Lindy Schumacher is the CEO of the Fulfillment Fund Las Vegas, a non-profit that works to open the eyes of first generation students to the option of college and assist them until college graduation. This is no easy task, in Nevada only 9.8% of our students graduate high school on time, go directly to college and earn a degree within six years. According to our ACT scores which are mandated for all juniors, 11% are prepared for the rigor of college. Noting the Fulfillment Fund serves over 1600 students and only began operations in Clark County seven years ago. Proudly, our high school graduation rate is 100% and college matriculation is 97%. We do not cherry pick our student, instead we serve our students and families as equals.

Schumacher was employed as the Director of Nevada Giving for The Dream Fund at UCLA. She worked at The Lincy Foundation and other entities serving Mr. Kirk Kerkorian’s philanthropic visions for over ten years. Schumacher joined the Andre Agassi Foundation Board in 2009, and is a current board member of, Cristo Rey St. Viator Las Vegas board since 2018. Previously, she has served as a board member at United Way of Southern Nevada and as a trustee at UNLV.

She also brings a wealth of knowledge through her background in finance and accounting specifically through her role as an auditor for Arthur Andersen and as CFO for The Las Vegas Monorail Company. Graduating from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Schumacher earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and became a Certified Public Accountant in 1997.

Schumacher is married and is a busy mom to three young daughters.

Francisco serves as Founding Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Cristo Rey St Viator College Preparatory High School and General Counsel for Crest Insurance Group. Recently, Francisco spent a year working at adidas Global Headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany, through a transatlantic Fellowship with the Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH. Prior to the Bosch Fellowship, he served as General Counsel for Agassi Graf, the management company for Andre Agassi and Stefanie Graf, and the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education. He was responsible for communications and media, marketing and brand management, strategic partnerships, government and legal affairs.

In May 2004, he graduated from The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law with a Juris Doctor as well as from The University of Arizona Eller Graduate College of Management with an MBA. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and accounting from The University of Arizona where he was elected to serve as Student Body President representing 35,000 students. Francisco is a member of the Nevada, California, and Arizona Bars. He also serves as a member of the board of directors for Sletten Construction Company, the Las Vegas Bowl Executive Committee, MAMBA Sports Foundation, The University of Arizona James E. Rogers Law College Board of Visitors, The University of Arizona Foundation National Leadership Council and Marshall Foundation in Tucson, Arizona.

Nevada Governors Jim Gibbons and Brian Sandoval appointed Francisco to serve on the Nevada Athletic Commission which regulates boxing and mixed martial arts for a total of three terms. He served two years as Chairman of the Commission.

Dr. Gary Gitnick, Founder of the Fulfillment Fund in Los Angeles, is Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Digestive Diseases at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

A member of the UCLA faculty since 1969, Dr. Gitnick heads the largest gastroenterology division in the world with 70 full-time faculty members and a multimillion-dollar budget. The author or editor of 63 books, Dr. Gitnick was Chief of Staff of the UCLA Medical Center and Medical Director of the UCLA Health Care Programs. Read more at the UCLA Medical Center web site.

Guided by the personal principle that “one of the most worthwhile efforts in life is to nourish the spirit and mind of a young person,” Dr. Gitnick and his wife Cherna founded the Fulfillment Fund in 1977.

After sponsoring an annual holiday party for employees in a UCLA research laboratory for several years, Dr. Gitnick decided that the money he paid for the holiday party could be put to better use, so he hosted a holiday party for children with severe physical disabilities. Out of this experience the Fulfillment Fund was born. In 1977, the decision was made to continue the holiday party but also to start a role modeling organization.

Incorporated as a non-profit in Los Angeles in 1977, the early Fulfillment Fund focused on the needs of young children and teenagers with disabilities, matching them with mentors and challenging them to set high goals and rise above the obstacles set before them. In the 1980s and 90s, the Fulfillment Fund broadened its mission to include able-bodied students and began providing college scholarships, motivational events and other programming.

Today, the Fulfillment Fund has been recognized as one of the most successful long-term mentoring, classroom outreach, college counseling and scholarship programs in the country. Dr. Gitnick’s vision, commitment, and courage have impelled the Fulfillment Fund to rise to the complex challenges facing the nation’s public education system and to emerge as a national model for one-on-one mentoring and comprehensive college-access services.

View a timeline of the Fulfillment Fund’s history, and read a profile of Dr. Gitnick in People Magazine.

Each year, the Fulfillment Fund offers thousands of students a broad-based continuum of services beginning in the 9th grade and continuing through high school, college and beyond. The goal: to motivate and enable them to overcome obstacles to finish high school, go on to college, and then give back to their community.

Whereas nationally, only about 50% of students from low-income communities go on to college, more than 90% of Fulfillment Fund high school graduates do. And whereas only 33% of students from low-income communities graduate from four-year colleges, more than 70% of Fulfillment Fund scholars do.

