The 5th Annual Strictly Business Luncheon was held on Wednesday, May 15, 2002, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Keynote speaker was Dr. Sidney Harman, Executive Chairman of Harman International Industries, Inc.

• Keynote Speaker (2002)
• Corporate Citizen of the Year (2002)
• Employees of the Year (2002)
• Supporters & Sponsors (2002)

Keynote Speaker (2002)

Sidney Harman, PhD.
Executive Chairman
Harman International Industries, Inc.

Sidney Harman is Executive Chairman of Harman International Industries, an audio manufacturer with almost 10,000 employees and nearly $2 billion annual revenue. Harman Industries grew from a small hi-fi company in 1953 into a diversified company whose JBL and Infinity Audio Systems are world-class, and world-known. Whether on New York's Broadway or in London's Millennium Dome (or nearly anywhere else where sound quality is required), Dr. Harman's passion and commitment to music is evident.

During the 90's Dr. Harman was a maverick CEO, who promoted long-term connections with his employees, railed against temps and layoffs, and built his newest plant in the U.S., and not in a low-wage area overseas. In 1996, President Clinton visited the plant in Northridge, and lauded the company as a model for how to treat employees with respect.

Dr. Harman served as the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce from 1977 to 1978, and was the founder of the Program on Technology, Public Policy and Human Development at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and is a member of the Advisory Committee of Harvard's Science, Technology and Public Policy Program. He is the chairman of the Executive Committee of BENS (Business Executives for National Security), chairman of the Program Committee of the Board of The Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies, a trustee of the Carter Center and a member of the board of the National Alliance of Business. Active in education, Dr. Harman for three years served as president of Friends World College, the worldwide experimental Quaker college.

He has been a trustee of the Martin Luther King Center for Social Change, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, and the National Symphony Orchestra. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Council on Competitiveness.

Dr. Harman has written extensively on Productivity, Quality of Working Life and Economic Policy in Newsweek magazine, the Washington Post, the Christian Science Monitor. He co-authored Starting With The People with Daniel Yankelovich in 1988. He was co-director of a multi-year, international project entitled, Jobs in the 1980's and 1990's. His doctoral thesis was titled "Business and Education - New Experiments, New Hope."

Sidney Harman is married to Congresswoman Jane Harman.

Corporate Citizen of the Year (2002)

Adelphia is one of the nation's leading cable companies with more than 5.5 million residential customers nationwide. In addition to cable entertainment, Adelphia offers digital television, high-speed internet access, long distance telephone service, and paging.

Employees of the Year (2002)

FARZANEH SADDADI

A refugee from Iran, Farzaneh arrived in Los Angeles with limited English, no knowledge of the American workplace, and a cultural expectation that women belong at home with the children. When her husband fell ill, though, Farzaneh needed to work. She turned to JVS for the skills and encouragement to find a job. Two months later, she began as a part-time sales associate at a Sherman Oaks beauty-products store. Today, Farzaneh is the store's manager. "I'm proud that my family doesn't rely on government support," she said. "It feels great to be accomplishing so much on my own."

JORDAN FEINSTOCK

Though he's young and eager to work, Jordan's neuro-biological disorder challenges his ability to keep a job. Asperger's Syndrome impairs social interaction and can appear like autism. For Jordan it means that he needs extra one-on-one guidance in the workplace. Jordan participated in JVS' innovative CoffeeWorks program to develop transferable work skills like inventory control, money management, and food production. Now he's a barista at CJ's CoffeeBar in West Hills. "Jordan's progress has been impressive," says his JVS counselor. "With regular guidance and coaching, he has really proven that he can hold down a job."

NANCY MURRAY

Unfortunately for Nancy, a marketing manager at $350 million software corporation, the IT industry was among the hardest hit by economic downturn. Along with 50,000 other Angelenos, Nancy lost her job in 2001. Then on September 11, terrorist attacks threw the slumping economy into a tailspin, and Nancy's six-month job search ground to a halt. "I had come to accept that there were no jobs in software, and now even my goal of working in a non-profit environment seemed unlikely. Nobody was hiring." Nancy turned to JVS' unique WoMentoring program, and was matched with Christina Schultz, director of development at L.A.-based addiction rehabilitation center ClareFoundation and herself a former JVS client. Nancy found the "feedback, encouragement, and guidance" she needed and in December accepted a job as a fundraising coordinator at Good Shepherd Center for homeless women, a division of Catholic Charities. "Now I'm applying my knowledge of the corporate world to raise funds to help disadvantaged women improve their lives."

SOLOMON POWELL

Solomon is a junior at West Hollywood Opportunity Center, a specialized high school where JVS career counselors help low-income young people prepare to enter the workforce. Solomon and his mother live with various relatives, moving frequently. Nobody in his family has graduated from college. Nonetheless, Solomon aspires to become an attorney or an emergency/rescue worker. For now, Solomon wants to help meet the family's expenses, so he worked with a JVS career counselor to learn how to write a resume, fill out job applications, and succeed in job interviews. Now Solomon is a barista at Starbucks, and he takes pride in preparing a perfect cappuccino! "I used to mess around and get in trouble, but I really want to make something of myself," he said. "Someday, I want to buy a house for my mom. I know I can do it."

Supporters & Sponsors (2002)

JVS gratefully acknowledges the following individuals, corporations, and businesses for their support of the 5th Annual Strictly Business Luncheon.

Employee of the Year Award Sponsor

Corporate Sponsors

Benefactors