The bridge from America to Africa
has been built, thanks in large part to the outstanding
vision of the late Reverend Leon H. Sullivan. Leading
the largest groups of African Americans to return to
Africa, Reverend Sullivan convened five triumphant
biennial African-African American Summits, now the Leon
H. Sullivan Summit. They have expanded in size and
influence from the first Summit in 1991 through the
fifth Summit in 1999 which attracted nearly 5,000
participants and over 2,000 observers, including Heads
of State and official delegations from more than 40
African nations, prominent African Americans and
governmental officials, executives and professionals
from the U.S., South America, Central America, Asia and
Europe.
Designed to enable African countries and
the African American community to focus on economic
opportunity, empowerment and outreach to enhance the
future of both, the Summit is a unique and innovative
event that represents more than 30 years of hard work by
its founder, the late Reverend Leon H. Sullivan.
Nicknamed the "Lion of Zion" when he was the
charismatic minister of the 6,000-member Zion Baptist
Church in Philadelphia, Reverend Sullivan established
Opportunities Industrialization Centers (OIC), one of
the nation's most comprehensive and successful training
programs. This community-based organization now
provides job training and education to some 70 U.S.
cities and 15 African countries, the Philippines and
Poland. OIC has trained more than 3 million for jobs
worldwide. Reverend Sullivan has been recognized as a
man of unparalleled vision and action. He was nominated
for the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded the President's Medal
of Freedom, recipient of some 50 honorary degrees and
board member of Mellon Bank. Reverend Sullivan enjoyed a
personal relationship with every president since John F.
Kennedy.
In 1971, Sullivan made history when he
was elected to the Board of Directors of General Motors.
He was the first African American ever elected to the
board of a major corporation. In 1977, while still at
General Motors, Sullivan created the landmark Sullivan
Principles, which outlined seven guidelines for
corporations and governments interested in doing
business with South Africa's racially divided system and
helped to end apartheid.
ANDREW YOUNG- Foundation Chairman: The
Honorable Andrew
Young is Chairman and Co-Founding
Partner of GoodWorks International, LLC, the company
founded in January 1997 with Mr. Carlton A. Masters to
carry out his mission of energizing the private sector
to produce substantial economic development in Africa
and the Caribbean. This long-held vision of Mr. Young
was honed during his comprehensive leadership in public
service and private industry, including business,
government, international affairs and human rights. This
extensive diverse career provides clients of GoodWorks
with an exceptionally qualified leader who possesses a
global perspective on business expansion.
- 1993 to 1997: Vice-Chairman of Law Companies
Group, Inc.
- 1995 to 1997: Director of Law Companies Group,
Inc.
- 1990 to 1993: Chairman of Law Companies
International Group, Inc.
- 1982 to 1990: Mayor of the City of Atlanta
- 1977 to 1979: United States Ambassador to the
United Nations
- 1973 to 1977: Member House of Representatives of
the U. S. Congress
In 1996, Ambassador Andrew
Young served as Co-Chair of the Atlanta Committee for
the Centennial Olympic Games. In 1995, President Clinton
appointed Ambassador Young Chairman of the Southern
Africa Enterprise Development Fund (SAEDF). This $100
million fund is established to help create small and
medium size businesses throughout Southern Africa. In
1985, Young was reelected as Mayor of Atlanta and under
his administration, over a million jobs were created
while the metropolitan region attracted more than $70
billion dollars in investments and
construction.
Ambassador Andrew Young serves as
member of the Board of Directors of numerous businesses
and organizations, including Archer Daniels Midland,
Atlanta Market Center, Cox Communications, Delta
Airlines, Film Fabricators, and Thomas Nelson
Publishing. He serves on the Advisory Board of Argus
Newspapers, Barrick Gold, The Martin Luther King Center
for Non-violent Social Change and The United Nations
Foundation.
Andrew Young is an ordained minister
and current President of the National Council of
Churches USA. He is a human right activist and former
public servant. He was top aid to Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. during the civil rights movement, was involved
in its inception and served as Vice-President of the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He serves on
the Board of the King Center for Non-Violent Social
Change.
