Our Board
Tom Bagamane, Chairman and Found: [email protected]
Tom founded The Giving Spirit in 1999 and has led TGS as Chairman during its 18 years of continued growth and service to the homeless in Greater Los Angeles. Tom has over 25 years experience as an entrepreneur and senior management in the consumer products/retail field, including areas of strategy, operations, global business development, traditional and digital marketing, product branding and manufacturing. He has also operated venture capital, private-equity and owner-financed product companies and has launched and successfully sold two start-up consumer product companies. Tom currently is Managing Director of Profitable Good Group, a consulting firm for businesses interested in growing their bottom line through social impact programs
Tom’s business, leadership and organizational skills along with his passion for helping those in need have resulted in the assembly and giving out of over 86,000 survival kits to homeless families, men, women, children and youth in Greater Los Angeles since 1999 and the involvement of over 20,000 volunteers. Through Tom’s leadership, TGS has raised over $6.0 million in funds and in-kind donations for it survival kits. Tom received his MBA from George Mason University’s School of Business and his BA in Communications/Political Science from Virginia Tech University. Tom has received recognition from both of his alma maters for his humanitarian work through TGS, in 2005 from Virginia Tech, and in 2016 from George Mason University.
Dawn Ferry, Director and Secretary: [email protected]
Dawn has over 20 years in the world of education, entertainment and philanthropy. Early in her career, Dawn was an adjunct professor at UNC School of the Arts and guest lecturer at Columbia University in Chicago. Dawn moved to California when she was awarded a full scholarship to USC where she taught undergraduate classes and earned her MFA. Dawn has also worked in all areas of feature film, first as a Decorator and she works now as a Production Designer for television, live events, music videos, commercials and documentaries. Dawn has long been committed to making a difference in the world. Involved since her teens in animal rights and rescue, Dawn currently volunteers with Sanctuary, Animal Assisted Therapy. The Sanctuary rescues animals from abuse and neglect, rehabilitates them, and helps them heal people in return, including adults and children with disabilities and those with a history of trauma or abuse.
In 1999 Dawn became a Practitioner at Agape Spiritual Center. As part of her coursework for this, she volunteered with Hand2Hand, a program providing meals in Santa Monica, which introduced her to the Homeless Community and their needs. Dawn was the spokesperson for H2H and other Westside Feeding Programs with the City of Santa Monica and currently volunteers as the Services Coordinator. Dawn discovered The Giving Spirit while working with the organization to distribute kits to H2H. She was so impressed she began volunteering for its twice-annual survival kit assembly and distribution events in 2010 and has been a part of The Giving Spirit since. Dawn’s third philanthropic commitment is education and she is particularly interested in expanding Educational Programs at The Giving Spirit.
Garrett Jameson, Director: [email protected]
Garrett has over 20 years of digital and analog marketing/advertising experience with senior leadership positions at industry leaders such as Yahoo! and Amazon as well as multiple senior positions within digital media startups and his current digital media consultancy, Polish & Shine Digital. Prior to his digital experience, Garrett also held senior leadership positions with the Los Angeles Lakers and Forum Sports & Entertainment. Garrett has a long history of personal involvement in non-profit work within Los Angeles. Garrett was a Big Brother for over 15 years and still enjoys a strong relationship with his little brother Cameron. Garrett and his family have also been long-time supporters of Thomas House Temporary Shelter in Orange County. More recently, Garrett currently serves on the Board of Directors for St. Paul the Apostle School where he also serves as the varsity girls’ volleyball coach this year.
Garrett was introduced to The Giving Spirit by his friend Tom Bagamane close to a decade ago. Garrett was immediately drawn to the direct action TGS takes with their homeless constituents and the immediate relief their efforts provide. Garrett quickly involved his wife Tiffany and daughter Grace who currently serves as a student ambassador for St. Paul the Apostle School where she has helped organize volunteers and the creation of thousands of Friendship Cards over the years. In addition to regularly attending events as a volunteer, Garrett has served in leadership, management and advisory positions at The Giving Spirit in social media and digital outreach, among other areas.
