The Music Center Welcomes New Board Members

The Board of Directors of The Music Center today announced the appointment to the board of Kent Kresa, retired chairman and CEO of Northrop Grumman Corporation; Keith Leonard, current chairman and former chief executive officer of UNITY Biotechnology; Johnese Spisso, president of UCLA Health, CEO of UCLA Hospital System and associate vice chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences; and Jennifer Walske, interim faculty director of Impact@Anderson at UCLA.

As one of the nation's largest performing arts organizations, The Music Center presents world-class dance performances, nationally recognized K-12 arts learning programs, free and low-cost public concerts and events, and digital arts experiences; and manages The Music Center's four theatres, Jerry Moss Plaza and Grand Park on behalf of the County of Los Angeles.

"The Music Center Board is excited to welcome four dynamic leaders with the appointments of Kent Kresa, Keith Leonard, Johnese Spisso and Jennifer Walske. Collectively, these highly talented individuals will bring entrepreneurial, operational and strategic experience as well as executive leadership to our board," said Cindy Miscikowski, board chair, The Music Center. "Their achievements in their respective fields and their passion for the arts are indicative of and complementary to the strategic vision of The Music Center to deepen the cultural lives of all Angelenos. Nothing was clearer these last 15 months that, although science would help get us out of the pandemic, the arts would get us through it. The Music Center remains steadfast in its mission to provide diverse arts experiences and the safety, security and accessibility for all to enjoy them."

Kent Kresa began his service on The Music Center Board of Directors in 1993, serving as vice chair for six years and board chair from 2011-2013, prior to his emeritus designation in 2006. He currently serves on The Music Center Foundation Board of Directors, where he works to ensure The Music Center and its resident companies are financially stable, empowering the organizations to be successful in their programming, educational and community endeavors as arts leaders in Los Angeles. Kresa served as chairman and chief executive officer of Northrop Grumman Corporation from 1990 to 2003. Under his leadership, Forbes magazine named the firm as "Company of the Year" in December 2002. He served as chairman of the boards of Avery Dennison Corporation, the California Institute of Technology and MannKind Corporation. Kresa also served on the boards of the Trust Company of the West, Advanced Bionics and continues on the boards of Mannkind Corporation, the W.M. Keck Foundation and several other boards and non-profit organizations and universities. Kresa is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Enjoying live events in the company of others is incredibly special to Keith Leonard, who believes a reactivated Jerry Moss Plaza will be a focal point at The Music Center with programming that benefits and unites our diverse communities. Leonard is a biotechnology entrepreneur and investor and is currently chairman, and former chief executive officer, of UNITY Biotechnology, a company focused on diseases of aging. Prior to UNITY, he was founder and chief executive officer of KYTHERA Biopharmaceuticals from 2005 until its acquisition by Allergan in 2015. Leonard held senior executive positions at Amgen Inc., the world's largest biotechnology company, including, from 2001 to 2004, the role of senior vice president and general manager of Amgen Europe. Based in Luzern, Switzerland, he was responsible for Amgen's commercial operations in 28 European countries. Leonard also led Amgen's rheumatology business, served as worldwide head of information management and served in various leadership roles in sales and marketing, engineering, operations and finance. In addition to UNITY [NASDAQ: UBX], Leonard serves on the boards of robotic surgery pioneer Intuitive Surgical [NASDAQ: ISRG], private Spanish biotechnology company Sanifit S.A. and is the chair of the Los Angeles Opera; he will serve as the Opera's designee to The Music Center Board of Directors. He was formerly an active-duty officer in the U.S. Navy. He and his wife of 37 years, Nanette, have provided significant leadership and financial support to philanthropies focused on healthcare delivery in the U.S. and abroad, veteran's care, urban poverty, education and the environment. Leonard received a B.S. in engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles; a B.A. in European history from the University of Maryland; a M.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley; and an M.B.A. from the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles.

As a healthcare professional, Johnese Spisso understands the direct correlation of how attending performing arts experiences benefits people's mental health and wellbeing, and aids relaxation. She joins The Music Center Board to work with colleagues championing access and affordability and to welcome audiences back to a vibrant arts scene that enriches the lives of all Angelenos. Spisso was appointed to the position of president of UCLA Health, CEO of UCLA Hospital System and associate vice chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences in February 2016. She oversees the four hospitals and 200 clinics in UCLA Health, which is ranked as the #1 health system in California by U.S. News & World Report and top four in the nation. She is a nationally recognized academic healthcare leader with more than 30 years of experience and oversees all operations of UCLA's hospitals and clinics as well as the health system's regional outreach strategy. Before coming to UCLA, Spisso spent 20 years at UW Medicine, in Seattle, Washington, where she was chief health system officer and vice president of medical affairs for the University of Washington. She also helped lead development of a statewide trauma system. While in Seattle, Spisso supported Pacific Northwest Ballet where she was a trustee. Most recently, in June 2021, she was named as one of Modern Healthcare's top "50 Most Influential Clinical Executives" in the country. Spisso began her career as a Registered Nurse in critical care, emergency & trauma and holds a bachelor's degree in health sciences from Chapman University and a M.P.A in health care and public administration from the University of San Francisco.

In Dr. Jennifer Walske's view, the collective isolation many felt during the pandemic has only brought to light the need for and value of shared cultural experiences. Now as we come out of the pandemic, there is a unique opportunity to have performing arts offerings that reach audiences where they are, whether in-person or offline. As an academic committed to social impact in both her teaching and research, The Music Center's goals to foster widespread community engagement and expand its social impact are in keeping with the values that Dr. Walske holds dear. Walske is an adjunct assistant professor and past faculty director of Impact @Anderson. Her published research focuses on emergent firms with an emphasis on how human capital, social capital and strategy aids new firm success, with a focus on businesses that want to do well and do good. She is co-founder and partner of Myriad Investments LLC, a venture capital firm with investments predominately in software and social startups. Walske has received numerous research and teaching awards, including the best paper award from NYU Stern's Social Entrepreneurship Conference and the Cheit Award for Teaching Excellence at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley, as well as outstanding faculty and research awards at the University of San Francisco. Prior to her career in academia, Walske was a nationally ranked software analyst by Institutional All-American and was a regular guest commentator on both CNN and CNBC. She also spent 10 years in Silicon Valley, where she held various marketing and product marketing positions within the software industry, prior to investment banking. Walske holds a bachelor's in communication studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara, an MBA from Santa Clara University with a marketing emphasis and a doctorate in business from Boston Universty. A lover of dance, she serves as a trustee at San Francisco Ballet and is a trustee emerti with Boston Ballet. Walske has been active on various committees in the political sphere, including President Obama's re-election committee.

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