SAN DIEGO (Press Release) – In celebration of Jewish Heritage Month (April/May) and Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (May), Union Bank, N.A., and KPBS have named four exceptional San Diegans as 2010 Local Heroes for their outstanding community service. This year’s Jewish Heritage honorees are Ellen Beck and Marjory Kaplan, and the Asian Pacific American honorees are Divya Kakaiya, Ph.D., and Lee Ann Kim.
As part of its ongoing commitment to the communities it serves and in a celebration of cultural diversity, Union Bank has partnered with KPBS for a year-long program designed to celebrate local heroes who are making a difference to enrich the lives of others. The 2010 expanded Cultural Diversity Partnership recognizes and pays tribute to a total of 12 San Diegans throughout the year — local community heroes — who are making a difference by improving their workplace, profession, neighborhood, community, region and the world. The year-long celebration of diversity will culminate on November 16, 2010, in San Diego where recipients will be formally recognized as part of the 13th Annual Local Heroes Awards, which Union Bank sponsors.
The program kicked off with Black History Month in February and Women’s History Month in March, and will continue with Hispanic Heritage Month (September/October) and American Indian Heritage Month (November).
For each heritage month, KPBS seeks nominations of local community members in the arts, business, community activism, education and/or social services. You may visit www.kpbs.org/heroes to submit a nomination for Hispanic Heritage Month and American Indian Heritage Month.
“Our Union Bank Local Heroes program began in San Diego in 1998, and we are proud of this expanded partnership with KPBS,” said George Ramirez, executive vice president and head of Priority Banking at Union Bank. “These outstanding individuals have contributed so much and exemplify our core values of diversity and community involvement, and we are delighted to work with KPBS as we recognize the honorees and highlight their achievements.”
“We are proud to team with Union Bank and announce additional local heroes as part of 2010 Cultural Diversity Partnership,” said Tom Karlo, general manager, KPBS. “These heroes embody a strong, ongoing commitment to community service, and we are pleased to show their work to the world through our video profiles airing on KPBS throughout May and June.”
The 2010 Honorees for Jewish Heritage Month are:
Marjory Kaplan: Marjory Kaplan is president and chief executive officer of the Jewish Community Foundation (JCF) and holder of the Miriam and Jerome Katzin Presidential Chair. For each of the last five years, JCF has been a leading grant provider in the region. In her 16 years at JCF, Ms. Kaplan has built JCF’s donor base exponentially and developed highly innovative programs, such as the Endowment Leadership Institute (ELI) and the Youth Philanthropy Program. A graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Ms. Kaplan’s entrepreneurial leadership and work in developing best practices in philanthropy have significantly strengthened the funder and nonprofit infrastructure of the community.
Ellen Beck, M.D.: Ellen Beck, M.D., is founder of the UCSD Student-Run Free Clinic Project (SRFCP), which serves more than 2,000 low-income patients each year. The SRFCP immerses 250 medical students into a community-centered healthcare model offering an equivalent of $1.6 million in service. Dr. Beck developed a national in-depth training program for faculty focused on health needs of the underserved and created the first fellowship in underserved healthcare. She is passionate about transforming public school education and has co-founded a comprehensive wellness program at Golden Avenue Elementary School. Dr. Beck is currently working to develop legislation that increases physician volunteerism in California.
The 2010 honorees for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month are:
Divya Kakaiya, Ph.D., CEDS: One of San Diego County’s first Indian psychologists, Dr. Divya Kakaiya has been treating eating disorders since 1985, specializing in cultural issues within eating disorders. Founder of the Healthy Within Foundation, which trains volunteers to conduct eating disorder prevention outreach, Dr. Kakaiya gives more than 50 free presentations each year about preventing and eradicating eating disorders and obesity in girls. She also co-founded the South Asian Women’s Initiative (SAWI), which has evolved into a vibrant organization called SDNari. Dr. Kakaiya serves on the boards of the Center for Creative Leadership’s Young Women’s Leadership Program and on the honorary editorial board for the Eating Disorder Journal of Treatment and Prevention.
Lee Ann Kim: Lee Ann Kim is founder of the San Diego Asian Film Foundation, which serves more than 100,000 audiences and over 1,000 individual artists through its annual film festival and year-round programs. Through her leadership, the foundation has become one of the largest media arts organizations in North America focusing on Asian Pacific Islander programming. The organization also offers programs to educate community groups about the latest media and computer technology. Ms. Kim serves on the San Diego County Cable Commission as well as on the boards of the Orchestra Nova and the Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Throughout the respective commemorative heritage months, KPBS will air video profiles of the winners, highlighting how they made a difference in their community. The spots can also be viewed on the Web at www.kpbs.org/heroes. For more information on the Local Heroes Awards, please also visit unionbank.com/heroes.
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Preceding provided by Union Bank and KPBS