Topic: Philanthropy

Dwyane Wade

As a three-time NBA Champion, Olympic Gold medalist, and thirteen-time NBA All-Star, Dwyane Wade has experienced a whirlwind career. In 2021, Wade was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary team, representing the 75 greatest players in NBA history.

Dwyane joined the Miami HEAT as the fifth pick of the 2003 NBA Draft. In his first season, the Chicago-area native who also flashed his athletic brilliance for Marquette University, achieved NBA All-Rookie Team status. In 2006, Dwyane led his team to the city’s first-ever NBA Championship. Dwyane represented the United States in the 2004 Athens Summer Games and brought home the GOLD representing the USA in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. In 2012 and 2013, Dwyane won his second and third NBA Championships. Dwyane rejoined the Miami HEAT in February 2018 after playing with the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers. During the 2018-19 season, he became the third player in NBA history to record at least 20,000 points, 5,000 assists, 4,000 rebounds, 1,500 steals, 800 blocks, and 500 three-pointers. He was also recognized for achieving the most blocked shots than any guard in NBA history.

Dwyane officially retired from the NBA after sixteen years following his 2018-19 season. His #OneLastDance farewell tour included jersey exchanges, gifts, and video tributes, as well as celebrations and toasts with NBA legends, teammates, and friends tied to NBA All-Star Weekend, his final home game in Miami, and the final game of his career against the Brooklyn Nets. Dwyane partnered with Bleacher Report on a D. Wade World Tour apparel series to celebrate the final season of his career and pay tribute to his influence on and off the court.

Off the court, Dwyane is readily recognized as a style icon and for paving the way for the NBA fashion revolution. He launched his annual A Night on the RunWade event in 2012 to celebrate his passion for fashion. Dwyane was selected as an ambassador for the first Men’s Fashion Week in New York City in 2015. He attends fashion week in New York and overseas. He has attended the CFDA Awards in 2015, 2016, and 2017 and the Met Gala in 2015 and 2019. Dwyane has been able to incorporate his passion for design into his partnerships. In 2017, he collaborated with DSquared2 on a capsule collection for Saks and was the first athlete to partner with Amazon Fashion to create a brand Wade store.

Dwyane continues to build his brand off the court with business partnerships including Away, PKWY, Li-Ning, Gatorade, MISSION, BallerTV, Spades Royale, Wade Cellars, 800° Woodfired Kitchen, and The COLLECTION.

In 2018, Dwyane signed a landmark lifetime deal with Li-Ning to continue to grow his Way of Wade brand of basketball and lifestyle apparel. There are currently eleven Wade retail stores across China. He also serves as a global ambassador for Li-Ning hosting cross-regional youth basketball camps and the annual Way of Wade China Tour.

Dwyane partnered with Away on two sold-out luggage collections including a wine carrier in the second collection to celebrate his passion for wine. His wine partnership, Wade Cellars, currently features Wade Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2014, and Three by Wade, which includes a 2014 California red wine blend, a 2015 Napa Valley red blend, and the 2017 California rosé.

Dwyane is the co-founder and CEO of PKWY, an affordable socks company. The joint venture with his long-time partner Stance brings his unique sense of design to a high-quality sock priced to appeal to the mass consumer market. PKWY is currently available at retailers across the country including Kohl's and Target. In addition to lifestyle collections, PKWY has licensing agreements with the NBA and Major League Baseball.

Forty-Three is a joint company created by Dwyane and his former Miami HEAT teammate Udonis Haslem. The company is named after their respective jersey numbers. 800° Woodfired Kitchen is the company’s first venture. They are the owners and operators of the Aventura, Florida location. Dwyane is a partner of 800° Woodfired Kitchen on a brand level internationally, and locally, as a franchise partner.

In development with his production company, 59th & Prairie Entertainment, Dwyane served as an executive producer on the Sports Emmy-nominated documentary, Shot in the Dark, with FOX Sports with Chance the Rapper. 59th and Prairie has also partnered with Imagine Documentaries on an upcoming documentary chronicling Dwyane’s NBA career and life off the court during his final year in the league. In 2018, Dwyane and his wife Gabrielle Union participated in an HGTV series about flipping a home in a suburban Florida neighborhood. He launched the YouTube series Wade’s Kitchen Convos with Chef Richard Ingraham in 2018.

In 2015, Dwyane completed the Business of Entertainment, Media and Sports program at Harvard University. His approach to brand partnerships in a Harvard Business School case study called Dwyane Wade is taught in both the MBA and Executive Education Programs. In 2018, he was appointed as an Executive Fellow.

Dwyane serves as a global ambassador for the Jr. NBA World Championship, a first-of-its-kind global youth basketball tournament for the top boys and girls teams ages fourteen and under from around the world.

