December 2, 2021
at 9a.m.PST
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Roots of Peace Global Citizen Awards
Virtual Ceremony
We proudly present our Roots of Peace Global Citizen Award to four deserving recipients who have greatly contributed to our efforts to heal the wounds of war and firmly plant sustainable peace through agriculture.
M. Ashraf Haidari
Ambassador of Afghanistan to Sri Lanka
M. Ashraf Haidari is the Ambassador of Afghanistan to Sri Lanka, and until recently served as the Director-General of the South Asia Cooperative Environment Program (SACEP). He was the Director-General of Policy and Strategy of the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan from 2015-2018. Prior to this, he served as Afghanistan’s Deputy Chief of Mission (Minister Counselor) to India for three years. And before this, he was Afghanistan’s Deputy Assistant National Security Advisor for Policy and Oversight at the Office of the President. From 2004-2011, Ambassador Haidari served at the Embassy of Afghanistan in the United States in various capacities including: Chargé d’Affaires, Deputy Chief of Mission, Political Counselor, and Acting Defense Attaché. Ambassador Haidari serves on the board of the Louis and Nancy Hatch Dupree Foundation in New York. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Biruni Institute in Kabul, and previously served on the board of the Roots of Peace in California.
Amb. Kenneth Quinn
President Emeritus, The World Food Prize
Dr. Kenneth M. Quinn, former U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, assumed the leadership of the World Food Prize Foundation on January 1, 2000, following a 32 year career as a Foreign Service Officer in the U.S. State Department. Amb. Quinn retired from the Foundation on January 3, 2020. Inspired by the vision of Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, the founder of the World Food Prize, and with the theme of "Peace Through Agriculture," Ambassador Quinn, over his two decade long leadership of the Foundation, endeavored to build this annual $250,000 award into the "Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture.” Held each October in Des Moines, the World Food Prize Laureate Award Ceremony, “Borlaug Dialogue” International Symposium and Global Youth Institute grew dramatically in size and stature under his direction. Speakers at events he hosted included: President Xi Jinping, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Prime Minister Tony Blair, Princess Haya bint Al-Hussein and Bill Gates.
Tracey Watkowski Silva
VP News, KGO-TV / ABC7 San Francisco
Tracey Watkowski Silva is Vice President of News at KGO-TV ABC7. Tracey leads the ABC7 news team in daily and long-term news coverage of local, national and international events that impact the Bay Area. Prior to joining ABC7 as Vice-President of News, Tracey served as News Director at KFSN, the ABC-owned television station in Fresno, California (DMA 54). From 2006 through 2011, Tracey was awarded five NorCal NATAS Emmy awards for Outstanding Newscast. Tracey started her career at CNN-Headline News in Atlanta, Georgia as a Video Journalist and Associate Producer. Tracey earned a bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. She served for several years on the Board of Directors for the Ronald McDonald House of San Francisco and continues to serve on the RMH Bay Area Charities Advisory Board. Since 2017, Tracey has been a mentor to a Cal-State East Bay student through the Oakland Promise. Tracey lives in Oakland with her husband and son.
Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE
Founder Jane Goodall Insitute & UN Messenger of Peace
Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace, is a world-renowned ethologist and activist inspiring greater understanding and action on behalf of the natural world. Through her tireless advocacy to create a better future for people, other animals, and the planet we share, Dr. Goodall inspires millions of people with her message of hope through action. She is best known for groundbreaking studies of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania, transformative research continued by the Jane Goodall institute which is now the longest-running wild chimpanzee study in the world.
Host, Heidi Kühn
Founder and CEO, Roots of Peace
Mistress of Ceremonies, Cheryl Jennings
Emmy Award-Winning Journalist
