In 1952, Lew and Edie Wasserman created the Wasserman Foundationfrom funds garnered throughMr. Wasserman’sdecades of leadership at MCA/Universal. The Wassermansserved as benefactorsforlastingcultural, educational,and health institutions including the Los Angeles Music Center, CalArts, the Motion Picture and Television Fund, the Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA, and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
The Foundation currently funds in the areas of education, arts & culture, health, service and global initiatives.
Casey Wasserman Chairman and CEO, Wasserman; Chairperson, LA 2028 Olympic & Paralympic Games; President & CEO, Wasserman Foundation
Casey Wasserman is the Chairman and CEO of Wasserman, a global leader in sports, music, entertainment and culture. He is also the Chairperson of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games, having been appointed in 2014 to head the city’s successful bid campaign. He was previously Chairman of the Los Angeles Super Bowl Host Committee for Super Bowl LVI in 2022.
Wasserman also serves as President and CEO of the Wasserman Foundation, a private family foundation founded in 1952 by his grandparents, Lew and Edie Wasserman, that funds education, arts and culture, health, service and global initiatives. He is a trustee of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and a board member of renowned philanthropic organizations including the Jules Stein Eye Institute, The LBJ Presidential Library and The Motion Picture & Television Fund.
Rica Rodman Executive Director
Rica serves as the Executive Director of the Wasserman Foundation, a private family foundation headed by philanthropist and global business leader and Chair of LA 2028 Olympic & Paralympic Games Casey Wasserman.
For 13 years, Rica has guided the foundation’s commitments in the areas of education, arts & culture, health, service and global initiatives. In this role, she has combined her expertiseinmedia, public affairs, philanthropy, fundraisingand strategic partnerships. She also spearheads the annual global Wasserman service spanning 27 cities and 7 countries.
Earlier, Rica served in the Clinton Administration’s White House Office of Media Affair where she worked for four years on behalf of the President managing his press along with that of the First Lady, Vice President and the U.S. Cabinet Secretaries. Rica has continued in senior communications roles in Washington, D.C. at an agency and later at her own firm. Clients included: theUnited Nations World Food Programme,theUnited Nations Foundation, CNN,theWashington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial,theNational World War II Memorial,theU.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum,and theWashington, D.C. Convention and Tourism Corporation.
Rica has worked across the political spectrum from the federal Executive Branch and Capitol Hill to city and California state government. She served as a national television booker for the Kerry- Edwards presidential campaign, fundraised for Hillary Rodham Clinton’s U.S. Senate and presidential campaigns, organized and managed media for five national Democratic conventions, and fundraised and managed press for one of Antonio Villaraigosa’s LA mayoral campaigns.
Rica’s work in the private sector included her role as Manager of Government Relations for the Walt Disney Company where served as a liaison to city, state and federal elected officials. She also managed the private family foundation of Norman Lear.
Rica is a UCLA Foundation Board Member, a Center for the Digital Future Board Member, Human Rights Watch LA Committee Member, and a Member of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Foundation Campaign Working Group. She also serves on the Budget Committee of the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands. She is a former Board Member of the Music Center of Los Angeles and the former Board President of the Getty House Foundation, which guides all activities for the official residence of the Los Angeles Mayor.
Recently, Rica had the honor of being a member of the team which worked to secure the freedom of American two-time Olympic gold medalist and six-time WNBA All-Star Britney Griner.
Rica graduated Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude, and with Honors from UCLA in Communications Studies. She lives in Los Angeles and enjoys off-the beaten path travel, hiking, kayaking, yoga, and biking.
Chloe Swenson Coordinator
Chloe Swenson joined the Wasserman Foundation in March 2022 and serves as the Foundation’s Coordinator. In this role, Chloe uses her experience in public relations, public affairs and fundraising to provide assistance to the Foundation and its charitable giving initiatives. Chloe coordinates on a variety of special projects and events and is responsible for overseeing the Foundation’s social media efforts. Finally, Chloe serves as the point person for the annual Wasserman Serve Day with over 25 projects in 9 countries.
Chloe moved to Los Angeles from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Prior to joining the Wasserman Foundation, Chloe worked at PR agency Weber Shandwick in their public affairs division and on the fundraising teams for Senator Amy Klobuchar’s presidential campaign and Congresswoman Lauren Underwood’s 2020 reelection campaign.
Chloe graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Political Science. Outside of work, Chloe enjoys trying new restaurants, playing beach volleyball with her friends and exploring LA.
