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2009 Passport to Prosperity honorees
Suku Radia
Profile
 The first word to spring to mind by one of the nominators of Suku Radia was the word “generous.” Suku is one of the most generous and community-spirited business leaders Des Moines has ever had. He has been a tireless source of leadership for a variety of community organizations, including the 2009 Campaign Chair of United Way of Central Iowa, Past Chair of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, Board of Trustees member of Drake University, Vice Board Chair of Mercy Medical Center, Vice Chair of Bravo, Past President of the Rotary Clubs of Des Moines and West Des Moines, Past Chair of the Better Business Bureau of Iowa, and Past Chair of The Greater Des Moines Committee. He has been a dedicated fundraiser and board member for organizations such as the Des Moines Art Center and Bravo! Other highlights include Leadership Chair of the Oakridge Neighborhood Campaign and Past President of the Greater Des Moines Junior Soccer League Suku is the past recipient of Iowa State University’s Distinguished Alumni Award, past recipient of the Iowa society of CPAs Distinguished Service Award, the United Way’s Tocqueville Award and the 2006 Mr. Habitat for Humanity. In November, he will be the seventh ever recipient of the Spirit of Philanthropy Award.
In addition to his demanding schedule as the CEO of Bankers Trust, Suku still makes time each weekend – often four to six hours per weekend – to mentor various young professionals in Des Moines. Prior to becoming CEO and President of Bankers Trust, Suku was the Chief Financial Officer at the Meredith Corporation, and prior to that, managing partner with KPMG.
Suku was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda. His family is originally from India but had lived in Uganda for several generations. Suku came to the U.S. to attend Iowa State University in 1971. While here, the infamous dictator Idi Amin seized control of Uganda and expelled all Ugandans of foreign ancestry. Suku’s family had to flee their country and although they lost all of their property, they were lucky to escape with their lives. Suku found himself alone in Iowa, a young man without a country. Despite the turmoil Suku graduated highest in his class from Iowa State with a Bachelor’s degree in Business in just eight quarters and earned his U.S. citizenship with the help of former Iowa Congressman Neal Smith and former Senator John Culver.
Suku has visited 60 countries and speaks seven languages. His talents and business acumen could have taken him anywhere but he and his family have been firmly committed to Des Moines and to Iowa. He has been quoted as saying: “We made the decision to reside in Iowa because of the quality of life here. I have traveled to 60 counties and in my view, Iowans are the best. Des Moines clearly embraces its commitment to diversity – people here are warm, trustworthy and welcoming.” Iowa is grateful to Suku for his deeply generous commitment to the growth and well being of our community, its people, its organizations and its opportunities.
Suku and his wife, Dr. Mary Radia, a rheumatologist, have been married for 35 years and are the proud parents of three children. Ryan is a graduate of Northwestern University residing in Washington D.C. Renee is a senior at the University of Southern California, majoring in communications. Natalie will commence her senior year in high school in the fall.
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Ying Sa
Profile
 The first thing you notice when you walk into Ying Sa’s office is the huge world map covering the whole of the wall in the reception area. The map reflects both Ying’s personal global perspective and the backgrounds of the over 1,300 clients who do business with Ying Sa’s firm, Community CPA and Associates. “You may speak a different language, eat different food, dress differently but these are not the barriers,” according to Ying Sa. “The only barrier we have is the ‘understanding’ barrier and we are in control of handling that barrier.” Clearly Ying Sa has addressed and succeeded in overcoming barriers that many immigrants encounter in seeking professional services.
Ying herself is a repeat immigrant who first moved to Canada from China in the 1980s and then relocated to the US in the 1990s. She was born to a Mongolian-Chinese family and lived her childhood and in poverty. While in Canada, she worked very hard like most immigrants do to pay her own way through university and advanced her professional career from an accounting clerk to a corporate controller. After immigrating to the US her professional positions include Chief Financial Officer for the Iowa Manufacturing Extension Partnership at Iowa State University and Vice President of Controllers at Wells Fargo Financial. Ying’s decision to establish her own CPA firm responds to her strong desire to work one-on-one with her clients, to see their smiles, hear their laughter, and feel their relief when their issues are solved and businesses are successful.
What motivates Ying is giving back, which she does with magnanimity. She established the Community Tax Clinic with the mission to help the disadvantaged with their tax issues. She volunteers with the Ankeny Community School Culture Diversity Task Force to promote cultural diversity among school students and teachers. She devotes her time and effort to many community events among various ethnic groups, including Asians, Latinos, African Americans and Whites, and has participated in numerous fund raising events for the communities. She is the instigator and one of the main organizers of Immigrant Entrepreneurs Summit (IES) – an annual event aimed at establishing a platform and vehicle for immigrant entrepreneurs to network with the general public and integrate into the melting pot. Last year’s IES brought together over 300 attendees from 35 countries.
Asked about the stereotypic assumption that immigrants take the jobs of others, Ying pointed out that many of her immigrant clients are entrepreneurs that create jobs, pay taxes, and contribute to the economic prosperity in Iowa. For example, the Immigrant Entrepreneurs Summit has helped to establish 52 new businesses in Iowa, and her own firm has 7 employees. She also thinks it is important for the US economic and technological development to keep graduates from US universities in the US instead of sending them away. According to Ying, “Iowa, like the rest of the country, cannot avoid diversity. Iowa is a state that has vision; the people have a generous heart and they come through to help you. The potential for Iowa to be a greenhouse for immigrant successes is there. Diversity brings prosperity.” Given her background and knowledge in international finance Ying is helping make dreams come true. “The dream is the same,” said Ying. “The goal is to be successful.”
