FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Vanessa Parra, 202-828-0110 x225
vanessa@refugeesinternational.org
Refugees International Welcomes New Board Members
Washington, DC – Refugees International announced today the addition of two members to its Board of Directors. Actor Matt Dillon and humanitarian Lady Malloch-Brown were voted in early today to the Board of Directors chaired by Farooq Kathwari, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive officer of Ethan Allen Interiors Inc.
“Refugees International will certainly benefit from the experience and dedication of Lady Malloch-Brown and Matt Dillon,” said Ken Bacon, president of Refugees International. “They are both committed to life-saving advocacy for refugees and displaced people.”
In addition, Refugees International announced the promotion of Michael McIntyre to Vice-President of Operations. Mr. McIntyre joined Refugees International in June 2005 as Director of Operations. An experienced professional who has spent 16 years directing operations in Caucasus, Balkans, Haiti and southeast Asia, he will continue to develop systems and structures to support and augment RI’s advocacy.
A short biography of each new board member follows:
Matt Dillon
Matt Dillon has followed Refugees International’s work for a decade, while pursuing an acting career that has won him nominations for an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, Critics Choice Award, BAFTA Award and won the Independent Spirit Award for his performance in the 2006 Academy’s Best Picture “Crash.” His critically acclaimed portrayal as a racist cop also earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Critics Choice Award for Best Ensemble.
Dillon learned about Refugees International in 1998, when he was writing “City of Ghosts,” the feature film with which he made his feature film directorial debut. He top lined the cast which included Gérard Depardieu, Stellan Skarsgård, and James Caan. While working on the film, he met the late Yvette Pierpaoli, an advocate who died on an RI mission in 1999. Yvette introduced Dillon to refugee protection, showing him how one person could make a difference. He dedicated the film to Yvette.
Dillon’s successful film career has spanned over three decades and included working with such notable directors as Francis Ford Coppola in “The Outsiders” and “Rumble Fish,” Gus Van Sant in “Drugstore Cowboy” and “To Die For,” Garry Marshall in “Flamingo Kid,” Tim Hunter in “The Saint of Fort Washington” and Cameron Crowe in “Singles.” He will next be seen in the comedy “Old Dogs” opposite John Travolta and Robin Williams, director Rod Lurie’s political drama “Nothing but the Truth” with Kate Beckinsale and Alan Alda. He recently wrapped production on Sony Screen Gems “Armored” with Jean Reno and Laurence Fishburne. Dillon currently resides in New York.
Lady Malloch-Brown
Trish Malloch Brown has been an active Refugees International supporter since meeting Lionel Rosenblatt, RI’s president emeritus, while working at Sawyer Miller in 1986. She was a member of the RI board from 1994-2005, and served as Vice-Chair from 1999-2005. In addition to completing several missions for RI, she is a co-founder of the Washington Circle, an outreach group for women in Washington who are interested in humanitarian affairs, which has expanded to New York City, Westchester County and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Trish began her career at The Sawyer Miller Group, an International Political Consulting firm, and after completing her Masters Degree in International Affairs at Columbia University she served as a Program Director at the Open Society Institute focusing on technology exchanges, media and educational programs in Eastern Europe. She is also the co-chair of Cashmere for Kashmir, founded after the October 2006 earthquake to raise awareness and funds from the local community of Bedford, NY for projects in the earthquake zone. The organization has funded three projects and is currently working on two others. Trish has served on many boards and has dedicated herself to humanitarian projects internationally and in her own community. She and her husband live in London with their 4 children.
Refugees International’s Board of Directors
Board Officers
Farooq Kathwari, Chair President and CEO, Ethan Allen, Inc.
Eileen Shields-West, Vice Chair Washington, DC
Jan Weil, Secretary New York, New York
*Michael Berkman, Treasurer Celerity IT, LLC
Board Members
Ambassador Elizabeth F. Bagley
Jane Best, Refugees International Japan
Frank Caufield, Caufield & Byers
Steven E. Carr, Fuller & Carr Attorneys
Ambassador John C. Danforth
Ralph P. Davidson, Davidson and Associates
Peter Edwards, Acorn Media
Charlene Engelhard, Documentary Filmmaker
Elizabeth Galvin
Mary Ellen Glynn, Communications Director for the Governor of Oregon
*Carol Ann Haake
Roya Hakakian, Author and Filmmaker
Michael W. Hawkins, Dinsmore & Shohl LLP
Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, Perseus LLC
W. Braun Jones, Jr., Prime Assets LLC
*Ambassador Betty King
*Dale Mathias
Tatiana Maxwell
H.M. Queen Noor of Jordan
*Sally Paridis
Peta Roubin
Sam Waterston, Actor
*Natacha Weiss
Ambassador Frank Wisner, American International Group
*Re-elected to the board for a three year term
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Refugees International is a 29-year old Washington, D.C. based organization that advocates for lifesaving assistance and protection for displaced people and promotes solutions to displacement crises. For more information go to
www.refugeesinternational.org .