Diamond Awards & Donor Celebration - June 2023

Glendale, CA (June 22, 2023) – The Glendale Educational Foundation (GEF) 
recognized three highly accomplished Glendale Unified School District (GUSD) alumni with the prestigious Diamond Award at the 2023 GEF Donor Celebration event.
 
This year’s GEF Diamond Award honorees are:
 
• Alireza Ardekani, Executive Director, Farhang Foundation – 2023 Premier Rose Diamond Award
 
• Armen Karaoghlanian, Chief Creative Officer, Phonexa – 2023 Paragon Diamond Award
 
• Eric Spillman, reporter, KTLA 5 TV – 2023 Distinguished Achievement in the Arts
Diamond Award
 
The GEF Diamonds Awards are an annual showcase and celebration of exceptional GUSD alumni whose remarkable achievements have made a meaningful impact in our community. GEF recognizes GUSD alumni with a Diamond Award as a result of significant contributions made as an entrepreneur or innovator, through significant philanthropic service, or considerable achievements early in their career.
 
GUSD alumni who are awarded a Diamond Award also embody the goals of the GEF mission through their significant achievements in one of GEF’s three focus areas of visual and performing arts, STEAM (science and technology), and health and wellness. The 2023 Diamond Award honorees as those who have previously been awarded this distinction are exemplary of the high-caliber of graduate that the Glendale Unified School District produces through their tremendous accomplishments and leadership.

Principal for a Day - April 2023

Glendale, CA (April 27, 2023) – The Glendale Educational Foundation (GEF) and the Glendale Unified School District (GUSD) were proud to celebrate the return of the Principal for a Day event, where community leaders serve as guest principals at GUSD schools throughout the community.

Principal for a Day offers “guest principals” a taste of what it’s like to manage the complexities of a school campus. Representatives from business, industry and organizations are invited to take the reins as principal of an elementary, middle or senior high school. Guest principals visit classrooms to see teaching and learning in action, interact with students and staff, and are updated on current issues affecting public education. They learn quickly that principals and other school leaders encounter the same problems encountered in their own professional lives.

This year’s guest principals will join an elite group of professionals and community leaders who have had the privilege of taking part in this dynamic, interactive experience. More than 600 leaders from Glendale and the Foothill communities have participated in Principal for a Day over the last 19 years. Guest principals are represented from a broad array of sectors ranging from banking, entertainment, hospital management, law and government, real estate, and special interest areas.