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Yogesh Shah, MD
Profile
 Dr. Shah sits on the edge of his chair as he talks with excitement about how “if we change the dial a little bit we can make a big difference . . . how simple measures can save thousands of lives.” Since becoming the Associate Dean for Global Health at Des Moines University Dr. Shah has provided the leadership in the development of the Heartland Consortium, which partners Iowa colleges and universities in an organized effort to sponsor student education with the explicit goal of the development of cultural competencies related to healthcare in countries all over the world. This relationship is specifically addressing the high maternal-fetal mortality rates in underdeveloped countries and Dr. Shah has been instrumental in assisting the World Health Organization in lessening that burden internationally. The burden is tragic; there are over 600,000 maternal deaths each year, one death every minute, deaths that are preventable by the simplest of measures.
Yogesh Shah was born in Mumbai, India. He completed his medical degree in India and immigrated to the United States, initially to Long Island. It was a visit to a cousin, a radiologist in Ottumwa, which first brought Dr. Shah to Iowa. It was Iowa’s open and welcoming people, its sense of peace, its work ethic, the quality of its schools, the smiles of workers in the stores, all of this and more that influenced his move to Iowa. His visa required that he serve two years in an underserved rural area; Mt. Ayr needed a family practice physician and it was there Dr. Shah set up his practice. One area of emphasis was helping needy, elderly people who had memory problems. He did more than practice medicine; he went to schools, homes, churches, health fairs and educated people about cancer prevention and more.
Dr. Shah became the Assistant Director of the Mercy-Mayo Family Practice Residency Program at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines. Always one willing to volunteer his time over and above his regular duties, Dr. Shah participated in many Iowa Sister State activities, hosting medical delegations from around the world including Russia, China, Veneto, Italy and Tajikistan. He visited Tanzania to assess the quality of care being provided by community workers to terminally ill HIV patients. While in Tanzania he learned about the desperate need for help in addressing the major problem of maternal mortality. To better develop a response that would meet the unique cultural needs of the Maasai, he volunteered to spend the night in the Maasai village. The people of the village were very impressed by his sacrifice and his interest in their children and they organized a feast and Maasai dance in his honor. The next day he was inducted into the tribe as an honorary chief.
Dr. Shah is working with young, bright physicians at Des Moines University to open their views on global health needs. He sees 1) Iowa as a growing resource for international information on global health and 2) Iowa physicians as one of the sources turning that dial, making that difference in the ability to save lives both at home and abroad.
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Sol Varisco-Santini
Profile
 It is not possible to spend time, even a moment of time, with Sol Varisco-Santini and not sense the passion she exudes for the mission to which she is dedicated: to bring justice for refugees and immigrants. Sol’s days are spent helping people, many of whom have escaped from a war zone or a dictatorship, very much like the refugees fleeing Germany and Poland for which purpose the Iowa Council for International Understanding was founded. “I need the food for my families, the clothes, blankets, towels . . . .” Sol explained, even as the numbers of refugees arriving in Des Moines increased by 25 percent in the past year. As the Migration and Refugee Services Program Coordinator Sol manages general operations of the Hispanic Community Outreach Program and also educates and promotes outreach programs to parishioners of the Diocese of Des Moines. In her position she oversees the preparation of all documentation arrangements for local transportation, housing, food and guidelines.
Sol Varisco-Santini was born in Parana Entre Rios, Argentina, where she received her B.A. degree in Physical Education and taught for seven years. She came to Iowa in 2001 to study Spanish Education at Iowa State University even as she was working three jobs and fitting her class schedule into her work schedule. Sol interned at the Department of Human Services as a translator, working on tough cases, including many on domestic violence. In Argentina there is not such an extensive or efficient system for reporting abuse and so it is good to have the system in the U.S. but hard to see the victims. Sol also worked in the Human Rights Division of Latino Affairs representing the agency in issues concerning education, health, legal and labor enforcement issues.
When Sol began her work at Catholic Charities she could hardly have predicted that within less than a year she would be coordinating the Immigrant Safety Network in response to the largest immigration raid in our country’s history, on May 12, 2008, in Postville. When more than 389 immigrant workers were arrested and detained and another approximately 400 immigrants found sanctuary at St. Bridget’s Church in Postville, Sol was in charge of coordinating the response. Hundreds of volunteers from both inside and outside of Iowa included lawyers, students, community and faith-based organization, governmental agencies and more. Sol had to ensure that all detainees and their relatives found the services they needed; she served as the liaison between all people involved and all assistance provided.
Sol is described by Nancy Galeazzi, The Executive Director of Catholic Charities, as someone who has the ability to build cross cultural understanding, promote mutual respect between Iowans and people from other cultures and empower newcomers in our community. Sol describes herself as a citizen of the world. She doesn’t like barriers or labels. She hopes the necklace she wears around her neck communicates her message: there is a symbol of Peace and one of Love; together it means Harmony.
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