Entertainment

India.Arie

The New York Times calls Arie, ''one of the most determinedly virtuous songwriters in R&B or pop, India.Arie strives to make faith, goodness and positive thinking seductive,'' while Oprah Winfrey in last month's issue of O Magazine sang her praises in her What I Know for Sure editorial,
http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Oprah-on-the-Importance-of-Authenticity-What-I-Know-For-Sure

Refusing to succumb to female stereotypes that have plagued other female artists, India.Arie has worked steadily throughout her career to champion causes close to her heart, including, AIDS, breast cancer, poverty, human rights issues, and various causes for women and children.

Among her 3 Grammy wins and 21 nominations, India.Arie has won a host of awards including 4 NAACP Awards, as well as being recognized and honored by BET, Billboard Magazine, MTV, VH1 and Essence Magazine, among others. Most recently Arie started her own companies Soulbird World Wide and www.soulbirdmusic.com, and begun a new journey towards molding her life long passion of music and words into a career she also loves.

India.Arie was inducted this year into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and she was a featured guest in an evening of celebration with President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House. The televised event ''In Performance at the White House - Celebrating the Music of Stevie Wonder: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize'' aired on PBS earlier this year.

Prior to leaving for Oslo, Arie did was she loves best- performed alongside a group of children in the Macy's Day Parade on the brand new Dora the Explorer float, singing her rendition of the show's Emmy-nominated song, ''Nochebuena''

Michael Franti

The Sound Of Sunshine -- the inspired and inspiring new album by Michael Franti & Spearhead -- is a kind of musical sun shower, a bright, beautiful and often buoyant song cycle created to bring all kinds of listeners a sense of hope during rough and rainy times for so many in our world.

"Music is sunshine," says Michael Franti, one of the most positive and conscious artists in music today. "Like sunshine, music is a powerful force that can instantly and almost chemically change your entire mood. Music gives us new energy and a stronger sense of purpose."

"Music is something you can't hold in your hands, smell it, taste it or even see it, yet somehow just coming together and feeling these little vibrations that tickle our eardrums can somehow lift us all up out of our most difficult moments in life to unimaginable heights."

Ironically, often joyous and uplifting The Sound Of Sunshine actually came out of a darker and tougher personal experience for Franti. "Last August, my appendix ruptured suddenly in the middle of a tour and I ended up in the hospital for eight days while they figured out what was wrong with me," recalls Franti. "I almost died and I wrote many of these songs coming out of that experience while I was in the hospital for another week or so after that. During that time, I really took a moment to prioritize what's truly important in my life -- and in the end, that's really about the people who I love. Even in that hospital, I could laugh with the people I love, cry with them, and start to find the sun again."

Well aware that countless others face far worse problems than he did, Franti wants The Sound Of Sunshine to communicate a sense of hope and possibility for anybody who needs it. Franti's singularly open spirit reflects his own eclectic and intriguing background. Michael was born to an Irish-German-French mother and an African American and American Indian father in Oakland, then adopted by a Finnish American couple who raised him along with their three biological children and another African American son. While studying at the University of San Francisco, Franti formed the punk band The Beatnigs, and later the far more hip hop-inflected The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. Through it all, Franti has crossed all sorts of musical and physical boundaries in order to make music for everybody.

In the mid-Nineties, Franti first formed Spearhead, and increasingly in recent years, he's found his own voice musically and his own organic brand of popular success. Franti and Spearhead's last album, 2008's All Rebel Rockers -- recorded in Jamaica with legendary producers and players Sly & Robbie - became the biggest hit of Franti's career, hitting the Top 40 on the Billboard 200, and yielded his biggest hit, the Top 20 "Say Hey (I Love You)."

