Archive for October, 2007
Telly Leung, Professional Performer
As a high school student, Telly Leung got involved in his high school's musical as a way to take a break from his physics and calculus classes. Telly never quite returned from that break, however: Today he's a professional performer, currently in the Broadway cast of "Rent." He has a packed life that is constantly in motion, with rehearsals, auditions, and performances - it's anything but a conventional 9-to-5 job. Despite the instability of going from one show to the next whenever one ends, and despite the "gypsy" lifestyle of often being on the road to go where the work is, Telly, 27, says he thinks he's one of the luckiest people on Earth because he gets to do what he loves for a living. To learn more about Telly and what it's like to be an Asian-American performer, check out this week's Young & Professional Profile. Read full article »
 
Khoa Pham, Co-founder
For American high school students, gaining admission to the United States' top colleges is a difficult process. It's even more challenging though if you're a high school student in Vietnam who isn't familiar with American culture and the U.S. educational system. Khoa Pham, 23, noticed this unmet need for help in navigating the admissions process and formed VietAbroader. The organization provides information, guidance, and networking to make Vietnamese students competitive for admission and scholarships to top U.S. universities. The group also serves as a bridge linking local students in Vietnam with Vietnamese students studying overseas. Since its founding in 2004, VietAbroader has held two conferences attended by more than 1,000 Vietnamese students and parents. In the past two years, over 100 students attending those conferences have gotten admission and scholarships to U.S. colleges. To learn more about how Khoa and VietAbroader are making a U.S. college education attainable for Vietnamese students, check out this week's Non-profit Spotlight. Read full article »
Tawheed Kader, Product Manager & Serial Entrepreneur
For much of his life, Tawheed Kader has looked at the daily annoyances of life and said, "It doesn't have to be this way." Back in the early '90s, he used that mindset to help automate his father's business. Today, he has used it to co-found and develop HipCal, an online calendar that minimizes the overhead it takes to get your life organized. With HipCal, users can ditch their dinky day planners and instead rely on a cutting-edge technology that ensures they always have their friends' latest contact information and are updated on where they need to be. Soon after Tawheed, 24, and his fellow co-founders created HipCal, it was acquired by Plaxo, where Tawheed is now a product manager. Tawheed sees life as an adventure and is always working on side projects. Right now, he's working on a Facebook application and a site that lets companies and bloggers get closer to their visitors. To learn more about this thrill-seeking entrepreneur who's always up to something, check out this week's Young & Professional Profile Read full article »
Avanti Sharma, Founder/President/CEO
HIV/AIDS has affected numerous people in many parts of India, and Avanti Sharma wanted to do something to prevent the disease's further spread. So Avanti, 25, decided to found the Anokhi Foundation. The recently created, volunteer-run, nonprofit organization aims to prevent HIV/AIDS through education, advocacy, and community support. Anokhi, which means "unique" in Hindi, is in the process of setting up its initiatives in India. The organization hopes to provide prevention education for at-risk populations, as well as assist HIV-infected individuals in accessing available health services. The Anokhi Foundation is preparing for its first fundraising event, and its volunteers are looking forward to making their first trip to India. To learn more about this growing organization and how you can help it establish initiatives on the subcontinent, check out this week’s Nonprofit Spotlight. Read full article »
Elizabeth Torres, Poet/ Painter/Motivational Speaker
When her artistic side bloomed by age five and when her professional career launched at age 10, her family knew there was something different, rare, and intriguing about her. Elizabeth Torres, age 19, has experienced a lifetime's worth of international travel, speaking engagements, and art showings all highlighting her abilities to speak, create, and develop new motivational concepts. An average week for Elizabeth might include meeting with student groups, writing new poetry, speaking on a radio show, attending university classes, or engaging in discussion with the nation's corporate leaders. Nothing is out of reach for this young woman! With professional accolades and the vital support of her family behind her, Elizabeth begins every day with fresh eyes and a passion to explore the natural beauty in everyone and every environment. Read on to see where all of this energy originates and what lessons you might take away from Elizabeth's work in this week's The LatinConnect. Read full article »
Elsa Lizarralde, Bilingual Stabilization Advocate
