EVENTS & CONFERENCES 50+

Events We’ve Produced

The Hollywood Hill has hosted over 50 events, two conferences, and has sponsored several outside events and conferences. Many of our events and our two conferences to-date have been co-presented by Wired Magazine.

Our very first event kicked off in June 2005 and our speaker was a brand-new-on-the-scene-not-yet-elected Cory Booker (now the celebrated Mayor of Newark, New Jersey and potential future President of the United States) on his first exploratory trip to Hollywood. We've gone on to host events covering everything from Synthetic Biology with Alan Colmes who cloned Dolly The Sheep, to... Electric Cars & Space Rockets (separately) with the brilliant Iron Man-esque entrepreneur Elon Musk. We’ve produced two conferences, both sponsored by Wired Magazine – one of the first conferences dedicated to mobile social change apps, and the other being Hollywood’s first major introduction to the micro-finance pioneers Kiva, Microplace, Donors Choose, Global Giving, and Grameen Foundation. Most recently, we hosted Hollywood’s first introduction to the founders of Kickstarter.com with Perry Chen and Yancey Strickler.

Our events are hosted at the wonderful private residences of entertainment professionals around Los Angeles and New York City, as well as Screening Rooms, and during 2009 at our temporary event center in Hollywood.

We started out event series with Cory Booker when he was first running for Mayor of Newark.

HOLLYWOOD MEETS SILICON BEACH

Mitch Singer, Chief Digital Strategy Officer, Sony Pictures
Brian Norgard, Co-Founder, Chill
Brent Weinstein, Head of Digital Media, United Talent Agency
Ian Aaron, CEO, VDIO
Moderator:  Marty Shindler, CEO, The Shindler Perspective

Tuesday, February 5th, 2013, 6–9pm, United Talent Agency, Beverly Hills

Over the last 3 years the burgeoning LA technology start-up scene has dramatically shifted the landscape of the future of media. Short Form Video, Streaming, Mobile, TV Everywhere, and more. How is new technology impacting traditional Hollywood revenue and business models today? Who will be the big winners and losers from this shake-up?

Welcome to the launch of The Hollywood Hill's new 2013 event series covering LA's burgeoning start-up technology scene. These events will take place at UTA's new screening room/headquarters in Beverly Hills. Our inaugural event to launch the series will feature four panelists, each topical experts in their field.

Co-hosted by the Amplify Roundtables, United Talent Agency, & The Hollywood Hill

WILL THE PUBLIC BE YOUR NEXT  FILM FINANCIER?

Perry Chen, Co-Founder & CEO, Kickstarter.com
Yancey Strickler, Co-Founder, Kickstarter.com

May 11, 2010, 7pm, ICM Screening Room, Century City

Is it time to take online film financing seriously? Hell yeah, we think so. Micro-transactions online are exploding, social networking platforms are reaching critical scale, and websites such as Kickstarter.com are combining these models with innovative rewards into an effective recipe for online film financing. The only question: who will be the first to raise a $1M budget online?
Robert Greenwald proved he could raise about $350K. And others are already successfully raising $10-30K on Kickstarter.com as we speak. We'll be joined by Kickstarter.com CEO Perry Chen who will be flying in from NYC, and others to discuss all of this as well as the techniques that might be employed to do it.

TOWARDS “WE.GOV”: RESTORING TRUST IN OUR ELECTION SYSTEMS

Gregory Miller, Co-Executive Director, Open Source Digital Voting Initiative (OSDV)
Debra Bowen, California Secretary of State
Heather Smith, Executive Director, RockTheVote
Mitch Kapor, Founder, Lotus Development Corporation; Designer of Lotus 1-2-3; Co-founder of Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Mozilla Foundation

October 27, 2009, 7pm, The Home of Lawrence Bender, Bel Air

Join CA Secretary of State Debra Bowen with other key experts and thought leaders to discuss the future of elections systems — the cornerstone of our democracy. Learn about a non-profit Silicon Valley project making headway to re-build the nation's voting systems into a transparent publicly owned service.

We'll discuss the future of how America will cast ballots in a digital age and how this might impact our democracy. Will we one day be able to vote from our phones? What impact will the Internet have? What is this new voter registration modernization effort? How can technology actually help (not hurt) auditing, security, and transparency? What is to become of the existing "industry" for voting equipment, when now only two vendors remain serving the majority of elections systems nationwide, including L.A. County?
With only three years before the next Presidential election, the time is now for change in how technology is used to cast and count our ballots, and manage elections. Learn what steps are being taken and how even you can help.

View Event Photos @Flickr

RISING FROM THE ASHES: THE RWANDAN MODEL

Josh Ruxin, Founder and Director of Rwanda Works and The Access Project and Millennium Village Rwanda; Assistant Clinical Professor of Public Health at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University

April 21, 2009, 7pm, The Green Screen Room @ West Post Digital, Santa Monica

Fifteen years after the genocide, Rwanda has embraced economic development and is quickly becoming a modern state. Under a presidential-led initiative, the country is building up a global network of powerful friends at U.S. companies such as Google, Starbucks, and Costco. In the middle of all of this, Josh Ruxin's Rwanda Works, is working outside Kigali with an innovative model to advance entrepreneurship and the private sector. Download the article featuring him in this month's issue of Fast Company magazine.

View Event Photos @Flickr

HOW TO SHOOT YOUR NEXT FILM IN SPACE

Elon Musk, Founder/CEO, SpaceX (Co-founder, Paypal; Chairman, Tesla Motors)
Steve Squyres, Principal Investigator, Mars Exploration Rover Mission, JPL/NASA (the principal cameraman for the Mars Rover Mission)

December 6, 2008, 2:30-6:00pm, The Home of Victoria & Dennis Hopper, Venice

Now that science fiction is becoming science reality, how does Hollywood's portrayal of space change? Elon Musk is at the forefront of space travel, having founded the first privately-held company to successfully launch - just months ago - a rocket into the earth's orbit. His next mission: deliver a payload to the international space station. Once that is accomplished, his company will be forging ahead with its grand plan of colonizing space over the next century. Join us for a discussion on the future of space travel and how filming "on location" may relatively soon include space. Followed by our Galactic-themed Holiday Party (costumes encouraged!).