"I had a nice, long time to get ready for that first hit, and so I really appreciated it when it happened," says Franti. "So when we were just mastering the new album, I was saying to my manager, "Boy, wouldn't it be fun to have a sophomore hit?" He was like, "Sophomore hit? You've already been through grad school, man" So yes, I've paid some dues, and that's made getting this far -- and still being here -- mean even more to me. The funny thing is that 'Say Hey' went into the Top Twenty right as I was being wheeled into surgery. I got the text, and I thought, 'Wow, I've finally got a hit record, and I'm not even going to live to enjoy it.' That put everything in perspective too."

Michael Franti is not a man to openly chase success - in fact; he's not a man who even wears shoes (for the last ten years). Still, Franti has absolutely no problem hearing his music on the radio now. "When I was a kid, I used to listen to AM radio on family vacations in the car, and at family barbeques and my dad would leave the radio on. So songs that were the silly pop hits became a really meaningful part of my childhood - and of my adult life now. So when I think of the fact that there's some family out there on the beach in the summer together listening to 'Say Hey,' it makes me feel really good. The truth is a good pop song that makes you feel good can be something of value and meaning to people."

Arguably the most cohesive, romantic and life-affirming album that Franti and Spearhead have ever made, The Sound Of Sunshine reflects the fact that, as Franti puts it, "With time, you get a better sense who you are and how to put together all your musical passions into your own sound. I feel like for a long time, I dabbled in other sounds. Like 'Let's do something with a reggae vibe here.' Or 'Let' really rock here.' But now, I write everything from the acoustic guitar up -- which keeps you honest. Then Jay Bowman, my songwriting partner and I, take a lot of time figuring out what's the best way to present this song and make every word of it come across and ring true."

Even the recording process for The Sound Of Sunshine reflects Franti's desire to communicate directly with his audience. "We started in Jamaica actually recording a bunch of tracks with Sly and Robbie who are, of course, great, and we used some of those tracks. Then we got home and started mixing the record. Then I went to Bali and wrote some more songs, but we still didn't have it finished. So we said let's bring a portable studio on the road with us. We'd literally recorded the drums in the locker room of the Toronto Raptors or in the shower of some NHL team. Then we'd go right onstage and play the song and see how other people would react to it. We'd see what worked and go back and record it again the next day. So these songs have really been road tested in front of live bodies."

For Franti, "To play for people and share your songs with them is to make a real connection. That's why we play outside our shows for those who can't afford to come inside. They need the songs too - maybe more. That's the reality. And as a musician I was on tour with put it recently, "Our fans didn't come to us from a reality show. They came to us from reality." And so, we mean something in their lives. We're the music they put on when they drive their little kids to school, or hang out with the person they love at night. There's no higher honor. So they have an investment in the music. And that means so much because this music is very personal to me too."

Sarah Darling

Consider the emotions whirling out of these lines in Sarah Darling's new album, Angels & Devils:

He's the first taste of something you shouldn't have/He's the first lie you tell to your mom and dad/He's the reason you love the smell of Polo and peppermint. ("The Boy Never Stays")

You should know that it's toxic, baby/We can never go back/There's a line, don't you cross it, save me/Save yourself. ("Toxic")

I want to be your cigarette, I want to linger on your breath/Be the taste you can't forget and can't put down. ("Bad Habit")

Is there a songwriter alive who wouldn't thrill to have coined these lyrical insights? Well, Sarah Darling did. All of them

Angels & Devils, Sarah's second album from Black River Entertainment, is engaging on all fronts. Her ethereally beautiful voice mines every grain of sentiment in the wise, image-rich lyrics. Jimmy Nichols' production is impeccable, a work of art in itself. He designed the album to display Sarah's vocal talents, both when she's fronting a full band and when it's just her and a piano. "It's a two-sided album where you get two sides of me," she says.

Of the eleven songs, Sarah co-wrote nine, including the irresistibly catchy (and suggestive) first single, "Something To Do With Your Hands." The other two cuts are highly individualized versions of U2's 1987 classic, "With Or Without You," and Elton John's 1976 hit, "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word." Both are favorites that Sarah sometimes performs in her shows.

