Saturday, April 5, 202532nd Annual Scholarship Benefit

Join Us for Our Daytime Garden Affair! 

We cordially invite you to our 32nd Annual Scholarship Benefit: Daytime Garden Affair, at the world-renowned Maybourne Beverly Hills hotel on Saturday, April 5.

Over the course of this afternoon celebration on the hotel’s private Garden Terrace, we will recognize outstanding LGBTQ+ and allied USC alumni, students and community members. Celebrate in style with vibrant florals, garden-chic attire, and colors that make you feel your most authentic and confident self. Think airy fabrics, botanical prints, pastel or bold hues, and accessories that let your pride shine as we “Bloom with Pride”!

Our Garden Affair is also one of our most popular new traditions, so please make your reservations early for what promises to be an unforgettable event.

We look forward to seeing you on the Garden Terrace!

Event Details and Tickets

We cordially invite you to our 32nd Annual Scholarship Benefit: Daytime Garden Affair, at the world-renowned Maybourne Beverly Hills hotel on Saturday, April 5.

Event Schedule

2:00 PM Cocktail Reception

2:30 PM Lunch & Program

Ticket Types

Individual Tickets: $350 (Early Bird: $300)

Young Alumni/Current Student: $250 (Early Bird: $200)

Pair of Tickets: $650 (Early Bird: $550)

Prices will increase on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

About

Since 2000, the USC Lambda LGBTQ+ Alumni Association has honored LGBTQ+ and allied Trojans for their service in advancing USC Lambda’s mission, serving as role models, and heightening the visibility of the LGBTQ+ community at large.

Our 32nd Annual Scholarship Benefit will raise funds to award scholarships to deserving USC students who demonstrate a commitment to Lambda’s mission of strengthening the LGBTQ+ community. At the benefit, we will also recognize distinguished alumni for their extraordinary merit or service, as well as an exceptional scholar for their academic achievement and/or scholarly work.

Award Descriptions

Community Ally Award
This award recognizes organizations or individuals for their longstanding support of the LGBTQ+ community. Through their service and advocacy, they have enabled the advancement of the USC Lambda LGBTQ+ Alumni Association.

Outstanding Student Scholar Award
This award, presented to a current USC Lambda Scholar, celebrates students who have gone above and beyond to support USC Lambda’s mission and foster a culture of inclusivity and acceptance on the USC campus.

Trailblazer Award
Dedicated to a member or ally of the LGBTQ+ community, this award recognizes individuals whose personal and professional advocacy has propelled the LGBTQ+ cause forward, paving the way for future activists and allies to succeed.

Visionary Leader Award
Dedicated to exemplary leaders of the LGBTQ+ community or ally, whose vision and dedication have significantly advanced diversity, equity, and inclusion in their professional and community endeavors.

Sponsorships Opportunities

PRESENTING – $25,000 (1 available)

  • Sponsor listed as “Presenting or Presented By…” on all event collateral, including but not limited to digital invitations, digital program book, website, etc.
  • Premier seating for up to twenty (20) guests
  • Tableside champagne toast for you and your guests
  • One (1) complimentary hotel room the night of the scholarship benefit
  • One (1) valet parking space
  • Podium recognition
  • Featured story in USC Lambda’s communications
  • Promotion on USC Lambda’s social media platforms, including company logo, before and after event
  • Linked logo on USC Lambda website
  • Digital presentation recognition during event
  • Product placement opportunity
  • Four (4) sponsored USC Lambda Scholar student event tickets

PLATINUM – $15,000

  • Premier seating for up to fifteen (15) guests
  • Tableside champagne toast for you and your guests
  • One (1) valet parking space
  • Podium recognition
  • Story inclusion in USC Lambda’s e-newsletter
  • Linked logo on USC Lambda website
  • One (1) full-color two-page spread in digital program book
  • Digital presentation recognition during event
  • Premier recognition on select event collateral, including but not limited to digital program book, website, etc.
  • Two (2) sponsored USC Lambda Scholar student event tickets