View Event Photos @Flickr

View Event Video Part 1 & Part 2 @YouTube

SYNTHETIC ORGANISM INVASION: The Rise of BioBricks

Drew Endy, Ph.D, Assistant Professor, Synthetic Biology, Stanford University

November 18, 2008, 7pm, The Hollywood Hill Event Center, Hollywood

On November 18th, we'll have the honor of featuring a presentation by 37-year-old maverick Drew Endy for our event "Synthetic Organism Invasion: The Rise of BioBricks." Drew is one of the world's foremost synthetic biologists, the new field of HUMAN-DESIGNED and engineered living organisms! He has just moved from MIT over to Stanford, where he is pioneering the development of what are called "BioBricks" - artificial genetic constructions that can act as switches, lights, signals and other mechanisms inside a cell. You won't want to miss this event - his work will have huge impact on the future of the human race and the earth - everything from fuel manufacturing plants to medical devices and computer parts. Download this terrific article explaining his work from the San Francisco Chronicle

WILL WEB START-UPS & VCs REPLACE THE TV NETWORKS?

Cameron Death, VP, NBC Universal Digital Studios
Marshall Herskovitz, Creator, Quarterlife
Stan Rogow, Director, Gemini Division
Josh Metzger, SVP, Veoh
Nathan Coyle, Agent/Production Integration, CAA
Moderator:  Frank Rose, Contributing Editor, Wired Magazine

July 29, 2008, 7pm, The Hollywood Hill Event Center, Hollywood

Sexy Stars. Big-Name Producers. Greenscreen Tricks. Watch Out, Amateurs: Hollywood Is Setting Its Sights On Web Video. Rule 1: Product Placement Gets Top Billing. Our event discussion will focus on business models and creative challenges for professional Web video and will cover such topics as venture investment and product integration opportunities.

View Event Photos @Flickr

BIGBRAINBOY'S MOBILE MEDIA SUMMIT:
Creating Change In A Connected World (2-Day Conference)

September 12-13, 2008, Cinespace, Hollywood

View Event Photos @Flickr

Opening Night Cocktails September 12, 7pm, The Home of Ari Arad, Hollywood

View Event Photos @Flickr

website

THE LOW DOLLAR EFFECT ON U.S. FILM FINANCING

Adrian Ward, National Bank of California
Ben Kramer, Creative Artists Agency
Elisabeth Costa de Beauregard, Lakeshore Entertainment
Jonathan English, Mythic International
Simon Horsman, Future Films
Moderator:  Ariel Hauter

July 15, 2008, 7pm, The Hollywood Hill Event Center, Hollywood

Starting at AFM last year the industry assumed that the weak dollar would encourage more international sales but they didn’t really materialize. Some of the smaller, genre specific sellers did well to some bulk-title buyers but that was about it. The same story applied to Berlin and the just-finished Cannes. Turns out that the buyers want decent product rather than just an opportunity to get stuff on the cheap. Some European producers are now taking advantage of the domestic tax credits/rebates and for them it’s a double bonus when they are converting from Sterling or Euros. Many of the UK film financiers such as GrosvenorPark, Future Films, etc. are now based in LA but still source funds in Sterling. The rise in oil and food prices has offset a weak dollar overseas but with interest rates still very low it adds another dimension to film financing. And then there's the global credit crunch. While many hedge funds are pulling back/out of the business, and some smaller equity companies have folded altogether, the flow of funds has slowed considerably. Coupled with the disastrous initial results from some of the first funds many investors are willing to take pennies on the dollar to get out of these deals. Join us for this detailed look at how U.S. Film Financing is being effected by the low dollar and what we can expect in the months ahead.

HOLLYWOOD MEETS GOOGLE (At The Bus Stop)

Kevin Mathy, Transportation Manager, Google

June 25, 2008, 7pm, The Hollywood Hill Event Center, Hollywood

Getting Hollywood professionals to use public transportation is not simple. Expensive cars with comfortable leather seats, sealed privacy, and on-demand efficiency are the norm. We think it may take a similar combination of elements to attract the industry’s thousands of professionals to public transit. One company has succeeded in building a system to these specifications: Google. Google's Bus System is such a success it has been profiled recently in The New York Times... explained as an "unparalleled transit network", its bio-diesel shuttle buses are equipped with comfortable leather seats and hi-speed wireless Internet access. It is now the largest private transit network in the entire country. On July 25th, we will be joined by Google Transportation Manager Kevin Mathy - a key architect of the program - who will be flying down from the Googleplex to give us a rare glimpse into the dynamics behind this engineering feat.Also confirmed to attend are representatives from the L.A. Mayor's office, executives from the L.A. MTA, and representatives from the major film studios who will take part in the post-presentation discussion.

THE NEXT HUMANS: The New Science of Advanced Body Modification

Quinn Norton, Journalist

June 18th, 2008, 7pm, The Hollywood Hill Event Center, Hollywood

In 2005 journalist Quinn Norton gave herself a sixth sense. She had a rare earth magnet implanted in her finger, which allowed her to feel electromagnetic fields. Then it all went wrong. Since her experience she has researched how technology and flesh are coming together on an individual and societal level. Body modification, pharmaceuticals, medical research, the class system, psychology and surgery are swept up in the same wave- how we see ourselves and how we act upon our bodies. We face moral and logistical dilemmas in these fields and more, but the body hackers and renegades of the world are likely to go forward with or without societal permission. The next humans will need new ethics, new markets, new laws, and different criteria for choosing research goals and legal solutions. Quinn will talk about her personal experiences, the field as it stands, and the permanent metamorphosis of what it means to be human.

THE NEW HI-TECH ROBINHOODS (1 Day Conference)

Matt Flannery, Co-Founder/CEO, Kiva.org
Tracey Pettengill Turner, Founder/GM, MicroPlace.com
Donna Callejon, COO, GlobalGiving.com
Julie Lacouture, Deputy Director, DonorsChoose.org
Peter Bladin, Founding Director, Grameen Foundation Technology Center
Moderator:  Ariel Hauter

May 10, 2008, The Hollywood Hill Event Center, Hollywood

View Event Photos @Flickr

Opening Night Cocktails May 10th, 7pm, at The Home of Darren Star, Bel Air

View Event Photos @Flickr

Website

PROJECT SNAPSHOT: GridRepublic & The Power of Distributed Computing

Matthew Blumberg, Founder, GridRepublic.com
David Anderson, Founder/Director, University of California Berkeley's BOINC (Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing) Project and SETI@home Project Liz Kellogg, Laboratory Researcher, Rosetta@home Project

April 29, 2008, 7pm, The Hollywood Hill Event Center, Hollywood

Thousands of scientists, researchers, and academics around the world need access to a supercomputer for advanced mathematical calculations on their projects. From determining the 3-dimensional shape of proteins in order to find cures to AIDS/HIV, Cancer and Alzheimer's, to launching a software system such as MalariaControl.net to determine optimal strategies for controlling the spread of Malaria, supercomputers are the key to unlocking the cures and tools for solving humanity's problems. But supercomputers are expensive and often not easily accessible. A new movement aims to change that. Distributed Computing, or as Matthew Blumberg now calls it - Volunteer Computing - enables millions of personal computers around the world to be networked into a virtual supercomputer. And it's free. All you need to do is download it as a screensaver. Join us for this exciting presentation on GridRepublic with founder Matthew Blumberg, featuring an introduction to distributed computing by the creator of the original software (BOINC) David Anderson, and a presentation on Rosetta@home - one of the top protein research projects using GridRepublic - with staff researcher Liz Kellogg. 

