Inaugural Bonnie Baha Memorial Scholarship Awarded to Ansje-Johanna Perris

The Pasadena Community Foundation announced Thursday that Ansje-Johanna Perris, CPA, has been selected as the first-ever recipient of a Bonnie Baha Memorial Scholarship.

Perris, a 24-year-old Los Angeles resident and senior tax associate with Andersen Tax, is enrolled at the Elaine and Kenneth Leventhal School of Accounting, University of Southern California, where she is pursuing a Master’s degree in Business Taxation. The $10,000 Bonnie Baha Memorial Scholarship will be applied to Perris’ tuition at USC.

Bonnie Baha, a resident of the Greater Pasadena area, was a senior portfolio manager and partner of DoubleLine Capital LP. She passed away at age 56 on August 21, 2016. She is survived by her husband Mustapha Baha, son Ayman and daughter Miriam. Widely respected for her expertise in corporate credit and fixed income investing, Baha was committed to promoting the entry and advancement of women in the financial sector.

With the support of friends and family of Baha, PCF established and administers the charitable fund in her memory to help address the underrepresentation of women professionals in the financial sector. The fund provides at least one $10,000 scholarship to an outstanding woman pursuing a graduate degree in business with plans to pursue a career in finance. Candidates are considered from women enrolled full-time in a finance-related Master’s degree at the University of Southern California. (Baha received her Master’s of Business Administration at USC.)

Perris was selected from 31 applicants (including four finalists). All the candidates had been accepted into full-time Master’s degree programs in business administration, accounting or finance at USC. The award was decided by vote of a selection committee made up of four professionals involved in the financial sector, each of whom personally knew Baha. The members are: Miriam Baha, daughter of Baha, marketing operations associate at Kayne Andersen Capital Advisors; Monica Erickson, CFA, portfolio manager and head of the investment-grade corporate bond team at DoubleLine Capital LP; Mary Childs, author and senior reporter at Barron’s magazine; and Melissa Weiler, managing director at asset manager Crescent Capital.

The committee members considered academic merit, work history and financial need among the factors in choosing the recipient. Perris demonstrated outstanding qualifications both in her undergraduate education and in the workplace.

While working full-time, Perris graduated magna cum laude from Menlo College with a Bachelor of Science in Business, Accounting, ordinarily a four-year effort, in three years. One of the rewards for her hard work and academic excellence: an internship and then full-time employment with Ernst & Young’s San Jose office. After working as part of the firm’s tax staff, she and her husband earlier this year moved to Los Angeles where she works at Andersen Tax as a senior tax associate in the firm’s Private Client Service practice.

In a letter of recommendation, the managing partner of the Andersen Tax PCS service noted that Perris demonstrated leadership qualities, professionalism and communications skills which he typically sees in professionals with more than twice her years of experience.