Dwyane’s proudest accomplishment is being a father. In March 2011, in a landmark legal decision, he earned sole custody of his sons, effectively setting a new precedent for professional male athletes. In September 2012, Dwyane became a New York Times bestselling author with the release of his first book, A Father First: How My Life Became Bigger than Basketball. His photographic memoir, Dwyane, shares his inspiring journey through hundreds of photos from Wade’s life on and off the court and features never-before-seen images.

Dwyane recognizes his true accomplishments go far beyond the basketball court. He launched his Spotlight On initiative in 2016 after the loss of his cousin to gun violence in Chicago. The initiative aims to give youth hope for a better future by shining a spotlight on youth in the community who are actively changing the city for the better and are leading and empowering others to make change happen. He continued his activism against gun violence by supporting the Parkland students in their efforts through March for Our Lives and launching a Parkland 17 art exhibit at Florida Art Walk to honor the seventeen lives lost and to bring awareness to the need for stronger gun control laws.

In June 2013, Dwyane received a Humanitarian Award at the BET Awards for his commitment to excellence and dedication to community and worldly charitable causes. He also received the NBA's 2012- 2013 Community Assist Award in recognition of his efforts in the community and his philanthropic and charitable work. In 2015, he was inducted into the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce’s Sports Hall of Champions. In 2017, Dwyane was awarded the Mannie Jackson Human Spirit Award.

Dwyane lives with his wife Gabrielle Union and their children.

Sonia Ben Jaafar

Experienced strategic leader with over 20 years of experience in educational development across Canada, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Dr. Ben Jaafar currently serves as the CEO of the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education, one of the largest privately funded philanthropic education initiatives in the Arab world. A key focus of her expertise is promoting the use of rigorous evidence as a means of gaining insight into and collaborating on sustainable solutions to pressing educational challenges. She is committed to assisting key stakeholders in having a collective positive impact on education and enhancing livelihoods.

Her additional role as Chairperson of the Global Council on Sustainable Development Goals focuses on cultivating partnerships that contribute to achieving sustainable development goals with measurable impact in the education and talent ecosystems. During the course of her career, Dr. Ben Jaafar has worked on major educational development projects with organizations including the American Institute of Research, Ericsson, UNESCO, UNICEF, and War Child UK.

Prior to her appointment as CEO of Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education, Dr. Ben Jaafar was Managing Director of EduEval, where she developed partnerships with governments, international agencies, non-profit organizations, and multinational corporations to promote evidence-based education decisions.

She holds a PhD in Educational Leadership from the University of Toronto, as well as a MA in Curriculum Studies. She utilizes her experience as well as her academic background to promote knowledge sharing and education for the greater good.

Keith Urban

Keith Urban has spent the better part of his life harnessing a deep-seated passion for music. This, when combined with his authenticity, talent, and driving musical inquisitiveness, helps to understand why he is one of the most successful and well-respected artists in the world. He’s won four GRAMMY© Awards, thirteen CMAs, fifteen ACMs, three AMAs, and two People’s Choice Awards and celebrated nine consecutive gold, platinum, or multi-platinum albums.

Well now it’s 2024 and the wait is over.  New music from Urban will highlight the entire year - songs to be released in advance of an expected Fall album release.  And they’re coming fast.   A “Straight Line” premiere in February and its first single “Messed Up As Me”.  2024 will see the culmination of new music that Urban has been working on for nearly two years.

The new music joins a list of 24 #1 songs including “Blue Ain’t Your Color”, “Wasted Time”, “Somebody Like You” and “Long Hot Summer”.  His duet with P!nk, “One Too Many” garnered over 650M streams, bringing his accumulated total streams to nearly 9.5 BILLION and run up his total record breaking 38 Top 10s.  In fact, the song appeared on his album THE SPEED OF NOW Part 1, which marked his fourth in a historic streak of simultaneous #1 album debuts in the United States, Canada, and Australia.

2023 saw Urban’s induction into the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame (by Dolly Parton), a return to the American Idol stage as both a mentor and performer and performances for ESPN’s Formula One Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix and the close of his critically hailed Las Vegas residency at the Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. Urban’s “All For The Hall” benefit concert returned, a series of shows done in support of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum©.  The latest brought total proceeds to more than $4.3M.

Urban consistently reminds music lovers around the globe why he is one of the world’s best live performers.  His concerts have become legendary - as unpredictable as they are explosive. An experience of emotion, musical texture, energy, and showmanship.

Urban’s musical virtuosity and fluidity have made him the musician’s musician.  He’s collaborated with a diverse group of artists that include, among others; Billy Gibbons, Buddy Guy, Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Eric Church, John Mayer, HARDY, Julia Michaels, Justin Timberlake, Dzeko, Miranda Lambert, Nile Rodgers, Post Malone, Taylor Swift, The Rolling Stones and Vince Gill.

He has long supported numerous charities. He is the first Ambassador of the CMA Foundation, an advisory board member at St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, and is a longtime supporter of The Mr. Holland’s Opus Fund and The Grammy Foundation.

