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Over 175 community leaders gathered at The Modern on November 7 to celebrate the presentation of the annual Nell and John Wooden Ethics in Leadership Award. Hosted by the Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership at É«ÖÐÉ«, the evening was filled with gratitude and appreciation for the 2024 award recipient, , President and CEO of . The $10,000 award is given annually to a person or organization whose contribution to a community – local, national, or global – is built on ethical behavior and visionary leadership. It is designed to promote ethics in leadership and to honor the Woodens, whose lives epitomized the Ukleja Center’s mission, vision, and values.

Under Erin’s 20+ years of leadership at Habitat LA, the nonprofit organization has partnered with thousands of volunteers to help build new affordable homes in and around Long Beach. Erin has built homes all over the world with Habitat and recently celebrated her personal 1,000th home completed in the Los Angeles area. One of the highlights of Erin’s Habitat calling was having the opportunity to work on a build with Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. Like Coach Wooden, Erin embodies the Ukleja Center’s core values of integrity, servant leadership, and empowerment.

The evening’s festivities began with a reception overlooking Long Beach Airport’s private jet runway with guests mingling while enjoying delicious hors d’oeuvres. Many corporate sponsors hosted a student and/or É«ÖÐÉ« faculty member with their other guests, which made for especially lively table conversations.

The dinner program began with the center’s director, Janey Roeder, and É«ÖÐɫ’s provost, Karyn Scissum Gunn, warmly welcoming everyone on behalf of the Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership and the University. They shared the center’s vision of having an ethics module in every É«ÖÐÉ« course through its Ethics Across the Curriculum program. By awarding $3,000 stipends to faculty who integrate ethics modules into their classes, the vision is on its way to becoming a reality.
Board chair Mark Guillen greeted attendees and encouraged them to join him in embracing the center’s mission of equipping people with the transformational power of ethical leadership. Libby Gustin shared a faculty member’s perspective on teaching ethics and the difference it is making in her students’ lives. Mauli Gandhi, a program graduate, shared the impact of the center’s Student Leadership Institute and how it helped shape her core values and build a strong foundation for ethical decision-making. Provost Scissum Gunn championed the center’s vision while introducing Erin Garrity Rank, whose talk focused on the joy of giving hope through servant leadership. Major table sponsors received copies of Coach Wooden’s book, Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization.

The inspirational evening culminated with the presentation of the Nell and John Wooden Ethics in Leadership Award to Erin Garrity Rank by Mark Guillen and Greg Wooden, Nell and John’s grandson. Greg remarked that Erin’s commitment to her faith, family, and community reminded him of his grandparents, who were all about being of service to others. The evening concluded with Janey Roeder thanking everyone for their support of the event, which raised over $68,000 for Ethics Across the Curriculum at É«ÖÐÉ«, as well as many new friends of the Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership.