Event Will Feature Inspiring Guest Speaker Steve Pemberton

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 Thursday, 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.

The Champion of Children Award is given annually to recognize community leaders who significantly improve the lives of youth in our community. Past recipients include organizations such as the Dallas Mavericks, the Meadows Foundation, the Junior League of Dallas and NorthPark Center, as well as individuals La La Land Kind Café founder Francois Reihani, Jessica and Dirk Nowitzki, Jan and Trevor Rees-Jones and Nancy A. Nasher. The award is named for Judge Harold Barefoot Sanders, a revered United States District Court judge for the Northern District of Texas, past award recipient and a steadfast supporter of Dallas CASA and his wife Jan Sanders, a former Dallas CASA volunteer child advocate.

 

Steve Pemberton (Courtesy photo)

Goldman Sachs has been a longtime supporter of Dallas CASA. In 1998, the Archon Group, which Goldman Sachs would later acquire, 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 has also supported Dallas CASA in many other ways, including the growth campaign and building new offices to serve more children, an annual donation of holiday gifts for more than 400 children, other fundraising event support and volunteer advocate and board service.

“As Goldman Sachs grows its footprint in the Dallas area, Dallas CASA could not be prouder to have the company as a partner and cheerleader 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.”

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. In the book, Pemberton writes: “When a human lighthouse sees you in the midst of your storm, it points you toward safety and protection.

In doing so, it also sends you an uncompromising message of belief: Yes, the situation is difficult, but you are not alone. I’m standing right here with you, and I know the way home.”

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 Dallas CASA’s Advisory Board and Children’s Council, while Carter is a longtime member of the Dallas CASA Board of Directors. Megan Martinez is a child advocate, and she and her husband are longtime supporters of Dallas CASA.

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.

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.