Honorees
Lynda and Stewart Resnick
Lynda and Stewart Resnick are the co-founders and co-owners of The Wonderful Company, one of the largest privately held businesses in the United States. Partners in work and in life, together they have built a portfolio of leading consumer brands that can be found in half of all U.S. households, including FIJI Water, POM Wonderful, Wonderful Pistachios, Wonderful Halos, Teleflora and JUSTIN, Lewis Cellars, and Landmark wines.
The Resnicks are among the world’s leading philanthropists, placing special emphasis on giving back in the communities where their employees live and work. Headquartered in Los Angeles, The Wonderful Company’s expansive operations extend from California’s Central Valley to Fiji. To date, the Resnicks, along with their foundations, and The Wonderful Company have committed more than $2.5 billion to initiatives spanning health and wellness, education, and community access to the arts. They are also significant supporters of sustainability research and programs across the globe.
The Resnicks were early to understand and support the powerful connection between mental health and community well-being. Their longstanding partnership with UCLA exemplifies this leadership. It has included foundational support for the Stewart and Lynda Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital — one of the nation’s highest-ranked psychiatric hospitals — and its ongoing mission to expand access to mental health services across Los Angeles. Over many years, the Resnicks have supported the David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA School of Law, UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture, and Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. In 2002, the Resnicks received the university’s highest honor, the UCLA Medal, in recognition of their extraordinary contributions to the UCLA campus.
Lynda and Stewart Resnick are committed to demonstrating how business, paired with purpose, can shape industries and strengthen communities in lasting ways. Under their leadership, The Wonderful Company has been named one of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For and ranked No. 3 on PEOPLE magazine’s Companies That Care list.
The Los Angeles Lakers
WOW2025 The Mental Health Gala is proud to honor The Los Angeles Lakers organization, for which UCLA Health is the official health care provider. In the words of The Lakers’ CEO, Jeanie Buss, it is the organization’s “responsibility to ensure the players have access to top-quality treatment for their minds as well as their bodies.” To that end, UCLA Health provides them with mental wellness education and resources that can help to prevent mental health problems.
While NBA players are some of the world’s most extraordinary athletes and do incredible, inspiring things, they also face the same emotional and mental challenges we all experience. That is why, several years ago, The Lakers organization partnered with UCLA Health to put together a team of mental health professionals for Lakers players and their families. UCLA Health has provided The Lakers with ongoing access to four expert psychology and psychiatry faculty members and the ability to engage with the full scope of mental health expertise at UCLA.
Not only are the players supported, but so are those who support the players. The coaches, training staff, security personnel and scores of other Lakers employees have also received mental wellness education and referrals from the UCLA mental health team. This helps them not only do their jobs better, but live better lives.
“One of the most crucial things we can do as an organization is to be a voice pushing for better mental health care,” Buss said at WOW2023’s mental health summit. “When professional athletes advocate for their minds to be valued as much as their bodies, it inspires others, setting an example for the world and helping to erase the stigma of seeking professional care.”
That’s why The Lakers organization holds an annual Mental Wellness Day where the almost 20,000 people attending the game and hundreds of thousands watching on television can hear the message: there is no shame in asking for help. From the smallest child to the 7-foot superstar, sometimes we all need someone to support us and lift us up.
Go Lakers!
Honorary Dinner Chairs
Margot and Joseph Calabrese
Jenna and Jason Grosfeld
Patricia and Greg Penske
Bill Resnick and Michael J. Stubbs
Dana and Richard Pachulski
Maya and Metta Sandiford-Artest