Sarah has been busy writing, touring and otherwise expanding her range since she released her first album, Every Monday Morning, in 2009. "I've basically spent two years visiting country radio stations and singing at fairs and festivals," she says. "But I feel like I'm always making an album."

Last year brimmed with bright spots for Iowa native. One of these was a high-profile promotion on Amazon.com. It resulted from Sarah having posted on YouTube a video of her singing "With Or Without You." XM Satellite Radio liked her take on the song so much that it began playing the audio track. This, in turn, led to a deal through which Amazon offered the song as a free download. In one month, fans downloaded more than 40,000 copies.

This past December, Sarah fulfilled her life-long ambition to play Carnegie Hall when she joined a cast of other performers there to sing the songs of Tim Janis and Andrew J. Wight. Wight, an Englishman, who was so enchanted by Sarah's voice that he commissioned her to sing demos of his songs. He then followed with the invitation to Carnegie.

"Being artist-of-the-month on GAC [Great American Country television] was a big highlight for me as well," Sarah notes. Her music video for "Jack Of Hearts" went Top 10 on GAC its first week out and earned her a spot hosting the network's "Top 20 Countdown."

Angels & Devils samples Sarah's songwriting from her earliest days in Nashville onward. The plaintive "Stop The Bleeding" is her oldest song on the album and the one that earned her the record deal with Black River. "My writing has definitely changed over the past few years," she asserts. "I call what I do now 'Sarah Darling 2.0 It has a lot more character to it. My first album was very much about a lost love. Since then, my writing has become more broad and venturous. I write about things that are relevant to everybody."

"Bad Habit," Sarah confides, is her favorite among the new crop of tunesÑnot just for its artistry but because the incomparable Vince Gill sings with her on it. "It was a dream come true for me," she says.

Clearly, every song here has the power and the hooks to become someone's favorite. "Thank You" is a sweetly sung assertion that love at its best endures and sustains. "The Boy Never Stays" recalls the sensual grip of a girl's first feelings of love. "Toxic" declares that some relationships are so inherently poisonous they should never be revived. The title song puzzles over the question, "Why do good girls go with bad boys?" "Waiting On You" laments ending a love affair and prays it will resume. "I Found In You" plumbs a longing that overlooks the obvious for relief. Every song reaches for the heart.

Sarah's co-writers on the new album are Jimmy Nichols, Adam Shoenfeld (who co-produced two of the tracks with Nichols), Odie Blackmon, Jason Deere, Josh Osborne, Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally, Joe Perault, Shaunna Bolton, Will Doughty and Jonathan Cain (of the band Journey).

"I try never to stop documenting what's going on it my life," Sarah confesses. "I really am an open book when I write." In Angels & Devils, she has penned a book that's well worth the reading.

Event Chairs

2011 International Chair

Her Excellency Meera Shankar - Ms. Meera Shankar has served as the Ambassador of India to the United States since April 2009. Previously, she held the position of Ambassador of India to Germany from December 2005 to April 2009.

She has held several important assignments during her career. She served as Director in the Prime Minister's Office from 1985 to 1991; was posted to Washington DC and served as Minister (Commerce) from 1991 to 1995. Thereafter, she headed the Indian Council of Cultural Relations in New Delhi overseeing India's cultural diplomacy. Subsequently, in the Ministry of External Affairs, she headed two important divisions dealing with the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and relations with Nepal and Bhutan. After promotion to the rank of Additional Secretary in 2002, she held the responsibility for the United Nations and International Security.

2011 Co-chairs

Doris B. Meissner Ms. Meissner serves as Senior Fellow and Director, U.S. Immigration Policy Program for the Migration Policy Institute. Previously, she held numerous positions in the U.S. Department of Justice and served as Senior Associate and Director, Immigration Policy Project for The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Ms. Meissner received a B.A. & M.A. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She has been a CARE Board member since 2003 and is currently Vice-Chair of the Board.

