MAC + AVA Motion Pictures

About the Film

9,000 8th graders is a documentary film by MAC + AVA motion pictures and funded by the Dan and Lillian King Foundation to document the Monterey Constitution Project’s first year of field trips to bring every 8th-grade student in Monterey County to see “Hamilton: An American Musical.”

About the Dan and Lillian King Foundation

The Dan and Lillian King Foundation was created to support educational programs and activities related to the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights, with emphasis on the principles of freedom, liberty and justice, and the form of government in the United States of America and its foundational principles. The Foundation supports educational programs and activities in the public schools in the State of California, and, primarily, Monterey County, California.

The Dan and Lillian King Foundation was established to provide funding to schools for teacher hiring, development and for student field trips to destinations in the United States where they can learn about the history of the United States government, the United States Constitution and its amendments, and the Bill of Rights.

The Dan and Lillian King Foundation Board of Directors

Nader Agha
Chairman
Nader Agha is a shining example of the American Dream. Having emigrated from Syria at the age of 22, with just $17 in his pocket and drive to thrive under the freedoms afforded under the United States Constitution, he has become one of Monterey County’s most successful businessmen. While Mr. Agha is very active in multiple businesses, his philanthropy is legendary—and baked into his work as a real estate developer. He focuses on providing affordable housing throughout Monterey County, which he sees as a way of giving back to the hardworking people of the area. Mr. Agha’s civic contributions are too numerous to mention, and he wishes to be anonymous anyway. He has proudly served as Chairman of the Board for the Dan & Lillian King Foundation since its inception. As evidenced herein, the King Foundation took 9,000 8 th graders from Monterey County to San Francisco to experience the Constitution brought to life, through Lin Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musical, “Hamilton,” in a manner that would reach an 8 th grade audience—and will again soon, as the Foundation is set to take next year’s 8 th graders to see the play. For many of the students, especially those who may not have imagined having such an experience, it was life altering. And that is why Nader dedicates so much of his time to this most worthy cause.
Ron Weitzman
Tresurer/ Secretary
Ron Weitzman, a founding board member of the Dan and Lillian King Foundation, is a retired professor specializing in mental testing and survey methodology, with two patents in those fields. He founded the Monterey Bay Symphony and served as its board president for 27 years. He also founded Water Ratepayers Association of the Monterey Peninsula and has served for over ten years as its board president. In addition to those, he has served on numerous other non- profit boards, including the local corps of The Salvation Army, where in 1995 as board chairman he originated The Good Samaritan Center to serve homeless people and families in need and has served as president of its committee ever since. A graduate of Stanford (B.A. and M.A.) and Princeton (Ph.D.) and a veteran of the Korean Conflict, he is married to Morley Brown, also a founding board member of the Dan and Lillian King Foundation.
Safwat Malek
Vice Chair
Carmel based, Safwat Malek founded Enviro International, Inc. in 1990. Enviro designs and constructs environmentally conscious buildings throughout the United States.
Marc Del Piero
Marc Del Piero is a lifetime resident of Monterey County and a licensed attorney in California. Mr. Del Piero was elected at the age of twenty-six as the youngest member in the history of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. He served in that capacity for twelve years and then accepted a gubernatorial appointment to become the attorney member of the California State Water Resources Control Board. He is best known for having written the order mandating that the City of Los Angeles restore freshwater flows to preserve and enhance the aquatic ecosystems of Mono Lake in the eastern Sierras. Mr. Del Piero has been actively involved in multiple non-profit organizations including the Ag Land Trust of Monterey County which has permanently preserved 50,000 acres of prime farmlands in California; the City of Salinas-Ichikikushikino Sister City Association which provides scholarships to students visiting Japan; the Slavic American Cultural Organization which provides student scholarships to students advancing their education in Croatia other Balkan countries; and the Dan and Lillian King Foundation where he conceived of the original idea to send every 8th grade student in Monterey County to see the musical “Hamilton” as part of the foundation’s curriculum to advance the students education about the history and importance of the U. S. Constitution.
Nancy Selfridge
Nancy Selfridge is a retired elementary school teacher any resident of Monterey since 1989. Nancy served on the Monterey City Council from 2006 to 2014 and has been on the Dan and Lillian King Foundation since 2013. She currently sits on the PacRep Theater Board and Sustainable Monterey Board.
Glenn Church
Glenn Church, a farmer, businessman and author, was born in Salinas and has lived in this area all his life. Glenn learned the importance of our political system and the Constitution at a young age while his father, Warren Church, served as a Monterey County Supervisor. Being raised in that environment taught Glenn the vital importance of public service. He has a long history of involvement in community and environmental issues. In the 1990s, he served on the board of directors of the largest human rights organization in the world, Amnesty International USA. Glenn has also served on a number of Monterey County committees and organizations on issues ranging from water to fire protection. In 2020, Glenn, with his wife, Kathryn McKenzie, wrote Humbled: How California’s Monterey Bay Escaped Industrial Ruin. It is a story of how a highly controversial plan to industrialize Monterey County battled its way through the political process. Glenn lives in North Monterey County on the farm where he grew up.
Morley Brown
