Los Angeles Diversity Career Conference

USC Fertitta hall, 610 Childs Way, Los angeles, CA

Connecting Latino/Black Students to Professional Development Programs, Role Models & Career Roadmaps

Overview - Why is this important?

For many underrepresented/first-generation college students, attending and graduating from college can change the trajectory of their lives, the lives of their families, and in some cases, the lives of their community. For students who were not raised learning the language associated with college or a career, simple terms like “summer internship” or “networking” can be foreign concepts. Studies suggest that intervention—even relatively modest intervention—can have a meaningful impact on the post-graduate success of underrepresented/first-generation college students.

The Los Angeles Diversity Career Conference (LADCC) will link attendees to the resources, role models and career roadmaps critical to their short-term and long-term professional success. 

Featured opportunity programs

Purpose - How can we make an impact?

LADCC will connect Business and STEM students to three key components:

  1. Proven professional development programs with established track records

  2. Underrepresented professionals whose career paths began at similar starting points

  3. Roadmaps to competitive internships and research opportunities

These three components will provide our three Career E’s:

  1. Exposure: “What opportunities are out there? What’s possible? How do you get there?”

  2. Examples: Visible role models- “It’s been done before by people who were once in your shoes.”

  3. Engagement: Career panels & networking - “Here’s what I do and what I love about my career.”

We intend to educate and motivate attendees by introducing pipeline opportunity programs that equip students with the skills, guidance and confidence needed to successfully secure summer internships or research opportunities that will eventually lead to post-graduate career opportunities.

We hope to also inspire students and “demystify the process” via sector-specific panels and speakers. LADCC presenters will provide career insight and supply real-life examples of individuals who have successfully navigated their respective college and career paths. 

Schedule for LADCC 2019

Date: Saturday, October 5, 2019

Time: 8:30am-2:00pm

Location: USC Fertitta Hall (USC University Park campus)

Target audience: Underrepresented college students (first-generation not required)

Sector-specific tracks

A) Business, B) Engineering, C) Technology/Computer Science

Proposed agenda

8:30am: Check-in & Breakfast

9:00am: Welcome Remarks

9:30am: Keynote Speaker

10:00am: Sector-Specific Tracks - Opportunity program presentations and Industry-specific career panels

12:00pm: Lunch and Networking 101 Training

1:00pm: Networking Fair

2:00pm: Closing Remarks

Conference Sponsors and Strategic Partners

Sample List of Former LADCC Conference Speakers and Panelist

Keynote
Emanuel Pleitez (Stanford '06): Tech Investor @Sunstone Partners; Former Chief Strategy Officer @Spokeo, Consultant @McKinsey & Co., Analyst @Goldman Sachs. Served on Obama-Biden Presidential Treasury Transition Team and as Special Assistant to Chairman Paul Volcker (President Barack Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board)

Programs
INROADS, Riordan Programs, Management Leadership 4 Tomorrow (MLT), and Sponsors for Education Opportunity (SEO)  

Industry-Specific Track Panelists

Business

Jerilyn Castillo McAniff (UC Berkeley '97): Managing Director @Oaktree Capital (Co-Director of High Yield Research), Co-Head of Diversity and Inclusion; Former M&A Investment Banker @JPMorgan

Louie Sandoval (USC '08): Director of Commercial Sales @Nielsen (Sports & Entertainment); Former Director, Brand Licenscing Partnerships @NBCUniversal, Licensing Manager @DreamWorks, @Nickelodeon, & @Disney

Kayo Shonibare (Cornell '16): Consultant @Deloitte (Human Capital); Former Investment Banking Intern @Morgan Stanley

Stephen Breedon (Cornell '14): Associate @Oaktree (Real Estate Private Equity); Former Real Estate Investment Banker @Morgan Stanley

Wei Zhang (Harvard M.B.A. '99): President @Alibaba Pictures (Media & Entertainment); Former Strategic Investments @Alibaba, COO @News Corp China's STAR, Consultant @Bain

Moderated by Edward Barrows (USC '09, UCLA M.B.A. '17): President's Associate @Caesar's Entertainment; Former Associate @JPMorgan, Consultant @CAST Consultants

Engineering

Kathryn Hamilton (USC): Engineering Program Manager @Northrup Gruman; Former Systems Engineer Lead @Northrup Gruman

Andy De La Rosa (USC '09): Storage Engineer @SoCalGas; Former Production Engineer @Signal Hill Petroleum, Drilling Engineer @BP, Reservoir Engineer Intern @Chevron

Cindy Quinteros (USC '13): Project Engineer @SJ Amoroso Construction; Former Civil Engineering Major @USC Viterbi

Marco Calderon (USC '08, Cornell M.B.A. '15): Consultant @E&Y (Construction & Real Estate Advisory); Former Project Engineer @McCarhy Building Co. & @Morley Builders

Moderated by Anthony Andrade (USC '07, Columbia MRED '11): Principal @Jewell Capital; Former Vice President @Faena Group, Associate @Starwood Capital

Tech/Computer Science

Marvin Guerra (MIT' 07, MIT M.Eng. '08): Senior Software Engineer @GoFundMe; Former Software Engineer @HYP3R, @Revinate, @HP Autonomy, @Pratt & Whitney

Veronica Hernandez (Occidental '18): Research Analyst @Nielsen; Former Computer Science Instructor @Hispanic Heritage Foundation

Adrian Mendoza (USC '16): Software Development Lead @Dreamscape Immersive (VR Technologies); Former Space Systems Intern @Lockheed Martin

Greg Cruz (USC '12): Software Developer @PayForward; Former Fullstack Developer @Cascade FinTech & @System Pavers, FIG Investment Banker @JPMorgan & @UBS

Moderated by Robert Baca (Dartmouth '04, Univ. of Chicago Law '11): General Counsel @Sierra Strategic Group; Corporate Attorney @Paul Hastings & @Kirkland & Ellis 

Over 400 students have registered for LADCC over the last two years, we look forward to hosting you!