THE AMERICAN DREAM
Arriving in America as a college student without speaking a word of English, going through various hardships, Sabrina Kay may have appeared an unlikely candidate to inspire thousands of students to harness their passion and talent. But anyone who knows her recognizes that her focus, discipline, and tenacity provided the right path to achievement. Sabrina launched a diverse set of successful enterprises, retired in her 30s, earned multiple graduate degrees, and set out to teach others to achieve their dreams.

As a doctorate student in the Wharton classroom, Sabrina dreamed of teaching the world. America was once the mighty country that led the world through its dedication to freedom, ideology, and education. A quarter-century later, the American K-12 educational system is ranked 25 out of 30 developed countries, and students rarely face real academic rigor in schools. Sabrina is committed to returning the American educational system to its former glory by introducing new learning models and connecting the workforce with classrooms. In doing so, she will be able to fulfill her dream of contributing to the country that has given her so many opportunities.

After completing her doctorate degree in Work-based Learning Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania, she followed the advice given her by the founder of her doctorate program, Dr. Doug Lynch, and decided to "steal shamelessly" from Wharton's elite professional education model, but with a different focus: undergrads.

Her quest answers the seemingly logical question: Why wait until college students have already graduated to give them work-based training? Her goal is to "knock-off" Wharton, disseminate a world-class education to the masses, and change the way we learn.

The laboratory of her ambition is Fremont College. While at the UPenn program, Dr. Sabrina Kay became Chancellor of Fremont College in 2007 and targeted nontraditional students, teaching them through collaboration and real-world cases to navigate the issues that impact everyday work life. According to Sabrina, "We're on this earth as stewards of life for a small period of time. The difference we can make is through becoming part of others' inspiration and helping make their dreams and aspirations into reality." She feels incredibly lucky that, through her work with Fremont College, she gets to do that every day.

Websites:
USC Marshall Executive MBA (EMBA)
Work-Based Learning Leadership - Wharton
Fremont College

Sabrina is curious and wants to be involved. A self-claimed nonprofit junkie, she has been on the board of numerous philanthropic organizations and has assisted many
causes through the Sabrina Kay Charitable Foundation.

As chairman of After-School All-Stars Los Angeles, she created a positive place for middle-school students to go between the crucial hours of three and six o'clock. It keeps them out of trouble and exposes them to the many possibilities for their futures. Most kids have dreams but fail to learn the skills needed to pursue them. In Sabrina's belief, after-school programs teach children to focus on and work toward goals for success later in life.

Sabrina is also proud to support International Medical Corps. Over the last 25 years, International Medical Corps has provided aid to more than 50 countries. They were an important presence in the rebuilding of Indonesia after the tsunami, the distribution of food and water to victims of the earthquake in Haiti, and the treating of cholera in Eastern Congo. For Sabrina, working with International Medical Corps has also helped satisfy a very personal quest for "America to remain an icon of freedom and democracy."

She has also served on the board of Weingart Center, a nonprofit center for the homeless in East LA; the Korean American Coalition, which promotes the civic and civil rights of the Korean-American community; and California Fashion Association. She has worked tirelessly with many different organizations that cover a wide array of worldly struggles. Among them are Career Transitions for Dancers, Rand Corporation, City of Hope, Homes of Hope, AidsWalk LA, the Posse Foundation, the Hoover Institution, Cato Institute, Pacific Counsel on International Policy, World Affairs, American Friends of the Louvre, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Sabrina believes that investing in the future of this country makes the whole world more beautiful.

Websites:
⁽¹⁾ Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Los Angeles After-School All-Stars
After-School All-Stars Program Pillars
International Medical Corps
East LA Weingart Center

A young designer can graduate from a design college with an amazing portfolio chock full of unique designs. Then, that excitement often rapidly becomes terror as she realizes that she hasn't the slightest idea how to produce her designs or run a business.

Sabrina Kay's decision to start her own fashion line was motivated by her shrewd observation of this very phenomenon. Fashion colleges often neglect to teach the business side of the fashion industry in favor of focusing on the conceptual. As a result, the failure rate of designers, from concept to consumer,
is very high.

To develop a blueprint for required infrastructure, Sabrina started the Sabrina Kay Collection. She has gone on to use it as a model for other designers to show how to produce and distribute products effectively. The Sabrina Kay Collection is the perfect example of her belief in teaching by doing.

