Board of Directors

Dr. Elahé Mir-Djalali Omidyar is an unwavering advocate for the preservation and advancement of Persian culture. As an extension of this work, she also champions efforts to enhance inter-cultural communication, dedicating much of her professional career to establishing and supporting programs that improve understanding across geographies and ethnicities. Dr. Mir-Djalali Omidyar is also an accomplished author who has published works – and is fluent in – French, English, and Persian.

A testament to what is probably best described as a personal calling, Dr. Mir-Djalali Omidyar has volunteered her time and energy for over 15 years, translating Sufi texts, work of Masters into French and English. Dr. Mir-Djalali Omidyar remains steadfast in her efforts today to ensure that fundamental human values and concepts, terminology, and knowledge found in Persian poetry and prose are passed on to future generations and other cultures.

Dr. Mir-Djalali Omidyar earned her Ph.D. with Distinction in linguistics from Sorbonne in Paris, France, and holds Master’s degrees from both Sorbonne and Georgetown University. She has authored and co-authored numerous scholarly works in several peer-review journals and books.

While a Visiting Scholar at the University of California at Berkeley, Dr. Mir-Djalali Omidyar taught linguistics courses in a teacher-training program. During her tenure, she was awarded a U.S. Department of Education grant that enabled her to single-handedly develop comprehensive teaching materials for Persian language and culture, available on ERIC. Prior to founding Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute, she also held various positions at academic and professional institutions including the University of Paris, Georgetown University, George Washington University, and the Institute of Comparative Social and Cultural Studies.

Since founding Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute in 2000, Dr. Mir-Djalali Omidyar has dedicated herself to building it into a premier institution for the preservation, transmission, and instruction of Persian culture. Related, Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute has gained recognition for its articulate definition of “culture” as found on the organization’s website at www.roshan-institute.org. Under her leadership, Roshan Institute has established and/or strengthened Persian studies programs at several prestigious universities including Georgetown University, Harvard University, UCLA, UC Irvine, CSU Fresno, the University of Maryland, the University of Washington, and the University of Arizona; supported programs relating to Persian arts and culture at the Smithsonian, the East West Center, Iranian Association of Boston, ISIS, and has otherwise contributed to inter-cultural communication focused on Persian culture and its influence on other territories (including those commonly referred to as “Le Monde Iranien”).

Due to the success of the initial programs, Dr. Mir-Djalali has expanded the Institute’s reach to include Europe and other geographies, contributing to Persian arts and culture programs at a variety of institutions, conferences, fellows programs, and schools, including Oxford, Cambridge, University of Toronto, Ecole des Hautes Etudes, Le Louvre and Hermitage Museums.

Dr. Mir-Djalali Omidyar travels extensively when not at home in Honolulu, Hawaii, where she is a strong supporter of programs related to Persian culture at the East West Center, the University of Hawaii, as well as local philanthropies.

Curriculum Vitae

James Alatis is currently Dean Emeritus of the School of Languages and Linguistics, Distinguished Professor of Linguistics and Modern Greek; and Senior Advisor to the Dean of Georgetown College for International Language Programs and Research. In addition to serving as the President of the TESOL International Research Foundation (TIRF) Board, Dr. Alatis serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Joint National Committee for Languages and National Council for Languages and International Studies.

Pierre Omidyar is the founder of eBay, which today enables more than 85 million buyers and sellers worldwide to connect and prosper. Starting from the premise that people are basically good, Pierre created a platform that gave people equal access to information, opportunity, and tools to pursue their goals. In 2004, Pierre and his wife Pam founded Omidyar Network to invest in nonprofit and for-profit efforts that enable people around the world to improve their lives and make powerful contributions to their communities. Omidyar Network has funded organizations in areas such as microfinance, social media, and government transparency. As an extension of Omidyar Network's work in microfinance, Pierre and Pam gave $100 million to Tufts University to create the Omidyar-Tufts Microfinance Fund, which aims to accelerate the growth of the microfinance industry. Today, Pierre is a member of American Academy of Arts & Sciences. He serves as a Trustee of Tufts University, Punahou School, and Santa Fe Institute, and as the Chairman of eBay.

http://www.omidyar.com/team/pierre-omidyar
http://news.ebay.com/directors.cfm

Jim Bickerton has been practicing law in Hawaii for more than 25 years and is a founding partner of the firm. Jim is widely regarded as one of the best trial attorneys in Honolulu and has been continuously listed as one of the "Best Lawyers in America" and "Hawaii's A+ Attorneys" since 1993. In addition to the hundreds of individual clients Jim has successfully represented over the years, his client list has included such notables as Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi, The New Yorker magazine, the NCAA, USA Today, developer Bruce Stark, hotelier Andre Tatibouet, the Hawaii State Campaign Spending Commission, Tokyu Corporation, the ownership of The Kahala Mandarin Oriental Resort, Simon & Schuster, and several past presidents of the Hawaii State Bar Association.

Jim currently represents a wide range of both plaintiff and defendant clients in commercial and real estate litigation, consumer class actions, professional liability of attorneys, accountants, and real estate brokers, medical malpractice, serious personal injury and wrongful death, and First Amendment and defamation issues. In addition to his defense work on some of the most complicated civil litigation cases, Jim has obtained numerous recoveries in excess of $1 Million by jury verdict, by arbitration award, and by settlement and, in the past three years alone, has recovered well over $10 million for his clients.

In addition to his trial practice, Jim is a past Director of the Hawaii State Bar Association, past Governor of the Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii, a member of the Hawaii Chief Justice's Committee on the Adoption of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, and most recently chaired the Hawaii State Bar Association's Special Committee on Appellate Issues. Jim and founding member William Saunders, Jr. are also well-known in the community for their extensive pro bono representation on behalf of many of the most significant environmental, free speech, and community causes over the past two decades, including Save Sunset Beach, Kaimana Beach Coalition, Save the Star-Bulletin, Honolulu Weekly, and others.

Jim was born in England and lived in Africa, the Caribbean, South America, and Europe before moving to Hawaii in 1972. He graduated from Roosevelt High School in Honolulu and the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1978, where he received a bachelor's degree in Psychology with distinction. Jim received his law degree from the U.C.L.A. School of Law in 1981. When he is not working, Jim enjoys spending time with his family and still enjoys the challenge of big wave surfing and tow-surfing on Oahu's North Shore.

DORN C. McGRATH, JR., FAICP, is Professor Emeritus of Urban and Regional Planning and Geography. He retired from the George Washington University in 2003 after 33 years on the faculty, where he was founder of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Director of the Institute for Urban Development Research, Chairman of the Department of Geography and Regional Science, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, and was one of the founders of the University's Graduate Program in Historic Preservation.  Prof. McGrath also served as member of the adjunct faculty at the Johns Hopkins University , School for Advanced International Studies.  From 1987-96 he served as Chairman of the Committee of 100 on the Federal City.

Currently he serves as an adjunct faculty member of Goucher College.