 

Bruce C. Tully Mr. Tully serves as Managing Director of BeeHive Ventures, LLC, a principal investment firm specializing in early stage and incubation investments. Previously, he held managing director positions at Investcorp S.A., and Bankers Trust. Mr. Tully received a B.A. from Carleton College and an M.B.A. from the Stern School of Business at New York University. He has been a CARE Board member since 1994.

 

 

 

I Am Powerful Award

CARE's I Am Powerful award, honors ''an individual whose work in the developing world has left a profound and sustaining effecting on his or her community or the communities of others.''

CARE is pleased to present Peninah Nthenya Musyimi with the 2011 I Am Powerful award.

Peninah Nthenya Musyimi, who grew up in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya and was herself a beneficiary of CARE programs, is the Founder of Safe Spaces - a girls' sport organization in the Eastlands of Nairobi. Safe Spaces offers basketball, yoga, dance and artistic expression opportunities for girls living in extreme poverty. The emphasis of this program is on making sure participants feel secure in their play and are able to move freely - a new feeling for many of the girls this program serves.

Watch and listen to Peninah tell her own story of how she used sheer determination and sports as a way out of the slums, and how she's now helping other girls do the same:

Keynote Speakers

Laura W. Bush

Mrs. Laura Bush is actively involved in issues of national and global concern, with a particular emphasis on education, health care and human rights.

As first lady, Mrs. Bush made a historic trip to Afghanistan in 2005 and witnessed firsthand the progress achieved by the Afghan people after the fall of the Taliban regime. Mrs. Bush's involvement in Afghanistan began in 2001, when she delivered the weekly presidential radio address to call attention to the plight of women and children suffering.

In 2006 Mrs. Bush hosted leaders from around the world for the White House Conference on Advancing Global Literacy, showcasing successful, culturally aware literacy programs from a diversity of countries. Her leadership of this effort continues in her role as Honorary Ambassador for the United Nations Literacy Decade.

Mrs. Bush has been a leading advocate for the cause of human rights in Burma. She drew global attention to the ruling junta's oppression with a 2006 roundtable at the UN headquarters. After Cyclone Nargis devastated Burma in May 2008, Mrs. Bush held an unprecedented press conference in the White House Press Briefing Room and urged the regime to accept international aid.

Mrs. Bush also traveled to the Thai-Burma border and met with refugees who fled the abuses of Burma's military regime. She made five trips to Africa alone in support of the President's life-saving global health initiatives, including the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). In 2006, she joined President Bush to co-host the first-ever White House Summit on Malaria, which helped raise awareness of malaria and support grassroots efforts to eradicate the disease.

Mrs. Bush is an advocate for women's health and has been an active participant in campaigns to raise awareness of breast cancer and heart disease, both in the U.S. and around the world.

Laura Bush was born in Midland, Texas, to Harold and Jenna Welch. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Southern Methodist University and a master's degree in library science from the University of Texas. She taught in public schools in Dallas, Houston and Austin and worked as a public school librarian. In 1977, she met and married George Walker Bush. They are the parents of twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna.

Melinda French Gates

Co-chair and Trustee

As co-chairs, Bill and Melinda Gates shape and approve foundation strategies, review results, advocate for the foundation's issues, and help set the overall direction of the organization.

They meet with local, national, and international grantees and partners to further the foundation's goal of improving equity in the United States and around the world. They also use many public appearances, including speeches, interviews, and articles, to focus attention on these issues.

Melinda Gates received a bachelor's degree in computer science and economics from Duke University in 1986 and a master's in business administration from Duke's Fuqua School of Business in 1987.

After joining Microsoft Corp. in 1987, she distinguished herself in business as a leader in the development of many of Microsoft's multimedia products. In 1996, Gates retired from her position as Microsoft's General Manager of Information Products.

Since then, she has directed her energy toward the nonprofit world. In addition to her role with the foundation, she is a former member of the board of trustees of Duke University and is a former co-chair of the Washington State Governor's Commission on Early Learning.

Bill and Melinda Gates live in Medina, Wash., near Seattle. They have three children.

