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Mission

Philosophy

History

Organization

Advisory Board

Mission

Our mission is to create and promote an environment that empowers our young and precious generations of Cambodians to take up education as a way to enrich their own life, the life of others, thus the prosperity of the country.

Philosophy

CEE Foundation’s philosophy centers in four precepts:

Scholarship - a commitment to learning.  Learning fuels the lamp by which we read from the past and the lamp which illuminates the future.

Service - an opportunity to help others.  Service is a willingness to work for the benefits of those in need without compensation or recognition.

Leadership - a quality to take initiative.  Leadership requires the sacrifice, the yielding of one’s personal interest for the interest of others.

Character - a force which distinguishes a person from others.  Once developed, the character grows steadily and guides one through life.  Character is achieved and not received.

CEE Foundation will provide encouragement, opportunity, and access to higher education to poor but deserving students who have demonstrated academic excellence, moral character, integrity, and career objectives.

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History

In early February, 2007, the Cambodian Education Excellence Foundation (CEE Foundation) emerged out of Dr. Samrang Kchao’s dream that had been shared by many Cambodians around the world:

Providing encouragement, opportunity, and access to higher education to poor but deserving Cambodian students who have demonstrated academic excellence, moral character, integrity, and career objectives.

Thus the CEE Foundation was born and formalized.  It has since grown rapidly; here are some of the highlights:

February, 2007  Dr. Samrang Kchao started a Google discussion group.
 

March 10, 2007  Dr. Samrang Kchao initiated a conference call to define and discuss goals, missions, bylaws, scholarship criteria, etc.
   

April 24, 2007 An article of incorporation was filed in the state of Virginia. The Commonwealth of Virginia State Corporation Commission issued a Certificate of Incorporation of CAMBODIAN EDUCATION EXCELLENCE FOUNDATION.
 

April 28, 2007 A general meeting was held in Montgomery Village, Maryland where many people in Washington DC  area attended in person. Many others from different states joined in by phone.  The meeting adopted the CEE Foundation Bylaws, elected seven members to be the initial Board of Directors, and elected Dr. Samrang Kchao as the   President of the CEE Foundation.

May 11, 2007  Four Vice Presidents, the Secretary, and the Chairman of the Program Committee were elected.

May 16, 2007  The CEE Foundation Bank Account was opened to deposit the pouring contributions.

May 21, 2007  A new fund, Education Development Fund, was adopted. 

Read the CEE Fouundation history here, an excerpt from our October 2007 Newsletter.

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Organization
 

Samrang Kchao - President, Member of Board of Directors

Samrang Kchao was born in 1948 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. He graduated from lyceé Sisowath in 1966, and received an M.D. degree in 1973, from
Faculté de Medecine in Phnom Penh.  Dr. Kchao is a general surgeon in New York. He is married, with three children.  

He is currently involved with the computer literacy program funded by Friends of lyceé Sisowath (FLS) and Lyceé Sisowath Alumni (LSA), www.lyceesisowath.org. He is also a strong supporter in helping fundraising for Friends Without A Border (FWAB).

Ben Bao - Vice-President for Administration, Member of Board of Directors

Ben was born in 1951, Treang, Takeo, Cambodia. He attended Phnom Penh University, Sciences Faculty 1971-1975. He is a Khmer Rouge survivor. After living in refugee camps in Thailand and in the Philippines, he came to the US in 1981. He worked as a Social Worker in Prince William Co., Virginia, 1982-1985. Currently, he is a Senior Software Developer at Deltek, Inc. Ben is active in the Cambodian communities. His interests include culture, and traditional music. He was Chairman of Cambodian Community Day Committee, 2002-2006, and in 2003, Chairman of Asian Pacific American Heritage, Prince William Co., VA.

Ben holds a B.S., Decision Science from George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, and Master of Science in Information System from Strayer University, Washington, DC.

