United Friends of the Children Adds Three New Members to its Board of Directors

    LOS ANGELES, CA, May 15, 2018 /24-7PressRelease/ -- United Friends of the Children, a nonprofit working on the frontlines to improve the lives of foster youth in Los Angeles County, announces the appointment of three officers to its Board of Directors. The new appointments are Jarred Kennedy, co-head of Global Esports at Riot Games, Dinesh Moorjani, managing director of Comcast Ventures in Los Angeles and Demonte "Tray" Thompson, regional marketing specialist at AIG and President of the AIG Los Angeles Young Professional Employee Resource Group.

"As we continue to help improve the lives of foster youth in Los Angeles County, it is critical to grow our board with additional talent and expertise," said Dr. Denny Luria, chairman of United Friends of the Children's board. "Each of these individuals bring an insightful perspective and a deep commitment of service to our board, and we look forward to their active participation."

Jarred Kennedy is Co-Head of Global Esports at Riot Games. A member of the Riot team since 2013, Jarred started his career at McKinsey and Company where he created strategies for consumer, technology and media companies in the United States and Europe. Since then, he has held several entrepreneurial positions across a range of businesses, including Encompass Digital Media, where he played a key role in scaling Encompass from a US-based start-up into a global technology services company, and most recently, Riot's global merchandise business which he launched and operated. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College, and he holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School.

Dinesh Moorjani is a technology executive, CEO and investor. He is a managing director and head of the Los Angeles office for Comcast Ventures. Prior to this role, Dinesh was the founder and CEO of Hatch Labs, where he co-founded numerous mobile enterprise software and consumer companies from the ground up. Dinesh co-founded Tinder in 2012. He has held leadership roles at IAC (InterActiveCorp) and Samsung Electronics in the United States and Asia. He co-founded Saffronart, a Sequoia Capital-backed global fine art marketplace and auction house, where he continues to serve on its board. Dinesh is an active faculty member and adjunct professor at both UCLA's Anderson School of Management and the USC Annenberg School of Communications. He sits on the advisory boards of Harvard's California Research Center and Northwestern University's Farley Center for Entrepreneurship. Dinesh is an advisor to American Express, Assurant, and Warburg Pincus, the global private equity firm.  He serves as a non-executive, independent board director at various companies, including Alight Solutions.  Dinesh earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Northwestern University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School.

Demonte "Tray" Thompson is one of 12 siblings from Compton, California. As a foster youth, Tray found education to be a safe-haven from the trouble that surrounded him. Tray earned a bachelor's degree in finance from California State University, Northridge (CSUN). Currently, he serves as a Regional Marketing Specialist at AIG. An active leader at AIG, Tray is President of the Los Angeles Young Professionals Employee Resource Group. Beginning his career at CSUN, he taught financial literacy to hundreds of students.

Since 1979, United Friends has improved the lives of thousands of Los Angeles foster youth through its education, housing and advocacy programs. A talent-rich roster with a successful philanthropic track record, United Friends board members are responsible for the fiduciary oversight and strategic planning of the organization.

The new board members join a distinguished United Friends of the Children Board of Directors that includes: board chair, Denny Luria, Ph.D., Chief Financial Officer, Claire Yorikson, Secretary and General Counsel, William Temko, Esq., Dara Kay Barker, Esq., Tremale Berger, Judy Billings, Preston Brooks, John Campisi, Robert A. Daly Jr., Kimberly Marteau Emerson, Mitchell Evall, Esq., David Fisher, Marianna Fisher, Rob Friedman, Richard Merkin, M.D., Jaye Toellner Ragovin, Nadine Schiff-Rosen, Ande Rosenblum, Toni Schulman, Erin Mulcahy Stein, Kiko Washington, President and Chief Executive officer, Kara Allen Soldati, MSW, Ed.D.

About United Friends of the Children

Since 1979, United Friends of the Children has been a leader on the frontlines of improving the lives of thousands of Los Angeles County foster youth through its education, housing and advocacy programs. To learn more about United Friends, visit https://www.unitedfriends.org.

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