Cultural Vistas Names Two New Members to Board of Directors

NEW YORK - June 5, 2020 - PRLog -- Cultural Vistas, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has facilitated skill-building international exchange programs since 1963, is pleased to announce the appointment of Rekha Grennan and Roy J. Salamé to its Board of Directors, effective on May 15, 2020. The duo's addition to its Board of Directors, increases the size of Cultural Vistas' Board to its maximum of 20 members.

"We are thrilled to have such accomplished and passionate leaders who believe in our mission, such as Rekha and Roy, join our Board at this critical juncture in the organization's history," said Cultural Vistas Board Chair Jeffrey Reinke. "There is no way around it: these are the most challenging times our field has experienced in our lifetime. Together with our dedicated and committed Board and staff, we will continue to find new and meaningful ways to fulfill our mission."

Rekha Grennan brings 20-plus years of experience leading strategic initiatives that drive both business and societal impact to Cultural Vistas' Board, including Pfizer Inc.'s innovative Global Health Fellows program. Rekha has extensive global, cross-sector experience leading collaborations in government, start-up, non-profit and corporate enterprises for global development, global health and technology.

Rekha most recently served as Director of Corporate Affairs and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Strategy at Cisco Systems Inc, where she supported several CEO-led initiatives to address local and global inequality. She recently returned to sustainability consulting and began work on a start-up in the Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Analysis space. Previously, Rekha held a variety of leadership roles at Pfizer, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Inc., the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and the U.S. Agency for International Development. At Pfizer, she managed several signature initiatives including a $1 billion global disease elimination partnership with the World Health Organization. She was also the first employee of a successful bio-technology start-up pioneering commercial stem-cell banking.

Rekha has a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and a degree from Boston University in International Affairs and Environmental Policy and Analysis. She is a former Term-Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Roy J. Salamé brings more than 30 years of extensive global investment, risk management, financial and business leadership experience to Cultural Vistas. Roy most recently served as Managing Director and Head of the Global Investment Opportunities Group (GIO) at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. In this role, he managed over 100 investment advisors and credit professionals covering over 1,000 clients from six offices globally.

Prior to his leadership of GIO, Roy served in roles as Vice Chairman of Global Commodities at JPMorgan, as well as the Managing Director and Global Head of Sales and Structuring of the firm's Commodities Division for a number of years. Before joining the firm Roy was a Managing Director and Head of Global Natural Resources Sales and Origination at Lehman Brothers.

Previously, Roy spent nearly 14 years at Goldman Sachs, most recently as Managing Director and Head of Oil, Metals and Mining and Forest Products in the U.S. and Latin America. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Roy worked at Citigroup for more than 10 years, where he was VP and Head of Marketing for the Financial Institutions Group for the Middle East Africa Division in New York initially, and subsequently out of Bahrain.

Roy is a member of the Atlantic Council Energy Advisory Group. Roy also serves on the Board of B*CURED, a nonprofit dedicated to funding cutting edge research to cure brain cancer, and recently joined the Board of Trustees at International House. Roy is Co-Chair of the Advisory Board for the JPMorgan Center for Commodities at University of Colorado, Denver. He holds a Baccalaureate in Math and Science from the Lycee Chateaubriand in Rome, Italy; BA in Economics with distinction and an MBA in Finance and Investment, both from George Washington University.

Cultural Vistas' Board of Directors guides the overall philosophy and direction of the organization and is committed to the common goal of enhancing careers and building cultural understanding through life-changing exchange experiences.

About Cultural Vistas
Founded in 1963, Cultural Vistas is a nonprofit exchange organization whose mission is to enrich minds, advance global skills, build careers, and connect lives through international exchange. We develop international professional experiences that create more informed, skilled, and engaged citizens. Every year, our 30-plus unique exchange programs empower people in the United States and in more than 130 countries around the world to drive positive change in themselves, their organizations, and society.

Learn more at CulturalVistas.org