Mengly Chean - Vice-President for Information, Member of Board of Directors

Born in Cambodia, 1951, a former Khmer Navy Officer (14th Promotion) selected for training in the US in 1974, an engineer and educator (computer engineering), Mengly has been involved in several Cambodian and international organizations engaging in social, educational, and religious activities. His interests include Khmer computing and transliteration (he invented Akea), Khmer literature, history, civilization, and language.

Mengly holds a BSEE from University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, MSEE And Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.

Serey KimAn – Vice-President for Finance, Member of Board of Directors

Serey came to the US in October 1973.  Serey has worked in the financial industry as a software engineer since 1979 and on to the management of
the data warehouse design and development, data integration and IT configuration management.  Serey has involved with various charitable organizations annually through the United Way Campaign, the Susan G. Omen Foundation and the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  Serey enjoys all
kind of outdoor activities

Chenda Smead - Vice-President for Public Relations, Member of Board of Directors

Chenda was from Battambang, Cambodia, and was a refugee to the U.S. in 1979. Chenda earned her degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics, worked as a software engineer in the aerospace industry, and later switched careers and completed degrees in Interior Design and in Liberal Arts. Chenda's charitable projects in Cambodia to date have been to build the Seng Kheang Middle School , in Siem Reap, and the Chhi-Smead Learning Center, in Phnom Penh. Chenda was one of the major supporters of the Harpswell Dormitory for College Women.

Mealy Chhim - Member of Board of Directors

Born in Cambodia, and came to the US in 1975. Driven by the love for our motherland, I genuinely believe in the younger generation and would like to help them escape from poverty and strive for higher education. This is why I have joined the CEE Foundation, in hopes that we can empower the younger generation to receive the brightest future possible.

EDUCATION: B.S. (Computer Science), George Mason University, 1997. 
PROFESSION: SRA. Senior Developer.
SOCIAL ACTIVITIES: CEE Foundation, FWAB, CCD and CIG.

Sar Van - Member of Board of Directors

Sar Van was born in 1938 in Prey Véng, Cambodia. Alumni from lyceé Sisowath, he  graduated from the Cambodian Royal School of Administration
in 1962 with a year of internship in France. He served in the Department of National Security until 1975.

Refugee to America in 1975 he worked for Washington State Department of Social and  Health Services - Refugee and Immigrant Assistance Program and served as Social Services Program Manger during the last 20 years
before retiring in 2005.

He was founding member of the Cambodian Network Council and the Khmer Alliance Foundation.

Chip (Chiep) Tan - Member of Board of Directors

Born in 1947, Prey Kabbas, Takeo, a former teacher and a survivor of the Killing Field, Chip Tan came to the US in 1979. With his extensive experiences in Rural Community Development, he is employed in Social Services field. He has involved in Khmer and Asian Pacific Islander community, at a local, regional, and national level. He has received several awards in recognition of his involvement in raising fund to buy 45 new computers and to provide financial support for poor students at Phni Meas High School, raising fund to build schools and temples in Prey Kabbas, Takeo, and in leading a fight against Cambodian deportation.

An alumni of Lyceé Sisowath, Chip Tan graduated from Kampong Kantuot Teacher Training Institute in 1968, attended Law School, Phnom Penh, in 1972, Community Development Training in 1970-1974, and City University, Bellevue, WA, School of Social Work in 1982.

Sang (Sam) Onn Oum - Member of Board of Directors

Born in Cambodia, 1951, Sam migrated to US in 1974, but returned to Cambodia in1989. Since then, he has been involved with the Cambodian people in the far-remote areas, assisting with demining, rehabilitation, rebuilding, and community development.

Sam was a former Khmer Navy Officer who later served as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Royal Cambodian Navy (RCN). He held several posts since retiring from the RCN, including Director of Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), Learning Manager for the PricewaterhouseCoopers (Cambodia) and Country Director for Austcare. He is internationally known in Landmine / UXO removal.

