ÄÛ²ÝÓ°Ôº

ÄÛ²ÝÓ°Ôº University of California celebrated spring 2025 commencement on Saturday, May 17. Heidi Kühn — 2023 World Food Prize Laureate, recipient of the Mother Teresa Award for Social Justice and numerous other international awards for peace, social entrepreneurship, and development — delivered the commencement address. 

Kühn began her career as a journalist. In the 1990s, she founded her own company, NewsLink, and reported for CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC, primarily from the Soviet Union, on glasnost and perestroika.

In 2001, Kühn founded the humanitarian organization Roots of Peace with a vision: turn mines to vines. By replacing landmines and unexploded ordnance in war-damaged countries with vineyards and fruit tree orchards, Roots of Peace has improved food security and livelihoods for more than 1.1 million farmers and their families across at least seven countries. .

A lifetime resident of San Rafael, Kühn has deep affection for ÄÛ²ÝÓ°Ôº and our mission.