This year Celebrate Diversity will honor six leaders chosen by their communities as examples of the contributions their group makes to the richness of life on Staten Island. The honorees are: Chuan Teng (China), Arkadiy Fridman (Russia), Ahmed D. Kargbo (Sierra Leone), the Red Storm Drum & Dance Troupe (Native Americans), and Dr. Samy F. Rizk (Egypt) and Christine Moore (Egypt).
Mr. Chuan Teng (of Huguenot) is a much-collected master calligrapher and retired economist who has devoted much of his retirement to serving the Chinese community on Staten Island. Born in China in 1934, he grew up in the north of Guangtung and lived in Taiwan before moving to the United States in 1961. He and his family have lived on Staten Island for more than 35 years.
Chuan learned the basic elements of Chinese calligraphy when he was six years old from his father who was a poet and master calligrapher. Chuan won many prizes in calligraphy throughout his school years.
After undergraduate school in Taiwan, he earned a master's degree in Economics from Ohio University and worked as a financial system analyst serving companies such as Young and Rubicam and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Throughout his career he practiced calligraphy an hour or two every night. His works are now collected and displayed in many homes in the local Chinese community. He has passed along his love of the art by teaching classes at the Staten Island Chinese School (located at IS 73) and at the New York Chinese Scholar's Garden in Snug Harbor.
No stranger to politics, Mr. Teng served as the president of the Chinese American Voter's Association of Staten Island in 1987. He co-founded the Asian American Coalition of Staten Island, a political action group.
Mr. Teng has been married to his wife Charlene for 38 years and has a son, Michael, who works as news producer at CBS in Manhattan; a daughter, Michelle, who teaches at PS 22 on Staten Island, and a grandson, Alexander, 10, and granddaughter, Lily, 5.
Arkadiy Fridman (of Dongan Hills) is president of the Staten Island Community Center. He was born in the Soviet Union in 1957. He attended the Hi-Military Academy and served in executive positions in the army until 1990. In 1991, he left the army and opened one of the first private companies in the former Soviet Union.
In 1993, he immigrated to the United States. After working in retail he decided to gather the people and resources to open a community center to serve Staten Islanders. In 2004, the beautiful building he worked so hard to build opened as a not-for-profit organization focusing on cultural, educational, and social improvements for Staten Island and the greater New York Community.
This year the NY State Assembly awarded the Staten Island Community Center, a non-profit organization under Russian-American leadership, a $4M grant for the expansion of its services.
Red Storm Drum & Dance Troupe was founded in 2002 as a Native American education performance group. The core members are: Founding member and Drum Keeper Robert Boldeagle, founding member and organizer Margie Boldeagle, and secretary and web master Ivette Alequin. Performing members are Robin Rivera, Red Thunder, Allie Bowman, and SunWolf. The members are from many different Native American cultures.
The Red Storm Drum & Dance Troupe brings the beauty and understanding of the Native American culture to the public through drumming, dancing, music, story telling and sharing the history of Native Americans.
Red Storm Drum & Dance Troupe believes that through participation comes a greater understanding of the culture. Thus their performances always involve the audience in a gathering dance or by playing a part in their stories.
The Troupe has performed in many schools, public venues, and pow-wows in and out of New York State. They also host pow-wows open to the public here on Staten Island.
Ahmed D. Kargbo (of Mariners Harbor) is the current President of United States-Sierra Leonean Association (USSLA) Inc., in Staten Island. Under his leadership, this new organization is registered and incorporated, and in the process of securing it's 501 (c) 3 status. He is also an executive board member of the Black Heritage Festival and led his organization in the first Annual Black Heritage Festival in 2007.
Mr. Kargbo was born in the West African country of Sierra Leone. He is the fourth of six siblings (four boys and two girls), and grew up in the midst of many cousins and nephews. He was born in a Muslim family and has maintained his religious practices.
Since childhood, Ahmed wanted to serve in the uniformed services. In the late 1980's, he joined one of his older sisters in Germany. After seeing the United States Armed Forces stationed there his desire for the uniform grew even stronger.
In the early 90's, Ahmed came to the United States and settled in Alexandria VA. In January of 1996, he enlisted in the US Marines where he served for eight years until his medical discharge in 2004.
Mr. Kargbo works as a Licensed Practical Nurse and has now earned a two year degree in Information Technology (IT). He is currently enrolled in an IT program at City Technical College in Brooklyn.
Mr. Kargbo has been working closely with other Island leaders to foster stronger community relationships. He balances that by reminding his team about the work they need to do for their less fortunate countrymen in Sierra Leone.
Dr. Samy F. Rizk (of Morris Plains, NJ) serves as a model for many young Egyptian youth. He has a medical degree from Ain Shams University Medical College and has worked as an anesthesiologist in Egypt, England, and several institutions in the United States including the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center.
Dr. Rizk has many achievements and awards including receiving the North London Group of Anesthetists' Steri-seal prize in 1975 and publishing medical work/discoveries in his field.
Christine Moore (of Manhattan) is a soprano opera singer. She has performed in operas and concerts throughout the United States and Europe including playing Mimi in La Boheme with the Leipzig Opera and Madam Butterfly with the Central City Opera. Christine is a faculty member at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music where she teaches voice, vocal performance and opera workshop.
Born and raised in Sacramento, California she is the daughter of an Egyptian mother from Cairo and an American father. She spends a great deal of her time working in the Arab-American community in New York City serving as board secretary of the Arab-American Family Support Center and a board member of the New York Chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination committee.
