Dr. Antonia Neubauer, Founder
Dr. Neubauer has been traveling to Nepal since 1983. Twenty years ago, she asked a casual question of a Nepalese guide: "What is the one thing you would like to see in your village?” When she got the answer "a library,” Neubauer sprang into action. A former language teacher and education researcher, she had directed major studies on literacy and school-business partnerships in the US and served as a consultant to the Pew Foundation, Lilly Endowment and the U.S. Department of Education. Founding READ Global was what she had to do. Today, more than 4 dozen, self-sustaining, community-chosen, READ Community Library and Resource Centers dot the landscapes of 3 countries, thanks to her energy and forward-thinking take on rural needs and village abilities.
Dr. Neubauer has served on and chaired many boards including the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition, White Williams Foundation, and the Northern Nevada World Affairs Council and International Visitor’s Center. She is recipient of numerous awards, including the Friend of Nepal award by the Association of Nepalis in the Americas, The International Visionary Award from the Northern Nevada World Affairs Council and International Visitor’s Center, and the 2006 Walk the Talk Global Citizen Award. She is also Founder and President of Myths and Mountains, Inc., a cultural adventure travel company rated among the Top 10 "Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth” by National Geographic Adventure.
Sen. Omer L. Rains, Chair, READ Global Board of Directors
With a Doctorate in Juridical Science, former California Senator Omer Rains is an international attorney, author, and distinguished lecturer, noted for his numerous, diverse, and worldwide humanitarian activities and work with indigenous peoples in lesser developed countries throughout the world. As a 3–term California Senator and having traveled to over 120 countries and all regions of the world, he brings with him a wealth of global business and cultural expertise to the READ Global mission. Senator Rains has visited many of the READ Resource Centers in Nepal and is now personally and financially instrumental in launching READ Global in both India and Bhutan, along with expanding its program in Nepal.
Senator Rains is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, and has served as Judge Pro Tem on both the Municipal and Superior Courts of California. A frequent lecturer on international business, politics, law, and the environment, he is the recipient of numerous academic and professional awards, including the Distinguished Service Award as his community’s "Outstanding Citizen”, a Special Citation of Merit Award from the California Lawyers Association, and the Summit Society Annapurna Award. A frequent trekker and climber in the Himalayas, he initially agreed to join the READ Board of Director’s after witnessing during one of his treks the extraordinary good work that READ was doing in Nepal.
Dr. Dina Bangdel
Dr. Bangdel is Assistant Professor of Art History at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. A specialist in Indian and Himalayan art, she is co-curator of "Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art," an 2003–2004 exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Columbus Museum of Art. Dr. Bangdel is the daughter of writer and scholar Lain Bangdel, Nepal's leading modern artist who was a member of the READ Advisory Board in Nepal until his death in 2002.
Mr. Raphael Bemporad
Mr. Bemporad is founding partner and principal at BBMG, an innovative marketing agency aligned with forward thinking brands and conscious consumers. He has directed recent initiatives for clients such as Luna Bar, ShoreBank, UNICEF, Ocean Conservancy, Social Venture Network, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Center for a New American Dream. Prior to co-founding BBMG, Mr. Bemporad served as communications director at Do Something, where he oversaw marketing, media relations and cause-related partnerships with Levi Strauss & Co., SEARS, Kenneth Cole and Rolling Stone magazine.
Ms. Loretta Faye Cooper
Ms. Cooper has had a distinguished career in the arts including positions as the Vice President of Development for the Scottsdale Cultural Council and the Director of Development of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Ms. Cooper has also held the position of Associate Director for the Nevada Museum of Art (NMA), where she helped to raise over $20 million to build the new, architecturally significant NMA. While Chief of Development at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, she directed a $100 million capital campaign to restore and enhance its historic home. Ms. Cooper has also owned her own art gallery in Houston, Texas.