Ziauddin Yousafzai

Ziauddin Yousafzai is a co-founder and board member of Malala Fund. He is the father of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Malala Yousafzai. For many years, Ziauddin served as a teacher and school administrator in his home country of Pakistan.

Growing up, Ziauddin’s parents encouraged him to attend school, while his sisters remained at home. He recognized the disparity and knew one day he would treat his children equally. When Malala was born in 1997, he named her after Malalai, a Pashtun heroine. Ziauddin proudly recorded Malala’s birth on the family tree — she was the first girl to be included.

When the Taliban invaded their home in Swat Valley, Ziauddin peacefully resisted their efforts to limit personal freedoms. Speaking out put Ziauddin at risk, but he feared remaining silent would be far worse. Inspired by her father’s example, Malala began publicly campaigning for girls to go to school.

In October 2009, The New York Times filmed a short documentary about Ziauddin and Malala’s fight to protect girls’ education in Swat. Due to her increased prominence, Malala was shot in the head by the Taliban two years later. Malala survived the attack and was transported to the United Kingdom for treatment. Ziauddin, his wife, Toor Pekai and their two sons joined Malala in Birmingham.

Determined to continue their campaign, Ziauddin and Malala founded Malala Fund. Together they champion every girl’s right to 12 years of free, safe, quality education.

Ziauddin currently resides in Birmingham, UK.

Chris Gardner

Chris Gardner is an Entrepreneur, Author, Philanthropist, and single parent whose work has been recognized by many esteemed organizations.

Always hard working and tenacious, a series of adverse circumstances in the early 1980’s left Chris Gardner homeless in San Francisco, the sole guardian of his toddler son. Unwilling to give up Chris Jr. or his dreams of success, Gardner climbed the financial industry ladder from the very bottom. He worked at Dean Witter Reynolds and Bear Stearns & Co before founding his own brokerage firm in Chicago in 1987.

The amazing story of Christopher Gardner’s life was first published as an autobiography, The Pursuit of Happyness, in 2006, and became a New York Times and Washington Post #1 bestseller. The book spent over twenty weeks on the bestseller list and has been translated into more than forty languages. Chris Gardner was also the inspiration for the movie The Pursuit of Happyness.

The film starred Will Smith as Gardner and he received Academy Award, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations for his performance. Gardner was also an associate producer on the film. In his second New York Times bestselling book, Start Where You Are: Life Lessons in Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, published in 2009, Gardner shared his philosophies and crucial steps behind creating a fulfilling, successful life. Since Chris Gardner's remarkable transformation from homeless single father to millionaire, he has been inundated with two questions: "How did you do it?" and "How can I do it too?" Chris Gardner’s aim, through his speaking engagements and media projects, is to help others achieve their full potential.

His practical guidance and inspirational story have made him a frequent guest on CNN, CNBC and the Fox News Channel. He has also been featured on The CBS Evening News, 20/20, Oprah, Today Show, The View, Entertainment Tonight, as well as in People, USA Today, Fortune, Entrepreneur, Jet, Reader’s Digest, Trader Monthly, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Post and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, amongst other publications. Christopher Gardner’s childhood was marked by poverty, domestic violence, alcoholism, sexual abuse and family illiteracy. Gardner published his autobiography out of a desire to shed light on these universal issues and show they do not have to define a person. Gardner never knew his father, and lived with his beloved mother when not in foster homes. Gardner joined the Navy out of high school and after discharge, moved to San Francisco where he worked as a medical research associate and scientific supply distributor.

In 1981, as a new father to son Christopher Gardner Jr., he was determined to find a career that would be both lucrative and fulfilling. Fascinated by finance, but without connections, an MBA or even a college degree, Gardner applied for training programs at brokerages, willing to live on next to nothing while he learned a new trade. Chris Jr.’s mother left and Gardner, despite his circumstances, fought to keep his son because, as he says, “I made up my mind as a young kid that when I had children they were going to know who their father was and that he wasn’t going anywhere.” Gardner earned a spot in the Dean Witter Reynolds training program but became homeless when he could not make ends meet on his meager trainee salary. Today, Gardner is involved with homelessness initiatives assisting families to stay intact, and assisting homeless men and women who are employed but still cannot get by. As a single parent for 25 years, Chris Gardner has demonstrated his concern for the well-being of children through his work with and on behalf of organizations such as the National Fatherhood Initiative, the National Education Association Foundation and the International Rescue Committee. Gardner is still very committed to Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, where he and his son received assistance in the early 1980’s. Gardner has also been honored by the NAACP Image Awards; Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women, The Continental Africa Chamber of Commerce, The Glaucoma Foundation, The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), Covenant House, Common Ground and other organizations committed to combating violence against women, homelessness, and financial illiteracy – issues of the utmost importance to Gardner.

Chris Gardner resides in Chicago.