Afghan Friends
Network 68 Ramona Ave San Francisco, California
94103
Afghan Friends Network was
founded in San Francisco Bay Area in 2002 as a nonprofit organization
to enable friendships, networks, and partnerships between individuals,
organizations and cities in the United States and Afghanistan. We believe
the experience of cultural, spiritual, and technical exchange that
enriches the lives of all participants.
Board
Officers and Board Members
as of April 01, 2003
Chairperson of Board of Directors, Hon.
Carol Ruth Silver
President, Board Member, Humaira Ghilzai
Board Member, Pietro Calogero
Board Member, Ghulam Qader
Popal
Board Member, Vacant
Treasurer, Vacant
Secretary,
Vacant
Biographies of Board
Officers:
Hon. Carol Ruth Silvers,
Chairperson of Board of Directors
CAROL RUTH SILVER,
Chairperson of Board of Directors of Afghan Friends Network, is the
principal in Law Offices of Carol Ruth Silver in San Francisco,
California, specializing in real estate matters including litigation,
transactions and mediation. At present she also sits on the San Francisco
Assessment Appeals Board and has an active license as a real estate
broker. Carol Ruth Silver has a long history as an activist in social
and humanitarian causes, from participation in the Freedom Rides (seeking
equal rights for African-Americans) and directing the Delano office
of California Rural Legal Assistance (helping farmworkers assert their
rights) to her most recent cause, assisting the people of Afghanistan
in the rebuilding of their nation. Along the way she founded the Chinese
American International School of San Francisco, was a national consultant
on Legal Services for the Poor, served on numerous entities of the
legal community including the State Bar of California House of Delegates
and the Committee on the Right to Legal Service of the American Bar Association.
She was elected to and served three terms on the San Francisco Board
of Supervisors. In that capacity she also served as president of two
regional organizations, the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway & Transportation
District Board of Directors, and the Bay Area Air Quality Management
District Board of Directors. In her early life she worked as a clerk
at the United Nations at its headquarters, and is a founding member
of the World Centre San Francisco, a community group supporting the
ideals of the United Nations. Education: University of Chicago College,
Batchelor of Arts (with honors); University of Chicago Law School,
Doctor of Jurisprudence; Harvard University Kennedy School of Government
Institute of Politics, Fellow. Personal: Ms Silver is the mother of
two grown sons, and grandmother of two grandsons.
Humaira Ghilzai, President,
Board Member
Humaira was born and raised in Kabul Afghanistan. In
1979, she and her family fled Afghanistan after the Russian invasion. She
is a strong activist for the Afghan people and Afghanistan. Her
professional experience ranges from six years at Sun Microsystems in
International Marketing to three years at Oracle Corporation as Director
of Marketing. She is currently a High Tech Marketing Consultant working
in the San Francisco area. Her father was born in Ghazni, Afghanistan.
She speaks Dari.
Pietro Calogeros , Board
Member
Pietro Calogero studied Urban Geography, Architecture,
and City Planning at
U.C. Berkeley. He began studying Central Asia in
1986. Pietro has eight
years of professional experience in urban
design and housing, including
oversight of the construction of a
200-unit low-income housing development in
San Francisco for the
Housing Authority. In September 2002 he joined with
licensed
contractor Alfred Bay to form Epicenter Design. Pietro has recently
completed one contract with the Afghanistan Ministry of Housing and is
anticipating returing to Kabul shortly
Ghulam Qader Popal , Board
Member
Ghulam is a licensed civil engineer in the state of
California. He has worked as a consulting engineer, construction manager,
project, and program manager for the United Nations and other
non-governmental organizations. He has worked both in Afghanistan and
in refugee camps along the border with Pakistan. He has over a decade
of experience in community development and inter-cultural management
mainly with reconstruction and rehabilitation of infrastructure facilities
in rural areas. In April 1999, he joined the California Department of
Transportation (Caltrans) as a transportation engineer and is currently
working as a design project engineer working on three transportation
projects in Solano and Sonoma counties. He is fluent in Dari and
Pashto.