March 2008
Update
Dear Citizen Diplomats,
Together we did it! Whew. All 145 Fulbright scholars have hosts for dinner on
March 14th!
Between you, the San Diego Fulbright alumni (Thanks to our member Renuka Sethi for connecting us) and people in our larger circle, we had enough say yes. Then Mel Miro, our own personal Queen of Details, Excel tracked it all so hosts are already email-connected with their scholars, and can begin meeting before they meet.
We are amazed and grateful.
One miracle down, two more to go.
Our next two miracles will be to find Home Hosts for our two delegations of Turkmens coming soon. We may may may have someone who is finding Home Hosts for all of them, oh may this please work out, but my peace of mind would be much deeper IF I heard from you. Could you be on our Plan B List and host in case Plan A does not work out???? Would love to hear from you. Cath@CDCSD.org
Thanks to Jeanne and Mickey Flynn for calling since the last UPDATE and asking to host one Turkmen. I need 19 more of you.
No matter how techno our world becomes, there is still something nice about snail-mail surprises. Out of the blue recently came Matching Grant paperwork because member Curt Koch set it up with his previous employer. Poof! Unexpected money. Thank you Curt and Nancy Koch for this, and your ongoing support of our work.
QUESTION: Does where you work do Matching Grants?
Would you pursue please? We love receiving unexpected money.
And finally, another dream has come true. We have an intern Event Planner, Paige Barry, who has taken off on planning our Annual Meeting/Asian Celebration! I say hallelujah! She is on fire and I love having her with us. She even brought us our first $1000 sponsor for this event from Guaranty Bank! Mark your calendars for June 12th. It’s going to be a fun time and help turn our awareness to this emerging-again part of our world.
Oh and one more finally. Our team here in the office: Courtney Giordano and Enrique Meza in programming and Mel Miro in operations. Talented. Very bright. Dedicated. On top of things and a pure pleasure to work with.
If I only do one more big thing as your executive director, it will be to figure out how to pay a living wage to such a great staff.
Working on it,

Cath DeStefano
Executive Director
Contents
1. NCIV Conference
2. Join Us!
3.Most Important Help!
4.Save The Date!
5.Gratitude
1. National Council of International Visitors Conference
San Diego well respresented

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Alina
Romanowski (left) meets with Citizen Diplomacy Council of
San Diego Program Associate Enrique Meza at the U.S. Department
of State, on February 14, 2008. Mr. Meza was attending a meeting
of community-based organizations from across the country that
arrange local professional meetings, cultural activities and home
hospitality for current and potential foreign leaders visiting the
United States under the auspices of the Department of State’s
International Visitor Leadership Program. Prominent alumni of
the program include British Prime Minister Gordon Brown,
Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Enrique Meza, CDCSD Program Associate and Mel Miro, CDCSD Operations Associate met with the Ambassador from Azerbaijan, Yashir Alyiev, during their visit to the Azerbaijan Embassy in Washington DC.
All returned refreshed, revitalized and in awe
of this work.
All members are eligible to attend. Mark your
calendars for Feb. 2009.
2. Join Us!
An Evening with…Turkmenistan Visitors
The San Diego Press Club and the Citizen Diplomacy Council of San Diego (CDCSD) will jointly sponsor a reception for these visiting journalists. The reception will offer opportunities to learn about Turkmenistan and casually interact with the visitors.
Ten reporters/media representatives from Turkmenistan are coming to San Diego April 9-30 under the US AID (Agency for International Development) Community Connections program to study press freedom and to immerse themselves in our culture and way of life.
In an international assessment of press freedom, Reporters without Borders, ranked Turkmenistan number 167 out of 169 – so it’s safe to say they will be very interested in how the press here functions with government, businesses, churches, and other institutions. You may help to change the course of history!
WHERE: Art Expressions Gallery, 2645 Financial Court, Suite C
WHEN: Thursday, April 17th, 6 to 8 pm
WHAT: Hosted Hors d’oeuvres & Wine Bar
COST: Members of Press Club or CDCSD: $15, Non Members: $20,
Students: $5
MUST RSVP: Limited space requires us to plan ahead. Payment must accompany reservation. Email Mel@CDCSD.org
We look forward to your presence at this important gathering.
3. The Turkmens Are Coming TWICE!

WE are honored to welcome two delegations of 10 Community Connections visitors each from Turkmenistan.
►April 9th thru the 30th
Developing Mass Media
►May 7th thru the 28th
Developing Tourism
IF you will HOME HOST a visitor, we need to hear from you.
Please email: Cath@CDCSD.org
4. Save The Date!

5. Gratitude
Thank you Franchoise Shah and Hosein Maronesy for driving our visitor from Peru to her appointments and for getting rave reviews for your efforts.
Thanks to Mike Grisdale for donating a Canon scanner. The old one needed a prod and a poke to work anymore.
Thanks to new members Delsee and Steve Altman and Janis Ricards for providing Dinner Hospitality to our visitors during the month of February.
Thanks to our interns Hannah Lee and Lasith Ranasinghe from UCSD for all of their help while with us. And to interns Luke Jarrett and Johanna Karlsson for being with us a bit longer.
Thanks to Ambassador Charles and Chin-Yeh Hostler for all the new members you bring to us.
Thanks to new members Ms. Marilyn and Mr. Gene Marx, Mr. Jared Levinson, Ms. Trina Hester, Mrs. Delsee and Mr. Jeff Alman, Mrs. Janis Ricards, Mrs. Denise and Mr. Steven Hummel and Mr. Eric Donovan for joining with us.
Thanks to Barbara Metz for all her public relations work on our behalf.
Most grateful,
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