After 25 successful years in Washington DC we hosted our first fundraiser in Los Angeles on June 16th.
SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER & DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SURVIVOR:
LESLIE MORGAN STEINER
At 22, Leslie Morgan Steiner seemed to have it all: a Harvard diploma, a glamorous job at Seventeen magazine, a funky New York City apartment. Plus a handsome, funny, street-smart boyfriend who adored her. But behind the facade of success, this golden girl hid a dark secret. She'd made a mistake shared by millions: she fell in love with the wrong person.
At first Leslie and Connor seemed as perfect together as their fairy tale wedding. Then came the fights she tried to ignore: he pushed her down the stairs of the house they bought together, poured coffee grinds over her hair as she dressed for a critical job interview, choked her during an argument, and threatened her with a gun. Several times, he came close to making good on his promise to kill her. With each attack Leslie lost another piece of herself.
Gripping and utterly compelling, New York Times bestseller Crazy Love takes you inside the violent, devastating world of abusive love. Why did Leslie stay? She thought she loved him. Find out for yourself if she had fallen truly in love - or into a psychological trap.
Today, Leslie Morgan Steiner is an expert on violence against women and other women's issues. Her TED Talk about surviving domestic violence titled "From the Ivy League to a Gun at My Head" has been viewed over four million times. She has served as a celebrity board member for the One Love Foundation, in honor of slain University of Virginia senior Yeardley Love, The Domestic Violence Hotline, Liz Claiborne's MADE council and as a former spokesman for The Harriet Tubman center in Minneapolis, the country's oldest shelter for abused women.
She is a regular national television and radio guest, appearing on National Public Radio, NBC's Today show, The Diane Rehm show, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and other programs. She holds a BA in English from Harvard college. Her first job was as an editor for Seventeen Magazine; she financed her MBA in Marketing from Wharton by writing for Seventeen, Mademoiselle, New England Monthly and Money Magazine.
She is also the editor of the anthology Mommy Wars and a former columnist for washingtonpost.com. She currently writes the Two Cents on Modern Motherhood column for ModernMom.com. The ethic of global surrogacy is the topic of her 2013 book, The Baby Chase as well as a September 2014 Ted Talk.
She lives with her three children in Washington DC.
KNOCK OUT LA SPECIAL GUEST PERFORMER:
SHELE'A
With hands that effortlessly glide over the keys and a voice that will carry you to the moon, Sheléa’s musical mastery makes her one of the most exhilarating up and coming artists today.
After receiving a musical degree from Oakwood University, Sheléa worked as songwriter/vocalist with legendary producers, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. This experience led to her writing and producing for Chanté Moore’s album, Love the Woman, including the album’s single “It's Not Supposed to Be This Way. Sheléa also lent her stellar vocals to soundtrack projects including Hotel Rwanda, Akeelah and the Bee and Be Cool.
In 2008, Shelea teamed up with multi Grammy-award winning group, Take 6 to sing, Someone to Watch Over Me for their Grammy nominated album, The Standard.
In 2011, Sheléa composed and performed the theme song, Love Fell On Me for the Sony motion picture, Jumping the Broom.
In 2012, Sheléa was invited to perform at the White House at the suggestion of Stevie Wonder to honor composers, Burt Bacharach and Hal David with the Gershwin Prize. Later that year, Sheléa joined Annie Lenox, Herbie Hancock, Joan Osborne, Patti Austin, and the South African Children’s Choir at the Kennedy Center to perform for the UN International AIDS Conference.
Sheléa’s video tribute to Whitney Houston, singing a medley of the star’s hits after her death became an instant Internet sensation. It has received over 1 million views to date. Sheléa also teamed up with Grammy Award-winning producer/songwriter, Tena Clark to sing the anthem, Break The Chain, for the global launch, One Billion Rising headed by Eve Ensler. Sheléa also performed for the National Women’s History Museum honoring Jennifer Siebel Newsom and Dolores Huerta.
In 2013, Sheléa gave a standing ovation performance at the Songwriter's Hall of Fame Awards as she honored the late Hal David singing Anyone Who Had a Heart.
In May of 2014, Shelea found herself back at the Library of Congress and performed with Narada Michael Walden for ASCAP's, We Write the Songs event. Sheléa released her debut album, Love Fell On Me, featuring Stevie Wonder, Brian McKnight, Narada Michael Walden. Her single, I'll Never Let You Go peaked at #22 on the Billboard R&B charts and charted for 22+ weeks.
In 2015, Sheléa headlined a tour with Kirk Whalum, Gerald Albright and Norman Brown. Soon after, she joined mentor Stevie Wonder for his Songs In the Key Of Life tour.
In February 2016, Sheléa returned to the White House and received a standing ovation for her tribute performance with Anthony Hamilton to Ray Charles. It was aired on PBS, Smithsonian Salutes Ray Charles.
In the fall of 2016, Sheléa made her acting debut in HBO multi Emmy nominated film, All the Way.
In 2017, Sheléa was handpicked by Quincy Jones to be the first vocalist for his Jazz club, Q’s Bar and Lounge located in Palazzo Versace Dubai. The word quickly spread and Sheléa’s international appeal made it the #1 choice for entertainment. A few months later, Sheléa made her Carnegie Hall debut as she performed a tribute to Jimmy Webb.
Sheléa is currently touring internationally with David Foster and Kirk Whalum while putting the final touches on a tribute album to legendary songwriters, Alan and Marilyn Bergman.
KNOCK OUT SPECIAL GUEST MUSICAL PERFORMER:
FRANKY PEREZ
In the following year of 2009, Perez got the call from Slash that saw him go on to be announced as the new vocalist for Slash & Friends. Writing collaborations with Dave Kushner (Velvet Revolver) ensued and after securing his track ‘Party of One’ on Meat Loafs 2012 release ‘Hell In a Handbasket’ another call came, this time from the music supervisors on Sons of Anarchy. That call was the beginning of a 7 year long relationship with the show that saw both original music from Perez and his vocals featured heavily throughout all seasons.
For the last 3 years, Perez has most notably drawn attention as the lead vocalist for Finnish rock band Apocalyptica. As the exclusive singer on their 2015 release ‘Shadowmaker’, he has performed with them all over the world. From sold out tours across Europe, Australia and N America through to festivals such as Download & Rock Am Ring he’s as enticing and enigmatic in front of a sold-out theater as he is in front of 60,000 people.
He can be found regularly working alongside Slash, Duff, Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), Steve Lukather (Toto), Michael Anthony (Van Halen), Dave Navarro (Janes Addiction), Ozzy Osbourne, Jason Bonham (Led Zepplin), Corey Taylor (Slipknot, Stone Sour), Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains) and Dean & Robert Deleo(Stone Temple Pilots).
FXP finds Perez backed by Christian Brady on guitar (HELLYEAH), Grant Fitzpatrick on bass (The Cult) & Corky Gainsford on drums (Otherwise, Code Red Riot). The band are currently in the studio putting the finishing touches to a new album ‘Damn the Weatherman’, slated for world-wide release in Fall of 2018.
KNOCK OUT ABUSE LA EVENT 2018 SPONSORS:
TARA BUNCH & ELEANOR MERCADO
CYNTHIA SIKES YORKIN PRODUCTIONS
ALEXANDRA CUNNINGHAM
GARY WILSON
ANGELOU DEIGN
KATHRYN KENDALL
CYNTHIA LAZAR GROSSMAN
KNOCK OUT ABUSE LA FUNDRAISER BENEFICIARY:
