Business Wire (press release), CA
May 12 2008
Noubar Afeyan Receives 2008 Ellis Island Medal of Honor
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Noubar B. Afeyan, Ph.D., managing
partner and CEO of Flagship Ventures, was among this year’s recipients
of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor given by the National Ethnic
Coalition (NECO) on May 10th in New York City. The Ellis Island Medal
of Honor is awarded to outstanding Americans who have distinguished
themselves as citizens of the United States and have enabled their
ancestry groups to maintain their identities while becoming integral
parts of American life.
In choosing Dr. Afeyan as a Medal of Honor recipient, NECO recognized
his achievements not only as a successful technologist and
entrepreneur, but also as a humanitarian who has had a positive impact
on his local community and in his ethnic home country of Armenia. He
is a co-founder of Armenia 2020, an international economic development
project focusing on the former Soviet Republic of Armenia. He was
recently appointed to the board of the National Competitiveness
Council of Armenia, a quasi-governmental foundation based in
Armenia. In addition, Afeyan is a co-founder of YerazArt, a foundation
sponsoring young musicians from Armenia and providing them with
opportunities to compete, study and perform throughout the world. In
the US, Afeyan serves on the Board of trustees of the Armenian
Assembly, the largest Washington-based nationwide organization
promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issues. Afeyan is also a member of the Boston University Board of
Overseers and a member of several advisory boards including the
Whitehead Institute at MIT, the Harvard-MIT Division of Health
Sciences and Technology (HST) and the Skolkovo School of Management in
Moscow.
In addition to Dr. Afeyan, this year’s medal of honor recipients
include former US Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell; Gen. Duncan
J. McNabb – US Air Force Vice Chief of Staff; Human Rights Activist
and Genocide Survivor Advocate Jacqueline Murekatete; renowned
cardiologist Valentin Fuster of Mount Sinai Medical Heart; Actor and
Founder of `Operation Iraqi Children’ Gary Sinise; and WWII Veteran,
Olympian & Motivational Speaker Louis Zamperini. They received their
awards at the annual ceremony filled with patriotic pageantry at Ellis
Island followed by a gala reception in Ellis Island’s Great Hall.
`Noubar Afeyan and the other 2008 Medal of Honor recipients are known
for both their professional successes and their acts of philanthropy –
which have helped those in need here in America and abroad. They join
a prestigious list of Americans who have been honored for fostering
goodwill and making their communities and the world a better place,’
explains National Ethnic Coalition Executive Director Rosemarie
Taglione.
`Dr. Afeyan exemplifies the American Dream. I congratulate him and all
Medal recipients and thank them for their continued efforts that touch
the lives of so many. You make America proud,’ Nasser J. Kazeminy,
NECO Co-Chairman, added.
Established in 1986 by NECO, the Ellis Island Medals of Honor pay
tribute to the ancestry groups that comprise America’s unique cultural
mosaic. To date, more than 1,000 American citizens, including former
Presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter,
Gerald Ford, and Richard Nixon; Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme
Court William Rehnquist; Muhammad Ali; Rosa Parks; Elie Wiesel; Frank
Sinatra; Bob Hope; Her Excellency Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa,
President of the 61st Session of the UN General Assembly; and Quincy
Jones, have received medals.
Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipients are selected each year through
a national nomination process. Screening committees from NECO’s member
organizations select the final nominees, who are then considered by
the Board of Directors. Both the U.S. Senate and House of
Representatives have officially passed resolutions recognizing the
Ellis Island Medals of Honor, which rank among this country’s most
prestigious awards. Each year, Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipients
are listed in the Congressional Record, honoring those who have made
enduring contributions to our nation and to the world. For a full list
of the 2008 Ellis Island Medal of Honor Awardees, go to
About NECO
NECO’s mission is to create the world of the future today, by honoring
our diverse past, advocating for positive change in the present, and
building strong leaders for the future. The foundation partners with a
wide variety of organizations, both national and international. It
supports diverse ethnic cultural events, sponsors life-saving surgery
for children, assists emergency relief efforts worldwide, and produces
educational materials and programs that mentor youth to become the
leaders of tomorrow.
About Flagship Ventures
Flagship Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on creating,
financing and building innovative companies. Founded in 1999, Flagship
manages over $600 million in early-stage funds and operates from its
offices at Kendall Square in Cambridge, MA. With an active portfolio
of over 40 companies, the firm’s strategy is to balance its
investments across three principal business sectors: Therapeutics,
Life Science Tools & Diagnostics, and BioEnergy/Cleantech. During the
past two decades Flagship’s principals have been involved as founders
or investors in many highly successful ventures including: Adnexus
Therapeutics, Alere Medical, Aspect Medical, Celera Genomics,
ChemGenics Pharmaceuticals, Color Kinetics, Cytyc, Helicos
Biosciences, Hypnion, IDEXX, Morphotek, PerSeptive Biosystems and
TripAdvisor. For more information please visit
Contacts
For Flagship Ventures
Bill Koteff, 617-218-1613
VP Communications
bkoteff@flagshipventures.com
or
For NECO
Miller Ryan Media Relations
Lonni Miller, 973-686-3660
lonnimiller@aol.com
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress