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The Board of Trustees is a fiduciary body of diverse people, unified in their commitment to support Otis College's educational mission. The work of the Board is vital to the future success and growth of the College. Trustees serve on Board committees according to their talents and interests.

Current Board of Trustee Members

Mei-Lee Ney, Board of Trustees

Mei-Lee Ney (Chair)

Mei-Lee Ney joined the Board of Trustees in 2014. A native of Shanghai, she is president of Richard Ney & Associates Asset Management Inc. A longtime Otis supporter, she has been actively involved in student events, exhibits, galas and fundraisers. Outside of her Otis involvement, she is a Trustee of the Huntington Library, Museums and Botanical Gardens. She is a member of the Board of Governors of the Huntington Hospital. She also serves on the boards of councilors for the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and the Pacific Asia Museum and is a member of the USC President's Leadership Council. She is active in education, community and arts organizations, including Caltech Associates, the Music Center, and the L.A. Opera.

Diane Ziering, Board of Trustees

Diane Ziering (Vice Chair)

Diane Delpit Ziering joined the Otis Board of Trustees in 2012 and serves as Chair of the Audit Committee. She earned a BA from UCLA in Political Science with a minor in Art History, and a JD from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. Although the legal field was an interesting profession, raising a family shifted her attention toward charitable causes that can better the standard of living for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Education, housing, and healthcare are at the forefront of Ziering's volunteer and fundraising efforts. She supports several organizations, including Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA), CARE, Saban Free Clinic, and L.A. Family Housing. Her interest in the arts remains strong, and she and husband Michael support the L.A. Opera and have hosted the Pacific Palisades Film Festival. She is currently a member of MOCA's Drawings Committee and commits her time to the Otis College Board.

Leslie Belzberg, Board of Trustees

Leslie Belzberg (Treasurer)

Leslie Belzberg is a film and television producer. She served as the Executive Vice President of Production at Imagine Entertainment and oversaw all elements of physical production in scripted television, unscripted documentaries, and features until 2022. Prior to Imagine, she was the Senior Vice President of Production at Gaumont and supervised both domestic and international productions, including Narcos for Netflix. She also served as head of production for Miramax and Endemol Shine. In addition, Leslie has been an independent feature and documentary producer, as well as a frequent collaborator of director John Landis. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and the Producers Guild of America. Leslie joined the Otis College Board of Trustees in 2020.

Winifred Neisser, Board of Trustees

Winifred Neisser (Secretary)

Winifred White Neisser's extensive career in the development of television programming evolved from a passion for education and the arts. Her 34-year journey in Hollywood began in Children's Programming at NBC where she worked for 14 years in various executive programming positions and continued at Sony Pictures Television where she left in 2014 as Senior Vice President of Television Movies and Mini-series. After leaving Sony, Neisser accepted a fellowship at Harvard's Advanced Leadership Initiative, a third stage higher education program specifically designed to help business leaders transition to social impact work. Passionate about music, she is the Executive Director of the Angel City Chorale, a large community choir that seeks to represent Los Angeles in membership and music. In addition to the Otis Board, Neisser serves on the Board for the arts advocacy organization, Arts for LA. and serves on the Advisory Board of the Charles Drew Medical School. Previously she has served on the Harvard University Board of Overseers and Planned Parenthood, Los Angeles. She remains committed to the areas of community development, education, and the arts. Winifred returned the Otis Board of Trustees in December 2017 and serves as Chair of the Campus Life Committee.

Dawn Baillie, Board of Trustees

Dawn Baillie (BFA '86)

Dawn Baillie (BFA '86) is a co-founding partner of BLT Communications, an entertainment advertising design agency employing over 200 passionate artists, strategists, and technologists. Since 1992, BLT has created award-winning campaigns for hundreds of film, television, streaming, and Broadway productions. In addition to numerous Clio Entertainment and Hollywood Reporter Key Art Awards (including Best Poster of the Past 35 Years for Silence of the Lambs), Dawn was also honored with the inaugural Saul Bass Award, which recognizes talented creatives who demonstrate iconic and influential style.

In 2009, Dawn developed BLT Helps, a nonprofit arm dedicated to sharing BLT's wealth of experience and creative resources with organizations making a difference in their communities. BLT Helps was inspired by her humanitarian and spiritual visits to India, where she was taught the value of selfless service. Dawn is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences where she serves as a judge for the annual Student Academy Awards and as a mentor in the Academy Gold Mentorship program. Dawn joined the Otis College Board of Trustees in August 2020.