BRINGIN GRAMEEN BANK TO CALIFORNIA

Isabel Maxwell, Senior Advisor to Grameen America (West Coast) & Grameen Trust

April 15, 2008, 7pm, The Hollywood Hill Event Center, Hollywood

Grameen America is a microfinance company whose mission is to help alleviate poverty through entrepreneurship by providing loans, savings programs, credit establishment, and other services to the working poor in the United States. Grameen America is built upon the success of the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. Founded by Professor Muhammad Yunus, the Grameen Bank is the most widely recognized microfinance company in the world. This success earned both Professor Yunus and the Grameen Bank the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Grameen America has been created so that people with limited or no access to credit can use entrepreneurship and self-employment, proven means in the United States, for increasing wealth and escaping poverty. The poor are frequently prevented from pursuing entrepreneurship opportunities because mainstream banks will not make loans to people who lack minimum credit scores and collateral. These "unbanked" individuals typically have limited experience in understanding financial institutions, getting loans, building savings and managing credit. While conventional banks turn away these borrowers, the success of high-interest rate predatory lenders (often charging over 300-400% APR) such as payday loan corporations, pawnshops, and check cashers has shown that the unbanked constitute a highly valuable customer base. Grameen America provides an alternative for these borrowers. Grameen America provides banking for the unbanked.

BOOK PARTY: “The Future of the Internet — And How to Stop It!”

Jonathan Zittrain, Author & Co-Founder, Berkman Center, Harvard

March 28, 2008, 7pm, The Hollywood Hill Event Center, Hollywood

Jonathan Zittrain will be joining us for a Friday night party celebrating the release of his new book, The Future of the Internet — And How to Stop It! Jonathan is the inaugural holder of Oxford's Chair in Internet Governance and Regulation, and a principal of the Oxford Internet Institute (https://www.oii.ox.ac.uk). His research interests include battles for control of digital property and content, cryptography, electronic privacy, the roles of intermediaries within Internet architecture, and the useful and unobtrusive deployment of technology in education. He co-founded Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet & Society, (https://cyber.law.harvard.edu), where he is currently the Jack N. & Lillian R. Berkman Visiting Professor for Entrepreneurial Legal Studies. He has recently co-authored a study of Internet filtering by national governments, and is writing a book about the future of the now-intertwined Internet and PC — and how to stop it. He is a justice of the peace and was the legal story consultant for NBC-TV's prime time hit "Ed." He is also the co-founder of ChillingEffects.org, an authoritative and widely-reviewed website where Google and others report requests that information be censored. Jonathan is an official member of The Hollywood Hill's Science & Technology Advisory Board.

BOOK PARTY: The Future of Consumerism

Benjamin Barber, Author of the new book “Consumed”

February 29, 2008, 7pm, The Hollywood Hill Event Center, Hollywood

Barber's apt sequel to his best-selling Jihad vs. McWorld, Consumed, offers a vivid portrait of a global economy that overproduces goods and targets children as consumers in a market where there are never enough shoppers - and where the primary goal is no longer to manufacture goods but needs. Kidults, rejuveniles, twixters, adultescents - these pop neologisms signal more than just a passing trend; they point to a new culture of consumerism that encourages adults to remain as infantile as possible, at the same time that it trains children to consume from an ever younger age. Disturbing, provocative, and compelling, Consumed examines phenomena as seemingly disparate as adolescent fashion trends for adults, megachurches, declining voter participation, the privatization of the public sphere, branding, and the new twenty-four-hour shopper to show how the freedoms of the free market have undermined the freedoms of the deliberative adult citizen. Barber asserts that in place of the Protestant ethnic once associated with capitalism - encouraging self-restraint, preparation for the future, protection of and self-sacrifice for children and community, and other characteristics of adulthood - we are constantly being seduced into an "infantilist" ethic of consumption. With brilliance and depth, Barbar confronts the likely consequences for our children, our liberty, and our citizenship, and shows finally how citizens can resist and overcome the "civic schizophrenia" in which our impulses as consumers are forever in conflict with our convictions as citizens.

THELMA & LOUISE vs BOURNE ULTIMATUM: Making It As A Writer-Director And A Social Activist To Boot

Callie Khouri, Screenwriter, Thelma & Louise
Scott Z. Burns, Screenwriter, Director
Moderator:  Ariel Hauter

January 26, 2008, 7pm, The Loft of Photographer Collin Stark, Downtown LA

Our mentorship workshop series will kick off this year with an intense discussion with two of Hollywood's hottest writer-directors on their careers and life. Not only are they at the top of their game as writer-directors, but both Hollywood Hill members are huge social activists. We'll enjoy a lively discussion on how they handle both missions. Callie's writing credits include Thelma & Louise (for which she won an Academy Award) and Something to Talk About (starring Julia Roberts). She co-wrote and directed both of her most recent projects: Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and Mad Money, opening January 18th and starring Katie Holmes, Queen Latifah, and Diane Keaton. Scott's writing credits include The Bourne Ultimatum and he recently wrote and directed HBO Film's PU-239. His other directing credits include the new TV show Californication. Together with Laurie David and Lawrence Bender, he produced An Inconvenient Truth, and he's also the genius mind behind the "Got Milk?" campaign. He is currently penning and co-producing Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt's first joint producing effort - an untitled drama series for HBO which will explore the behind-the-scenes politics of an international aid organization and chronicle the lives of humanitarian workers assigned to dangerous zones and the people in need they assist.