GOLD – $10,000

  • Premier seating for up to ten (10 guests)
  • One (1) valet parking space
  • Podium recognition
  • One (1) full-color ad (premier placement) in digital program book
  • Digital presentation recognition during event
  • Recognition on select event collateral, including but not limited to digital program book, website, etc.
  • Linked logo on USC Lambda website
  • One (1) sponsored USC Lambda Scholar student event ticket

TROJAN – $7,500

  • Seating for up to eight (8) guests
  • One (1) valet parking space
  • One (1) full-page color ad in the digital program book
  • Digital presentation recognition during event
  • Recognition on select event collateral, including but not limited to digital program book, website, etc.
  • Linked logo on USC Lambda website

PRIDE – $5,000

  • Seating for up to six (6) guests
  • One (1) valet parking space
  • One (1) full-page color ad in the digital program book
  • Digital presentation recognition during event
  • Recognition on select event collateral, including but not limited to digital program book, website, etc.
  • Linked logo on USC Lambda website

Underwriting Opportunities

  • AV Services – $21,000
  • Bar – $15,000 sponsors (two available)
  • Floral Decor – $7,500
  • Valet – $4,000

Program Book Tribute Ads

FULL-PAGE COLOR AD – $1,000
One (1) full-page color ad in the digital program book

HALF-PAGE COLOR AD – $500
Half-page color ad in the digital program book

Please Note:

The deadline for digital ad submissions is Friday, March 21, 2025.

The deadline to purchase sponsorships or tickets is Thursday, March 27, 2025. Please note that any sponsorship purchased after Monday, March 25, will not include a tribute ad.

Lunch sponsorships and tickets are tax-deductible, less the $200 cost per person for food and beverage. Charitable contributions are fully tax deductible. USC Tax Identification #95-1642394

For questions regarding sponsorship or ticket information, and/or individuals who require ADA accommodations, please contact Tiffany Brooks.

2025 Scholarship Benefit Co-Chairs

Lucille Warren

Lucille Warren ’22, MPP ’23

She | Her | Hers
Government and Public Services Analyst | Deloitte

Rachel Woodward

Rachel Woodward ’05

She | Her | Hers
Vice President of Sales | Linblad Expeditions

Past Honorees

Trailblazer Award

David Bohnett

David C. Bohnett ’78

(he/him/his)

Member, USC Board of Trustees
Chair, David Bohnett Foundation
Social Activist and Philanthropist

David Bohnett (he/him), a member of the USC Board of Trustees, is a philanthropist and technology entrepreneur committed to effecting positive change through community building and social activism. He serves as chair of the David Bohnett Foundation, and is also the chairman of the Executive Committee of the board of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, vice chairman of the board of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, and a trustee of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Lake Agawam Conservancy in Southampton, New York.

Since 1999, the David Bohnett Foundation has provided funding, state-of-the-art technology and technical support to hundreds of innovative organizations and institutions in several primary funding areas: The Fund for Los Angeles, supporting a broad spectrum of arts, educational and civic programs, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, LACMA and CicLAvia; LGBTQ-related causes; graduate school leadership programs at the University of Michigan, UCLA, NYU and Harvard; voting rights and registration initiatives; research and public policies to reduce the toll of firearm violence; and animal research and rights.

Grants totaling over $120 million to date have supported the work of a wide range of organizations, including the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, The Wildlife Alliance, the ACLU Foundation, Equality California and the David Bohnett Gay & Lesbian Leadership Fellows program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. The David Bohnett CyberCenters are another major undertaking; currently located at more than 60 LGBTQ centers nationwide, they offer business, educational, research and recreational opportunities to the local gay and lesbian community via access to the internet. One of his most notable gifts to USC endowed and named the USC Bohnett Residential College at USC Village—a community built around a core ideal of social action through entrepreneurship.

In his professional career, Bohnett has long been a leader in the technology and information services industry, and is founder and managing member of the early-stage technology fund, Baroda Ventures. He also serves on the board of directors of several notable technology companies.