Roger Brown, Board of Trustees

Roger Brown

Roger H. Brown became President Emeritus of Berklee in 2021. He served as president from 2004-2021 and led Berklee during a period of unparalleled expansion that has included the launch of several pioneering institutes, such as the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, Berklee India Exchange, the Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship, and the Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice; overseen the creation of the world's largest online music education system; created an international campus in Valencia, Spain; the construction of the Boston campus's first, custom-built building; and the acquisition of New York's iconic Power Station studio to create BerkleeNYC, a state-of-the-art recording facility and a hub of education and creativity. He also completed a merger with the Boston Conservatory to establish the world's most comprehensive training ground for global careers in music, dance, and theater.

Brown is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Davidson College and a graduate of the Yale School of Management. He cofounded Bright Horizons Family Solutions in 1986 with his wife, Linda Mason, and served as chief executive officer until January 2002.

A former codirector of the Save the Children relief and development effort in Sudan, he and Mason coauthored the book Rice, Rivalry, and Politics, which examines the management of emergency relief efforts. He has served as a management consultant for Bain and Company, was one of the founders of the Bright Horizons Foundation for Children, and a cofounder of Horizons for Homeless Children, which serves the needs of homeless children throughout the Boston area.

Brown has been recognized for his humanitarian, educational, and entrepreneurial achievements by the government of Valencia, Spain with the Cruz de Honor; by the March of Dimes Franklin Delano Roosevelt Humanitarian Award; and by being named, along with his wife, as a Visionary Social Entrepreneur at the 2012 Social Venture Network's Hall of Fame Celebration. In 2019, he received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Williams College and was honored at the Boston Arts Academy Foundation annual celebration to support BAA. He joined the Otis College Board of Trustees in June 2020 and is Co-Chair of the Educational Planning Committee.

 

Leo Yu-Ming Chu

Leo Yu-Ming Chu

Leo Yu-Ming Chu became an Otis Trustee in 2021. A Hong Kong native, he is a General Partner of the Bicycle Casino and Hotel and the Crystal Casino and Hotel. He graduated from the Hong Kong Polytechnic College (now University) and is a trained textile fashion industry engineer. Leo had a successful 30-year career in the fashion industry before turning to the hospitality industry. He has an intimate knowledge of the food and restaurant businesses in Los Angeles.

Leo serves on the boards of the Southern California Special Olympics, the Cal State Dominguez Hills Business School, and the Morning Light Foundation. He also serves on the USC Boards of Councilors of the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, the Viterbi School of Engineering, and the Norris Cancer Hospital. He is a member of USC Keck Health Leadership.

Leo enjoys collecting cars and reading and is a world-class foodie.

Qing Duncan

Qing Duncan

Qing Duncan was born in China, and in 1988 she married an American and immigrated to the USA in 1989. She holds a BS degree in Chemical Engineering and an MS in Chemistry. Qing worked in the textile dyeing and finishing industry from 1989 to 2004. In 2004 She started a new company, Sun Dragon Import, Inc specializing in the design and manufacture of specialty yarns and fabrics. With her dyeing and finishing knowledge, she concentrates on Eco friendly yarns and design patterned yarns for the fashion industry by using suitable fiber blends. She was nominated for the Asia Business Award in 2014 by LA Business Journey. She joined the Otis College Board of Trustees in October 2022.

Between 2010 to 2019, Qing expanded her interest to real estate investing. In 2010 She formed Afton Investment, LLC and Green Cerritos investment, LLC in 2013. Her most recent company is called Duncan G2 investments, LP formed in 2019. Qing is the president for these three holding companies.

In 2017 Qing formed another non-profit company called Duncan Great Cause Foundation as an Endowment fund. Since then, she has been passionately involved with various non-profit organizations. She has been on the Board of Governors at the Huntington Library since 2020, and is most involved in the Garden, Communication and Education committees. She is also very actively involved in Rotary Club of San Marino, and she is a board member for both the Charity and Foundation committees. Qing is a big fan and supporter for the Non-profit JRAY Organization (Tony award for high school musical theatre performance) in which her husband, Kyle Duncan is the producer and director.

Clifford Einstein, Board of Trustees

Clifford Einstein

Cliff Einstein has spent more than 50 years in the advertising business, having been a founding partner of Dailey and Associates, an international advertising agency headquartered in West Hollywood, California. Over the years his agency produced memorable campaigns for Honda Motorcycles, The Southern California Ford Dealers, Nestle Foods, Gallo Winery, Unilever, Countrywide Financial, Great Western Savings, Western Airlines, Hunt Wesson, Australian Tourism, Safeway Stores, Weyerhaeuser Forest Products, White Stag Skiwear and Callaway Golf. Currently Cliff is Director of Strategic Planning for wHY Architecture, an international architectural firm headquartered in Culver City, California.