He is currently serves as a Landmine/UXO Expert for the CMAC/EC based in Siem Reap. Sam holds a Master of Management Degree from University of Southern Queensland, Australia. Email: samoum@cmac.org.kh

Jean-Baptiste Chhuor - Member of Board of Directors

Born in 1951 in Kandal, Cambodia, Jean-Baptiste (lyceé Yukunthor, 1970) received an Electrical Engineer degree in 1975 from l'Institut Technique Supérieur de l’Amitié Khmero-Soviétique, ITSAKS (now known as ITC) in Phnom Penh.  

A Khmer Rouge survivor, he came to France in 1988, earned his Industrial Fluide Engineer from Ecole des Mines de Paris in 1997 and Mastère Spécialisé en Management de la Maintenance from ENSAM Paris in 1999.  Currently he is a Senior RAMS (Reliability, Availability, Maintenability and Safety) Engineer for all industrial system.

Jean-Baptiste is active in the Cambodian communities. His interests include culture, traditional and contemporary music. Today, he is the General Secretary of the Association des Anciens Elèves de l’Institut de Technologie du Cambodge (A.A.E.I.), the French ITC Alumni in Paris France.

Tung Yap - Chairman of Web Site Committee

Tung was born in Battambang, Cambodia, arrived in U.S. in 1981. Tung is currently president of Cambodian Americans for Human Rights and
Democracy, VP of Cambodian American National Council, and member of Advisory Council of Friends of Khmer Culture.

Tung has served in many Cambodian organizations, was president of Cambodian Association of Illinois, led a committee that raised over a million dollars to build the first Cambodian American Heritage Museum and Killing Field Memorial in the U.S. Tung earned his BS/MS from
Illinois Institute of Technology.

Sophia Tep - Chairwoman of Finance Committee

Born in 1951, Kompong Trabek, Prey Veng, Cambodia, Sophia came to US as a refugee in 1983. From 1984 to 1986, she worked for the Alexandria Health Department Refugees Program as an Outreach Worker. From 1986 until present, she works as an Administrative Program Specialist in charge of Accounts Payable, Alexandria Health Department Administration office in Northern Virginia.

Since 1998, Sophia has been involved in many Cambodian civic Organizations, such as Cambodian Community Day, FWAB, Angkor Association. Currently, she is the Vice-Chairwoman of the Cambodian Community Day.

Eric Sarin Thlang - Chairman of Nominating Committee

Eric was born in 1966, Tbuong Kmoun District, Kampong Cham, Cambodia. He is a Khmer Rouge survivor. After living in refugee camps in Thailand and in the Philippines, he came to the US in 1981. He worked as a Substance Abuse Counselor for two years in the Bay Area. He served one year as a volunteer at the Ministry of Rural Development, Cambodia, 1995-1996, with CANDO (currently Silaka) project, funded by USAID. Currently, he is a Computer Security Analyst for Visa, Inc.

Eric holds a B.S., IT, Computer Electronics from San Jose State University (SJSU), San Jose, CA, and Master of Science in Information System from Strayer University, Ashburn, Virginia.

Advisory Board

Venerable Kim Cang - Advisor

Ven. Kim Cang was born in Tra Vinh, Kampuchea Krom (South Vietnam) in 1956. He was ordained as novice Buddhist monk in 1972, monk in 1977. He is currently President of Cambodian Buddhist Association of Richmond, Inc. and the Abbot of Buddhist Monastery, 8180 Windsor Dr., Mechanicsville, VA. 23111. 

He is a graduate of Khmer Buddhist High School and Vietnamese Buddhist University.  Venerable Cang Kim is fluent in Khmer, Pali, Vietnamese, Thai, Laotian, and English. 

He came to Virginia in 1988.  He was awarded Ambassador for Peace from The Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace in 2006 in Virginia.

Ed Bachrach - Advisor

Ed Bachrach is the former chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Bachrach   Clothing Inc., a major national retailer of men's fashions.

