We are extraordinarily lucky to present to you Ambassador Sichan Siv at our meeting on May 21, 2015. Following is his abbreviated biography.
Sichan Siv is the international bestselling author of Golden Bones, an American dream story, published by HarperCollins. In 2001 after unanimous confirmation by the Senate, he was appointed by President George W. Bush as an Ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council serving until 2006. In June 2005, he addressed the 60th anniversary of the U.N. in San Francisco, following a tradition established by Presidents Truman in 1945, Eisenhower 1955, Johnson 1965, and Clinton 1995.
From 1989 to 1993, Ambassador Siv served at The White House as Deputy Assistant to President George H. W. Bush and at the State Department as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State. In the private sector, he has held positions in social services, educational exchange, financial management, and investment banking. He provides global strategic advice and gives motivational speeches around the United States and the world, including the Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush Presidential Libraries, Columbia University, Harvard, U.S. Air Force Academy, American Library in Paris, and University of Texas.
Ambassador Siv escaped Cambodia’s killing fields in 1976 and arrived in New England with his mother’s scarf, an empty rice bag, and two dollars. He picked apples in Connecticut and drove a taxi in New York, before enrolling in Columbia University’s Master of International Affairs Program with a full scholarship. In 1988, he volunteered in the presidential campaign of George H.W. Bush and was appointed to his White House position the following year. He later attended the U.S. Army War College.
Ambassador Siv is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the George H. W. Bush Award for Outstanding Public Service, U.S. Army Commander’s Award, and Brazilian Academy of Art, Culture, and History Honors. He is a volunteer in the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary Civil Air Patrol and honorary commander of USAF 433rd Airlift Wing. He was honorary commander of USAF 12th and 902nd Mission Support Groups.
Do join us for this fascinating talk — we’ll have our usual food and beverage reception at 6:30 p.m. Registration will begin at 6:15 p.m., the talk at 7:00 p.m. Meeting fees are $10 for members, $5 for students, and $15 for nonmembers, regardless of whether you participate in the reception. Ample parking is available on the Rice University parking lot off Greenbriar Street for $1, credit cards only. Please respond now (including those who told us verbally) to let us know that you’ll be attending on Thursday, May 21, 2015: angelika@houstonleipzig.org