Dr. Rajiv Shah

Dr. Rajiv Shah was sworn in as the 16th Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on December 31, 2009.

Previously, Dr. Shah served as Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics and as Chief Scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he was responsible for safe, sustainable, competitive U.S. food and fiber system, as well as strong communities, families, and youth through integrated research, analysis, and education.

Prior to joining the Obama Administration, Shah served as director of Agricultural Development in the Global Development Program at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In his seven years with the Gates Foundation, Shah served as the Foundation's director of Strategic Opportunities and as deputy director of policy and finance for the Global Health Program. In these roles, he helped develop and launch the foundation's Global Development Program, and helped create both the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, and the International Finance Facil-ity for Immunization-an effort that raised more than $5 billion for child immuniza-tion.

Prior to joining the Gates Foundation in 2001, Shah was the health care policy advisor on the Gore 2000 presidential campaign and a member of Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell's transition committee on health. He is the co-founder of Health Systems Analytics and Project IMPACT for South Asian Americans. In addition, he has served as a policy aide in the British Parliament and worked at the World Health Organization.

Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Shah earned his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and his Master of Science in health economics at the Wharton School of Business. He has attended the London School of Eco-nomics, is a graduate of the University of Michigan, and has published articles on health policy and global development. Shah previously served on the boards of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the Seattle Public Library, and the Seattle Community College District. In 2007, he was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Dr. Shah is married with two children. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Melanne Verveer

Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues, Office of the Secretary Term of Appointment: April 6, 2009, to present

President Barack Obama appointed Melanne Verveer as Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues.  The President's decision to create a position of Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues is unprecedented, and reflects the elevated importance of these issues to the President and his entire Administration.  In her capacity as director of the Department of State's new office on Global Women's Issues, Ambassador Verveer coordinates foreign policy issues and activities relating to the political, economic and social advancement of women around the world.  She mobilizes concrete support for women's rights and political and economic empowerment through initiatives and programs designed to increase women's and girls' access to education and health care, to combat violence against women and girls in all its forms, and to ensure that women's rights are fully integrated with human rights in the development of U.S. foreign policy.

Ambassador Verveer most recently served as Chair and Co-CEO of Vital Voices Global Partnership, an international nonprofit she co-founded. Vital Voices invests in emerging women leaders and works to expand women's roles in generating economic opportunity, promoting political participation, and safeguarding human rights. Prior to her work with Vital Voices, Ambassador Verveer served as Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the first lady in the Clinton Administration and was chief assistant to then-first lady Hillary Clinton in all her wide-ranging international activities to advance women's rights and further social development, democracy and peace-building initiatives. She also led the effort to establish the President's Interagency Council on Women. Prior to her time in the White House, Ambassador Verveer served in a number of leadership roles in public policy organizations and as legislative staff.

Ambassador Verveer has a B.A. and M.A. from Georgetown University. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Women's Foreign Policy Group, and numerous other organizations.

Judy Woodruff

Broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff has covered politics and other news for more than three decades at CNN, NBC and PBS. After returning to the NewsHour in 2007 as a senior correspondent, she now regularly co-anchors the newly redesigned PBS NewsHour.

For 12 years, Woodruff served as anchor and senior correspondent for CNN, anchoring the weekday political program, ''Inside Politics.'' Woodruff also played a central role in the network's political coverage and other major news stories.

At PBS from 1983 to 1993, she was the chief Washington correspondent for The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. From 1984-1990, she also anchored PBS' award-winning weekly documentary series, ''Frontline with Judy Woodruff.''

In 2007, Woodruff completed an extensive project on the views of young Americans called ''Generation Next: Speak Up. Be Heard.'' Two hour-long documentaries aired on many PBS stations in January and September, 2007, along with a series of reports on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, NPR and in USA Today.

In addition, she anchors a monthly program for Bloomberg Television, ''Conversations with Judy Woodruff.'' Through fall 2006, Judy wasa visiting professor at Duke University's Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy, teaching a weekly seminar course on media and politics. In the fall of 2005, she was a visiting fellow at Harvard University's Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, where she led a study group for students on contemporary issues in journalism.

