Annual Celebration & Awards Gala - April 7, 2009

UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, special guest NBC Anchor Diane Dwyer, and I-House Board members hosted the night which also featured music and dance performances by I-House residents.  

Gala event photos:

Photos by Jim Block

To download photos or order prints visit:
http://picasaweb.google.com/IHouseBerkeley/Gala2009

2009 Honorees:

Phyllis Draper served for five years as Assistant to the Director for the Peace Corps, and provided dedicated service for over a decade as a member of the Board of Save the Children -- testament both to her dedication to advancing service learning worldwide and to caring for the health and well being of children around the globe.  Her engagement and support of organizations such as Institute of International Education, the Commonwealth Club, The Asian Art Museum, the International Museum for Women, and the American Prairie Foundation, as well as board service with the Peninsula Open Space Trust, Charles Armstrong School, the Children's Health Council and the Kennedy Center, provide further testament to the wide ways in which she has worked to advance understanding and appreciation of cultural and natural resources and to protect the well being of children as a conscientious "Global Citizen".
 
William H. Draper III, one of America's leading venture capitalists, is widely recognized as Administrator/CEO of the United Nations Development Program from 1986-93 as well as President and Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the US under President Reagan.  His current service on the boards of the World Affairs Council of Northern California, the Atlantic Council, and the United Nations Association-USA points to the breadth of his dedication in promoting cross-cultural understanding.  Mr. Draper is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the President's Council of International Activities at Yale University.  He continues to serve the global community with innovative, high impact solutions through his founding role and leadership of the Draper Richards Foundation, which has launched widely acclaimed social entrepreneurial organizations such as Kiva, Genocide Intervention Network, Grassroots Soccer and Room to Read.  For their share advancement of the central ideas of I-House: peace, tolerance and understanding, International House is proud to recognize Bill & Phyllis Draper as Global Citizens of the Year, 2009.

Firoozeh Dumas is a best selling author whose work highlights her Iranian-American heritage.  President Jimmy Carter has praised her writing as “humorous and introspective and filled with love” and the National Iranian American Council has said “Firoozeh is helping our community set our image in our own words.” Her bestselling memoir, Funny in Farsai: Growing up Iranian in America, is featured on recommended reading lists for schools nationwide, and the Persian translation is a current bestseller in Iran. ABC has just announced it will be producing a pilot for Funny in Farsi.  
 
Dumas met her French future husband while an undergraduate at UC Berkeley living at International House (86-87), fueling more cross-cultural stories and eventually three “future I-House residents”. Ms. Dumas was the first Middle Eastern woman to be a finalist for the prestigious Thurber Prize for American Humor.  Through her books, speaking tours, NPR commentaries and writing in the NY Times, LA Times, Wall Street Journal, Gourmet, Good Housekeeping and Lifetime Magazine, she underscores, with humor, how human commonalities outweigh differences.  International House is proud to honor Firoozeh Dumas as our 2009 Alumna of the Year. 

We gratefully acknowledge the generous contributions of the following individuals and organizations:

Patrons
Chevron

Hon. & Mrs. William H. Draper, III

Sustainers
Martha Sam Hertelendy

Sponsors
Bank of the West
NeoKismet, LLC
Plant Construction Company
Zaffaroni Family

Supporters
Bank of America
Dispenser Beverages
Richard Palmer
Peerless Coffee Company
Jai Singh
Amy Slater & Andrei Manoliu
SYSCO Food Services of San Francisco, Inc.