In keeping with his approach to philanthropy, Bohnett has always been involved with businesses that empower individuals, improve lives and build viable communities by connecting like-minded people. In 1994, he founded GeoCities.com, a media and e-commerce company that was once ranked one of the four most trafficked sites on the web. GeoCities became publicly traded on NASDAQ and was acquired by Yahoo! Inc. in 1999. In a 2007 article, the Wall Street Journal described it as a Facebook prototype and noted, “Back then, entries were known as home pages, not profiles. But the basic, expressive elements of today’s Facebook and competitor MySpace … were all right there.”

Previously, Bohnett has been an active partner in Xdrive.com, Wireimage.com, Stamps.com and LowerMyBills.com, and has held various positions in the software industry for Legent and Goal Systems. He started his career as a staff consultant with Accenture (then Anderson Consulting) in Los Angeles. His academic credentials include a Doctorate of Humane Letters, honoris causa from USC and Whittier College, an MBA in finance from the University of Michigan, and a BS in business administration, also from USC.

Bohnett’s many awards and distinctions include Los Angeles Business Journal’s Technology Leader of the Year, Time Digital’s Top 50 Cyber Elite, and Entrepreneur of the Year for Southern California. Bohnett maintains residences in Los Angeles and New York City.

Outstanding Scholar

Carla Ibarra

Carla Ibarra

(she/her/they)

MPH, Keck School of Medicine of USC

Carla Ibarra (she/they) is a transgender rights activist, speaker and public health professional with a decade of community-centered work focusing on equity and justice in BIPOC LGBTQIA+ communities.

She is the current and first-ever LGBTQIA+ liaison for the Los Angeles Civil, Human Rights, and Equity Department, leading various LGBTQIA+ initiatives for the department and the city. Before joining the city, Ibarra served as a health program analyst for the L.A. County Department of Public Health’s HIV and STD programs. She also served as a former commissioner of the Los Angeles Transgender Advisory Council.

Ibarra was featured in The Power of Kindness, a documentary featuring Lady Gaga, in honor of World Kindness Day. In May 2022, she was a part of the first-ever MTV Mental Health Youth Action Forum, held at the White House. As an advocate for transforming mental health awareness into actual, tangible actions, Ibarra and other young leaders dialogued with President Joe Biden, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, and mental health advocate and world-renowned artist Selena Gomez.

Ibarra holds a bachelor’s degree in consular and diplomatic affairs and is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

Ibarra is a proud transgender Filipina immigrant, born and raised in Metro Manila. She resides in Los Angeles, with her beautiful husband, Arturo, and three awesome cats named Chubs, Meatball and Meatloaf.

Community Ally Award

USC LGBTQ+ Student Center

In 1970, a coalition of USC students, staff and faculty initiated an organization called the Gay Liberation Forum, which served as the first LGBT social movement for the university. After years of adversity and, at one point, the threat of legal action against the university, the Gay Liberation Forum received recognition from the USC Board of Trustees in 1975. This allowed the organization to conduct meetings on campus and submit requests for funding. It was not until 1985, however, that the Gay and Lesbian Student Union—now known as the Queer and Ally Student Assembly (QuASA)—was approved as a cultural assembly within the USC Program Board. Today, QuASA remains a cultural organization within the university’s programming department.

In 2004, QuASA worked with Vincent Vigil, a graduate advisor from the USC Center for Women and Men, to draft a proposal to create an LGBT department within USC Student Life. This proposal highlighted retention rates, safety concerns, leadership development and mentorship opportunities for LGBT students. USC Student Life approved the proposal and established the LGBT Resource Center (LGBTRC) in 2005—and hired its founding director, Vincent Vigil. Since that time, the LGBTRC has received many accolades, making USC a national leader in LGBT student services and a university of choice for prospective LGBT+ students and their families. Kelby Harrison joined the USC community as center director in 2014 and completed her tenure in 2020; Megan van der Toorn has served as the center’s director since July 2020.

On National Coming Out Day (October 11) in 2020, the LGBT Resource Center officially changed its name to the LGBTQ+ Student Center to better reflect the student community it serves.

Past Honoree Videos