SPP's 25th Anniversary Gala
That freedom, whether spiritual, intellectual, or economic, is indivisible.
Date
Saturday, February 11, 2023
6 PM Reception | 7 PM Dinner
Location
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
40 Presidential Drive
Simi Valley, CA 93065
Contact Us
University Events
Pepperdine University
School of Public Policy
24255 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA 90263
Keynote Conversation
Robert C. O’Brien was the 27th United States national security advisor (NSA) from 2019 – 2021. O’Brien served as the President’s principal advisor in all aspects of American foreign policy and national security affairs. He is the co-founder and Chairman of American Global Strategies, LLC, a Washington, DC-based strategic advisory firm.
O’Brien brought a renewed focus to defense and industrial base issues to the NSC. A long-time advocate of a sea power and a 355 ship Navy, O’Brien visited leading shipyards during his tenure. He also spent time at defense plants and with our troops at bases around the world.
During O’Brien’s time as NSA, the United States orchestrated the historic Abraham Accords in the Middle East, brokered economic normalization between Serbia and Kosovo, achieved significant defense spending increases among our NATO allies, and increased cooperation with America’s allies across the Indo-Pacific.
Prior to serving as NSA, O’Brien was the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs with the personal rank of ambassador. He was directly involved in the return of more than 25 detainees and hostages to the United States. O’Brien previously served as co-chairman of the US Department of State Public-Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan under both secretaries of state Rice and Clinton.
O’Brien was also a presidentially-appointed member of the US Cultural Property Advisory Committee from 2008-2011. In 2005, O’Brien was nominated by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the US Senate to serve as a US Representative to the 60th session of the UN General Assembly. Earlier in his career, O’Brien served as a senior legal officer for the UN Security Council commission that decided claims against Iraq arising out of the first Gulf War. He was a Major in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the US Army Reserve.
O’Brien is partner emeritus at Larson LLP in Los Angeles, a nationally recognized litigation boutique that he co-founded in 2016. Over his career, he has served as counsel and arbitrator in dozens of International proceedings.
O’Brien is the recipient of the National Security Medal, the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the National Defense Medal, the Legion d’honneur (chevalier) and the Kosovo Presidential Medal of Merits.
The National Museum of the Surface Navy named O’Brien the recipient of the 2021 Freedom of the Seas Award. That same year, O’Brien and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were awarded the Richard Nixon Foundation’s Architect of Peace Award for their work on the Abraham Accords and other initiatives while in office. Following the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020, a tree was planted on behalf of the State of Israel at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Forest in the Hills of Jerusalem in honor of O’Brien. In 2019, O’Brien received the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson Award for the Defense of America and Israel. The University of California, Berkeley School of Law presented O’Brien with the Stefan A. Riesenfeld Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to the field of international law in 2011.
In July 2022, O’Brien was elected as the chairman of the board of directors of the Richard Nixon Foundation. He also serves as co-chair with Secretary Pompeo of The Nixon Seminar on Conservative Realism and National Security.
25th Anniversary Dinner Sponsor Levels
Ambassador Sponsor
Two tables of 10 at the dinner with premier seating, two-page sponsorship recognition in printed program, 20 tickets to the sponsor reception, and optional tour of Reagan Library.* ($45,000 tax deductible)
$50,000
Statesman Sponsor
One table of 10 at the dinner with premier seating, two-page sponsorship recognition in printed program, and 10 tickets to the sponsor reception. ($22,500 tax deductible)
$25,000
Platinum Sponsor
One table of 10 at the dinner with premier seating, full-page sponsorship recognition in printed program, and 10 tickets to the sponsor reception. ($7,500 tax deductible)
$10,000
Gold Sponsor
Six tickets to the dinner with priority seating, half-page sponsorship recognition in printed program, and six tickets to the sponsor reception. ($3,500 tax deductible)
$5,000
Silver Sponsor
Four tickets to the dinner with priority seating, half-page sponsorship recognition in printed program, and four tickets to the sponsor reception. ($1,500 tax deductible)
$2,500
*Ambassador sponsors may schedule a private tour of the Reagan Library at a mutually agreed-upon date.
Sponsorship commitment must be received by January 13, 2023, to be listed in the dinner program. A University staff member will contact you to design your sponsorship message.
Accommodations
Westlake Village Inn
31943 Agoura Road
Westlake Village CA 91361
818.597.6331
11 miles to Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Pepperdine rate: $260/room plus tax
Room Block Name: Pepperdine University
Four Seasons Hotel
Two Dole Drive
Westlake Village, CA 91362
12 miles to Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Rate: $400/room plus tax
Room Block Name: Pepperdine University
Call: 818.575.3000