Cliff has been celebrated as one of his industry's more awarded advertising figures, winning several international Broadcasting Awards, Clios, and The AAF award for Best Advertising Campaign in America. Art and Antiques Magazine has listed The Einstein Collection as one of America's top 100, and the collection has been profiled in HG, Australian Vogue, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Art News, Great Britain's Art Review, and most recently, Vogue Korea. Cliff has also been featured in Time magazine in an essay on collecting contemporary art. Cliff is Chair Emeritus of The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), in Los Angeles where he previously served as Chair of their Board of Trustees. He is joyfully married to Mandy. The Einsteins are truly fortunate to have two married children and four grandchildren.

Cliff rejoined the Otis College Board of Trustees in 2016 and serves as Chair of the Advancement & Marketing Committee.

Bronya Pereira Galef, Board of Trustees

Bronya Pereira Galef

Bronya Pereira Galef has been involved with Otis College since the early 1980s, both as Chair Emerita and Chair, Board of Governors. She currently serves as Co-Chair of the Educational Planning Committee. Bronya spearheaded a $4 million Capital Campaign fundraising effort. Otis' Center for Fine Arts is named for Bronya and her husband Andy, the chairman, CEO, and president of The Spectrum Group, Inc. They also founded the nonprofit Galef Institute to strengthen public school art education, especially in disadvantaged communities. Bronya's past affiliations include the Board of the Rand Institute's Educational Policy group; Board of Reprise; and Co-Chair of the California Department of Education's Visual and Performing Arts Task Force. She is a Patron Board member of the Comite International pour les Musees d'Art, and member of the Board of Overseers of the Hammer Museum. An art collector, professional photographer, and journalist, Bronya believes that the arts are an essential dimension of human experience that must be promoted equally across all socioeconomic strata.

James Hyman, Board of Trustees

James Hyman

James Hyman, a Los Angeles native and graduate of Princeton University is the CEO and Chairman of Hyman Inc., his family's multi-generational enterprise, that started over 3 generations ago by his great-grandfather. Today, Hyman Inc., is a multi-pronged global marketing and distribution company. Since 2009, the company has secured the exclusive worldwide license for Honeywell Home Security products and now distributes goods in over 90 countries world-wide. His passion for growth through collaboration and value creation continues to drive business expansion across enterprises. Mr. Hyman remains closely involved in the creative process including product development, global e-commerce, and platform expansion. His successful experience reinventing and rebranding the company, building a second company, and founding additional concerns has led to a passion for investment in series of start-ups, such as the nationally recognized, Ring/Amazon transaction.

James's philanthropy includes the GOFARR Charity - Children's Hospital Los Angeles, and City of Hope - Hardware/Home Improvement Division. He and his wife Leslie Weisberg are proud parents of twin sons.

James joined the Otis College Board of Trustees in 2021.

Leonardo Lawson

Leonardo Lawson

Leonardo is globally renowned in fashion and luxury brand building, management consulting, structural organization, and executive search. Leonardo is the CEO of the luxury brand The Vampire's Wife leading teams in the UK and US.

As the founder and CEO of BOND Creative MGMT, Leonardo has built and run brands in the US, Europe and Asia. He is the founder of BOND Creative Search, the premier search firm specialized in design led businesses. With offices in New York and Los Angeles, BOND partners with industry leaders including Airbnb, Alexander Wang, Amazon, Apple, Chanel, Coach, Estee Lauder, Gucci, Kate Spade, LVMH, Nike, Polo Ralph Lauren, Starbucks, and Tiffany & Co. BOND represents and manages groundbreaking talent across creative, digital, strategy and executive leadership.

Leonardo's draw to storytelling led him to establish BOND Motion Pictures, a film production company with a focus on bringing under-represented stories to the world. His role as Executive Producer ranges from financial investments to hands-on producing for narrative film, television projects and documentaries. He is a partner of the luxury cruelty free shoe brand Vetir Vert. A US-based, Italian manufactured shoe with a mission of creating a sustainable cruelty free option for luxury customers.

Leonardo began his career in the arts working as the Artistic Director for an internationally respected art gallery in SoHo where he discovered, nurtured, and managed artists. Having lived in Europe, the United States and Asia, he is widely recognized as a global talent spotter and trend forecaster. He has the unique ability to "get inside" a company's culture, identify and communicate with all levels of creative talent, and analyze the intricacies of brand building. His diverse range of client experiences and partnerships with industry leaders has educated him in the many paths to success and what to steer away from. He brings this unique perspective and knowledge to everything he works on. He joined the Board of Trustees in October 2021.

