John Paul and Eloise DeJoria
Married since 1993, John Paul DeJoria, the co-creator and head of Paul Mitchell Systems, and Eloise DeJoria, Paul Mitchell’s spokeswoman, share a philanthropic spirit and dedication to a wide variety of charitable and environmental causes. They believe everyone has an obligation to their community. “If you can’t give money, you give your time to your community,” John Paul said in a recent interview. The DeJorias prefer to do both.
In 2002, they donated 410 acres of land in Tuna Canyon for “the children of the world to enjoy.” In 2000, the couple, who have a young son, helped give older children a safe and fun place to spend their time when they helped found Malibu’s Teen Center.
“John Paul and Eloise were instrumental in providing startup fees for Malibu’s first Teen Center, operated by the Boys and Girls Club of America,” said Laure Stern, president of the Malibu Foundation for Youth and Families and national trustee for the Boys and Girls Club. “Not only did they provide a significant contribution, but they challenged others to do the same. Without them the center would not have been established in the record time that it did, opening its doors in September 2000.”
The DeJorias’ motto is “Success unshared is failure.”
“We are glad to contribute and do what we can to make the world a better place. It’s wonderful to be able to give back,” Eloise said.
Kay Gabbard
Kay Gabbard is a longtime Malibu resident and the devoted director of the Malibu Methodist Nursery School. She is also the mastermind behind the Malibu United Methodist Nursery School’s annual “Cook’s Tour,” an event that raises funds for families who otherwise might not be able to send their children to the nursery school.
“Working with children and their families has always been a priority for me because I believe that it does take the whole village to raise a happy and productive child,” Gabbard said. “I believe that all of us here today are responsible for our children’s tomorrows.”
Rev. Larry Peacock, former Malibu United Methodist pastor, first met Gabbard in 1985, just as he was about to become the church’s pastor.
“Kay welcomed my wife and I into the community as a new family with two small children,” Peacock said. “She cared for our children, and us, for the 20 years we were in Malibu. Kay just loves children and believes they have an inborn sense of what is holy and precious about living.”
Gabbard is an advocate for all children and said she believes everyone should have a chance to explore nature and interact with others. She created the Cook’s Tour to both raise funds for children and to bring the Malibu community together to celebrate life’s greatest delights-great food, beautiful homes and children.
“I give thanks for her years of dedication to the children of Malibu and am delighted to hear that Kay is one of the Dolphin Award winners,” Peacock said. “She should have been recognized a long time ago.”
Jo Giese
Labels like “local hero” and “human dynamo” flow out of the mouths of Jo Giese’s friends like hot lava.
Giese, an award-winning radio journalist and the founder and president of the Malibu Green Machine, a nonprofit organization that works with city departments to beautify the city of Malibu, is currently working on beautifying the medians along Pacific Coast Highway.
While living in Venice, Giese planted palm trees along Rose Boulevard and on Abbott Kinney in her effort to beautify the area. Now her focus has turned to Malibu.
“A landscaped highway is a safer way because it slows traffic down,” Giese said about beautifying the highway, which is known for many deadly accidents.
As a correspondent for National Public Radio, Giese was part of the Peabody award-winning team for the show “Marketplace.” She also served on the board of directors of PEN USA and currently serves as an instructor at the Lifelong Learning Center at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.
Giese earned the Emma award in 2002 and the Gracie Award in 2001 from the Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television.
“She has a real zest for life and is always full of energy, upbeat and positive,” said Anne Payne, a fellow member of the Malibu Green Machine.
Giese hikes daily in the Santa Monica Mountains.
“She has a proven track record of accomplishing what is said to be impossible,” Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich said. “She is selfless and dedicated and opens her home to the community; not everyone would do that.”
“She’ll make Malibu a better place for everyone,” Ulich said.
Shari Latta
While spending time in various schools with her mother, a teacher, Shari Latta discovered her love and unique connection with young children.
In 1982, when she was just 22 years old, Latta opened up her own preschool, the Children’s Creative Workshop at the Malibu Community Center (now Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School.).
Since its creation, the school has grown from 18 students to nearly 50 preschoolers, 20 kindergartners and 15 first- through fifth-graders in the after-school program.
“My philosophy has always been that little kids love to learn and I’ve built my curriculum on that, giving them information through songs, music, art and science,” Latta said.
Latta said the preschool is structured and academic; the children’s playtime is directed for half the day, and then they direct the other half.
Along with teaching, Latta stays busy teaching junior lifeguards, ages 9-11, for six weeks every summer on Zuma Beach.
In 1987, Latta competed in the Hawaii Iron Man Triathlon and for the past 20 years has competed in lifeguard competitions, earning nine national championships in surf ski. Latta also served on the PARCS board for four years, helping the organization provide recreational facilities for the community.
“Shari is in every sense a Malibu hero and role model for all. She has tirelessly given of herself and devoted her life to helping others, especially children,” Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich said.
Latta said children have always been the one stable thing in her life, attracting her with their innocence, exuberance and optimism.
“They are cool people to be around,” Latta said. “It’s the only thing in my life that comes naturally.”
