Board of Directors
+ Elahé Mir-Djalali Omidyar, Ph.D., President & CEO
The Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute was founded in 2000 by Elahé Mir-Djalali Omidyar.
Dr. Mir-Djalali holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the Sorbonne as well as two Master's degrees, one from the Sorbonne and the other from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Dr. Mir-Djalali's post-doctoral work has been in cross-cultural research and in the fields of language teaching methodology and Persian Studies. She taught Linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley between 1992 and 2000 and has extensive experience as an educator, research director and cross-cultural expert.
Curriculum Vitae
James E. Alatis, Ph.D., Director & Vice President
+ Pierre Omidyar, Director
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
Jan Schneider, Esq., Director
+ Dorn C. McGrath, Jr. Ph.D., Director
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.
+ James J. Bickerton, Esq., Director
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.
Bruce Hale is a Vice President and Client Manager for SunTrust Bank’s Endowment and Foundation Services area. He holds a B.S. in International Business and a Master’s Degree in Finance, both from Auburn University.
Bruce serves as the Secretary for RCHI and in that role handles the general administrative tasks for the organization including, but not limited to, communicating and recording the directives and activities by and between the Institute and its Board.
