Kaplan Educational Foundation Honors Danielle Conley and Harold Elish for Commitment to Equity and Opportunity

Former Deputy White House Counsel and Partner at Latham & Watkins, LLP will be honored along with UBS Managing Director and KEF Board Member at Gala Event in New York City on Wednesday, May 15th.

The Kaplan Educational Foundation (KEF), which seeks to eliminate barriers to higher education for overlooked and underserved community college students and develop them as world leaders and advocates for their communities, will present its 2024 Leadership Award to Danielle Conley and Harold Elish.

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Kaplan Educational Foundation 2024 Leadership Award honorees Danielle Conley & Harold Elish (Photo: Business Wire)

Ms. Conley and Mr. Elish will accept the Leadership Awards at the Foundation’s annual benefit on May 15th in New York City. The Award recognizes a demonstrated commitment to increasing opportunity and equity for individuals who have been overlooked and underserved, in education and beyond.

As a partner at Latham & Watkins, LLP, Ms. Conley routinely counsels clients on best practices for developing and implementing anti-harassment compliance programs and corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. She has significant experience conducting sensitive internal investigations on issues pertaining to racial and gender equity.

Prior to joining Latham, Ms. Conley served as Deputy Counsel to President Biden where she established and led the first-ever White House Counsel’s Office team dedicated to civil rights and advancing racial, gender, and LGBTQ equity. In that role, she advised the President, Vice President, and other senior White House officials on a wide array of legal issues related to voting and democracy, policing and criminal justice reform, reproductive rights, tech accountability, and judicial nominations. Among other high-profile efforts, Ms. Conley helped shepherd Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s historic nomination and confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court.

During the Obama administration, Ms. Conley served as Associate Deputy Attorney General at the Department of Justice, where she worked on a wide range of litigation and policy issues and managed some of the agency’s most significant and high-profile civil rights enforcement matters.

Ms. Conley currently chairs Latham’s Women Enriching Business (WEB) Committee, where she focuses on promoting the long-term success of women lawyers and executives around the globe. She is also a Director of Graham Holdings Company and has served on several nonprofit boards, including for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

Mr. Elish has spent over four decades working with private clients in the financial services industry. Currently, he is a Managing Director and senior partner with Value Added Partners at UBS, an eleven person team providing financial planning and investment services for clients with over $3.35 billion under management. His service to clients and his success has been rewarded with industry accolades from Barron’s, Forbes/Shook, and The Financial Times.

Mr. Elish's work in the nonprofit sector has focused on enhancing educational opportunities for students in the New York City area. He served as the President of Girls Quest, an organization that provides summer experiential learnings, and as the Treasurer of the Academy of the City Charter School, a successful K-8 neighborhood institution. He also currently acts as the Treasurer of the Isaac Tuttle Fund, an organization helping senior citizens in Manhattan.

Mr. Elish joined the Board of the Kaplan Educational Foundation in 2014, becoming the first person unaffiliated with Kaplan to serve. In the intervening years, he has furthered the organization’s mission by fundraising, mentoring KEF’s Kaplan Leadership Program scholars, monitoring KEF's finances, recruiting other outside Board members, and providing guidance to the KEF leadership team.

“We’re thrilled to honor Danielle and Harold, who have both been unwavering advocates for equity and access over many years, focused on creating opportunities for those who are underrepresented and underserved,” said Melissa Mack, Chairman of the Foundation and Chief Communications & HR Officer at global educational services company Kaplan, Inc. “Their dedication and leadership serve as inspiration to all of us as we seek to eliminate barriers for our country’s next generation of high achievers and future leaders.”

KEF is an independent 501(c)(3) public charity, and through the Kaplan Leadership Program helps high-potential, overlooked and underserved community college students complete their associate degree, successfully transfer and go on to earn a four-year bachelor's degree at the nation's most highly-selective schools. The program focuses on a holistic approach – providing extensive tutoring, academic advisement services, leadership and career training, stipends for living expenses and other resources and support to help them expand their personal goals, and eventually attain leadership roles in their professions and communities.

Since its inception in 2006, KEF’s Kaplan Leadership Program has helped more than 100 Scholars gain admission to the country’s most competitive schools, including Yale, Stanford, Brown, Princeton, Amherst, Cornell, Mount Holyoke, Smith and many others. 92% percent of Kaplan Scholars earn a bachelor’s degree. Today, Scholars are practicing law and medicine, conducting scientific research, working in business, education and engineering, and leading in government, and public and private industries.

The 2024 Annual Benefit celebrates KEF’s 18th year of removing obstacles to higher education and serves as the organization’s chief fundraising event. To attend or sponsor the event, please click here.

If you are interested in attending the event as a member of the media, please contact Valerie Silverman Kerr at valerie@vsk-publicrelations.com.

ABOUT THE KAPLAN EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION

The Kaplan Educational Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity, was initially established and supported by a generous endowment funded by Kaplan, Inc. executives with the idea of helping a small group of students in a big way. KEF provides high-potential, low-income students with academic and financial support and leadership training to raise their expectations for success and open doors to opportunities that will change their lives and communities. For more information, please visit www.kaplanedfoundation.org.

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