VIRTUE FOUNDATION - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology
• Member of Advisory & Executive Committee

Dr. Ebby Elahi is a Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology and Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Director of Fifth Avenue Associates. An oculofacial surgeon, Dr. Elahi is a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and past president of the New York Facial Plastic Surgery Society. Inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, he is actively involved in research and education, and holds several surgical device patents. Dr. Elahi completed his medical and postgraduate education at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and earned his MBA from Columbia University. He is the recipient of multiple awards for his academic teaching and contributions to the international community, including the 2022 Jacobi Medallion from Mount Sinai. Dr. Elahi serves as the Director of International Affairs at the Virtue Foundation.

Job Titles:

• Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School
• Member of Advisory & Executive Committee

Dr. Joan LaRovere is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and the Director of Innovation and Outcomes and Attending Physician in the Division of Cardiac Critical Care at Boston's Children Hospital. Before then, Dr. LaRovere was Chief of Pediatric Intensive Care and a member of the Children's Services Management Committee at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, where she was also a member of the faculty at Imperial College School of Medicine. Dr. LaRovere holds a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University, a Master of Science in Genetics from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, a Doctorate in Medicine from Columbia University and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. She is actively involved in research and education (at MIT and Harvard) and is the recipient of multiple awards. She is also a Healthcare Operating Partner with iSelect Fund. Dr. LaRovere is a Co-Founder and serves as Vice President of the Virtue Foundation.

Job Titles:

• Member of Advisory & Executive Committee
• Steering Committee Member of the Avon Global Center

Erica H. Steinberger is a Steering Committee member of the Avon Global Center. Prior to her retirement on January 1, 2010, she was a partner in Latham & Watkins, LLP, specializing in the area of mergers & acquisitions, in which she represented corporations, private equity firms and investment banks in connection with hostile tender offers, tender offer defense, proxy fights and negotiated mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, as well as in public and private offerings of debt and equity securities and exchange offers. She also advised public and private clients and their boards of directors on corporate, securities and governance issues. While at Latham, Ms. Steinberger was active in its pro bono program and a founder of its women's initiative, Women Enriching Business (WEB). Prior to joining Latham in 1987, she was a partner in Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and, from 1983 to 1987, a consultant in the Hong Kong office of Coudert Brothers, handling securities and corporate law matters, including U.S. acquisitions and investments, for their Asia Group practice (Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo). Ms. Steinberger is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York (Member and Former Chairman, Special Committee on Mergers, Acquisitions and Corporate Control Contests), the New York State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. She also serves on the Securities Law advisory panel for ALI-ABA. She is the co-author of Takeovers and Freezeouts (Law Journal Seminars-Press), in addition to numerous articles and outlines.

Job Titles:

• Member of Advisory & Executive Committee
• Senior Vice President of the International Rescue Committee

Senior Vice President of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), a leading non-sectarian, voluntary organization providing relief, protection, rehabilitation, and resettlement services for refugees and victims of oppression or violent conflict, George C. Biddle has lectured at numerous conferences and symposia over the past 20 years, with his commentary being carried on radio, television, and in the press. From 1997 through 1999, Mr. Biddle was Vice President of the International Crisis Group (ICG), a private, multinational organization committed to strengthening the capacity of the international community to understand and respond to man-made crises. Previously, Mr. Biddle was President of the Washington-based Institute for Central American Studies (ICAS), a nonprofit organization he founded in 1989 to assist post-Cold War Central America in its transition from violent conflict to peace and democ-racy. Before founding ICAS, Mr. Biddle served as Assistant to the President at the Institute for East-West Security Studies in New York from 1984 to 1986. He also serves on the EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE of the Coalition for International Justice and The Friends of the Bronx Charter School, the Advisory Board of Harvard University's Project on Justice in Times of Transition, and the Advisory Council of The Harbor in New York City, an educational institution helping children in East Harlem. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Job Titles:

• Executive Director
• Founder
• Member of Advisory & Executive Committee

Dr. Salim is Founder and Executive Director of Virtue Foundation working tirelessly to raise awareness of prevalent humanitarian issues and to motivate people of all ages and backgrounds to become actively involved in charitable activities and programs in their local communities. He works as a general and cosmetic dentist and he is the President of Sutton Place Dental Associates. He completed a postgraduate program in biogenetics and cancer research at the University of Nice in Southern France, received a Doctorate in Dental Medicine from Temple University, and completed post-doctorate training at the Lutheran Medical Center in New York. Dr. Salim sits on the board of several multinational companies and charitable organizations, including The Nour Foundation and the French Institute Alliance Francaise, and also serves on various committees of several other nonprofit organizations, including the Asia Society and Witness. He also lectures on ethical issues in dentistry and healthcare. He has been instrumental in inspiring both children and high school students to develop their civic leadership skills and to participate in various volunteer and externship programs at the United Nations, including the rehabilitation of child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Job Titles:

• Executive
• Member of Advisory & Executive Committee

Kim Azzarelli is Executive-in-Residence at the MIT Media Lab and Co-Founder of Seneca Women, a global leadership platform focused on advancing women and girls. A leading corporate, legal and technology executive, Kim has significant experience in launching and building programs with Fortune 100 companies, including Apple, Bank of America, Bloomberg, iHeartMedia, Intel, P&G, Toyota and Walmart, among others. Together with Ambassador Melanne Verveer, Kim is co-author of the best-selling book Fast Forward: How Women Can Achieve Power and Purpose and co-host of the podcast Seneca's Conversations on Power and Purpose. Prior to her work with Seneca, Kim held senior public affairs and legal roles at Newsweek, Goldman Sachs and Avon. At Newsweek Daily Beast, she served as Senior Vice President, leading strategy, partnerships and philanthropy for Women in the World. At Goldman Sachs, she led the billion-dollar donor advised fund, Goldman Sachs Gives. At Avon, she served as Vice President, Legal and Public Affairs and Corporate Secretary and served on the Board of the Avon Foundation. Prior to joining Avon, she practiced corporate and securities law at Latham & Watkins and clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Harold Ackerman. Kim has served as an adjunct professor at Cornell Law School, co-founded Cornell Law School's Center for Women and Justice and is a co-author with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor of "Sustainable Development, Rule of Law and the Impact of Women Judges." Kim is a graduate of Cornell Law School and Cornell University and began her career at JP Morgan as a financial analyst in the venture capital group.

Job Titles:

• Member of Advisory & Executive Committee

Having followed Near Eastern developments for over 40 years, 34 of which were spent as a career Foreign Service Officer, Mr. Murphy holds A.B. degrees from Harvard and Cambridge University. After service in the U.S. Army he joined the State Department's Foreign Service and from 1955-68 served in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe); Lebanon; Syria; Saudi Arabia; and Jordan. In 1971 President Nixon nominated him as Ambassador to Mauritania and in 1974 he became Ambassador to Syria. He then served as Ambassador to the Philippines and Saudi Arabia. From 1983-1989 he served as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs. Mr. Murphy has received the President's Distinguished Service Award three times and the State Department's Superior Honor Award twice. In 1985 he was named Career Ambassador, a title held by only five serving officers at any given time. Retiring from government service in 1989, Mr. Murphy joined the Council on Foreign Relations in New York as the Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for the Middle East and has continued to visit that region several times a year. He is a frequent commentator for NPR, CNN, and the BBC, and has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Financial Times, among others. He is a trustee of the American University of Beirut, on the Board of the Near East Foundation, and Chairman of the Middle East Institute in Washington.