At NBC News, Woodruff served as White House correspondent from 1977 to 1982. For one year after that she served as NBC's Today Show chief Washington correspondent. She wrote the book, This is Judy Woodruff at the White House, published in 1982 by Addison-Wesley.

Woodruff is a founding co-chair of the International Women's Media Foundation, an organization dedicated to promoting and encouraging women in communication industries worldwide. She serves on the boards of trustee of the Freedom Forum, the Newseum, and the Urban Institute. She also serves as a member of The Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics and the board of the National Museum of American History. Woodruff is a graduate of Duke University, where she is a trustee emerita.

Judy Woodruff is the recent recipient of the Cine Lifetime Achievement award, a Duke Distinguished Alumni award, and the Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award in Broadcast Journalism/Television, among others.

Yoga Instructors

Seane Corn

Founder, Social Champion

Seane Corn is an internationally celebrated yoga teacher known for her impassioned activism, unique self-expression, and inspirational style of teaching. She has been featured in numerous articles, news programs, and has appeared on the cover of over a dozen magazines. As a strong and articulate voice for social change she was named the National Yoga Ambassador for YouthAIDS, and shares their mission to raise funds, provide service, and spread national awareness about the global emergency of HIV/AIDS. Seane has spent time in India, Cambodia and Africa working with impoverished prostitutes and street children, teaching yoga, providing support and aid, and educating them about HIV/AIDS prevention. She participates on the boards of the Cambodian Children's Fund and the Engage Network. Seane also created the yoga program for ''Children of the Night'', a shelter near Los Angeles dedicated to providing education and services for adolescent prostitutes. In 2005 Seane was honored with the ''Conscious Humanitarian'' award for her outreach efforts. Her award winning DVD's ''Vinyasa Flow Yoga''are available through Gaiam International, her ''Yoga From the Heart'' DVD can be found through Yoga Journal, and most recently ''Detox Flow Yoga'' from Sounds True.

Hala Khouri, M.A.

Social Champion, Director, Urban Seva Challenge

Hala Khouri, M.A., E-RYT, has been teaching the movement arts for almost 20 years. Her roots are in Ashtanga and Iyengar yoga, dance, Somatic Psychology, and the juicy mystery of Life itself. Creative movement and honest self-exploration has always been a source of tremendous healing for Hala, and her calling to pass this on to others has been clear to her since she began teaching at the age of 16.

Hala earned her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Religion from Columbia University and has a Master's degree Counseling Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. She wrote her thesis on using yoga and other complementary disciplines such as eco-psychology and somatics for self-empowerment to inspire a global shift towards peaceful and sustainable living. She is also a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and focus on trauma's impact on the body-mind and ways to resolve it.

Hala has taught yoga and the movement arts to a wide variety of people ranging from schizophrenics and at-risk youth to mommies and rock stars. Teaching is her absolute favorite thing to do! She currently lives in Venice, California with her husband Paul and their sons Sebastian and Marley.

Suzanne Sterling

Social Champion, Director, Global Seva Challenge

Suzanne is an ecstatic vocalist and composer whose devotional music has been called a ''groove-loving and seductive journey into Spirit'' and whose music has been commissioned for film, theatre and DVD. She has enjoyed mainstage billing at festivals such as Earthdance, Burning Man, Reggae on the River and The World Festival of Sacred Music (hosted by the Dalai Lama). Suzanne has also been a ritual designer and priestess for many years and has developed curriculums, teacher trainings and apprenticeship programs combining ritual and activism for numerous communities nationwide. She offers a unique blend of yoga, music, sacred ceremony and activism to conferences and festivals worldwide — most recently as featured speaker/artist at several Yoga Journal Conferences, The Esalen Institute, The Institute of Noetic Sciences. and Earthdance where she led the worlds largest Spiral Dance for 5000 people. www.suzannesterling.com