Mr. Adnan A. Durrani
Mr. Durrani is Chief Halal Officer for American Halal Co, Inc., a socially conscious food brand, and also President of Condor Ventures, Inc., a venture firm devoted to strategic investing in natural food companies. Most recently, he was also a Venture Partner of Blue Chip Venture Co., with $600 million in managed funds, and has been an investment professional for 26 years. Mr. Durrani is a serial entrepreneur. He serves on the Board, and is Finance Chairman of Social Venture Network, where he has been a pioneer in establishing quantitative proof that socially conscious and economically just business models can yield exponential triple bottom line profits for consumer product companies. He was the founder of Vermont Pure Holdings, the second largest bottled water company in the Northeast and the parent company of Crystal Rock Water Co. Mr. Durrani was also a financial partner of Stonyfield Farms Inc, the leading organic yogurt brand whose private sale he led to Dannone, SA in 2003 . He was also a principal of Delicious Brands, Inc., a struggling regional brand whose growth he led, with the financial backing of Carl Icahn, through a strategic roll up strategy to become the fifth largest cookie brand in U.S.
Mr. James J. Hodel
An investment professional for over 15 years, Mr. James Hodel is currently the Managing Director of Perkins Fund Marketing. Prior to joining Perkins Fund Marketing, Mr. Hodel was a Managing Director and Co-Head of the Institutional Equity Sales Department at SoundView Technology Group. He joined SoundView in 1993 and was a member of the firm's Management Committee, Investment Banking Commitment Committee and Stock Selection Committee. Mr. Hodel has held a variety of institutional equity and option sales positions In addition, he previously was a member of the American Stock Exchange acting as a market maker in equity and index options. Mr. Hodel is a graduate of Fordham University with a B.A. in Political Science/Economics.
Ms. Janet Morgan
Ms. Morgan is currently President at CSR Wire (Corporate Social Responsibility) along with President of Morgan Amadeo LLC, an international consulting firm focusing on strategic planning, brand development and project implementation for NGOs, nonprofit organizations, governments, start-up companies and social venture enterprises. Ms. Morgan was the Director of Not-for-Profit Consulting Services for RSM McGladrey in New York and developed a dedicated "social sector” consulting practice at American Express Tax & Business Services which was acquired by McGladrey in 2005. Ms. Morgan was Managing Director of Media Minds Group and a Founding Partner of Zink Communications in New York. Ms. Morgan studied in Europe, Latin America and China to receive a global executive MBA from Duke University, Fuqua School of Business. She serves on the Board of Trustees of Antioch University and is a member of the Social Venture Network, the Women Donors Network and the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges.
Mr. Lawrence Neubauer
Mr. Neubauer is a private equity investor living in New York. He has served on a number of boards and committees and is currently a member of the advisory counsel for the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and the visiting committee for the University of Chicago Law School. His background includes work with public policy formation as well as nonprofit entrepreneurship activities.
Mr. William Raffin Mr. Raffin has been the President of William Raffin Realty since its establishment in 1980 and has specialized in land and commercial investment properties for over twenty-five years. He has been responsible for the sale and/or purchase of over $670 million dollars worth of land and real estate. Bill has maintained a home in Malibu, California for 30 years and has owned a ranch in the Californian desert for the past five. He is the owner of the Raffin Executive Center, an office building comprising twelve luxury offices on the oceanfront in Manhattan Beach. Bill is a member of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, and continues to be an avid supporter of many environmental organizations, some of which include: The Orangutan Foundation, PETA, Defenders of Wildlife, American Wild Horse Association, Cousteau Society, Sea Shepherd and the Sierra Club. In 2008, he was the recipient of the Dolphin Award for outstanding achievement in his community and also received a certification of special Congressional recognition for helping others. Bill has traveled extensively, covering all the world’s continents.
Ms. Sara Lafrance
Ms. Lafrance is currently the President of Educational Pathways International, a education-focused charitable foundation she and her husband founded in 2005. Prior to this effort, Sara co-founded and served as President of Century Analysis, Inc., a software manufacturer that provided integration solutions to large commercial, industrial, and healthcare enterprises, from 1975 until its sale in 1998. Since moving to Nevada in 1998, Mrs. Lafrance has acted at an advisory level for several early stage businesses as well as served on and chaired many local boards, including the University of Nevada College of Engineering Advisor Board, the University of Nevada Foundation Board, KNPB Channel 5 Public Television, and the Reno Philharmonic. She is a member of Sierra Angels, a Northern Nevada investment group that focuses on promising early stage companies, and is also active at a committee or board level for several philanthropic/charitable organizations. Mrs. Lafrance holds a B.A. in English/Journalism from the University of Nevada, Reno, and a M.A. in Organizational Change from Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY.