“We have statistics that prove beyond a doubt that what we do makes a difference,” Dr. Gitnick says. “We have a model that works, and a model that can be replicated all over the world.”

Dr. Gitnick, with his co-chair, Dr. Eric Esrailian, has led the charge to replicate the Fulfillment Fund’s successful model in other communities in response to requests for assistance. In 2012, the Fulfillment Fund expanded to Clark County, Nevada, where it is now serving hundreds of students in two Las Vegas high schools, funded entirely by members of the local Las Vegas community.

As part of its program of total enrichment, the Fulfillment Fund also instills in students the value of community service, and thus fosters generations of youth who are productive, engaged, contributing citizens. Dr. Gitnick asks all Fulfillment Fund alumni to give back by becoming mentors and volunteers themselves. His inspirational call to action is being answered: graduates are “completing the circle,” returning to the Fulfillment Fund as mentors, donors, volunteers, staff and board members, paving the way for an organization whose future will be guaranteed by the passion, ability and dedication of its alumni.

The Gitnicks, the proud parents of four adult children and the grandparents of seven, are also immeasurably proud of the thousands of Fulfillment Fund alumni who have achieved college degrees and are living, working, and giving back to the community, serving as role models to the next generation.

Bill Hornbuckle serves as President and Chief Marketing Officer for MGM Resorts International, as well as President and Chief Operating Officer for MGM Springfield. In this role, Bill provides corporate oversight for all marketing functions throughout the company, in addition to oversight for MGM Springfield, an MGM Resorts Massachusetts development subsidiary; the MGM Grand Macau property; and gaming development company wide.

A highly respected 34-year veteran of the gaming industry, Bill’s responsibilities focus on positioning the MGM Resorts portfolio of properties, driving profitability, strengthening loyalty programs, synergizing efforts and leveraging the company’s incredible assets.

From 2005 until August of 2009, Bill served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. He had previously served as President and COO of MGM MIRAGE-Europe, where he worked on the development of the company’s gaming operations in the United Kingdom. He also served as President and Chief Operating Officer of MGM Grand Hotel & Casino.

Prior to MGM Grand, Bill served as President and Chief Operating Officer for Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. He spent the majority of his career with Mirage Resorts in various senior management positions, including President and Chief Operating Officer of the Golden Nugget Laughlin, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Treasure Island, and Vice President of Hotel Operations for The Mirage, opening the hotel in 1989.

Bill is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel Administration. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Andre Agassi Foundation and is a member of the Board of Trustees for Three Square. Previously, Bill has served on the boards for the United Way of Southern Nevada, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Foundation. From 1999 to 2003, he also served on the board of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Tom Kaplan has been a nationally-recognized and respected name in the food and beverage and hospitality industries for more than 37 years. As Senior Managing Partner of the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group (WPFDG), Kaplan works alongside the renowned chef, as a trusted partner and company thought-leader. Throughout his tenure with WPFDG, Kaplan has nurtured key strategic partnerships with major casino resorts and luxury hotel brands such as Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts International, the Four Seasons, Dorchester Collection, Rosewood, Ritz Carlton, Pendry, SBE, and St. Regis, leading the company to extraordinary growth.

Together, Kaplan and Puck have expanded the company and taken it from several individual restaurants to becoming one of the preeminent restaurant groups in the world, boasting an impressive collection of 27 domestic and international dining establishments. Day-to-day, Kaplan is directly responsible for overseeing business management and strategic development, as well as playing an instrumental role in the supervision of design, construction, philanthropy and social responsibility for the company.

Intimately involved and passionate about community service, with a special focus on public policy, the arts, and the environment, Kaplan is a dedicated philanthropist and currently holds, or has held, numerous leadership positions on a variety of boards and councils.

He currently serves on the Brookings Institution Board of Trustees and is a member of their Metropolitan Leadership Council and Advisory Circle, working closely with Brookings Mountain West at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. He is a Trustee of the University of Nevada Las Vegas Foundation Board. He serves as a Board Director of the Council for a Better Nevada and the Fulfillment Fund Las Vegas. He is a member of the Grassroots Network Committee for the Conservation Lands Foundation. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the Nevada Museum of Art and is a member of its Architectural Search and Selection Committee. He is an Emeritus Board member of the Animal Foundation, served as Vice President of the Puck Lazaroff Charitable Foundation benefitting the Los Angeles chapters of Meals on Wheels for more than 25 years and was a member of the City of Las Vegas Energy Advisory Committee. Kaplan also served on the Board of Directors for the Marshall Retail Group from 2006 – 2015.

Kaplan was named Nevada Restaurateur of the Year by the Las Vegas International Hotel & Restaurant Show in 2005 and one of the “50 Most Influential” in Nevada by In Business in 2008. In 2003, he was in the first induction group of the Las Vegas Dozen which honors men in the Vegas valley for their role in business and community involvement. In 2011, Kaplan was named “Humanitarian of the Year” by Greenspun Media Group’s publication Vegas Inc.

