News and Events

News & Events

Kimberly Green's Honorary Doctorate Degree Speech

Speech given by Green Family Foundation President Kimberly Green During the Commencement Ceremony Held on December 12, 2011

It is with great pleasure and honor that I thank you for this opportunity.

I want to thank all the teachers and administrators, family and friends of the graduates and all the staff members at FIU that help to keep this campus looking so beautiful and inviting, considering it is expanding every day.

Getting this honorary degree in public service, at an institution such as FIU really speaks volumes more for the mission and integrity of the university than it does for me. It shows that this university cares not only about recognizing those who help the university in fund raising efforts, but those who truly put their words into action. For close to 20 years I have working for social justice for the people of Miami, and Haiti, and yes, I have been fortunate enough to be able to write checks, but I have also been fortunate enough to have to courage to work hands on face to face, with the people whose lives we aim to elevate.

Standing on this stage, I think is probably the last place my parents ever expected to see me. Traipsing across the Himalayas to pray with lama’s in Tibet, sitting in a sweat lodge praying with the Oglala Sioux, running after the grateful dead in a van full of hippies, or traveling back and for the to Haiti for 12 years, these things, they are already used to…….butthis??? But each of those experiences, plus many manyothers, have lead me down my own path to where I stand today. I have had the privilege to be able to travel the world searching for my own truth, while also receiving and education.

But Privilege is a right or a benefit enjoyed beyond the advantages of most, and with privilege comes responsibility. All of you now are privileged, through your hard work and determination, and now you have a great responsibility. You are now responsible to use this privilege to the advantage of others. You must go out and build a building that will last longer than all of us here today, teach a new generation of leaders, create a new art movement, save a life, write a novel, or fight for the rights of the voiceless.

Each soul here with make a difference somehow, each voice here will be heard, each hand here will take another’s in kindness and certainty, and each one of you here will make a huge difference in the world, your neighborhood and your families.

And if you think it is impossible for one small individual to be immensely effective, you have obviously never spent a night alone trying to fall asleep in a room with a mosquito.

Update: December 2011

GFF President Receives Florida International University Honorary Doctorate Degree in Public Service

Green Family Foundation President Kimberly Green was honored with an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Public Service from the College of Arts and Sciences, School of International and Public Affairs at Florida International University during a Commencement Ceremony on Monday, December 12, 2011.

Ms. Green's family, friends and colleagues attended the event. Please join us in congratulating President Green on this tremendous accomplishment.

Click here to read the speech President Green gave at the commencement.

TO COME: HAITI KINGDOM EXHIBIT

Update: July 2011

GFF partners with MLK (Moving the Lives of Kids) Community Mural Project on the Little Haiti Community Mural Project

The Green Family Foundation is proud to partner with MLK (Moving the Lives of Kids) on the Little Haiti Community Mural Project. The project is a long-term outdoor mural project that will include five walls within the Little Haiti Soccer Park. The mural area is 10,000 sq.ft. making it the largest art project in the City of Miami.

The Green Family Foundation supports the project thanks to its collaborative effort that is unique both in its inclusion of different organizations and in its approach to educating youth in a culturally sensitive and hands-on manner.

To support the initiative, MLK held the "See the Sound: MLK Community Mural Project Exhibit" at the Little Haiti Cultural Center. Artists Included: MLK Co-fouder Kyle Holbrook, Joy Taylor, Alex Douyon, Francesco Lo Castro, C. Purdy. Wolfgang, Luzalma Gonzale, Greg Pitts, Alex Dumas, Yasser Faraco, David Josef Tamargo, Morgan Defranco, Bayunga Kialeuka, Valentina Simon, Jennifer Vivian Duarte, Lorial Annie Wilson, Serge, Lordgyn Gino Belizaire, and Nice.

For more information about MLK and their community mural projects, visit their website.

For more about the Little Haiti Cultural Center, check out their Facebook page.

Update: November 2011

GFF Sponsored "An Evening with Dr. Paul Farmer" at the 2011 Miami Book Fair International

The Green Family Foundation had the honor of cosponsoring the "Evening with Dr. Paul Farmer" event during the 28th annual Miami Book Fair International on November 14.

Dr. Paul Farmer is a Harvard professor who co-founded of Partners in Health, serves as U.N. Special Envoy to Haiti, and is author of numerous books, including "Haiti After the Earthquake," the book featured during the Evening with Dr. Paul Farmer event.

Dr. Farmer's presentation, held at Miami Dade College's Chapman Conference Center, featured excerpts from "Haiti After the Earthquake," an introduction by Farmer, and a question-and-answer session.

In other Miami Dade College news, the Green Family Foundation recently became a member of the the college's newly created Patrons Circle of The Florida Center for Literary Arts. For more info on the Florida Center for Literary Arts' programs, click here.

Kimberly Green was Keynote Speaker FIU Haitian Students Organization Panel Discussion
Panel DiscussionHaiti: Kenbe La: Where are we now….Two years later
http://www2.fiu.edu/~hsoup/index.html

KG was keynote speaker
Photos in
*speech, notes?

Update: September 2011

GFF President Kimberly Green Spoke at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in New York

For the past two years, GFF President Kimberly Green has served as cultural rapporteur of the Haiti Action Network segment of the Clinton Global Initiative. The Haiti Action Network holds regular coordination meetings in either New York or Port-au-Prince every month. Many new projects have been developed through the Action Network and are in various phases of implementation. Focus areas include education, water & shelter, health, environment, culture, energy and business development. Kimberly Green speaking at 2011 CGI annual meeting

President Green attended and spoke at the 2011 CGI Annual Meeting Haiti Action Network panel in New York in September 2011. Other members of the panel included President Clinton, Michel Martelly, President of Haiti; Ella Goodwin, AmeriCares; Brad Strickland, American Institutes for Research, Dominic MacSorley, Concern Worldwide; Dan Schnitzer, Earthspark International; and Michael Carey, Soul of Haiti Denis O'Brien (Chairman of Digicel and Haiti Action Network facilitator) moderated the discussion.

"Culture is more than just the art reflective of the creative and long struggling souls of Haiti’s artists, to be sold in galleries across the world," said Green during her speech. "It is more than jewelry and ironwork and the unique sequined voodoo flags that tell the stories of the tortured and passionate union of the voodoo gods and their catholic sainted siblings."

"Culture exists in the rich history behind why these painting and objects of art are created; it lies in understanding why the Haitian communities stand up in the face of what some believe to be aid, or food or shelter," she continued. "Culture competency allows everyone to do their job better. From land distribution and food security, to preventing what is now being called gender-based violence, Haiti’s history is unique and specific to her people..."

Read President Green's complete speech here.