Two New Members to Board of Trustees

We are proud to announce and celebrate the addition of two new members to the Board of Trustees. First, Webb welcomes alumnus Lance Williams ’97 to the board. Lance has led a storied career in marketing/ communications and served the community through a variety of volunteer roles—most recently at Webb as a member of the board for the Raymond Alf Museum of Paleontology.  Joining Lance this spring is Pitzer College President Melvin Oliver GP ’23.  Dr. Oliver has led a renowned career in education and public policy. Below you will find both of their bios, which are included on the Board of Trustees page of our website.

Lance C. Williams ’97   Lance Williams’ ’97 has over twenty years of strategic marketing, communications and philanthropic experience. After earning his degree from New York University, he was part of the team that launched the hit musical MAMMA MIA! in North America. From 2006 – 2014, Lance was the Executive Director of Brand Development at Condé Nast Traveler magazine, responsible for promoting the brand internationally through events, conferences and charity partnerships.  Since 2002, Lance has served on the board of directors of the Fred B. Snite Foundation as a Vice President. In 2012, Lance co-founded The LanMar Fund, a charitable fund that supports awareness, research and action in the field of wildlife conservation, and he is the Senior Communications Advisor for The Lion Recovery Fund. Lance served on the Board of Trustees of the Raymond M. Alf Museum for nine years. As he transitions to The Webb Schools’ board, he reflects, “ It has been a great honor to serve on the board of the Alf Museum, and I look forward to joining the dynamic team that will help shape the future of Webb for the next 100 years. My personal goal will be to focus on how Webb will be leader in the areas of diversity and sustainability.” Lance and his husband live in New York City and Los Angeles.  

Melvin L. Oliver GP’23   Melvin L. Oliver, PhD GP’23 has a long career in education and public policy. After completing his Ph.D. at Washington University, St. Louis he became an assistant professor in UCLA’s Department of Sociology and a Faculty Associate in the Center for Afro-American Studies. An award-winning teacher and researcher, in 1996, Oliver left the academy to more directly impact social policy and became the vice president of the Asset Building and Community Development Program at the Ford Foundation. Under Oliver’s direction, the program developed pioneering grant initiatives to address poverty and racial inequality. In 2004 he returned to academia serving as Dean of Social Sciences and Executive Dean of the College of Letters and Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 2016 he was named the sixth President of Pitzer College. This is Oliver’s first term on the board and he admits that this is “his first involvement with a private boarding school” and he is “keen to learn and contribute to this resource rich and challenging type of education.”

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September 30, 2020

10:54 AM PDT