About Us
Our Mission:
The Vintage Hollywood foundation was formed to raise funds to support charitable organizations, both large and small, that work to promote the health and well-being of Southern California's diverse community. Since 2002, the Vintage Hollywood event has raised over $700,000 to benefit organizations including United Friends of Children and Save the Children.
Annie Aft is the Executive Director of The James Redford Institute for Transplant Awareness (JRI), an organization dedicated to producing and distributing public awareness and education materials concerning organ transplants. She is responsible for all fundraising and programming activities for the organization.
Mike Alexander has worked in the entertainment industry since moving to Los Angeles in 1987. In addition to his various work-related exploits, he has developed over the past two decades a genuine passion for good food and wine, and has consequently established relationships with a wide variety of L.A.-based chefs and California winemakers. For years, he has been impressed with how the Vintage Hollywood event has celebrated food and wine while bringing out the charitable best in people who also share these passions. Because of his friendships with various V.H. board members such as Linda Daly and Tracie Fiss, he has witnessed the tremendous efforts necessary to pull off this annual event in the style that attendees have come to expect.
Gracelyn Brown is the Vice-President of Programming for MGM-HD, an innovative, new HD movie channel based in Los Angeles. Prior, she served as the Director of Programming for KTLA, Los Angeles where she acquired programming and scheduled the television station as well as creating and producing nationally syndicated specials including "The Tournament of Roses Parade," "Live from the Academy Awards," and the "Hollywood Christmas Parade."
Linda Daly is one of the most active young people working in the non-profit sector in Southern California. A graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., she began her career as a middle-school instructor who focused on teaching children with special educational needs. This experience led her to explore a growing interest in philanthropic organizations, where she soon found herself spearheading a variety of related efforts. She worked with a New York-based public relations firm, advising on non-profit activities in Los Angeles, and became personally involved in a number of charity-based groups. These include: Board Chair of Children's Circle; Social Action Chair of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple (for which she organized congregation-wide collections for those impacted by Hurricane Katrina, as well as those suffering from political and economic unrest in Darfur, Sudan); providing outreach and fundraising for International Medical Corp.; and being a founding member of Vintage Hollywood. In addition to her various affiliations, she continues to travel internationally to advise small non-profit programs on management, board-building and fundraising. Linda presently resides in Los Angeles.
Tracie Fiss is an Emmy Award winning senior producer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. She started with Leno in 1992 when he became the host of The Tonight Show. Prior Fiss was the casting director for various projects including MTV's hit reality series The Real World.
Suzanne Goin was born in Los Angeles to food-obsessed francophilic parents. In 1998, Suzanne opened LUCQUES in West Hollywood with her business partner Caroline Styne. In 1999 she was named one of Food and Wine magazine’s “best new chefs.” In 2002, Suzanne and Caroline opened their second restaurant, A.O.C. The Los Angeles Times gave A.O.C. 3 stars and the restaurant received rave reviews. Suzanne and her husband, fellow chef David Lentz, opened a casual seafood restaurant in Hollywood called THE HUNGRY CAT in 2005. Again the reviews were fantastic. Two years later, David and Suzanne opened a second THE HUNGRY CAT in beautiful Santa Barbara. In 2005 Suzanne’s cookbook Sunday Suppers at Lucques was published by Alfred A. Knopf. It also received excellent reviews.
Richard Shephard is the owner of Shephard & Associates, Certified Public Accountants, a firm that provides business management services to clients in the entertainment industry.
Arlene Wszalek is a founding partner of SW14 Group LLC, which provides marketing, management, strategy and content consultation to the media and technology industries. Her recent producing credits include "The Night James Brown Saved Boston" (for VH1) and "The U.S. vs. John Lennon" (for Lionsgate).