Jennifer McCormick, Board of Trustees

Jennifer McCormick

Jennifer McCormick came to the United States in 1997 with only her suitcase. She was born in Tianjin in northern China and graduated with an International Business degree from Tianjin Hexi District University. In China, she worked for Sealand Service, Inc. (Maersk Line) as a Sales Representative in the ocean shipping industry. Upon her arrival to the US, she continued her work in the shipping Industry working for Evertop Freight, Inc. from 1997 to 1999 in Los Angeles. Her success led her to become Vice President of Sales of the busy West Coast region for the Hong Kong firm Jardine Logistics, Inc. of which she worked until 2003 when she became Vice President of Sales for Dart Express, Inc.

In 2005, Jennifer made the decision to start her own freight logistics company, American Freight Logistics, Inc., of which she is still the CEO and owner. American Freight handles the shipping of ocean and air cargo from all corners of the world.

In 2019, Jennifer was chosen to attend the Women Entrepreneurs Program through BNP Paribas at Stanford University.

Jennifer serves as a Board Member of the American Red Cross Los Angeles Region, and the National Council of the American Red Cross Tiffany Circle.  She is also on the Board of Directors of Los Angeles Opera and is a member of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Acquisition Committee and joined the Otis College of Art and Design Board of Trustees in 2020.

Jennifer enjoys charity work, painting, photography, playing her GuQin (an ancient Chinese zither), traveling, history, and spending time with her husband Mark and son Robert where they reside in Walnut, California.

Jeffrey Shames, Board of Trustees

Jeffrey Shames

Jeffrey Shames is an Executive in Residence at the MIT Sloan School of Management where he lectures in Finance, Leadership and Global Health Management. He is the retired CEO and Chairman of MFS Investment Management® and the Board of Trustees of the MFS Funds. He joined MFS in 1983 as an Industry Analyst and was named a Portfolio Manager in 1985, Chief Equity Officer in 1987, President in 1993 and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in 1998. In September 2002 he retired as CEO and retained the Chairman title until his retirement in February 2004. Presently, he is the Senior Strategy Advisor to Rockefeller Capital Management where he advises the CEO on Corporate Strategy, Organizational Structure and Acquisitions.

From 2010-2013 he was a Senior Advisor at Morgan Stanley where he advised the President of Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Wealth Management.

He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the X Prize Foundation, City Year, Summer Search, Tufts Medical Center, the Berklee College of Music, and joined the Otis College Board of Trustees in June 2020. He serves as a member of the Advisory Boards of the MIT Sloan School of Management and the MIT Masters of Finance Program. He is, also, on the Board of several recent start-up companies.

He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1977 and Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management in 1983. In between college and graduate school he served as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Fiji and with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C.

Berry Stein, Board of Trustees

Berry Stein

Berry Stein has spent her career increasing access to art and helping diverse populations make space for creative practice. In 2019 she founded Art Life Practice, a platform for creative expression, founded in order to foster a more nourished and contented society.

She worked as an educator at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and within public and private schools in Manhattan before taking on a role as a Teaching Artist at Inner-City Arts, an arts education non-profit in downtown Los Angeles.

Stein earned a Master of Arts degree from New York University and a Master of Science in Education degree from Bank Street College of Education. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and the Education Committee of the Whitney Museum and joined the Otis College Board of Trustees in 2020.

Debra Wong Yang, Board of Trustees

Debra Wong Yang

Debra Wong Yang is a 4th generation Californian and native Angeleno. She is currently a partner at Gibson Dunn, serving on the Executive Committee and is the co-chair of the Crisis Management practice group. Previously, she was the first Asian-American woman appointed as a US Attorney in the Central District of California. She served as a state court Judge from 1997-2002, and during that time was a Supervising Judge in Hollywood. She has been recognized for numerous years by the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of the 500 most influential people in Los Angeles, and has been similarly recognized by the Daily Journal as one of the 100 lawyers in California. On the national level, she has been identified as one of the top 500 attorneys by Law Dragon. In 2002, Mayor Villaraigosa appointed her to be a Police Commissioner for LAPD. Coming from one of founding families of Chinatown, she was instilled with a sense of community activism and support. She currently sits on the Board of the LA Phil, River LA, Civicas, Committee of 100 and joined the Otis College Board of Trustees in June 2020. She formerly sat on Boards for educational institutions from collegiate to elementary school. She has been active and a founding member of Asian and women's law groups. She was previously the President of the Chinese American Museum.