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Members of US President’s The White House to be on deck with Architects

By A. Lira V. Luis posted 05-31-2014 03:01 PM

  

For immediate release:


Chicago, IL - May 31, 2014
- Billy Dec, member of The White House's President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) and also an Emmy Award-winning TV Personality, and USA Ambassador (ret) John Maisto, are speakers at EV321 Global Inclusion Reception, an official event in the American Institute of Architects (AIA) National Convention.


Billy Dec is an Emmy Award Winning TV/Radio Contributor, Attorney at Law and CEO/Founder of Rockit Ranch Productions, a premier hospitality and entertainment development company that owns award-winning Restaurants, Bars & Nightclubs like Sunda, Rockit & The Underground. Dec’s educational background includes the Harvard Business School & Chicago-Kent College of Law, where he recently received the Alumni Professional Achievement Award.  Other accolades include the “Excellence in Business Award” from the State of Illinois, and the State’s Attorney’s Asian Pacific American Community Leadership Award. Dec is also actively involved in various committees and boards for non-profit organizations, including serving as the former Director of Cultural Relations for the Olympic Committee.


(image courtesy Rockit Ranch Productions)



Ambassador (ret) John Maisto is a thirty-three year former career member of the U.S. Foreign Service. He was Ambassador  to Venezuela (1997-2000), Nicaragua (1993-1996), and the Organization of American States (2003-2006).  He was Senior Director for  the Western Hemisphere at the National Security Council of The White House and, concurrently, Special Assistant to the President , 2001 to 2003.  He was Foreign Policy Adviser at the U.S. Southern Command, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central America,  and he served in Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Panama, and the Philippines. He is currently President of the U.S.-Philippines Society, a Washington-based, independent,  non-government organization which focuses on raising the profile of today's Philippines in the U.S. and highlights the cultural, economic, security, and people-to-people aspects of the modern, vibrant U.S.-Philippine bilateral relationship.



(image from the US Department of State Foreign Press Centers website)


"It would be an honor to have them at our pioneering event. They received and accepted my invitation with generosity and sincerity. Both bring unique perspectives on diversity," says Lira Luis, a board member from the AIA Diversity Council. The AIA's first-ever Global Inclusion Reception is a celebration that seeks to showcase diversity in architecture in all of its forms—people, culture, practice, and more. Attendees will be able to mix, mingle, and network during a fun evening of music, food, and drinks, including silent auction/raffles to benefit the rebuilding of Tacloban, Philippines through the Leapfrog Project. It will be on June 27th Friday at 7pm at the Hafele Chicago showroom (154 West Hubbard Street, Chicago, IL 60654). While the event is sold out at pre-registration, we have opened up new slots. Hurry and be part of our crowd! Send your RSVPs to: diversityandinclusion@aia.org


EV321 Global Inclusion Reception is sponsored by Hafele, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Diversity Council, and National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA). It is also supported by Graphisoft, NRI, Kingspan Insulated Panels, Gage Engineering, Thos. Moser, OREM Foundation and ALLL. The event is collectively organized by AIA Diversity Council Board Member Lira Luis AIA RIBA NCARB CeM LEED AP BD+C, Multicultural Taskforce member Guido C. Seoanes Perla Assoc AIA, NOMA President Kathy Dixon AIA NOMA LEED AP NCARB, the AIA Diversity and Inclusion Staff, and valuable volunteers like Trisha Diamond, Troy Larsen, Enrique Otarola, Robert Ziemlak, Lester Scaife, Natividad Soto AIA LEED AP BD+C, Tiffany Millner AIA NOMA, and Greg Burke AIA NCARB.

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