attorney by training, Azadeh Zohrabi leverages her hands-on and professional experience to create alternatives to incarceration through education. Zohrabi, the director of UC Berkeley’s Underground Scholars Program, recently joined the Michelson 20MM Foundation to discuss her work to support and serve justice impacted students.
Op-ed by Dr. Gary K. Michelson and Michelle Pilati in EdSource: “We encourage the California Community Colleges board of governors to expedite the implementation of the ZTC program with a thoughtful and effective distribution of the $115 million that will remove cost barriers and create a sustainable program that benefits all students.”
Fox 8 included the Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation’s press release about the IP Champion award they’ll be honoring Dr. Gary K. Michelson with in December.
The Keck School of Medicine of USC reported that a new class of small molecule drugs, now in phase 1 clinical trials, is the first to target circadian clock proteins, which play a key role in the recurrence and spread of the deadly cancer. “This is a potent molecule that’s very exciting to us in terms of its potential for deployment against glioblastoma,” said Dr. Steve Kay, director of the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience.
USC Michelson Convergent Science Institute in Cancer (CSI-Cancer) Director Dr. Peter Kuhn writes in Nature Portfolio Cancer Community that "breast cancer affects one in every eight women in the United States and is currently the most prevalent cancer worldwide. Precise staging at diagnosis and prognosis are essential for patients. We now have an additional analyte, Oncosomes, that can aid us in the diagnostics workup."
KPCC/LAist reported on the Michelson Center for Public Policy's efforts to make textbooks more affordable for community college students. “Every dollar counts when you’re a community college student,” said Geoffrey Baum.
%20(1).png?upscale=true&width=1200&upscale=true&name=My%20project-1%20(27)%20(1).png)
.png?upscale=true&width=120&upscale=true&name=My%20project-1%20(18).png)
.png?upscale=true&width=120&upscale=true&name=My%20project-1%20(20).png)
.png?upscale=true&width=120&upscale=true&name=My%20project-1%20(17).png)
.png?upscale=true&width=320&upscale=true&name=My%20project-1%20(26).png)
.png?upscale=true&width=320&upscale=true&name=My%20project-1%20(25).png)
.png?upscale=true&width=320&upscale=true&name=My%20project-1%20(24).png)