The Hollywood Hill Holiday Party 2007

Keynote Speaker Jonathan Zittrain

October 21, 2007, 7pm, The Home of Victoria & Dennis Hopper

For The Hollywood Hill's 2007 Holiday Party, Jonathan Zittrain will be joining us for a mind-blowing presentation on The Future of the Internet--And How to Stop It, the subject of his new book available in Spring 2008. Jonathan Zittrain holds the Chair in Internet Governance and Regulation at Oxford University and is a principal of the Oxford Internet Institute. He is also the Jack N. and Lillian R. Berkman Visiting Professor for Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard Law School, where he co-founded Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet & Society in 1996. With students, he began Chilling Effects, a web site that tracks and archives legal threats made to Internet content producers. Google now sends its users to Chilling Effects when it has altered its search results at the behest of national governments. His research interests include battles for control of digital property and content, cryptography, electronic privacy, the roles of intermediaries within Internet architecture, and the useful and unobtrusive deployment of technology in education. He performed the first large-scale tests of Internet filtering in China and Saudi Arabia in 2002, and now as part of the OpenNet Initiative he has co-edited a study of Internet filtering by national governments, "Access Denied: The Practice and Policy of Global Internet Filtering."

View Event Photos @Flickr

Hollywood Goes Green Kick-Off Reception

October 12, 2007, 7pm, The Home of Steve Glenn, Venice

Join The Hollywood Hill & iHollywood Forum for a reception announcing Hollywood Goes Green at the home of Steve Glenn, CEO and Founder of LivingHomes. This modern, green home was the first in the nation to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum. 6-9pm.

3-D Printers + Mobile Fab Labs For The Developing World

Cathy L. Lewis, CEO, Desktop Factory

October 1, 2007, 7pm, The Home of Lawrence Bender, Bel Air

Imagine being able to download from the Internet the three-dimensional blueprints for a life-saving machine, then pressing Print - and out comes not a picture, but the device itself. That's the idea behind 3-D printers, a rapid prototyping technology that typically works by 'printing' successive layers on top of the previous ones to build up a three dimensional object. Faster, more affordable, and easier to use than other additive fabrication technologies, it is still in its infancy. But Desktop Factory, an Idealab company, is about to make history bringing the first printer to market targeted at individual consumers. Breaking out of the gate at $5,000, the machine melts a mixture of nylon, aluminum, and glass into durable small objects. Future versions will get increasingly sophisticated, printing larger and larger objects, with a more complex mixture of materials. In the not too distant future, you may be prototyping your own inventions, or enabling the world's poor to print their own Life-Straws, water pumps, engines, and computer chips.

The Race For New Fuels

Frances Arnold, Founder, Gevo, Inc.

August 7, 2007, 7pm, The Home of Lawrence Bender, Bel Air

Fuel, fuel, fuel. Our world runs on it, and today's fuels are awfully dirty. We're in a race now to replace them - those from coal and gasoline - with clean, advanced biofuels and other renewable energy sources. Frances Arnold has been at the forefront of that race, leading a team at Caltech that specializes in synthetic biology - the reprogramming of bacteria DNA to create new 'super-bacteria' that eat organic materials like grass and trees, and convert them to biofuel. She has launched several cutting-edge start-up companies over the past decade, and her most recent one, Gevo, just received a high-profile investment from Virgin Fuels (Richard Branson), and Khosla Ventures (Vinod Khosla). Join us for a presentation on how reprogrammed bacteria are going to change your world.

View Event Photos @Flickr

Workshop: Domestic Film Distribution

Gary Rubin, President, First Independent Pictures

June 9, 2007, 7pm, Jimmy Stewart Theater, Room 24, Sony Pictures Lot, Culver City

In general terms, today's box office numbers suck. If you subtract the few successful blockbusters like Spiderman 3 or Pirates of the Caribbean,  the remainder of films  in the marketplace are not generally succeeding. The flood of hedge fund and private equity money is making it easier to find financing for films, but producing returns that will satisfy these investors is proving difficult and troubling. Within just the past year, and even the last few months, there have been significant changes in both the theatrical distribution business and DVD business , and selling films to TV has been in a downward spiral for awhile.  None of the three are really healthy right now with a few rare exceptions - blockbusters such as  mega-hits like the two above and Shrek 3. Experienced veterans are noticing these changes, but no one's really discussing them or addressing their impact. As we patiently watch the changes being brought on by new media, its important for us to take a closer look at domestic distribution and how we can foster a healthier industry. To lead us in this discussion is Gary Rubin, president of First Independent Pictures , distributor of such specialty films as Edmond, written by David Mamet and starring William H Macy and Julia Stiles and the award winning Sundance doc, New York Doll.

China’s Totally Sustainable Scratch-Built Metropolis

Peter Head, Director, Head of Planning and Integrated Urbanism, ARUP
Gary Lawrence, Head of Global Policy, ARUP
Moderator: Douglas McGray, Fellow, New America Foundation

May 18, 2007, 7pm, The Lot, West Hollywood

Chongming Island, a marshy grassland near Shanghai, will soon be home to a scratch-built metropolis of half a million people called Dongtan. Envisioned by the cutting-edge "integrated urbanism" division of one of the world's largest and most innovative engineering firms - Arup - Dongtan will be the world's first green city designed entirely from scratch for total environmental efficiency. In 2010 it will be connected to Shanghai via a bridge-and-tunnel system and subway extension. The Arup team that designed it, led by urban design pioneer Peter Head, wrote their own "integrated resource modeling" software to optimize everything from energy generation and waste flow to public transit and building placements. They then applied existing technologies in innovative ways, creating organic underground "plant factories", a recycling scheme that repurposes 90% of waste, and of course a ban on any vehicles that emit carbon dioxide. It is simply a marvel of human engineering an d a case study for the bright green city of tomorrow. Join us for a mind-blowing presentation and discussion with Peter Head and Gary Lawrence, Arup's Head of Global Policy. Peter is based in London; Gary is based in Seattle; and both will be flying in exclusively for this event. Read Douglas McGray's article in Wired Magazine. View a 3D City Flyover video. View a Toyota Commercial of a Chinese sustainable city.

