{"69029":{"#nid":"69029","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Architecture, Planning Alumna Named Georgia Tech Alum of the Year","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECollege of Architecture alumna \u003Cstrong\u003EHawa Meskinyar\u003C\/strong\u003E, B Arch 1995 and M CP 1998, was named Georgia Tech Alumna of the Year 2006 during the Women\u0027s Leadership Conference in November 2006. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I was absolutely delighted to learn that Hawa was awarded the Georgia Tech Alumna of the Year Award,\u0022 said Dean Thomas Galloway.  \u0022I cannot think of a more deserving person.  All of us here at the College are so proud of her and the work she is doing in Afghanistan.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMeskinyar was selected to receive the award by a panel of judges made up of faculty, staff, undergraduate students, and alumni from the Georgia Tech community who are part of Georgia Tech\u0027s Annual Women\u0027s Leadership Conference.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I cannot begin to tell you how honored I am to receive this award,\u0022 said Meskinyar.  \u0022Georgia Tech is an outstanding institution with many distinguished alumnae. Such an honor at this moment in my life is at once humbling and greatly encouraging to me.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMeskinyar was selected as this year\u0027s Outstanding Alumna due to her leadership qualities and in her ability to persist in a course of action that requires extraordinary courage, fortitude, and selflessness.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Not only was Hawa a successful Georgia Tech graduate, she continues to touch the lives of people around the world with her non-profit organizations,\u0022 said Smita Sharma, awards coordinator for the Conference and fourth year Industrial and Systems Engineering major.  \u0022Hawa accomplishments and contributions to society made her stand out as a strong woman leader who is constantly inspiring all people around her.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMeskinyar\u0027s parents, Mary Osman and Naim Meskinyar, and grandfather, Touryalai Osman, graciously accepted the award for her.  She was not able to attend the award ceremony as she is currently adopting a child in Afghanistan and was unable to secure an American visa for him.  \u0022I greatly miss family, friends and colleagues in the United States.  But at this time, it is not possible for me to leave without him.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter graduating from Georgia Tech, Meskinyar worked as an associate at Economics Research Associates in Chicago and Washington D.C. for four years, then at the Office of Research on Women\u0027s Health at the National Institute of Health. But the plight of her native Afghanistan and its need for reconstruction and reform called her back home. She returned to Afghanistan to live and work in the new government at the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC) that is chaired by the country\u0027s Vice President.   Meskinyar managed the team that collected and entered human resource data for the entire civil service, including the central government and provinces.  She credits Georgia Tech\u0027s City \u0026amp; Regional Planning Program with giving her the \u0022strong basis for effective management and skills, and for her abilities to analyze and interpret information that she must provide to government ministers.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to her position with IARCSC, Meskinyar founded JAHAN, a non-profit, non-political, humanitarian organization committed to helping women and children.  JAHAN stands for Join and Help Afghanistan Now (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.jahan.org\u0022 title=\u0022www.jahan.org\u0022\u003Ewww.jahan.org\u003C\/a\u003E).  In a 2003 interview when she was briefly back in Atlanta, she stated. \u0022There were so many NGOs in Afghanistan and I really didn\u0027t want to start another one, but I was unable to find an NGO that transferred 100 percent of its donations to those in need. JAHAN runs a sponsorship program that tries to encourage families to allow their children to attend school, rather than beg to help their families make ends meet.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022I came to Afghanistan with the desire to help rebuild my homeland where I have worked now for three years. However, I must confess that our progress is painfully slow at times as the government struggles mightily against violence and corruption. The effects of this ongoing turmoil filter down to me and other Afghan American women who are working here. Therefore, at times it is difficult for me to assess clearly whether or not we are gaining ground.  Time will tell. But be assured that while I remain here I am determined to do my best.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Women\u0027s Leadership Conference was developed in 1998 as a means to celebrate, recognize, and learn more about the strong leadership exhibited by the women of the Georgia Tech community like Meskinyar.  The Conference, run entirely by a group of dedicated students throughout the Women\u0027s Resource Center, aims to \u0022inspire and prepare the women of Georgia Tech to be equal partners in the leadership of our professions, communities, and society.\u0022  This year\u0027s Conference theme was \u0022Perseverance in Action,\u0022 to recognize the perseverance that is displayed by Georgia Tech women.  Meskinyar is an excellent model for perseverance in action.   Previous award winners are:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E2005: \t\u003Cstrong\u003EJanice Wittschiebe\u003C\/strong\u003E, (BS 1978 \u0026amp; M 1980 Architecture)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\n2004: \t\u003Cstrong\u003ELara O\u0027Connor Hodgson\u003C\/strong\u003E, (B 1993 College of Engineering)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\n2003 (Fall): \u003Cstrong\u003EDeen Day Sanders\u003C\/strong\u003E, (Honorary Alumn 1980)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\n2003 (Spring): \u003Cstrong\u003ECindy Smith, M.D.\u003C\/strong\u003E (BS 1978 College of Science, Biology)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\n2002: \t\u003Cstrong\u003EBrenda Gullatt-Joseph \u003C\/strong\u003E(B 1976 College of Engineering)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\n2001: \t\u003Cstrong\u003EDr. Eden Meyer Hunt\u003C\/strong\u003E (General 1995 MS 1996 College of Engineering) \u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\n2000: \u003Cstrong\u003EGay McLawhorne Love\u003C\/strong\u003E (Honorary Alumn)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\n1999: \u003Cstrong\u003EL. DiAnne Bradford\u003C\/strong\u003E  (MS 1974   PhD 1976   College of Science-Psychology)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\n1998: \u003Cstrong\u003EShirley Mewborn\u003C\/strong\u003E (B 1956 College of Engineering)\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECollege of Architecture alumna Hawa Meskinyar, B Arch 1995 and M CP 1998, was named 2006 Georgia Tech Alumna of the Year.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Meskinyar acknowledged for leadership skills"}],"uid":"27220","created_gmt":"2006-11-16 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:09:52","author":"Leslie Sharp","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2006-11-16T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2006-11-16T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"69030":{"id":"69030","type":"image","title":"Meskinyar and son Noor at Baghe Babur, the 16th Ce","body":null,"created":"1449177228","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:13:48","changed":"1475894602","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:22"},"69031":{"id":"69031","type":"image","title":"Meskinyar at one of the camps of newly returned re","body":null,"created":"1449177228","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:13:48","changed":"1475894602","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:22"},"69032":{"id":"69032","type":"image","title":"Meskinyar in Kabul in winter of 2000.","body":null,"created":"1449177228","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:13:48","changed":"1475894602","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:22"}},"media_ids":["69030","69031","69032"],"groups":[{"id":"1221","name":"College of Design"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"137","name":"Architecture"}],"keywords":[{"id":"926","name":"College of Architecture"},{"id":"13807","name":"Georgia Tech alumna"},{"id":"167159","name":"school of city and regional planning"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["leslie.sharp@coa.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}