HomeStart, Inc. is a non-profit organization working to end homelessness in the Greater Boston area. The agency's first priority for every client is a stable housing situation. They then work with each client's individual needs to provide services and support to make sure they are able to remain housed. By offering assistance in both English and Spanish, many homeless and formerly homeless individuals and families can depend on HomeStart in their search to obtain housing and their continued journey to maintain it. Elsa Lizarralde, 32, Bilingual Stabilization Advocate, works with the agency's formerly homeless clients. Providing much needed access to other social services, help with budgeting and crisis management, Elsa is able to help clients begin to realize other dreams and goals within the stable environment of their own homes. Learn more in this week's The LatinConnect about the work of HomeStart, Inc. within the community and how their helping hands are changing thousands of lives. Read full article »
Rajal Pitroda, Partner
Major film studios spend $30 million or even more to market a movie, but Rajal Pitroda's firm, Beyond the Box Productions, works to get audiences to notice films with marketing budgets that are often less than $1 million. The company markets and helps distribute independent films, creating individualized marketing strategies and providing alternative distribution deals. It is especially committed to films involving economic, social, and political issues, particularly those that pertain to women and adolescents. As a partner at Beyond the Box, Rajal, 29, scouts for innovative films, designs marketing plans for clients, and oversees the online and wireless portions of the company’s work. It all builds off her previous career in Bollywood, where she worked with the Confederation of Indian Industry and was involved with setting up the India Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival. To learn more about Rajal and her movie marketing, check out this week’s Young & Professional Profile. Read full article »
Shahed Amanullah, Editor-in-Chief
After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Shahed Amanullah, grew frustrated with not just the hasty generalizations made about Muslims, but also the dismissive tone of Muslim leaders. He saw Muslims being discussed in the news, but no Muslim voices were balancing the views expressed. Since no one else was doing anything about it, Shahed seized the opportunity and created altmuslim.com, a nonprofit online news magazine that covers Muslim life, culture, and politics from a Western Muslim perspective. The publication promotes critical analysis, discussion, and debate within the Muslim community in the West while also showcasing commentary for non-Muslims who want a sense of the dialogue going on among Western Muslims. Today, as Editor-in-Chief, Shahed, 39, heads up a publication whose content is in the national media on a weekly basis, and he once even got to debate former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara on ABC’s "Nightline." To learn more about Shahed and altmuslim.com, check out this week's Nonprofit Spotlight. Read full article »
Rima Abdelkader, Journalist
Have you ever complained about not having enough hours in the day? Well, 23-year-old Rima Abdelkader would put you to shame. Not only does she work as a print and television Journalist, she also dedicates her time to over a half a dozen non-profit organizations. This native New Yorker spent two years in Jerusalem during the Persian Gulf War, an experience that has undoubtedly impacted her adult life. Her motto, "it is our responsibility to help ourselves as well as others," is not just something she says, she lives it. One of the many non-profits she gives her time to is the Selective Corporate Internship Program (SCIP), a program she participated in as a high school student. It gives talented students from public high schools the opportunity to gain skills to succeed in the business world. Her responsibility to others is what sets her apart. If you want to learn more about the many Middle Eastern non-profits Rima participates in, or if you just want to be inspired, read on.
Read full article »
Brahm Ahmadi, Executive Director
Brahm Ahmadi, 32, is the Founder and Executive Director of the remarkable and innovative People's Grocery, Inc. It's a community-based nonprofit organization that works to improve the health and economy of the West Oakland community through the local food system. In order to successfully accomplish their mission, People's Grocery Inc. has launched several unique programs including the Mobile Market, a truck converted into a traveling food store that sells healthy foods at affordable prices to West Oakland residents. They are also looking to open a for-profit, worker owned, grocery store in order to help fund their project and make themselves financially solvent. Brahm's belief, as well as the organization's, is for the right of all people to have access to healthy food is what makes People's Grocery Inc. unique. If you have a passion for progress or just want to learn more about the organization, read on in this week's Non-Profit Spotlight. Read full article »
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