Sen. Omer Rains has been named Chairman of the Board of Rural Education and Development (READ) Global. His tenure as Chairman will last through the end of 2011. In announcing the election of Senator Rains, READ Founder Dr. Antonia (Toni) Neubauer stated: “READ Global is honored to have as its new chairperson a true humanitarian, a passionate proponent of READ' s unique sustainable rural development model, a true internationalist who believes in the power of villagers to control their own destiny.”
With a Doctorate in Juridical Science, Rains is a former California Senator, an international attorney, author, and lecturer, noted for his numerous, diverse, and worldwide humanitarian activities and work with indigenous peoples in lesser developed countries throughout the world. 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 Community Library and 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.
The recipient of the Summit Society's Annapurna Award, Rains is a frequent trekker and climber in the Himalayas. He initially agreed to join the READ Board of Director's in 2005 after witnessing the extraordinary work that READ, under the leadership of Dr. Neubauer, was doing during one of his treks in Nepal.
READ Global pioneered the concept of sustainability as an international development organization dedicated to combining education and private enterprise to make rural communities viable places to learn, build, and prosper. A recipient of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's prestigious “Access to Learning Award,” the organization has helped establish over fifty Community Library and Resource Centers paired with for-profit enterprises throughout Nepal and India that serve over a half million people annually. Building on its proven record of 100% sustainable success, READ Global has now expanded into Bhutan and is committed to expanding into three additional countries by 2011.
For further information, please contact Kate Fenner at the READ Global headquarters in Washington, DC by calling (202) 347-7070.
