The Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board of Directors is pleased to announce its 2019 alumni award recipients.
“These honorees shine through their professional accomplishments and leadership service to their communities and Vanderbilt,” said Jodie Leeka Kim, BE’10, ME’11, awards committee chair for the Alumni Association Board. “They are a source of pride to Commodores everywhere.”
Celebrated author, columnist and humorist Roy Blount Jr., BA’63, will receive the Alumni Professional Achievement Award. He is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers, the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame, and the Vanderbilt University Student Media Hall of Fame.
Josué Gomes da Silva, MBA’89, chairman and CEO of COTEMINAS, founder and chairman of the board of Cantagalo General Grains, and a business and economic adviser to the last three presidents of Brazil, will receive the International Professional Achievement Award.
John Hindle, BA’68, PhD’81, will receive the Alumni Volunteer Award. He has served Vanderbilt through many volunteer roles, including president of the London Vanderbilt Chapter, president of the Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board and as Alumni Trustee on the Board of Trust.
The Young Alumni Professional Achievement Award will be presented to Justin Miller, BS’09, the founder and executive director of CARE for AIDS, a nonprofit organization that has provided holistic health care solutions for more than 14,000 families in Kenya living with HIV/AIDS.
Milton Ochieng’, MD’08, will receive the Alumni Public Service Award. He and his brother Fred founded the Lwala Community Alliance, a community-led health model to improve the well-being of Kenya’s rural populations, as well as the Lwala Community Hospital.
The Young Alumni Volunteer Award will be presented to Matthew Wright, MEd’14, one of the founding members of the Japan Vanderbilt Chapter and a Commodore Recruitment Program (CoRPs) volunteer who promotes Vanderbilt to prospective undergraduate students in Japan.
The 2019 alumni award recipients will be honored Oct. 17 at a special ceremony during Reunion and Homecoming weekend.
Nominations for the 2020 alumni awards are open until Nov. 30, 2019, at vuconnect.com/awards.