The Future of Sustainable Cars

Elon Musk, Chairman, Tesla Motorcars (co-founder of Paypal & Founder/CEO of SpaceX)
Stephen Ellis, Manager, Fuel Cell Marketing, American Honda Motor Co.
Moderator: Mike Millikin, Founder/Editor, GreenCarCongress.com

May 12, 2007, 7pm, The Home of Lawrence Bender, Bel Air

Electric or Hydrogen? Our event on Saturday, May 12th discusses The Future of Sustainable Cars. The race is on to develop zero-emission cars that can revolutionize transportation and help solve global-warming in the process. Our speakers are at the frontlines of this race: Elon Musk, Chairman of Tesla Motorcars (Co-founder of PayPal & Founder/CEO of SpaceX), Stephen Ellis, Manager of Fuel Cell Marketing for American Honda Motor Co., Inc., and Mike Millikin, Founder of GreenCarCongress.com, one of the leading trackers of new vehicle/fuel technologies. With Tesla's four-door sedan moving to production in New Mexico, Honda's Hydrogen FCX Concept rolling out soon, and major innovations announced everyday in the worlds of biofuel, hydrogen, and batteries, our speakers will give us an up-to-the-minute update on their own advancements and roll-out plans as well as their viewpoints on who will own the future.

View Event Photos @Flickr

Swiss Internet Voting Technology

Valerie Christinet, Secretary General of the State Chancellery, Canton of Neuchatel
Michel Chevallier, Head of Communications Internet Voting Project, Canton of Geneva
Professor Dr. Alexander H. Trechsel, leading expert on Internet Voting and Estonia

April 24, 2007, 7pm, The Home of Lawrence Bender, Bel Air

Switzerland is the first country in the world to hold a national referendum in which voters can cast their votes via the Internet. The Swiss launched their system in 2004 through a close public-private partnership. On Tuesday, April 24th, an official delegation from Switzerland will be flying into Los Angeles to participate in an event with The Hollywood Hill to discuss Switzerland's experiences with Internet Voting and how these technologies are evolving. The Swiss delegation is traveling to the U.S. within the scope of ThinkSwiss - Brainstorm the future, a US wide program on Education, Research and Innovation, that focuses on the exchange of expertise and know-how in academia and the business community in Switzerland and the US. The presentation will include a live demonstration of the technology with laptops and specialists demonstrating what hackers encounter when they attempt to hack the system. Participants will include Valerie Christinet (IT Analyst, Canton of Neuchatel) and Michel Chevallier (Head of Communications, Internet Voting Project, Canton of Geneva). Professor Dr. Alexander Trechsel, a leading expert in the topic will also comment on his work with the Republic of Estonia (where Skype was originally developed) that is now working on building a similar system and we'll be exploring their efforts as well.

View Event Photos @Flickr

Securing Film Financing & Current Trends

Film Financier Adrian Ward

April 21, 2007, 7pm, Jimmy Stewart Theater, Room 24, Sony Pictures Lot, Culver City

Adrian Ward, the new Vice President of the Entertainment, Sports & Media Group at the Israel Discount Bank of New York (IDB Bank), will conduct a workshop on Securing Film Financing and Current Trends. Adrian is a veteran of the film financing world, having entered the industry in 1991. He was involved in the development and structuring of the first ever bank gap transactions. In 1998, he re-located to London, U.K. as European Representative for Imperial Capital Bank Entertainment Finance (www.icbef.com) specializing in packaging multi-party loan transactions involving many of the available European tax incentives. He returned to Los Angeles in January 2005 to oversee credit management for the entire entertainment portfolio. And he recently left Imperial Bank to head up the new entertainment financing division of the Israeli Discount Bank. The workshop will start with an overview of the film financing process, and they key steps necessary to secure financing from investors and larger institutions. Then we will move through an overview of the international tax credit scene, with a particular focus on the U.S. and Canada, since international locations are becoming less attractive due to the low dollar and long distances. We'll touch on a few trends including the affect of the Internet on film financing and the large amount of hedge funds playing in town. Then we'll open it up to Q&A. This will be an intimate and relaxed session, and we will dedicate plenty of time to Q&A so everyone can get their questions answered.

Breaking Into Producing

Kristin Hahn, Film Producer
Michele Weisler, Film Producer

April 7, 2007, 7pm, Aidikoff Screening Room, Beverly Hills

On Saturday, April 14th, two Hollywood producers (and Hollywood Hill members), Kristin Hahn (Anthem, The Departed, The Every Boy) & Michele Weisler (The Ring, The Ring 2, Try 17), will conduct a workshop on Breaking Into Producing. These two women are fearlessly forging their own path through and around the traditional studio system and what has become the traditional independent system. The workshop will cover the producing trends of the recent past and how they've evolved to what they are today, as well as producing in the current studio system and how to best let that system serve your interests. They will also discuss the necessity of finding your own mission as a producer, which they believe is the key to longevity, productivity and ultimate satisfaction with your work. Kristin previously was an EVP at Plan B Entertainment. She has since left Plan B to produce with Jennifer Aniston as well as independently. Michele is currently starting her own film company White Iron Entertainment, where she and her partner will produce a slate of 12 to 15 independent pictures over the next five years. They plan to continue partnerships on projects at the studio level. So, if you are an assistant, this event is far too valuable to miss. If you are a producer, send us your assistant!

Perfecting L.A.: Transforming L.A. Into A Sustainable City

L.A. Deputy Mayor for Energy & Environment Nancy Sutley

February 6, 2007, 7pm, The Home of Lawrence Bender, Bel Air

Deputy Mayor Nancy Sutley walks us through L.A.'s infrastructure and 10 of the most innovative and successful projects that will help turn Los Angeles into a sustainable city. Projects covered include solar farms being built outside the city, Terminal Island and the success of methane-powered fuel cell composts, toilet and showerhead conversion programs, LEED certified buildings, the L.A. River Project and others.

View Event Photos @Flickr

WorldChanging: A User’s Guide

Alex Steffen, Co-Founder & Executive Editor, WorldChanging.com

November 30, 2006, 7pm, Raleigh Studios Screening Room, Hollywood

WorldChanging.com works from a simple premise: that the tools, models and ideas for building a better future lie all around us but the fields remain unconnected. Alex Steffen will present 10 revolutionary projects that show another world is not just possible, it’s here. The Hollywood Hill’s members will exchange ideas on how to put the pieces together.

The Future of the Internet: IPV6

Tom Patterson, Founder/CEO of Command Information

October 18, 2006, 7pm, ROAR Screening Room, Beverly Hills

Tom Patterson is the founder and chief executive officer of Command Information, the largest and fastest growing pure-play IPv6 solutions company in America. Recently, Tom founded the IPv6 Business Council for the IETF, and published a critically acclaimed book, Mapping Security, on information security, privacy and governance around the world. Tom has been the partner in charge of security operations for Deloitte in Europe, the Middle East and Africa; the managing director of KPMG/BearingPoint’s global managed services business; and IBM's chief strategist for electronic commerce. He has served as a board member for several public companies, has advised all three branches of the U.S. Government on Internet and security policy, and is a trusted advisor to company executives across the globe.