Ed founded Build Cambodia, www.buildcambodia.org, after visiting the country as a tourist in 2002. He travels frequently to Cambodia to provide continuing support to the many vital and effective organizations that are helping to rebuild the society and the lives of the people.

Ed currently serves on the board of directors for Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Horizon Hobbies in Champaign, Illinois. He previously served as a member of the board of trustees at Millikin University and the board of directors at First National Bank of Decatur. Ed earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Northwestern University and graduated from Harvard with a master’s degree in International Relations with emphasis in Human Rights Issues. He resides in Chicago and Cambridge, MA.

Fred Lipp - Advisor

At sixteen, Fred left home for a year to study and travel through Europe. This odyssey eventually led to a degree in philosophy and a graduate degree in theology. Fred served as a Unitarian Universalist minister for 37 years finally to resign to become award winning children's author of multicultural children's books. One award - winning book, The Caged Birds of Phnom led him to Cambodia to found Cambodian Arts and Scholarship Foundation that supports the education of poor, at-risk girls and young women's education in Cambodia.

Dr. Yves Miaux - Advisor

Dr. Yves Miaux is presently scientific Attaché at the French Embassy in Tokyo. Before this diplomatic assignment in Japan, Dr. Miaux was in San Francisco, as Senior Vice President at Synarc, a leading provider of medical image analysis for the pharmaceutical industry.  Prior to Synarc, Dr. Miaux was Associate Professor in Radiology at the University of California San Francisco and in Paris. He received his medical degree in radiology in Paris and a Masters Degree in Physics from Montreal University, Canada.

He is one of the founders of ATFALOUNA (our children) a French NGO working with street children in Morocco.

Dr. Alan Lightman - Advisor

Alan Lightman is the founding director of the Harpswell Foundation (harpswellfoundation.org). Dr. Lightman is a physicist, novelist, essayist,
and educator. He has held professorships at Harvard University and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). More  information about Dr. Lightman can be found at his website: alanlightman.com.

Bernie Krisher  - Advisor

Mr. Krisher was a refugee from Germany during the Nazi occupation. He is a retired  Newsweek journalist covering Cambodia in the 60's. He is the founder of the Sihanouk Hospital and chairman of the American Assistance for Cambodia, which built more than 340 schools, two orphanages, and a new educational center called the Bright Future Kids Home. Mr. Krisher also started a program
called Girls be Ambitious which promote the awareness and protections for girls who are at risk of being lured to Sex Trafficking. Mr. Krisher is the founder and owner of the only English Language Newspaper in Cambodian  called the Cambodia Daily. Please see www.cambodiaschools.org

John Price - Advisor

John Price is a partner in the San Francisco law firm of Collette Erickson Farmer & O'Neill LLP, with   over 20 years of experience in handling a wide range of both complex and basic corporate, general business, and intellectual property transactions. He received his B.A. in History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. In 2001 John served as an Adjunct Lecturer in Business Law at Holy Names University in Oakland, California. 

John is a founding Board Member of AnewAmerica Community Corporation (www.anewamerica.org), a Bay Area based non-profit asset-building organization and a Community Development Entity that promotes the economic empowerment of new Americans (new citizens, immigrants and refugees) through microbusiness development, asset building and social responsibility.

Sambonn Lek - Advisor

Sambonn Lek is President & Founder of Sam Relief, Inc. When his mother died in 1998, she left him $2,500.00. The first thing that came to his mind at the time was to use the money to extend a helping hand to poor children and their families at a crucial moment of their life. He then found Sam Relief, Inc.  The purpose is to help impoverished Cambodian children to be able to attend school, and to help Cambodian people to have a healthy live with access to clean water and food.

Sam Relief continues to grow each year. With donations from many friends.  Sam Relief builds schools, provides scholarship and school supplies. It also digs wells for people in Cambodia to have access to clean water. Its main goal is to improve the Cambodian lives.