Common Cause/NY Announces Dr. Vartan Gregorian and Andrew Rasiej, Recipients of 12th Annual Awards

• by Common Cause of New York

NEW YORK, NY (12/01/2009)(readMedia)-- Common Cause/NY is pleased to announce that Dr. Vartan Gregorian and Andrew Rasiej will be the recipients of its 12th annual awards at a dinner this evening, at which time it will also launch its Take Back the Empire State Campaign. These individuals, who exemplify civic engagement at its best, join a long list of outstanding individuals that Common Cause/New York has honored including: President Bill Clinton, Dr. John Brademas, Lewis Cullman, Kathy Wylde, Frederick "Fritz" A. O. Schwarz, Jr., Ted Sorensen and Andrew Heiskell. A complete listing of all prior honorees is attached.

Dr. Vartan Gregorian will receive the first annual Andrew Heiskell Lifetime Achievement Award, endowed by Mrs. Marian Heiskell in honor of her late husband, one of the founders of Common Cause. Andrew Heiskell, as Chairman of the New York Public Library, brought in Dr. Gregorian to serve as President of the Library and they were close friends and colleagues, as well as the joint architects of the Library's renaissance. As the current President of the Carnegie Corporation, and as a past President of The New York Public Library and Brown University, Dr. Gregorian has been an inspirational leader in advancing the cause of education and promoting its importance to the successful functioning of democracy. He was born in Tabriz, Iran, of Armenian parents, receiving his elementary education in Iran and his secondary education in Lebanon. In 1956 he entered Stanford University, where he majored in history and the humanities, graduating with honors in 1958. He was awarded a Ph.D. in history and humanities from Stanford in 1964. Dr. Gregorian is the author of The Road To Home: My Life And Times, Islam: A Mosaic, Not A Monolith, and The Emergence of Modern Afghanistan, 1880-1946. He is the recipient of many additional honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civil award in 2004, and the National Humanities Medal in 1998. "We are delighted to present Dr. Gregorian with the Andrew Heiskell Lifetime Achievement Award for everything that he has done to realize his vision of a vibrant, educated and engaged populace, a vision which we share," said Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY.

Andrew Rasiej will receive the Common Cause/NY Democracy in Action Award, an award given to one who has inspired young people to become involved in the democratic process. As founder of the Personal Democracy Forum, an annual conference and community website focusing on and promoting the intersection of politics and technology, he works to allow everyone the fullest opportunity to be engaged in civic life and government policy. He has served as an advisor to Senators and Congressman and political candidates on the use of Information Technology for campaign and policy purposes since 1999. In his 2005 campaign for Public Advocate, Mr. Rasiej was an early proponent for making low-cost wireless internet access available to all New Yorkers, building on the understanding gained from his experience as the founder of MOUSE of the challenges presented by, and the need to bridge, the digital divide. Today, as a result of his vision, MOUSE (Making Opportunities for Upgrading Schools and Education), a nonprofit that donates computers, is active in over 100 public schools in New York City and has programs based on its student-led tech model operating in over 20 countries worldwide. His award-winning blog, TechPresident, charted the way in which presidential candidates were using the web to influence the political landscape, and he writes a bi-weekly column for Politico.com. "We are pleased to recognize Andrew's dedication to opening up and demystifying politics and government through the use of cutting edge technology and in providing us all with the tools that we need to be engaged and active citizens with the Common Cause/NY Democracy in Action Award," said Susan Lerner.

Common Cause/New York's Take Back the Empire State Campaign is a two-point program to engage civic leaders and the public in rebuilding our state. The first part of our program is a citizens committee that will reflect the true diversity of modern New York to help us to identify the substantive changes needed to transform the state government, while the second prong will be a shadow redistricting commission. Both aspects of the program will rely on strong leadership and will involve aggressive research, documentation and outreach to mobilize grassroots, as we provide activist New Yorkers with the strategy and tools to Take Back the Empire State.

Common Cause/NY is a non-partisan citizen's lobby whose goal is open and accountable government.

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