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The Future of Hi-Tech Warfare

Parney Albright, Managing Director, Civitas Group

October 17, 2006, 7pm, ROAR Screening Room, Beverly Hills

Penrose "Parney" Albright is one of the nation's leading experts on homeland and national security policy and technology. Most recently, he served as the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Science and Technology, where he was responsible for developing the multi-year strategy, planning guidance programs and budget for the Science and Technology Directorate. Prior to joining the Department, Dr. Albright served jointly as Senior Director for Research and Development in the Office of Homeland Security and Assistant Director for the Office of Homeland and National Security in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He was a key architect of the President's National Strategy for Homeland Security, and directed the formation of the DHS's Science and Technology Directorate. Previously, he served as Program Manager for DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). Prior to his time at DARPA, Parney was with the Science and Technology Division of the Institute for Defense Analyses. He is a Nationally known expert in ballistic missile boost-phase phenomenology and launch detection systems, and has served on several National panels in that area, including the so-called Everett Panel on Space-Based Infrared satellites; the Space-based Infrared Architecture Study; the Congressionally-mandated "Heritage sensor" study, and the Space Systems Phenomenology Study. Parney has been involved for many years with studies and analyses of ballistic and cruise missile defense concepts, including technical and performance analyses of space-based and airborne laser programs; sea-based ballistic missile defense concepts; boost-phase intercept systems; and National missile defense concepts. He has served on a number of prominent panels related to missile defense, including all of the various so-called "Welch Panels" associated with National Missile Defense. Parney has also been part of the Congressionally-mandated reviews of the lethality of the Patriot PAC-3 and Standard Missile/Arrow systems; the Boost-Phase Intercept study for USD(A&T); and led the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense study for OSD and the Joint Staff. He has been a member of the Space-based Laser Independent Review Team, and the Senior Steering Group for National Cruise Missile Defense. He led the analytic portion of the joint US-Israeli Short Range Rocket Defense study commissioned by the Secretary of Defense, and served as the technical lead for the Theater Air and Missile Defense Modernization panel for the 1996 Quadrennial Defense Review. Parney also served on the National panel that reviewed the nerve gas transport modeling of the Khamisiyah release event in Iraq. He led the analytic team for the 1999 Defense Science Board Summer Study, which revolved around issues associated with the transport and sustainment of future Army rapid deployment forces. Parney has also led or participated in studies for DoD and the intelligence community in the area hyperspectral and multispectral sensor technologies and their application to a diverse set of problems.

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The Beginning of The End of Disease

Alan Colman, CEO of ES Cell International, Singapore
Moderator: Doug Wick, Academy Award-Winning Film Producer & Diabetes Activist

September 26, 2006, 7pm, The Home of Lawrence Bender, Bel Air

The co-leader of the team that cloned Dolly The Sheep - Alan Colman, CEO of ES Cell International, will be flying in from Singapore for an invitation-only discussion on the exciting new world of Stem Cell Research. Academy Award-winning Film Producer & Diabetes Activist Doug Wick will moderate the event.The Hollywood Hill invites you to join us to explore and celebrate the future death of Diabetes, Congestive Heart Failure and numerous other dreadful diseases. Stem Cell Research has the potential to cure dozens of diseases. Recent initiatives in California have included the creation of a stem cell research center in San Francisco. Now Bill Frist, the Senate Majority Leader is pushing for the U.S. Congress to pass a stem cell research funding initiative, although President Bush has stated his intention to veto it. Meanwhile, across the world in Europe, Korea and Singapore, efforts are well-underway to fund this research and various countries are angling to become the dominant world leader. Alan Colman has been at the cutting-edge of this research for the past 20 years. When he was stationed in Scotland in the 1990’s, he lead one of the two the teams that together cloned Dolly The Sheep. Now he heads up ES Stem Cell International (ESI) based in Singapore, one of the leading Stem Cell research firms in the world, providing 6 of the 22 human embryonic stem cell (hES) lines currently eligible for US federal funding. ESI is currently working on hES-cell therapy solutions for diabetes and congestive heart failure. He will be flying out from Singapore expressly for this exclusive briefing of activities in the whole sector. Douglas Wick, in addition to his Academy Award-Winning record as a film producer, has been an avid Diabetes activist for the past 10 years. Diabetes is one of the many afflictions that could benefit from stem cell research. As The Hollywood Hill sought to bring in an industry veteran to participate in this discussion, we saw a natural fit with Doug's work and were thrilled to have him sign-on.

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The Future of Copyright

Lawrence Lessig, Founder of Creative Commons

August 15, 2006, 7pm, The Home of Lawrence Bender, Bel Air

Copyright is one of the most powerful drivers of economic growth and human advancement. It gives credit to artists, engineers, scientists, and business people for original work and it gives them the ability to make money off of their creative inventions. It is so central to the economic model of the entertainment industry that our industry simply wouldn’t exist if copyright didn’t allow us to hold the exclusive right to the works we create. In our new digital world, when replication is becoming increasingly easy, the ability to enforce copyright is becoming more difficult. Digital technologies are making it easier to remix and modify creative works for both art and commercial enterprise. While the MPAA and RIAA crack down on illegal file-sharing by firms like Kazaa and Napster, Lawrence Lessig is focused on creating a new, more flexible form of copyright to ensure that the new capabilities brought on by the digital era are not lost. In 2001, Lawrence Lessig, a Stanford Law Professor and the founder of Stanford’s Center for Internet & Society, launched [url=https://www.creativecommons.org]Creative Commons[/url], a new model that enables copyright holders to grant some of their rights to the public while retaining others. His new system is being widely adopted by individuals and institutions around the world. Just last month, Microsoft incorporated a version of his copyright licenses as an additional plug-in for Microsoft Office so you can even use them when you create original work using Powerpoint, Word, and Excel. Many popular photo and video websites such as Flickr have started integrating Creative Commons licenses into their work flow. On August 15th, Lawrence will fly down from San Francisco to give us a presentation on the benefits of the innovative contracts he has developed and will we will analyze their application for Hollywood's products.

