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2008 Gala Event Survey
View Press Release
See previous Galas:
Gala 2007
Gala 2006
Gala 2005
For more information call (510) 642-4128.
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Executive Director Martin Brennan with Alumna of the Year Chitra Divakaruni.
Martha Hertelendy, member of the I-House Board of Directors chats with Jorstein Norheim, Consul General of Norway.
Chancellor Robert Birgeneau presented Chitra with a gift of Jell-O, which she enjoyed cutting when she worked in the I-House kitchen as a resident in 1978-79.
Chitra Divakaruni enjoyed coming home to I-House.
I-House Residents, Aron Wahlerg played Guitar and Usree Bhattacharya played the harmonium and sang "In Dino."
Dianne Feinstein provided a video address from her DC office to congratulate her husband on being named "Global Citizen of the Year."
Richard Blum, Global Citizen of the Year.
Chancellor Robert Birgeneau presented the Global Citizen of the Year 2008 award to Richard Blum.
Residents Ayse Ercumen played guitar and sang a Turkish song accompanied by Sunny Lai on violin.
Honorees Richard Blum, Global Citizen of the Year and Chitra Divakaruni, Alumna of the Year, were presented with I-House posters signed by local artist, David Goines.
Martin Brennan, I-House Executive Director.
I-House residents closed the evening with a lively Bhangra dance.
Atef Eltoukhy and I-House resident Momen El Husseni chat with Martin Brennan.
From left: Martin Brennan, I-House Executive Director; Lia Marshall, I-House resident and Blum Center student in public health; Richard Blum, I-House Global Citizen of the Year 2008; Shankar Shastry, CITRIS Director, Dean of Engineering.
A gathering of residents and Joe Lurie, I-House's Executive Director Emeritus.
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Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an award winning
author and poet whose work
frequently touches on cross-cultural
themes. Her bestselling collection of
stories, Arranged Marriage, received
an American Book Award. Her novels, The Mistress of
Spices and Sister of My Heart, were made into films.
Her writing has been translated into 16 languages and
included in 50 anthologies. Her latest novel is The
Palace of Illusions. Born in India, Divakaruni completed
a Ph.D. in English at UC Berkeley. During that time
she was a resident of I-House (’78-’79) and began her
lifelong involvement on the issue of violence against
women through volunteerism at the Women’s Center.
Currently she serves on the board of Maitri in the San
Francisco Bay Area and on the Advisory Board of Daya in
Houston, organizations helping the South Asian American
community fight domestic violence. She is also on the
board of Pratham, whose mission is to bring literacy to
underprivileged children in India. In recognition of her
achievements in promoting cross-cultural understanding
and thereby furthering the mission of I-House, we are
pleased to recognize Chitra Divakaruni as our 2008 Alumna of
the Year. |
 Richard C. Blum is an internationally recognized business leader whose dedication to combating global poverty and advancing educational opportunities in developing countries spans more than three decades. Mr. Blum is Chairman of the University of California Board of Regents. In 2006, he founded the Blum Center for Developing Economies at UC Berkeley. The Center improves the well being of poor people through dissemination of scalable and sustainable technologies and systems, while educating and inspiring students as a new generation of global citizens. Mr. Blum is Founder and Chairman of the American Himalayan Foundation which has over 160 healthcare, education, environmental and social service programs throughout the Himalayan region. He is a trustee and member of the executive committee of The Carter Center in Atlanta, and serves as Honorary Consul to Mongolia and the Kingdom of Nepal. Chairman of Blum Capital Partners, L.P. and Co-Chairman - Asia of TPG Capital, LP, Mr. Blum serves on the boards of the World Wildlife Fund, the Wilderness Society, and the Glide Foundation. In recognition of the far reaching ways his work has helped to shape critical dialogues that advance peace and impact the health and well-being of poor people in developing countries, I-House is honored to recognize Richard Blum as our Global Citizen of the Year. |
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