About the Sabrina Kay Collection
The Sabrina Kay Collection is designed for a busy woman who has the energy, look, and feel of a 30-year-old super woman. This woman doesn't have the time to run around changing clothes while she juggles multiple tasks, from kids and family to work to social life to personal errands. She needs clothes that make her life easier, while still allowing her to look every inch the professional that she is.

Sabrina's designs are meant to be timeless: elegant, professional, and sexy, but comfortable at the same time. All pieces are constructed from luxurious fabrics that don't wrinkle. Spending all day sitting at a desk or running around, she'll still look sharp.

The Collection works as a system: with the addition or subtraction of one or two elements, she gets an entirely different look. She may start out with a business casual look, but when she removes the jacket, her outfit is instantly transformed to a chic evening cocktail dress. Most pieces can be effortlessly mixed and matched so that a woman is spared time spent staring at the mirror thinking,
"Does this really go?"

The three basic elements – a jacket, a dress, and a pair of pants – are the cornerstones of the collection and provide her with a variety of options while maintaining the simplicity that is the essence of the Sabrina Kay Collection. It is a true godsend for women on the go.

Dr. Sabrina Kay is a self-made serial entrepreneur who took her first steps in business as a college student, working at her parents' fashion retail stores. She would buy clothes at 5 a.m. from the wholesale mart, help with merchandising , and clean stores until 10 p.m., all while carrying an 18-unit school load.

She started hearing about computers that facilitated design, pattern making, and production. A tech geek at heart, Sabrina wanted to learn more. She made a cold call to Lectra, the French software company that was behind this new fashion technology, and managed to get herself invited to a demo. Seeing what the computers could do, she was immediately hooked on this incredible world-changing equipment.

Boldly, a twenty-something Sabrina asked the founders of Lectra to give her exclusive rights to train designers and patternmakers on the software, and to donate computers to her cause. Shockingly, Lectra agreed and gave her five computers with which Sabrina started California Design College. Sabrina's gamble on technology led to one of her first passionate professional endeavors and led her to become the owner of one of the "big 4" fashion
colleges in California.

Then, Sabrina retired in her 30s.

Retirement proved to be impossible for her, however, as she went on to found a variety of businesses, including Premier Business Bank, Fremont Private Investments, Fashion Umbrella, and LAdesigns, and served on
over 20 boards.

After a few years of her "retirement," she has now returned to her first calling: education.

With a commitment to innovation, she is dedicated to building Fremont College into the ideal educational institution, one that will meaningfully impact corporate America's learning system. She has assembled a group of outstanding industry experts who care deeply about the students' success. "The beauty of the American business system is that it recognizes and nurtures innovation and honest hard work, and is, in many ways, the most fair and transparent business system in the world," says Sabrina. Her work with Fremont College is allowing her the chance to be a part of perpetuating that system by shaping the leaders of tomorrow.

Sabrina loves Los Angeles as much as Woody Allen loves New York. She has put a great deal of care doing her part to enhance the city's status as a world-class destination for visitors and residents alike.

In such a sprawling city, Sabrina became a Los Angeles City Planning commissioner during its highest growth period so that she could be part of the planning of the future of her beloved City of Angels. As commissioner, she took a tough stance against the McMansionization of LA by taking a leadership role in designing the LA Mansionization Ordinance and the Commission's DO REAL PLANNING motto. Because she is a strong proponent of mixed-use development, she was also instrumental in the approval of Los Angeles fixtures like LA Live and
Hollywood and Vine.

Sabrina is also involved with the glitzy awards shows and spectacular sports events that help to make Los Angeles a place of world renown. She serves on the board of the LA Sports and Entertainment Commission, which brings spotlight events like the Grammys and the NBA All-Star Game to the city and was on the board of LA Inc., an organization responsible for attracting conventions and countless visitors to the city. Though she may only be a very small part, Sabrina feels intrinsically involved in focusing positive attention and world recognition on Los Angeles and securing its stature as an exceptional city.

As the number of college students climbs, so does the amount of debt that many students must take on to attend. Sabrina has worked tirelessly to empower young people to reach their dreams through education. As a commissioner on the Scholarshare Investment Board, which administers California's 529 Savings Plan, she helped to transition California's 529 plan to Fidelity Investments, one of the leading providers of college savings plans. Today, the program manages over $3.8 billion in assets for future students, growing from $1.8 billion in 2006 despite the economic downturn. California students have access to one of the best university systems in the country and she believes that no one should be denied access to their dream of
being part of it.