A native of Montana, Morley Brown was crowned Miss Montana by three separate state organizations. For her undergraduate work, she earned the distinction of “Who’s Who among Students in American Universities.” She holds a Master of Science in Public Health degree from UCLA and has served as Chief Medical Records Administrator for Monterey County, among other positions in the fields of health and education. For her extensive charity work, she has won numerous awards, including two Congressional Awards, California State Legislature Joint Resolution citing her as Woman of the Year by local Senate and Assembly members, Outstanding Citizen of the Year by Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, Quota Club Woman of the Year on the Monterey Peninsula, Women Helping Women Award by Carmel Soroptimists, Life Member of the local Salvation Army corps, Jefferson Award by KSBW, Person with a Heart by KION, One of 50 Most Influential People in Monterey County by Monterey County Herald; Best Local Do-gooder by Monterey County Weekly (three times), Philanthropist Award by Development Executive Network, plus numerous other awards by Boy Scouts, Leadership Monterey, United Nations Association, Monterey county, and several of is cities. Together with her husband, Ron Weitzman, she was a founding board member of the Dan and Lillian King Foundation.
Margaret-Anne Coppernoll
Margaret-Anne Coppernoll is a longtime resident of Monterey County. As a French government scholar, she earned a Licence es Lettres, Universite de Montpellier; a M.A. and Ph.D., USC; a M.A., Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University; is a U.S. Army War College graduate, post-doctoral Regents’ Fellow, UCLA, and published author. A retired U.S. Army colonel, her military career included assignments as Assistant Professor, U.S. Military Academy and Georgetown University; 1 st Personnel command, Schwetzingen, GE; Director, Joint Overseas Deployment Training Program, US Atlantic Command, Norfolk,VA; Director, Reserve Forces Training, Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, Patrick Air Force Base, Fl; Director, State and International Programs, Pentagon, Wash, DC. She served as principal officer for U.S. Congressional Task Force, U.S. Army Iraq/Afghanistan War mobilizations and demobilization. Margaret-Anne co-founded Citizens for Just Water, and served as commissioner for MCWD Water Conservation Commission, City of Marina Economic Development Commission, and Monterey County Mental Health Commission. Margaret-Anne completed two elected terms as MPC Trustee, and is currently a member of the Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency’s (SVGBGSA) Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) Committee for the Monterey Subbasin, and the WRAMP and Dan and Lillian King Foundation boards. Working on WRAMP and SVGBGSA/GSP solutions to achieve sustainable, affordable, economical, and environmentally just potable and agriculture water supplies for all communities is an honor and a great joy. Serving on the King Foundation board and supporting its mission to educate young eighth grade scholars on the science of government and the Constitution of the United States of America is both humbling and inspiring, as there is no better investment of resources than providing this patriotic foundation to those who will carry the responsibility of ensuring our great nation’s future, as well as preserving the sacred values our Founding Fathers fought so valiantly and sacrificed all to defend.
Flora Anderson
Flora Anderson is a gifted linguist who is fluent in a number of languages and has used these skills both as an educator and government interpreter. Flora holds both holds several University degrees, including a Masters degree in French from California State University, Fullerton. As a retired educator, Flora is still active as a substitute teacher. Her many volunteer public endeavors include the Dan & Lillian King Foundation, where she has been a Board member for 6 years. She also volunteers in many artistic endeavors as an actor, dancer and singer. She is also very active in community civic activities including water related issues and those of low-income communities.
Sharon Christensen
Sharon has been a Realtor continuously since 1975: in California since 1988 and Washington & Colorado prior. Obtaining her California broker license in 1992, she has broad experience selling single and multiple family residences, lots and acreage, both residential and commercial, including 1031 exchanges. She has sold numerous estates, including trusts and probate, and received the Ray Kiley Scholarship at Monterey College of Law for her studies in Trusts and Wills. She received her BA degree from Pacific Lutheran University and JD from Monterey College of Law, and passed the CA state bar, but chose to continue in real estate sales. Work as a teacher in Washington and training at San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater give her an educational approach to sales as well as the ability to empathize. To better serve her clients, she continuously takes real estate classes about contracts, disclosures, technology and other subjects. She has served on several non-profit boards: Carmel Kiwanis (1st woman president), Monterey Opera Association, Camerata Singers, Shelter Outreach Plus, and the Water Ratepayers Association of the Monterey Peninsula (WRAMP). Currently, she feeds I-Help women several times/month. Over the years, she has received honors including Oregon Girls State, Masonic Grand Cross, Teacher of Year, Honorary Special Forces, Long ago, she adopted the motto from Teddy Roosevelt: “Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” She cares about her client; many become lifelong friends.
Stephen Collins
Executive Director
Stephen Collins is the Executive Director of the Dan & Lillian King Foundation and has been since January 2015. As the only staff member of the Foundation, it is Collins who carries out Board vision and policy. Collins has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a Master’s degree in Organizational Theory and Behavior. Collins has worked in a variety of different positions in both the public and private sector and in conjunction with the Monterey County Office of Education, the Miranda family, Hamilton New York, Broadway San Francisco, Discovery Charter and multiple security agencies orchestrated Marc DelPiero’s vision of 9,000 8 th graders in 2019-20. The King Foundation will be doing this wonderful effort all over again in 2021 and Collins will once again coordinate.