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The Future of Internet Video

Jennifer Feikin, Director of Video, Google
Jeff Karnes, Director of Multimedia Search, Yahoo!
Shawn Gold, SVP of Content, MySpace
Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer, Netflix
Moderator: Frank Rose, Contributing Editor, Wired Magazine

June 7, 2006, 7pm, Netflix Headquarters, Beverly Hills

The Internet is destroying all the old bottlenecks that have limited TV-viewing choices for decades. It goes beyond putting consumers in control of the box—the trend in television since the introduction of the remote, the VCR, TiVo, and most recently Slingbox—to turning consumers into content creators. When 21-year-old David Lehre has a Web hit with “MySpace: The Movie” and lands a development deal with MTVU, suddenly industry connections and big-time distribution seem a lot less important. What does this do to television? Does it become a user-generated medium, like the Internet? Meanwhile, ABC, NBC and CBS are peddling their prime-time hits alongside user-generated content on iTunes and Google Video. Will Hollywood movie studios similarly embrace such platforms? These powerful shifts are sparking a new boom in content. Come hear these leaders in the “Video-Goes-Internet” revolution tell us what’s in store online.

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Social Change Videogames: The Next Frontier

Ian Bogost
Suzanne Seggerman
Benjamin Stokes

May 9, 2006, 7pm, The Home of Lawrence Bender, Bel Air

Our next event is on a new segment of the video game industry known as “Games-For-Change”. Video Games are going to play a major part in many aspects of our society: how future generations of children are educated, how the military conducts its training, how cities are built, how municipal budgets are balanced, how social patterns are manipulated, how people interact, and how knowledge is attained. A new community of game designers have recently formed with the mission of creating video games that enable social change. The potential of these games is huge. For instance, massive multiplayer games, known as MMORPGs, in which players sign-on around the world into a web-based system and play against each other, have the potential to unite individuals across borders and engage them in common causes. Real-World Examples: A state senator from Massachusetts worked with graduate students to create a game called MassBalance (www.playmassbalance.com), and challenged people to balance the state’s budget online. The United Nations World Food Program recently launched Food Force (www.food-force.com), a game with over 3 million players worldwide who work to save and rebuild the fictional island of Sheylan, ravished by drought and war. A number of people — or their virtual selves — come together in an online, multiplayer game called Second Life (https://secondlife.com) to help design a park for Queens, New York. The interactive nature of games, their ability to present complex and dynamic information, and, increasingly, to allow thousands of people to meet in sophisticated virtual environments means games can accomplish what TV never could in terms of addressing educational and social challenges. We have begun working with this community to develop new games that fit The Hollywood Hill's goals. This event will be an introduction to this new community, the possibilities we have for developing high-impact games, and a sampling of some of the games that have already been developed and deployed. The speakers will include three of the pioneers of this new field: Ian Bogost of Persuasive Games, and Suzanne Seggerman & Benjamin Stokes of Games4Change, one of the main organizations nurturing this new community of game developers. Ian has worked on numerous games including online activism games for the Dean Campaign and the DCCC. Benjamin has worked for the United Nations managing their online volunteering service and was the E-learning architect at NetAid. Suzanne is a Director at NYC-based think tank Web Lab, and was a producer for PBS, including on the Ken Burns series “The West”.

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Censoring The Internet

Jonathan Zittrain, Chair of Internet Governance, Harvard/Oxford
Scott Moore, SVP Content, Yahoo!
Jason Calacanis, Founder, Weblogs, Inc.
Stephen Hsu, Founder of SafeWeb
Moderator: Jeff O'Brien, Senior Editor, Wired Magazine

March 22, 2006, 7pm, The Home of Lawrence Bender, Bel Air

The Internet has created an unparalleled crisis for totalitarian and repressive regimes worldwide. While China can bully American search engine companies into censoring results, the U.S. gov’t is censoring left-wing news sources from troops in Iraq. But as with all technology there is a cat-and-mouse game using new tools and techniques to censor and subvert censorship: all made by U.S. companies. What responsibility does a U.S. company have in selling software to repress foreign citizens? Will new U.S. laws regarding China kill American access to the world’s largest economy? Join us as five of the world's foremost Internet experts examine the censorship issue and how it could affect our lives.

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Inside Russia

Gregory Feifer, NPR’s Correspondent In Moscow

January 29, 2006, 7pm, W Hotel, Westwood

Born in London. Attended Harvard. During his first visit to Russia in 1991, he witnessed the coup d'etat attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev. Living in Moscow from 1998-2003, he wrote for Radio Free Europe, Agence France Presse and World Policy Journal. His new first book, Spy Handler: Memoir of a KGB Officer, was co-written with former KGB spy Victor Cherkashin, the man who recruited Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames. At 34, he is now NPR's Correspondent in Moscow.And on Wednesday, February 22nd, he'll be traveling 14 hours... over 3 continents... to give you an exclusive briefing on the The State of Russian Affairs. Co-Sponsored by W Happenings

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Film Screening: Why We Fight

Congressman Henry Waxman
Michael Keane
Philip Coyle
Moderator: Director Eugene Jarecki

January 26, 2006, 7pm, Jimmy Stewart Theater, Room 24, Sony Pictures Lot, Culver City

The Hollywood Hill invites you to join us for a screening of Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner WHY WE FIGHT, followed by a provocative discussion and Q&A with Eugene Jarecki, Director of WHY WE FIGHT and THE TRIALS OF HENRY KISSINGER, Congressman Henry Waxman, Ranking Minority Member (since 1997) of the Committee on Government Reform, Michael Keane, Hollywood Consultant and Expert on the Economics of National Security, and Philip E. Coyle, former Assistant Secretary of Defense during the Clinton Administration and currently Senior Advisor to the President of the Center for Defense Information, a Washington D.C.-based national security study center... Los Angeles Times Review

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Iraq, Inc.

Pratap Chatterjee

January 12, 2006, 7pm, The Home of Lawrence Bender, Bel Air

U.S. corporate profiteering in the Iraq war has reached a magnificent scale with Halliburton, Bechtel, and others reaping billions of dollars in profits off of the American invasion. Pratap Chatterjee, an award-winning journalist and Executive Director of [url=https://www.corpwatch.org]CorpWatch[/url], is an expert on the situation, having reported on the political influence of Enron and Halliburton in the mid-nineties he has led the field by more than half a decade. His early coverage of Bechtel was named Best Business Story by the National Newspaper Association, and he is the recipient of four Project Censored awards. His articles have appeared in the Financial Times, The New Republic, The Guardian (UK), and The Independent (UK). Recently, he wrote a book on the subject: Iraq, Inc.: A Profitable Occupation, in which he delivers an on-the-ground account of the occupation business, exposing private contractors as the only winners in this war. Join us as he walks us through a presentation with facts and figures of your worst nightmares.