David Lyons and Scott Tallal
David Lyons operated the Malibu movie theater in the mid-1990s. He was in the airport on his way home to Portland, Ore. when his nephew called him about the Malibu movie theater fire. Later that night, he e-mailed the CEO of Wallace Theaters, offering to organize a free outdoor movie program in Malibu.
“The local theater was a gathering place for Malibu residents. I enjoyed my years there and I yearned for an opportunity to return to Malibu,” Lyons said. “I was excited to have the opportunity to work in conjunction with the city, The Malibu Times and a group of motivated volunteers to create CineMalibu.”
Through CineMalibu, free screenings of top-rated movies were shown at Bluffs Park during the summer.
Also pitching in for the CineMalibu effort was Scott Tallal. His company has been installing custom home theaters in Malibu for years. When he heard the city was showing movies at Bluffs Park, he used his connections to help the city purchase the equipment they needed. As a result, Malibu now has the world’s only high-definition outdoor theater.
“David and Scott are Malibu’s angels. They are devoted to Malibu, and enrich it through the arts,” said Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich, a CineMalibu supporter.
Nonetheless, the Dolphin Award came as a surprise to Tallal.
“It’s truly an honor, but my real hope is that this award will help raise awareness of the CineMalibu program and encourage more people to attend,” he said. “CineMalibu not only provides more opportunities to bring the community together, it also celebrates the industry which has made Malibu one of the world’s most famous small towns.”
Steve Soboroff, Richard Green and Michael Koss
Steve Soboroff, Richard Green and Michael Koss combined to donate more than one-fifth of the total amount of money given to the city toward the purchase of the Chili Cook-Off site. And with their donations, they inspired others to give so that the city could acquire the “Crown Jewel of Malibu.”
Business partners Soboroff and Green, who own Malibu Creek Plaza, donated $250,000 to the city in October. At the time, it was the largest amount of money the city had received. At a City Council meeting that month, Soboroff encouraged others who could make significant donations to do so.
“If we [Malibu Creek Plaza] are the first major contribution, you guys [the city] are in trouble,” Soboroff said. “If people don’t jump in now [the city might not collect all the money it needs]. You’ve [the city] got a huge list of [possible contributors] who talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk.”
And the community responded, with the city having raised nearly $2.5 million. Without that money, the possibility of Malibu accumulating the $25 million it needs to purchase the Chili Cook-Off site would be unlikely.
Later in the year, real estate investor Michael Koss matched Soboroff and Green’s donation.
“What Steve Soboroff, Richard Green and Michael Koss did was huge,” said Susan Shaw, who was hired by the city to raise money for the Chili Cook-Off site purchase. “Their donations were a significant portion of the money we raised.”
Dede Solis
Twenty-three years ago, Dede Solis started the pre-school program at the Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue and has since touched the lives of many in the Malibu community.
“My main focus is the growing community and watching families grow up,” Solis said.
Her colleagues respect her welcoming attitude, especially her work with children with disabilities.
“A lot of people close the doors on these children and I admire that she’s always there to help everybody,” said Jamie Rice, a teacher at the preschool who has known Solis for 20 years. “She’s so welcoming to the community and is always there to help everybody.”
Solis has received awards from the Bureau of Jewish Education, where she serves on the board. She said she feels proudest when young teenagers volunteer at the preschool.
“It makes me think we’ve instilled good values and given them the opportunity to give back,” she said.
In her free time Solis enjoys knitting and gives knitting lessons. She is also an avid reader.
Solis and her husband, Richard, have three grown children and are expecting their eighth grandchild in July.
Malibu Legacy Park Project
The Chili Cook-Off site has been called the “Crown Jewel of Malibu,” with its flat 20 acres stretching along Pacific Coast Highway from Cross Creek Road to Webb Way. And soon that property will be in the hands of the public after a legendary fundraising effort by the city that included nearly $2.5 million in donations from Malibu residents.
“I think it really is a legacy for everybody who contributed,” said Susan Shaw, who was hired by the city to help raise the money. “And what a thrill it is for the generations to come that this was accomplished.”
With the city needing to raise $25 million to buy the property from the Malibu Bay Co., it was clear that all the money would not be accumulated through grants and debt financing. So Malibu had to go to the public to ask for donations. And the people of Malibu answered with donations ranging from one dollar to $500,000.
“The outpouring of support from Malibu in general was very overwhelming and exciting,” Shaw said.
Several people helped with the fundraising effort, including City Council members and community activists who spent hours in front of Ralphs Market every weekend, encouraging people to donate to the cause. Shaw named some people who helped through fundraising parties and recruiting, including David and Linda Shaheen, Richard and Liane Weintraub, Kelly Meyer, and Pierce Brosnan and Keely Shaye Smith.
The reasons people donated to the cause were many. There were those who wanted to ensure the site would never be developed. Others were inspired by the idea of a park eventually being built on the property. And still others were encouraged by the plan that the site would eventually become part of a wastewater/storm water treatment program that would help to clean the polluted Malibu watershed. And many people had all those reasons and more in mind when they donated their money.
The Chili Cook-Off site is currently in escrow, which is expected to close in the coming months.