President Elam will share his collaborative vision for the future of Occidental College through 2030. Following his keynote address, get a closer look at how the Occidental Promise comes to life in one of the College’s most exciting areas of study.
Immediately following President Elam's keynote address, music industry leaders and artists John Branca ’72, Ramona Gonzalez '09, Bob Johnson ’77, and Ian Montone '89 will discuss the trends and challenges in the music industry, and how an Oxy liberal arts education prepares students to thrive in an ever-changing field.
About the Panelists
John Branca '72 is a legendary entertainment lawyer and a partner and head of the Music Department at the law firm of Ziffren Brittenham, LLP, the largest entertainment law firm in the world. He has represented over 30 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame acts, including The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, the Bee Gees, Carlos Santana, Aerosmith, The Beach Boys, and Fleetwood Mac. Other clients have included Alicia Keys, Dr. Dre, Justin Timberlake and the Backstreet Boys. As co-manager of the estate of Michael Jackson, Branca has shepherded the creation of a successful touring show, an acclaimed Las Vegas production, the Tony Award-winning MJ The Musical, and the forthcoming biopic Michael, directed by Antoine Fuqua. Branca was involved in the formation and sale of Interscope Records and has served as counsel to numerous music industry investors. After graduating cum laude with honors from Occidental College, Branca received his law degree from UCLA School of Law. John is a member of Oxy’s board of trustees and serves on the Obama Scholars Advisory Council. Outside of his support for Oxy, he is a philanthropist and is involved in many community organizations, including the Jackie Robinson Foundation and MusicCares where he serves as Chair Emeritus. Branca is an ongoing guest lecturer at the Harvard Business School, Stanford University, UCLA Law School, USC Law School, Occidental College, and Los Angeles City College, among others.
Bob Johnson '77 is an entertainment attorney and civic activist. A former senior music executive with Atlantic Records, his law practice includes representation of prominent musicians, film and television talent, athletes, and visual artists. Johnson has produced concerts at Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl, and is a Peabody Award-winning film producer with Spike Lee (and Oxy classmate Roger Guenveur Smith). The founder and chair of LA Works, Los Angeles’ largest nonprofit volunteer action center, Bob has served on the boards of the ACLU Foundation, Rock The Vote, Operation USA, The Silverlake Conservatory of Music, and Show Coalition. A political science major at Occidental, he is also a graduate of UCLA’s School of Law and Anderson School of Management.
Ramona Gonzalez '09 is a Los Angeles-based musician, multimedia artist and scholar. As Nite Jewel, Gonzalez makes synth-based compositions and received widespread critical acclaim for her genre-defining first album Good Evening released in 2008, which would help create the template for the chillwave movement that followed shortly thereafter. She has released five studio albums, most recently 2021’s No Sun, which have received praise from Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, NPR and The Guardian. A 2009 graduate of Occidental, Gonzalez is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Musicology at UCLA and teaches songwriting, audio production, and music business here at Oxy.
Ian Montone '89 is the founder of the music management company Monotone, Inc. and co-founder of the media and production group LBI Entertainment. Monotone, Inc.’s clients include Jack White, Vampire Weekend, LCD Soundsystem, The White Stripes, Foster the People and The Shins and many others. Before founding Monotone, Inc., Montone was a partner at the law firm of Davis, Shapiro, Lewit, Montone & Hayes, LLP, focusing on music and entertainment.
