International House Berkeley

1980s 2000s Nobu Kitamura teaches environmental law, and also serves as the deputy dean at Sophia Law School, Tokyo, Japan. He celebrates the new buildings at Boalt Hall, and wishes to return there as a visiting researcher. On April 8, 2013, Sener Aktürk returned to I-House from Istanbul to discuss his new book, Regimes of Ethnicity and Nationhood in Germany, Russia, and Turkey. His book explores what it meant to be German, Soviet, Russian, and Turkish in the twentieth century, and how that definition radically changed at the turn of the twenty-first century. Sener enjoyed his visit to I-House and meeting the new Executive Director, Hans Giesecke. Sener donated a signed copy of his book for the alumni library and wrote: "To the International House, where the ideas of this book were conceived and developed." Sener's book is available on Amazon.com. Deborah Sorondo became Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration at Planned Parenthood of Shasta-Pacific (PPSP) in January 2013. PPSP is a nonprofit which runs 21 reproductive health care clinics in a 17 county area of northern California, including San Francisco, Contra Costa, Marin, Sonoma, Napa and all counties north. It has an annual budget of approximately $45 million and 500 employees, most of whom are involved in the delivery of health care services. It's a very interesting and exciting time to join them, since the organization will be impacted by the changes to the health care delivery and reimbursement system coming with the Affordable Care Act. 1990s On January 29, 2013, Cliff Ho, pictured here with Liliane Koziol, Director of Programs, returned to I-House to give a presentation on Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) and career opportunities at Sandia National Laboratories. He is a Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories, where he has worked on projects involving nuclear waste management, environmental remediation, microchemical sensors for environmental monitoring, water treatment, distribution, and concentrating solar power. I-House couple Sylvia Saltzstein Ho and Cliff have worked at Sandia National Labs for nearly 20 years. Cliff works in solar energy research and Sylvia works in nuclear energy fuel waste management. See their wedding photo and love story on page 6. Tejashkumar Unadkat, current IH Board Member, writes, "I-House, wishing you and your loved ones a very happy Diwali and a prosperous New Year. Sal mubarak, or as they say in gujarati nutan varshabhinandan." Anders Yang writes, "Happy New Year I-House! I just wanted to share some news: I have joined the board of Chinatrust Bank-USA. With best wishes for 2013!" Stay Connected to I-House! We welcome your participation on other social networks. Fans of I-House Berkeley, The Official Page, receive timely event announcements and the latest I-House news. Join the conversation and "Like" us at facebook.com/berkeleyihouse! Visit ihouse.berkeley.edu for links. 12 International House Times Bruno Calfa writes, "Simply put, living in I-House has made me feel more like a citizen of the world! The diversity of its residents and the social events are what make I-House a real home for all the residents. It doesn't end after they leave. Friendships continue and memorable times are never forgotten. I-House opened my eyes to many different cultures, and I have a much better understanding about the world I live in." Giovanni Gonzales Dubois has earned a place on UC Berkeley's Wall of Fame. He founded the Bay Area's top social networking organization for Latino professionals, a derivative of his leadership among Latino students as an undergrad and grad student. He was the only Latino student in an engineering class as an undergrad. Now he's a leader in bringing Latino professionals together. What started off as dinner parties has become the Bay Area's top social network for Latino professionals. His work received honorable mention for a SXSW (South By Southwest) Innovation Award. More about Giovanni and his "better half," alumna Sara Bakhtary on page 6. Wen Guo writes, "I was a resident at I-House for two years. I don't think I remember much of the rest of the campus!" Kim O. Nguyen writes, "After being away from I-House for more than half a decade, I found myself on the I-House brick patio, escorted by the Assistant Director of Development, David Tozer. A gentle smiling kitchen staff member walked up to me, warmly shaking my hand. 'Good to see you again!' he said. Memories flooded back! I was running late for lunch coming from a noon class at the Haas School of Business. He gave me a lunch, wrapped in saran wrap to keep it warm. 'I saved this for you,' he said. 'Don't tell anyone.' He quickly walked away smiling a secretive smile. I stood there in awe. Today, I'm still in awe. He remembers me. My home away from home remains the same even as time has passes. I'm ever thankful for those beautiful moments that I-House has given me."

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