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» What is GIVE?
What is GIVE?
GIVE is an organization dedicated to the education and promotion of sustainable lifestyles, technologies and development practices.
- It is not about handouts.
GIVE is a non-profit charitable public benefit corporation formed in 2006 to expand sustainable communities through education, information, research and initiatives that convert concepts to action. - It is about education.
GIVE is about teaching business, the public and youth about the economic and environmental profitability of a green future. - It is about addressing a fundamental problem:
How can kids or the public understand the economic impact of smart environmental decisions if they don’t understand basic economic, business and social values?
GIVE in Action
The Green Institute for Village Empowerment takes a multi-pronged approach to its mission.
Education: A series of monthly symposiums and the establishment of GIVE chapters at universities throughout the United States help to raise awareness of the issues impacting the world today.
Events: GIVE hosts one of the largest Earth Day events in Southern California, and sponsors a variety of community events, professional conferences and other environmental presentations throughout the year.
Initiatives: GIVE is the sponsor of the Green Valley Initiative, an unprecedented regional economic development plan focused on bringing green technologies and sustainable lifestyles to Riverside and San Bernardino counties in Southern California.
Who is Involved?
Hundreds of people from throughout the nation take part in our programs.
Our GIVE on Campus chapters are experiencing rapid growth, encouraging the students of today to become the global leaders of tomorrow. Our sponsorship of the Green Valley Initiative involves key community leaders from one of the largest and most influential regions in the nation. Some principle leaders in the effort include:
- Ali Sahabi, GIVE founder and President of SE Corporation, the master developer of the sustainable mixed-use community of Dos Lagos in Corona, California. He is a nationally known expert on the issues of sustainable development and has demonstrated his commitment through various endowments and sponsorships including a gift to establish the Edward J. Blakely Center for Sustainable Development at UC Riverside. He holds his Master of Science degree in Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California, and his Bachelor of Science in Management from Pepperdine University.
- Dr. Woody Clark, MA3, PhD., is Lecturer at University of California Riverside, Anderson School in Sustainable Development and Lecturer, Executive Director of the Alternative Energy Center at Heckmann School for International Entrepreneurship (MBA program) University of California, Riverside. Clark was Senior Renewable Energy, Emerging Technologies, and Finance Advisor to Governor Davis. During the 1990s, he was Manager, Strategic Planning, Energy Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Visiting Professor, International Entrepreneurship, Aalborg University, Denmark. Clark has earned three Masters of Arts degrees in different fields from three different universities and his Ph.D. at University of California, Berkeley where he was elected to the Alumni Board of Directors (2006-09).
- Les Hamasaki, a green sustainable development consultant for major developments throughout the world. He has unique experience as an urban planner with the City of Los Angeles, where he was involved with the 1975-95 Center Concept Master Plan and the 1995-2015 Framework Plan. His passion is for our world to transition to a “green economy” powered with renewable resources and to deconstruct the “gray economy” powered by fossil fuel. He is managing director of the Green Technology Institute of the Tom Bradley Legacy Foundation and Gallery at UCLA.
- Dr. Peter Gevorkian, PE, president of Vector Delta Design Group, Inc., a solar power design consulting firm in La Canada Flintridge, California. He is a nationally known leader in renewable energy design, and author of numerous technical books and papers. He has taught at many universities and is a nominee for the American Institute of Architects 2007 Renewable Energy Systems Engineering Design Award for a lifetime of outstanding achievements and contributions in solar power design.
- Daniel Cozad, president of Integrated Planning and Management Inc., a consulting and contracting organization working throughout California specializing in water and resources planning and management and integration of stakeholders’ needs to produce value and community benefits.
- Imran Farooq is a Project Manager at SE Corporation, a planning, entitlement and development firm based out of Corona. He previously worked as a Development Specialist for the Riverside County Economic Development Agency but most of his professional experience derives from working as the Director for International Development for the International Athletic Association (IAA). He serves on the Board of Directors for a Rotary International chapter in Riverside, Board of Directors for the US Green Building Council- Inland Empire Chapter and Board of Advisors for the Tom Bradley Legacy Foundation at the University of California Los Angeles. Imran was appointed by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors in 2007 to join the Workforce Development Board. Imran is currently studying for an Executive Masters of Leadership from the University of Southern California and received his Bachelors degree from the University of California, Berkeley.