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The Real State of Marriage

Evan Wolfson, Executive Director, Freedom To Marry

August 29, 2005, 7pm, The Home of Martha Haight, Laurel Canyon

Evan Wolfson, one of the nation's true legal experts on marriage rights will be joining us for an in-depth conversation followed by Q&A. We enthusiastically invite everyone, particularly the STRAIGHT community, to come and hear what Evan has to say, and get your personal questions answered by a qualified authority. Regardless of whether you are for it or against it, it is time for all of us to develop a more educated discourse on this topic. Time Magazine named Evan Wolfson one of "the 100 most influential people in the world." The National Law Review named him one of "the 100 most influential lawyers in America." His background as a lawyer is absolutely fascinating - he even served as Associate Council to Lawrence Walsh in the Iran/Contra investigation. He attended Yale College and Harvard Law School, and spent two years with the Peace Corps in West Africa. Should gay marriage be legal? Should rights and benefits be the same? We have all been watching the gay marriage controversy unfold over the past two years. Some of us are for it, some of us are against it, some of us just don't know. It is one of the most controversial topics we'll be facing, yet most of us haven't had the time to explore it and understand the arguments. This Monday, The Hollywood Hill is giving you that opportunity. Martha Haight, one of The Hollywood Hill's Strategy Council members, will be hosting this event at her home in the hills with co-hosts Mark Ross, Bradley Stewart Glenn, and Brad Grossman. 

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The Long Tail: How Technology Is Reshaping Entertainment Models

Chris Anderson, Editor-In-Chief, Wired Magazine

August 29, 2005, 7pm, The Home of Keri Selig & Keith Addis, Hollywood

Join us for a one-on-one presentation by Chris Anderson, Editor-In-Chief of Wired Magazine on The Long Tail: How New Technologies Are Reshaping Entertainment Models. Recently born as [url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail_pr.html]an article for Wired Magazine, "The Long Tail"[/url] was expanded into a [url=https://longtail.typepad.com/the_long_tail/]ground-breaking Blog[/url], and now Chris is compiling his research and thoughts into a book due for publication this Spring. His ideas have spurred a new dialogue and examination of how the Internet and emerging technologies are turning niches into mass markets for Hollywood and reshaping entertainment revenue models. Chris will be flying in from San Francisco to give this unique one-on-one industry presentation.

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The Real State of the Union

Ted Halstead, Founder, New America Foundation
David Lesher, Head, New America Foundation, California

August 29, 2005, 7pm, The Home of Victoria & Dennis Hopper

Join us for a stimulating conversation with Ted Halstead & David Lesher, Founder/CEO and California Program Director of the New America Foundation, one of the nation's most innovative nonpartisan policy think tanks. Founded in 1999 with seed money from leaders such as Norman Lear, this DC-based think tank... "Is devoted to exploring the sort of political topics that will be at the heart of the digital age" - The Economist "Will introduce younger voices, break out of traditional liberal and conservative categories and produce unconventional ideas" - The New York Times Ted is flying in from Washington and David is joining us from Sacramento for this special discussion on the REAL State of the Union.

Smuggling Nukes & Dirty Bombs... Mission Impossible: Securing the L.A. Port

Noel Cunningham, Director of Operations & Emergency Management, Port of Los Angeles

August 1, 2005, 7pm, The Home of Laura Rister, Hollywood

Prior to his current appointment, Cunningham served jointly as director of operations and chief of the Los Angeles Port Police - a position he held for 13 years since joining the Port in January 1991. In December 2003, the position of director of operations was elevated to one of the nine directors serving as the senior management team for the Port. In his current role, Cunningham manages the Port Police, Port Pilots, Emergency Preparedness and Homeland Security divisions. The Los Angeles Port Police is the only U.S. police force dedicated exclusively to port activities, while enforcing all federal, state and local laws applicable to Port responsibilities, including cargo protection, pollution investigation, vessel traffic control and narcotics interdiction. The Pilot Services Division makes approximately 5,500 vessel moves a year with a stellar safety record second to none in the maritime industry. The Emergency Preparedness Division is specifically dedicated to the coordination and management of disaster preparedness; in February 2004, the Homeland Security Division was created to administer federal and regional grant/security programs, assess threats and vulnerabilities, while coordinating response actions. Before joining the Port, Cunningham served as an area captain with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), where he completed 25 years of service. Cunningham is the only twice-honored recipient of the Professional Image Award, LAPD’s highest management award. Cunningham is one of the organizers of the Sea Marshal Program, a joint effort between the Port of Los Angeles and U.S. Coast Guard that provides armed officers to protect and secure cruise passengers and high risk cargo by boarding incoming vessels. He also developed the first U.S. cruise ship passenger security plan, which has since been adopted as a national model by both the U.S. Coast Guard and International Maritime Organization. While carrying out his Port responsibilities, Cunningham also serves as director of the federally legislated, post-9/11 Operation Safe Commerce program. Cunningham is considered one of the nation's foremost experts in seaport security and has presented testimony at congressional hearings and numerous federal and state legislative committees. A past president of the International Association of Airport and Seaport Police, he currently serves as co-chair of the City of the Los Angeles/Long Beach panel on seaport security and panel member on the National Academy of Science Washington D.C. Subcommittee. He has also served as chairman of the American Association of Port Authorities’ Security Committee and State of California Harbor Safety Committee. Internationally, Cunningham has participated in the Organization of American States Security Panel and U.S. Council on Foreign Relations in the development of improved security practices for ports in South and Central America and the Caribbean

Running For Mayor & Fighting Corruption

Cory Booker, Candidate For Mayor of Newark, New Jersey

June 16, 2005, 7pm, The Home of Martha Haight, Laurel Canyon

Hailed by Esquire Magazine as one of the country's "40 Best and Brightest," Cory is one of the most dynamic new political leaders in our country. Cory studied at Stanford, Oxford, Yale, and is often referred to as someone who will be the first black President of the United States. He currently lives in the run down projects in Newark as a symbol of his commitment to doing all he can to change Newark for the better. A younger and radically different alternative to the brash, corrupt politics of his Mayoral opponent in Newark, he is a media darling, praised by both parties for his post-partisan, post-radical politics. Part John Edwards, part Jesse Jackson, he is heralded as the mayoral version of Barack Obama. Join us for breakfast as Cory shares his insight tackling inner city poverty and political corruption. (View Cory as featured in a new documentary on his race for Mayor)

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