HR0319 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0319 LRB096 12433 GRL 25377 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Amina J. Dickerson on the occasion of her retirement as senior director of global community involvement for Kraft Foods; and

WHEREAS, Amina Dickerson earned her master's degree in arts management from the American University in Washington, D.C. and was named to the university's Alumni Hall of Fame in 2005; she studied theater arts at Emerson College and holds a certificate from the Harvard University program in Arts Administration; and

WHEREAS, Amina Dickerson began her career with Kraft Foods in 1997 as Director of Corporate Contributions; during her tenure with the company, she led Kraft Foods' philanthropic activities through many changes; as director, she launched the Kraft Community Nutrition Program, a program that has provided more than one billion servings of fresh fruit and vegetables and has helped move produce to the #1 category of food distributed by Feeding America; she also oversaw the creation of Salsa, Sabor y Salud, a healthy lifestyles program that teaches nutrition and fitness education to the Latino community; and

WHEREAS, Previous to her appointment to Kraft, Amina Dickerson held senior appointments for the Chicago Historical Society, the DuSable Museum of African American History, the Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum of Philadelphia, and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African Art, as well as numerous boards, panels, and consultancies; and

WHEREAS, Amina Dickerson currently serves as a board member of the Harris Center for Music and Dance at Millennium Park and as co-chair of the Peer Network for International Giving of the Donor's Forum of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, Amina Dickerson has been widely acknowledged for her work in promoting fitness and healthy eating; she was commended for her role as Vice Chair for the International Committee for the Council of Foundations; she was honored as a Chicagoan of the Year by the Chicago Tribune in 2005 for the partnership to advance jazz that she helped to initiate; she was also named one of 25 leading African American Women in Business by the Network Journal; and

WHEREAS, In 1996, Amina Dickerson served as a Distinguished Visitor with the MacArthur Foundation and was appointed a Class XVI Kellogg Fellow; in 2002, she was named Chicago's Professional Grantor of the Year; in 2004, she received the 10th Annual Sor Juana Award from the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum and a legacy award from eta Creative Arts Theater; she was the recipient of the Timuel Black Award for Community Service from the Jazz Institute of Chicago in 2006; and

WHEREAS, Through Amina Dickerson's inspired leadership, Kraft Foods' Corporate Community Involvement program have become well known for its high quality philanthropy and its willingness to support the community through strong partnerships and commitment to quality; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Amina Dickerson on the occasion of her retirement and wish her many happy and healthy retirement years; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Amina Dickerson as a symbol of our esteem and respect.