Dallas CASA’s Champion of Children Award Dinner Will Honor Goldman Sachs
Firm Will be Recognized for Its Longtime Support of Children
(Featured photo: Pam Busbee, Christie Carter.* Megan and David Martinez.**)
Dallas CASA will honor Goldman Sachs with the Jan and Judge Barefoot Sanders Champion of Children Award for its commitment to bettering the lives of Dallas children.
The award will be presented at the Champion of Children Award Dinner on October 9 at The Fairmont Dallas. All funds raised at the event benefit the child victims of abuse and neglect served by the agency’s volunteers.
Goldman Sachs has been a longtime supporter of Dallas CASA. In 1998, the Archon Group, which would later be acquired by Goldman Sachs, founded the Dallas CASA Classic golf tournament. Since then, the tournament has raised nearly $28.1 million for Dallas CASA, transforming the agency’s capacity to serve children in need. Goldman Sachs also supports other campaigns at Dallas CASA, including an annual donation of holiday gifts for over 400 children, which are delivered each December by a U-Haul truck.
“As Goldman Sachs grows its footprint in the Dallas area, Dallas CASA could not be prouder to have the company as partners and cheerleaders as we seek to make Dallas the safe and enriching place it should be for all children,” said Dallas CASA CEO Kathleen LaValle. “Goldman shares a vision of Dallas as a vibrant city for children, families, professionals and everyone.”
With critical financial and board support from Goldman, Dallas CASA was able to embark on a plan for the expansion of services for children. Today, Dallas CASA is proud to be the largest of more than 900 CASA programs in the nation, serving more children in need than any other program.
Dallas CASA trains and supervises community volunteers who advocate for children living in the protective care of the state. Volunteers seek to protect children and restore childhood by working with everyone in a child’s life, including families, caseworkers, doctors, attorneys, therapists, teachers and more. Volunteers are appointed to cases by judges and stay for the duration of the case, often serving as the only consistent adult for children in a tumultuous system.
The guest speaker will be Steve Pemberton, bestselling author, managing director at Seramount and host of the Pemberton Podcast. A visionary leader and lifelong advocate for human dignity, Pemberton will share his inspiring belief in the power of ordinary people doing remarkable things. Pemberton’s first book, “A Chance in the World,” laid bare a stark childhood spent in foster care. Thanks to small acts of kindness and people who cared, Pemberton left foster care, graduated from Boston College and became a husband, father, corporate executive and motivational speaker. His second book, “The Lighthouse Effect,” encourages readers to be “human lighthouses,” inspiring those around them toward connection, hope and renewed trust instead of disillusionment and defeat.
Pemberton’s professional life, with pivotal roles at Monster.com, Walgreens and Workhuman among others, has focused on reshaping organizations and how they view their human capital. His journey has been marked by resilience, faith and an unwavering belief in what is possible, and he seeks to ensure that every person, no matter their beginnings, has a chance.
The 2025 Champion of Children Award Dinner is chaired by Pam Busbee, Christie Carter and Megan and David Martinez. Busbee is a member of the Dallas CASA advisory board, and Carter serves on the agency’s board of directors. Megan Martinez is a longtime volunteer advocate for Dallas CASA.
The Champion of Children Award is named in honor of Judge Barefoot Sanders, a revered United States District Court judge for the Northern District of Texas, past award recipient and steadfast supporter of Dallas CASA, and his wife Jan, a longtime Dallas CASA volunteer. The award is given annually to recognize community leaders who significantly improve the lives of youth in our community, particularly those whose lives have been marked by abuse, neglect or other adversity.
Past recipients of the award include organizations like the Dallas Mavericks, The Meadows Foundation, the Junior League of Dallas and NorthPark Center, along with individuals like La La Land Kind Café founder Francois Reihani, Jessica and Dirk Nowitzki, Jan and Trevor Rees-Jones and Judge Harriet O’Neill.
The 2025 Champion of Children Award Dinner would not be possible without the support of the following sponsors:
PLATINUM
Marshalling Resources, LLC
Bill and Carron Starkey
The Wales Family Foundation
CRYSTAL
The Hoglund Foundation
Paula and Scott Orr
Linda and Rob Swartz
GOLD
Anonymous
Lisa and Clay Cooley Family Foundation
Goldman Sachs
Jackson Walker LLP / Retta A. Miller
Becky and Jim Lozier
Deborah Ackerman and John Lozier
Megan and David Martinez
Vinson & Elkins LLP
SILVER
Priscilla and Corey Anthony
Rachel and Greg Barnes
Crest Cadillac
Friends of Primrose Schools owned by Rigley Group
Suzanne and John Gibson
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP
Haynes Boone
Kathleen and Michael LaValle
Betty S. Regard
BRONZE
Mary Lynn and Fred Bangs
Christine and Jonathan Bassham / Sarah and Ken Smith
Veree Hawkins Brown
Pam Busbee / Christie Carter
Barbara and Ben Cervin / Margaret Cervin
Debby and Hugh Comer
Jacqueline Costanza
Dallas CASA Young Professionals Council
Dallas Mavericks
Kappa Alpha Theta Dallas Alumnae Foundation
Lisa and Dave Kroencke
Hannah and Greg May
Emma and Juan Nevarez
Lauren and Chris Paulsen
Stephen B. Penrose
Helen and Frank Risch
Scout Energy Partners
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Nicki and Paul Stafford
About Dallas CASA
Dallas CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) seeks to protect children, restore childhood and help child victims of abuse or neglect achieve their full potential. The agency’s trained and supervised community volunteers are assigned by judges to advocate for the best interests of children who have experienced abuse or neglect and are living in the protective care of the state. For many children in foster care, their Dallas CASA volunteer is the only consistent, caring adult in their lives during a frightening, uncertain time. Dallas CASA envisions a day when all children experience safe childhoods and grow into resourceful, healthy adults. Now in its 45th year, Dallas CASA serves more children than any of the more than 900 CASA programs nationwide. In 2024, 1,009 Dallas CASA volunteers were assigned to advocate for 2,042 children in protective care. To learn more, visit dallascasa.org
*Photo by Kristina Bowman Photography
**Photo courtesy David Martinez
*** Photo credit Romy Modlin Photography
(This Philanthropy Lifestyles eBuzz promotion courtesy Dallas CASA.)
