11th Annual President’s Breakfast: Civil Rights in the 21st Century?

David M. Carlisle, MD, PhD

David M. Carlisle, MD, PhD, has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) since 2011. Under his leadership, CDU has achieved significant programmatic growth, a rising national profile, and record-breaking philanthropic support, including landmark gifts from Bloomberg Philanthropies and Mackenzie Scott. A board-certified internal medicine physician and nationally recognized health disparities scholar, President Carlisle is a Professor of Medicine and Public Health at CDU and Adjunct Professor of Medicine at UCLA. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2025.

Keynote Speaker

Connie Rice

Connie Rice is a nationally acclaimed lawyer whose class action cases with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and her own law firm include the largest civil rights settlement in US history and total over $10 billion in damages and policy changes.

Her award winning work fighting discrimination and helping millions in poor neighborhoods prompted one commentator to declare “Rice has picked up where Clarence Darrow left off,” and another to call her “the voice for LA’s oppressed.” Rice’s advocacy has earned over 50 major awards, and California LawBusiness ranked her as one of California’s Top Ten Lawyers.

In 2014, President Barack Obama appointed Rice to his President’s Taskforce on 21st Century Policing for her expertise in gangs and American policing. Former LAPD Chief of Police Charlie Beck, whom Rice repeatedly sued before becoming an ally, called her, “The Conscience of [Los Angeles].”

Rice says of her work, “We owe a debt to everyone who fought and died for our freedom; it is a privilege to pay that forward, and a duty to protect their sacrifice.”

Joanna S. Jackson

Driven by her commitment to social justice, Joanna has over 25 years of experience in the nonprofit, philanthropic, and public sectors. Joanna joined Weingart Foundation in 2008 and has served in a series of roles, including six years on the leadership team. Joanna was appointed President & CEO in June 2024.

Prior to joining Weingart Foundation, Joanna held roles at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, The California Endowment, the City of San Jose and several other nonprofit organizations. Joanna currently serves on the boards of Southern California Grantmakers and Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO).

Joanna earned a master’s degree in public administration from Baruch College, The City University of New York, where she was a National Urban Fellow. She is also a proud HBCU graduate having received her bachelor’s degree from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. Joanna lives in Mid City Los Angeles with her husband and children, who are the joy of her life.

Thomas Saenz

Thomas Saenz is President and General Counsel of MALDEF; he leads the organization in pursuing litigation, policy advocacy, and community education to promote the civil rights of all Latinos living in the United States in the areas of education, employment, immigrants’ rights, voting rights, and freedom from open bias. Saenz rejoined MALDEF as its president in August 2009, after four years on Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s executive team. He previously spent 12 years at MALDEF practicing civil rights law, including four years as litigation director. He has served as lead counsel for MALDEF in numerous cases, including challenges to California Proposition 187, California Proposition 227, local restrictions on day laborers’ free-speech rights, and California 2001 congressional redistricting. In 2016, Saenz argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Texas, representing intervenors defending Obama Administration deferred action initiatives. Saenz graduated summa cum laude from Yale College in 1987 and received his juris doctor degree from Yale Law School in 1991. He served as a law clerk for two federal judges before initially joining MALDEF in 1993.

Tavis Smiley

Tavis Smiley is managing editor and host of the nationally syndicated “Tavis Smiley” show, heard in Los Angeles on KBLA Talk 1580, the flagship radio station of SmileyAudioMedia, Inc.

A recipient of the highest honor in the talk radio industry, the coveted “Freedom of Speech” award, Tavis is listed perennially on the “Heavy Hundred” list of the “100 Most Important Radio Talk Show Hosts” in the nation.

A New York Times bestselling author, advocate and philanthropist, Tavis is the recipient of nearly 20 honorary doctorate degrees, the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award, has been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and recognized by TIME magazine as one of the world’s “100 Most Influential People.”

Special Guest

Dolores Huerta

Dolores Huerta is a legendary civil rights activist and community organizer who has championed social justice for over 50 years. In 1962, she co-founded the United Farm Workers of America (UFW) with Cesar Chavez and served as Vice President, playing a vital role in securing critical labor rights for farmworkers. In 2002, Huerta used the $100,000 Puffin/Nation Prize for Creative Citizenship to establish the Dolores Huerta Foundation
(DHF), which empowers grassroots leadership and advocates for educational equity, LGBTQ+ rights, infrastructure improvements, and civic engagement in underserved communities. Through DHF, she has connected local organizing to statewide and national movements for justice. Huerta is a recipient of many prestigious honors, including the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award from President Clinton in 1998. In 2012, President Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in recognition of her lifelong dedication to justice, equity, and empowerment.