Raised in Stamford, Connecticut and New York City, Kaplan relocated to Los Angeles in 1980 after graduating Magna Cum Laude from Bowdoin College that same year with a Bachelor’s degree in Art History, Visual Arts and a coordinate major in Environmental Studies.  He has been a resident of Las Vegas since 1992.

To compete with the rigors of the hospitality world, Kaplan enjoys hiking, running, cycling, and skiing. His passions include architecture, art, music, travel as well supporting the new NHL Vegas Golden Knights hockey team all shared with his wife, Liz and son, Austin.

Dr. Eric Esrailian is the Co-Chief of the Division of Digestive Diseases at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He collaborates with colleagues to oversee the development and growth of its clinical, educational, and research programs. He is also closely involved in growth strategy and strategic planning efforts for the UCLA Health System and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

He attended the University of California at Berkeley and graduated with a major in Integrative Biology and a minor in English. He subsequently graduated from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine and completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Southern California. Dr. Esrailian completed his gastroenterology fellowship at UCLA where he also obtained a Masters of Public Health degree. He is also a graduate of the Executive Program in Management from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Dr. Esrailian served on the Medical Board of California from 2010-2011 after being appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He works to facilitate community engagement with a number of schools and departments within the UCLA campus and its Los Angeles community partners.

Dr. Esrailian is the Board Co-Chair for the Fulfillment Fund in Los Angeles, and he serves on the boards of the Hammer Museum, XPRIZE, and he is on the Chairman’s Council for the Motion Picture & Television Fund.

As general manager, Tina Quigley oversees street and highway planning and funding, the freeway and arterial traffic management and public transportation for the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada.

Quigley is known for her positive energy, passion and drive to make Southern Nevada a better and more vibrant community. Her strong leadership, clear vision and collaborative spirit recently led to the passing of bi-partisan legislation that will generate up to $700 million in bonding revenue to improve our transportation infrastructure, create jobs and help encourage economic growth and diversification in Southern Nevada.

Under her leadership, the RTC has also made significant improvements to enhancing our public transportation system and is recognized by the National Transit Database as one of the most efficient transit providers in the U.S.

Dave brings a two-decade track record of creating some of Las Vegas’ most successful and innovative PR campaigns. He co-founded Kirvin Doak Communications with Bill Doak in 2002 and since then has helped build Nevada’s largest and most recognized public relations and marketing firm, representing industry-leading clients in a variety of fields including travel, hospitality, entertainment, healthcare and non-profit.

Dave has been the recipient of several professional and civic awards including In Business Las Vegas’ “Most Influential” list and its “Top 40 under 40.” In 2009, the Nevada Cancer Institute honored Dave as one of the “Vegas Dozen.” He is on the Board of Advisors for The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, the Board of Directors of the Fulfillment Fund Las Vegas and the Clark County School- Community Partnership Board of Advisors. He is a graduate of Western State Colorado University, which named him one of the Top 100 alumni in the school’s history.

Caleb Dawkins is a Banker in the Las Vegas office of J.P. Morgan Private Bank. He works closely with entertainers, athletes and tech entrepreneurs to advise them on financial strategies designed to grow, manage and preserve their wealth for the generations to come.

Caleb delivers guidance across the entirety of the balance sheet—investing, banking, strategic borrowing and effective estate planning to address philanthropic and family goals. He has particular experience in supporting executives with their equity compensation and concentrated stock positions. Caleb brings a strong work ethic, and instills financial literacy so that others may overcome, prosper and succeed. This passion is derived from the obstacles he personally encountered, when he learned to walk through walls toward the dreams he set for himself.

Before joining the Private Bank, Caleb was an auditor with Ernst & Young, focused on entertainment firms and retail companies. He plays a leadership role with J.P. Morgan’s BOLD and Advancing Black Pathways, two initiatives that help the black community chart stronger paths toward economic success and empowerment. Recently, he was one of 32 Analysts selected for the firm’s 2020 Wealth Management LEAP Program.

Originally from Compton, California, Caleb was raised in Flint, Michigan, and Las Vegas, where he was named the Salutatorian of his graduating class at Mojave High School. Growing up, his father was heavily involved with running a record label, which inspired Caleb to earn a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Southern California, Leventhal School of Accounting, with a minor in Music Recording from the University’s Thornton School of Music. While in school, he interned at Warner/Chappell Music Publishing. He was also a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

When not in the office, Caleb enjoys boxing, hiking and aerial trapezing. He taps his fun and creative side to write and produce music with longtime friends from the industry. Caleb is intent on helping others gain a stronghold on their futures and volunteers his time with the alumni chapter of his fraternity to offer mentorship for underserved neighborhoods.