Russel Simmons

Russel Simmons is considered a “hip-hop pioneer” for his groundbreaking vision, which has influenced music, fashion, finance, television and film, as well as the face of modern philanthropy. In 2007, USA Today named him one of the “Top 25 Most Influential People of the Past 25 Years.”

Mr. Simmons is the co-founder of Def Jam Records and Rush Communications and chairman of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network  (HSAN). He is a highly successful serial entrepreneur, author of Do You! 12 Laws To Access The Power In You To Achieve Happiness and Success (2007). As a devout Buddhist and co-founder of several philanthropic organizations, he seamlessly interweaves interfaith values with corporate best practices.

His 2006 appointment to the role of United Nations Goodwill Ambassador has served to further his effort to empower, entertain and educate the world’s youth through the vehicle of music and culture. As a Goodwill Ambassador he has also brought attention to a campaign to address the problems of war, poverty, and HIV/AIDS, which supports the UN Millennium Development Goals as well as the CISRI-ISP fight against severe poverty and malnutrition. His commitment to sustainable change and improving the lives of youth both nationally and internationally is a deeply personal and far-reaching life mission.

Hollister Award Recipients

Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp

2012 Juliet Hollister Awards Ceremony Honoree Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp, President and Founder of the Jacob Soetendorp Institute for Human Values (The Netherlands), will be honored for including interfaith oriented leadership in his institute’s...

Prince Hassan of Jordan

2010 Juliet Hollister Awards Ceremony Honoree Prince El Hassan bin Talal His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal served as Crown Prince to the Hashemite Throne of Jordan from 1965 to 1999 serving as acting Regent for his brother, His late Majesty King Hussein....

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

2010 Juliet Hollister Awards Ceremony Honoree Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch His All Holiness, Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch, the “Green Pope,” is the 270th successor of the...

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

2010 Juliet Hollister Awards Ceremony Honoree Archbishop Emeritus Desmond M. Tutu The Most Reverend Desmond M. Tutu, Anglican Archbishop Emeritus of Capetown, South Africa was appointed Dean of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Johannesburg in 1975 as the first black to hold...

Imam Khalid Latif

2012 Juliet Hollister Awards Ceremony Honoree Imam Khalid Latif Imam Khalid Latif (OM Leadership Team) is a University Chaplain for NYU, Executive Director of the Islamic Center at NYU, and a Chaplain for the NYPD. He was appointed the first Muslim chaplain at NYU in...

Chief Arvol Looking Horse

2006 Juliet Hollister Awards Ceremony Honoree Chief Arvol Looking Horse Chief Arvol Looking Horse, born on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota, is the 19th generation Keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Pipe, a tremendous responsibility bestowed upon him at...

Reverend Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr.

2012 Juliet Hollister Awards Ceremony Honoree Interfaith Visionary Lifetime Achievement Award Rev. Dr. James Alexander Forbes, Jr. Rev. Dr. James Alexander Forbes, Jr. is President and Founder of the Healing of the Nations Foundation of New York, a global ministry for...

Majora Carter

2008 Juliet Hollister Awards Ceremony Honoree Majora Carter Majora Carter, is the founder and former Executive Director of Sustainable South Bronx (ssbx.org). Her inspiration for  Sustainable South Bronx (SSBX) came after successfully challenging the installation of...

Daniel Pearl

2006 Juliet Hollister Awards Ceremony Honoree Daniel Pearl Daniel Pearl’s life and work as a gifted writer and journalist was cut short by terrorists in Pakistan in 2002. While millions mourned the death of the Wall Street Journal reporter, those who knew him grieved...

Karen Armstrong

2010 Juliet Hollister Awards Ceremony Honoree Karen Armstrong Karen Armstrong has written more than 20 books on faith and the major religions. She is especially known for her study of what Islam, Christianity and Judaism have in common and how our faiths shape world...

Ambassador Suzan Johnson Cook

2005 Juliet Hollister Awards Ceremony Honoree Reverend Suzan Johnson Cook Reverend Suzan Johnson Cook, the first African-American woman to serve as Senior Pastor in an American Baptist Church, founded the Believers Christian Fellowship in the Bronx in 1996, which...

Chelsea Clinton

2012 Juliet Hollister Awards Ceremony Honoree Chelsea Clinton Chelsea Clinton was born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1980, and has lived in Washington, Palo Alto, Oxford, New York and London. She holds a B.A. from Stanford, a MPhil from Oxford and a MPH from Columbia’s...

Father Thomas Keating

2005 Juliet Hollister Awards Ceremony Honoree Father Thomas Keating Father Thomas Keating has devoted his life to the exploration of the mystical roots of Christianity.  A member of the Cistercian Order in the Benedictine tradition, Father Keating is the founder of...

Venerable Dr. Yifa

2006 Juliet Hollister Awards Ceremony Honoree Venerable Dr. Yifa Venerable Dr. Yifa has been a nun at Fo Guang Shan Monastery in Taiwan since 1979. She received a law degree from the National Taiwan University, an M.A. in comparative philosophy from the University of...

Dr. Karan Singh

2005 Juliet Hollister Awards Ceremony Honoree Dr. Karan Singh Dr. Karan Singh, the International Chairman of the Temple of Understanding, has devoted his life to public service and education in his native India.  He has promoted the ideal of interfaith understanding...

Bhai Mohinder Singh

2008 Juliet Hollister Awards Ceremony Honoree Bhai Sahib Dr. Mohinder Singh Ahluwalia Bhai Sahib Dr. Mohinder Singh Ahluwalia is the third in succession of spiritual leaders of the Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha GNNSJ (http://www.gnnsjleeds.com/) in Birmingham, UK. He...

Rabbi Yehuda Sarna

2012 Juliet Hollister Awards Ceremony Honoree Rabbi Yehuda Sarna Rabbi Yehuda Sarna (OM Leadership Team) serves as University Chaplain and Rabbi at the Edgar M. Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life at NYU. Rabbi Sarna founded the Jewish Learning Fellowship at NYU,...

May Rihani

2012 Juliet Hollister Awards Ceremony Honoree May Rihani May Rihani served as Senior Vice President at AED, FHI360, and Creative Associates where she designed and managed gender and girls’ education projects in Afghanistan, Benin, Congo, Egypt,Ghana, Guinea, Jordan,...

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