Staff
Tim Ingram, Secretary and Operations Director: [email protected]
Tim first started with The Giving Spirit in 2003 as a volunteer, became a member of its Board in 2006, serving for 10 years before becoming Operations Director in 2015. During his time on the Board, Tim became Secretary in 2009, a role in which he continues to serve today. The organization twice awarded Tim the Chairman’s Award for his service and leadership both on the Board and for his work in procuring essential items for summer and winter survival kits, organizing logistical and storage operations and drafting and submitting grant applications to support fundraising and development. After becoming Operations Director, Tim played a role in expanding the reach of The Giving Sprit’s mission and outreach through expanded operations and the development of new programs designed to address the specific needs of unhoused Angelenos, including the Companion Animal Program, the Women’s and Girls Initiative and the LAUSD Homeless Students Program. Tim also assisted CEO Tom Bagamane in the development of the organization’s Curated Events program in which business and organizations sponsor prep/assembly events combined with education through moderated panels of speakers with lived experience. Tim manages The Giving Spirit’s regulatory obligations, administrates day-to-day financial operations and continues to assist with grant writing and development. In 2022, Tim received an award from the LA Business Journal as a Finalist for its Nonprofit & Corporate Citizenship Award. Tim earned a BA in Economics from Washington and Lee University and a J.D., from George Mason University School of Law.
Victoria Peralto Cruz, Assistant Producer of Coursework and Curriculum: [email protected]
Victoria, a USC Film School graduate, is a writer, director, and producer whose work draws from her experience in 28 foster homes and lock down facilities. Having overcome homelessness in Venice Beach, CA, she found camaraderie and life lessons in her "adopted family." The idea that foster and homeless youth are broken, hopeless, and stunted by chronic abuse is false. Like Japanese art “Kintsugi” – the art of joining broken pottery with gold in order to accentuate the original break rather than hide it. Foster youth create Kintsugi art pieces from their trauma and it is stunning to behold. It is her hope that her creative projects empower foster youth to believe in a future with hope, rather than statistics. Despite being unhoused, Victoria graduated from the prestigious USC Film School with two degrees.
Stacy Kruse, Director of Educational Programming: [email protected]
Stacy is the Chair of the Education and Community Awareness Committee at Pragmatic Solutions and Sims School. She has over 17 years of experience in designing learning, recognition, and assessment systems for various educational and organizational contexts. Stacy focuses on finding the intersection of engagement, optimized learning outcomes, program sustainability, and equity in teaching and learning. She is an expert in embedded assessment, teaching effectiveness frameworks, and the implementation of machine learning and artificial intelligence in games, simulations, and large-scale assessments. Stacy will use her expertise to align all three segments of our groundbreaking coursework to deliver the highest value of learning and engagement across our varied platforms. Stacy is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara.
Committee Chairs:
Clarence Johnson, Chair Events: [email protected]
Clarence is a Principal Engineer at Raytheon in El Segundo, CA, with experience developing solutions for complex problems. He holds Bachelor’s and Master of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering from Tulane University. Clarence uses his engineering and problem solving skills to design, organize and manage TGS’ assembly process during each event. This includes marshaling and training both experienced and new volunteers into an efficient assembly and distribution process.
Laura Bales, Chair of Procurement: [email protected]
Laura is an Off-Premise Support Manager at California Pizza Kitchen, providing procurement and logistical support for the company. She grew up in the Chicago suburbs and has her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Illinois Wesleyan University. As a volunteer for TGS for the past eight years, she now leads all procurement efforts for the organization, including managing vendor relationships and in-kind donations.
Mike Salmen, Webmaster: [email protected]
Mike is a broadcast television, OTT, video, digital media and IT professional, and winner of over 40 awards for broadcast journalism, communications and public service. Nominated for an Emmy. He created and produced the first all computer generated Public Service Announcement aired in the US. At age 20, while attending the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, Mike "fell into" his first television job - and never looked back.
Today, Mike strives to make a difference through his social service projects and philanthropic activities. He and his wife Mickie live in San Diego, and are always looking forward to their next road trip with their vintage 1963 travel trailer.
Volunteer. Give. Learn.
The Giving Spirit
11693 San Vicente Blvd. #113
Los Angeles, CA 90049
310-943-6460
[email protected]
