Menbere Aklilu, East Bay community leader, recipient of 2009’s Contra Costa Woman-Owned Business of the Year Award, and owner of Salute e Vita Ristorante in Richmond, Calif., will deliver the keynote address at Holy Names University’s (HNU) 87^th commencement on Saturday, May 18.

Born in Ethiopia, Aklilu has demonstrated resilience, determination, and courage in building her successful career. She has faced many hardships on her journey to becoming a restaurant owner. As a child, she witnessed and survived the murder of her mother. She lived with her brother in high school, and after graduation she pursued an acting career. Aklilu married and moved to Italy with her husband to continue pursuing her dreams of acting. She endured an abusive relationship with her husband until she found sanction and gave birth to her son in a women’s shelter in Rome.

In Italy, Aklilu worked as a maid and in restaurants to support her son. Ten years later she visited her nieces in the United States. “I saw my nieces, what they are doing here and I said, ‘Wait a minute, you know if I came to America I am sure that I could be somebody.’ I didn’t expect it to be like this but a little different than Italy,” Aklilu said.

One week after moving to the U.S. in 1995, Aklilu visited Salute e Vita and impressed the owners with her ability to speak Italian. Although she didn’t have a car and couldn’t speak English, she began working at Salute e Vita as a hostess. Through her hard work, Aklilu became the assistant manager in eight months and later became the manager and general manager. When the owners of Salute e Vita decided to sell the restaurant in 2002, a regular customer approached Aklilu with the offer of a loan to purchase the restaurant. Aklilu accepted the offer and purchased Salute e Vita.

Recently she said to herself, “OK, I paid my loan. My son he (was) born homeless, but now he is at NYU getting his doctorate . . . and now I have to give back.”

In 2011, Aklilu opened her restaurant to 300 homeless individuals for a Thanksgiving lunch. Last Thanksgiving, she served 600 homeless, and this year she plans to close the restaurant completely and serve 900 people. She has also helped pay for the purchase of a local church and has supported girls in the community by hosting etiquette dinners and financing tuition for Northern Lights School.

Her life story will soon be a book and her keynote address will be filmed during graduation for an upcoming movie of her life. HNU President William J. Hynes said, “Menbere’s personal story is one of successive conquering of tragedy, deprivation, and loss—by faith, industry, and courage. When she spoke at the Durbin Entrepreneurship Speaker Series, there was not a heart that had not been warmed nor an eye that had not been moistened. Her story is quite amazing.”

The more than 200 graduates of 2013 will also hear from student speakers Thomas Davies ’13 and Priscilla Elendu ’13. Eribert Tan Cayaba, who is graduating from the Master of Science in Nursing program, will deliver the invocation.

Holy Names University announced today the election of Bryan Parker, Agnieszka Winkler, and Soraya Wright to the university’s board of trustees.

“We are very excited to welcome Bryan Parker, Agnieszka Winkler, and Soraya Wright to the Holy Name University’s Board of Trustees,” said James D. Falaschi, chair of the board and managing partner of Jack London Square Partners. “They bring a breadth of financial, legal, personal development, marketing, and risk management experience to our team.”

Bryan Parker is vice president of DaVita Inc., a Fortune 500 company that provides dialysis services in the United States for patients with chronic kidney failure. Prior to joining DaVita, Parker volunteered for nine months with the Obama presidential campaign’s finance committee and served as the chief operating officer of Affinity Media, a global digital media company. He has twelve years corporate experience in finance, legal affairs, technology, and marketing, and was recently appointed a commissioner for the Port of Oakland. Parker received a bachelor’s degree in political economy of industrial societies from the University of California, Berkeley and a juris doctor degree from New York University School of Law.

Agnieszka Winkler, a 1967 graduate from Holy Names University,has served as a regent for HNU and on the university’s marketing advisory board and campaign steering committee. Winkler is an acknowledged expert in marketing and founder of The Winkler Group. She is the author of Warp Speed Branding and was named Woman Advertiser of the Year by McCall’s magazine. Since selling her company, Winkler has become a leader in the movement to incorporate spirituality into business.

Soraya Wright is the vice president of global risk management at The Clorox Company in Oakland. She has held roles of increasing responsibility in risk management, including leading and executing risk finance strategies, directing self-insurance and claims management programs and leading Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) programs. Wright is a 1986 graduate of Holy Names University and active in the Oakland community. She co-chairs The Clorox Company’s African-American Employee Resource Group and has served on the boards of the Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland Foundation and the East Oakland Youth Development Center, which develops social and leadership skills in youth to prepare them for employment and higher education.

In anticipation of the board’s expansion, HNU trustees have created several new committees, including a board development committee, a mission effectiveness committee, a marketing committee, and an investment committee.

“These new board committees are essential in meeting the challenges that face higher education institutions today,” HNU President William J. Hynes said. “The new trustees are not only trusted community leaders, but wonderful role models for our students. Their work with other HNU leadership will further the university’s commitment to educating students to their highest potential.”

For additional information or to schedule an interview, contact HNU Director of Marketing and Public Relations Lesley Sims at 510.436.1405 or sims@hnu.edu.