Dr. Lois Lee, a pioneer in saving children who are victims of human sex trafficking addressed a crowd of graduate students, faculty, and members of the community at the February 21, 2012 installment of the Dean's Distinguished Lecture Series hosted by the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology. Lee is the founder and president of Children of the Night, the only comprehensive program in North America devoted to children who have been forced into prostitution to survive.

(Right to Left, Dr. Anat Cohen, Dr. Lois Lee, Dean Margaret Weber, Dr. Robert deMayo.)

Lee has devoted her life to rescuing America's children from the horrors of prostitution, abandoning a promising career as a scholar and social policy expert to protect and advocate for these voiceless children. In 1979, she created Children of the Night hotline. Today, that 24-hour hotline receives 10,000 calls a year and is the only nationwide hotline staffed by skilled workers who have been taught how to communicate with law enforcement, rescue children from pimps and prepare them to testify in court.

In 1981 she opened the first walk-in crisis center for children in Hollywood, which became a model for similar programs aiding street children all over the country. In 1992, Lee opened the Children of the Night home. It accommodates up to 24 residents at a time and provides shelter, an on-site school, individual case management, wholesome recreational outings, and a chance to experience the childhood they never had in a nurturing environment.

In the last two decades, she has raised over $40 million to provide these crucial services, as well as case management and college placement for many of the program's graduates. And her track record is impressive - Children of the Night graduates have gone on to become lawyers, executives and educators, among other professions.

Lee's trail-blazing humanitarian efforts have led the fight for the rights of one of the world's most unfortunate and discriminated-against populations. She continues to lead the field in the treatment of child prostitutes. Social service providers come from all over the world to observe Lee's ground-breaking work and visit the Children of the Night home - which is a model for similar programs in the U.S. and abroad. She has been sponsored by other countries -Japan, Romania, Mexico, Canada - to assist in developing such programs.

The tradition of this event is one which focuses on inviting leading agents of change to speak to GSEP student and community members.

How to Improve Your Bottom Line through Social Responsibility

The second installment of the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology's (GSEP) Dean's Distinguished Lecture Series event hosted a panel discussion on social responsibility in the corporate environment.

Included in the panel were Rick Crandall, Director of Sustainability for the Southern California Division Albertsons; Zafar J. Brooks, Director of Governmental Affairs, Corporate Social Responsibility and Diversity and Inclusion for Hyundai Motor America; and Jay Bell, Senior Vice President for TELACU Construction Management who sat in for Dr. David C. Lizárraga, President and CEO of TELACU/Millennium and Founder and Chair of TELACU Education Foundation.

Leading the discussion was moderator Dr. Steve Kirnon, Adjunct Professor in GSEP's Social Entrepreneurship and Change Master's program, who has more than 25 years of operational experience in biomedical organizations.

The evening of networking and lively discussion was kicked off with a mixer hosted by GSEP in partnership with the Culver City and Santa Monica Chambers of Commerce.

Each panelist brought their real-world examples of initiatives that not only impact their business, but the community as well.

The Global Rise of Social Enterprise

The inaugural Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series event welcomed Mr. Jerr Boschee, executive director of The Institute for Social Entrepreneurs. He served as CEO of the Social Enterprise Alliance, the largest membership organization for social entrepreneurs in North America. He and five others co-founded the Alliance in 1997 as The National Gathering for Social Entrepreneurs.

Boschee address more than 100 attendees at the Rave Motion Pictures Theater, with his  presentation, titled The Global Rise of Social Enterprise. He focused on the characteristics separating social innovation from social enterprise; a panoramic view of how the social enterprise industry evolved, including its origins in the private sector and its emergence in the nonprofit sector 30 years later; the five distinct sectors in the social enterprise industry today; the single greatest danger confronting any organization seeking to launch a social enterprise; 14 critical success factors identified by the pioneers in the field; and examples of failed and successful social enterprises from a dozen countries.

Boschee has long been recognized as one of the founders of the social enterprise movement worldwide. The NonProfit Times named him to its nonprofit sector "Power & Influence Top 50" list in 2004, 2005, and 2006.

“Social enterprises go beyond the traditional concept of corporate social responsibility,” says Boschee, “by directly confronting the major unmet needs of society through businesses themselves rather than grappling with them indirectly through socially responsible practices, such as corporate philanthropy, equitable wages and the use of environmentally friendly raw materials.”

GSEP also hosted a day-time student face to face meeting with Bochee, including students from the newly established master of arts in social entrepreneurship and change program, following the speaker event.