Mission Statement
The Lopez Foundation’s mission is to create positive, permanent change for underprivileged children, adults and military families confronting challenges in education and health, as well as increasing community awareness about kidney disease and organ donation.
Contact
4000 Warner Blvd.
Bldg. 8, Rooms 9 & 10
Burbank, CA 91522
818-954-3320
www.thelopezfoundation.org
Linda D. Small
Executive Director
lindas@georgelopez.com
Board Members
George P. Lopez
George Lopez is Co-Founder and Director of The Lopez Foundation. Mr. Lopez has channeled his charitable energy in the nonprofit world to improve and save the lives of people confronting the challenges of chronic kidney conditions. One of the entertainment industry’s premier comedic talents, Mr. Lopez serves as Founder and Principal of TRAVIESO PRODUCTIONS, a film and television production company. Time Magazine recognized Mr. Lopez as one of “The 25 Most Influential Hispanics in America”, Harvard University honored his artistic work and charitable endeavors with its “Artist of the Year and Humanitarian Award”, The ADCOLOR Industry Coalition honored George Lopez with The All-Star Award, and People For the American Way bestowed its “Spirit of Liberty Award” on him.
Linda D. Small
Linda D. Small is the Director/CFO/Secretary/Executive Director of The Lopez Foundation. Her consistent, compassionate commitment to improving lives in the Los Angeles community includes 15-years as a member of the Junior League of Los Angeles where Ms. Small served as the President and CEO, Development Director and Training Director. She began her eight years of service with the National Kidney Foundation of Southern California and Southern Nevada in 2002 as Development Director. Within two years Ms. Small became the Executive Director where she remained until she left to head The Lopez Foundation. Linda is a highly respected, successful leader in the not-for-profit sector.
Dr. Lilly Barba
Lilly Barba is a Director of The Lopez Foundation. Dr. Barba received her medical training at the State University of New York-Buffalo, and completed her residency training in Internal Medicine at USC Medical Center followed by fellowship training in Nephrology and Hypertension at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California.
Julie Eaton
Julie Eaton is a Director of The Lopez Foundation. In April 1994, Julie Eaton’s son, Chad was born with Multi-Cystic Kidneys. Two years later he had a kidney removed and with the help of medications, he has been able to live a fairly normal life. Her son’s medical issues lead to Julie’s involvement with The National Kidney Foundation where she chaired “The Great Chefs of L.A. Educating the public on the importance of organ donation is a major focus for Julie. She truly believes that when you are an organ donor you are giving the greatest gift of all – the gift of life. In addition to working for the NKF, Julie has worked with several other charities choreographing fashion shows and helping out with the many aspects of these events. Julie is a Commercial Real Estate Broker, General Contractor and owns her own real estate company. She has been featured in “Entrepreneur Magazine” and “Glamour Magazine”.
Christy Haubegger
Christy Haubegger is a Director of The Lopez Foundation. Christy Haubegger founded “Latina” magazine in 1996 following her graduation from Stanford Law School. “Latina” grew to a monthly publication just a year after its launch with Ms. Haubegger serving as its Publisher, President and CEO until 2001. Christy moved into the world of entertainment in 2002 and served as Associate Producer on “Chasing Papi” and Executive Producer on “Spanglish”. She now works with Creative Artist Agency (CAA) providing insights on multicultural markets to CAA. Ms. Haubegger is a popular speaker and the recipient of numerous awards and media recognition for her achievements.
Lawrence J. Kohl
Lawrence J. Kohl is a Director of The Lopez Foundation. Based in Los Angeles, Lawrence Kohl’s occupation is in Wealth Management working for the Kohl family office. Previously, Mr. Kohl was President and Founder of Atomic3D, an original animated content company and software developer for streaming delivery on the internet. Started in 1995, the company was one of the leading providers of animated content for the internet. Previously Mr. Kohl was the President and Founder of Paradigm Software Corporation from 1989- 1992 where he formed a sales and marketing team to focus on the integration of 2D and 3D technologies. Mr. Kohl has a MBA from the University of Miami. His BA in Business Administration is from Kendall College in Chicago. Mr. Kohl is concentrating his efforts in charitable work that benefits children, primarily as a board member of the Santa Monica Boys and Girls Club and previously for the Zimmer Children’s Museum.
Stacey Kohl
Stacey Kohl is a Director of The Lopez Foundation. Business woman, Stacey Zinman Kohl is the creator of Bloom Love, a incredibly successful and admired children’s clothing line. She was first inspired to enter the fashion industry after the birth of her daughter, Elizabeth. Charmed by her sweet innocence, Stacey set out to create clothing that would convey that feeling with softness and comfort. She started by shopping a few samples around town – talking her way into Los Angeles’ chic boutiques and not leaving until she made a sale. She also showed pieces to her celebrity friends who fell in love with the line. Before she knew it, the line was in demand and available in top stores all around the country such as Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, Fred Segal and many others.
Laura LaRocca
Laura LaRocca is a Director of The Lopez Foundation. Laura LaRocca has established herself as a force in the beauty industry. A born entrepreneur with the kind of drive it takes to build a multi-million dollar company from the ground up, Laura’s business acumen has been taking shape since before she can remember. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin and the Aveda Institute, Laura worked in the entertainment industry as a Managing Hair Stylist for print media, movies and hit television shows such as Felicity and Scrubs. In 1998 she became Co-Founder/CEO of DuWop – one of the most innovative brands in the beauty industry. Laura grew the brand from an idea to $20 million in annual sales. Laura is leading the personal care industry as the CEO of LaRocca Skincare with a focus of growing sales, giving back to the community and protecting the environment.
Dr. Sara L. Terheggen
Dr. Sara L. Terheggen (“Dr. T”) is a Director of The Lopez Foundation. She is a Corporate Attorney in Los Angeles and her practice focuses primarily on capital market, private equity, banking and credit transactions. Dr. T currently serves as Chair of the 100 Women in Hedge Funds Southern California Planning Committee and she is an elected District Governor of the California Women Lawyers Board of Governors. She also serves as a member of the Executive Committee for the American Cancer Society, Southern California Golf Invitational and as a member of the Melanoma Research Foundation Golf Tournament Committee. Dr. T received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Oregon (where she received the Centurion Award, the Mortar Board Excellence Award and the Junior Scholar Award), her Master’s in Administration and her Ph.D. in Instructional Systems from Pennsylvania State University (where she received the Association for Educational Communications & Technology Young Researcher Award), and her J.D. from University of California, Berkeley (where she received the Prosser Prize).
Michael G. Wilson
Michael Wilson was born in Kentucky, but raised in Oklahoma and Texas. He graiduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1979 with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration/Finance. He was a 5-time All American Gymnast at OU and NCAA Champion in floor exercise in 1979. Michael was also a member of the World Cup and World Championship teams in 1978 and 1979. In addition, he earned a spot on the 1980 Men’s Olympic Gymnastics team.During his business career, Michael has successfully developed and owned numerous companies in the health care industry including at TPA in Oklahoma, PPO networks in both Oklahoma and Texas, a Benefit Consulting firm in Texas and several other industry-related companies. Michael currently owns and manages three organizations in Plano, Texas in the healthcare industry including Century Healthcare, Corporate Health Plans of America, and Healthcare Highways. Michael also is privileged to participate as a member of several organizations’ Board of Directors.Hard work and perseverance have provided Michael with numerous opportunities throughout his life and he is fortunate to be able to “give back” and help others.
Cynthia Stafford
Cynthia Stafford is a dynamic entrepreneur, philanthropist and mother of five. She focuses her efforts on empowerment in both education, particularly in children with special needs and women’s rights, with a global agenda of ventures and causes she endows and capitalizes. While raising her deceased brother’s children, Ms. Stafford won the California Lottery on Mother’s day in 2007. Ms. Stafford is one of the top philanthropists in Los Angeles. She has personally donated $1million to Geffen Playhouse where she currently serves on the Board of Directors and is a special liaison to the Geffen Theatre’s Education Advisory Board. Ms. Stafford was selected by the Lifetime Network as one of its prestigious “Remarkable Women”, alongside Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Maria Shriver. Ms. Stafford is also the CEO of Queen Nefertari Productions LLC. Queen Nefertari Productions recently released two award-winning films which include: the multicultural coming of age tale “Polish Bar”, currently on the film festival circuit and a supernatural thriller “The Inheritance”, released by Image Entertainment.
Brooke Kaufman
Is a celebrity Real Estate Agent who has a strong passion for bringing awareness to kidney disease and supporting the children’s camp.