Ambassador Young remains active in
community matters. He often sets time aside to talk to
various schools and universities on a range of issues.
He participates in events that foster sound public
policy, economic development, human rights and
education.
Ambassador Young travels extensively
to meet with officials and other individuals interested
in improving the economic situation in Africa and the
Caribbean. He has headed numerous missions to the
continent of Africa and continues to use his extensive
network to facilitate new business developments. His
interest in International Affairs is not limited to
Africa and the Caribbean. He speaks and attends
conferences dealing with global
affairs.
Ambassador Young is Distinguished
Executive Fellow and Honorary Professor of Public Policy
at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia
State University. The school enrolls a significant
number of International students from all regions of the
world.
Under Ambassador Young leadership, in
1977, the U. S. played an active role in negotiations
for the Independence of Namibia and
Zimbabwe.
Ambassador Young is the recipient of
numerous awards and honors, including The Presidential
Medal of Freedom, The French Legion d' Honneur, The
Bishop Walker Humanitarian Award and over 58 honorary
degrees from universities including Yale, Notre Dame,
Wake Forest, Emory University and the University of
Georgia.
Ambassador Young has published two
books. A Way Out of No Way (Thomas Nielson Publishing)
and An Easy Burden (Harper Collins). He is also working
on a memoir on Africa.
HOPE SULLIVAN,
President & CEO
Born
August 21, 1963, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Hope
Sullivan currently serves as President and Chief
Executive Officer of the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation
based in Washington, DC.
After graduating from
Temple University School of Law in 1989, Ms. Sullivan
was asked by her father, the late Reverend Dr. Leon H.
Sullivan, to develop a youth division of the
Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America, Inc.
(OICA). As a result, Ms. Sullivan founded Future
Leaders for the Advancement of Self-Help (FLASH), a
clearinghouse for persons 35 years of age and younger
who have a genuine interest in working in
community-based organizations. Ms. Sullivan later
served as Co-Director of Government Relations for OICA,
and was responsible for writing legislation as it
related to employment and training, as well as
cultivating and maintaining relationships with all
departments of the federal government. In the 37 years
since it’s inception, OICA has placed more than 800,000
Americans in gainful employment, earning approximately
$1.5 billion a year in annual income.
In 1991, Ms.
Sullivan began working with the International Foundation
for Education and Self-Help (IFESH), a non-profit
organization founded in 1981 by Rev. Sullivan, which is
devoted to facilitating sustainable development to the
nations of sub-Saharan Africa through economic
development and education. In addition to serving as
legal counsel for IFESH, Ms. Sullivan also played a
central role in the planning and development of the Leon
H. Sullivan Summit (formerly the African-African
American Summit), one of the many initiatives of
IFESH. The bi-annual Summit challenges leaders from
the United States, Europe and other parts of the world
to work with leaders of sub-Saharan Africa with a focus
on developing and implementing pragmatic ways of
bringing the nations of Africa forward in a variety of
areas including business and economic development;
education; health care; energy; arts and culture; and
peace; among others.
Ms.
Sullivan later came to serve as Program Executive Chair
of the Global Sullivan Principles of Social
Responsibility, another initiative of IFESH established
in 1999. This international code of conduct coordinates
the efforts of corporations and small businesses;
non-profit organizations, business associations; city
and state governments; and colleges, universities and
higher education associations worldwide.
In
May of 2002, Ms. Sullivan was appointed as President and
Chief Executive Officer of the newly formed Leon H.
Sullivan Foundation. The Sullivan Foundation was
established to coordinate development and government
advocacy activities of OICA, the Opportunities
Industrialization Centers International and IFESH.
Furthermore, the Sullivan Foundation now has direct
responsibility for the management and development of the
Leon H. Sullivan Summit. The next Summit is being held
in Durban, South Africa on May 23-27, 2005. This Summit
is expected to attract more several thousand delegates
from all over the world.
In
addition to her efforts at the Foundation, Ms. Sullivan
serves on the Board of Directors of the Southern Africa
Enterprise Development Fund. She is the proud mother of
two daughters, Chelsea-Grace and Saige Noel.
Ms. Sullivan is well positioned to continue and expand
the legacy of her father into this new millennium. |
