Salve Regina will hold its 72nd commencement ceremony May 8. Here's who's speaking.
NEWPORT — Navyn Salem, who founded the nonprofit organization Edesia, Inc. in Rhode Island in 2009 with a mission to treat and prevent global malnutrition in the world’s most vulnerable populations, will present the commencement address and be awarded an honorary degree during Salve Regina University’s 72nd commencement on Sunday, May 8.
The university also will award honorary degrees during the Mother’s Day ceremony to longtime philanthropist Kathleen Walgreen and entrepreneur/philanthropist Carl Allen. The event on the oceanside of McAuley Hall is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.
Salem built Edesia’s North Kingstown factory to produce a range of fortified, peanut-based products like Plumpy'Nut for humanitarian agencies like UNICEF, World Food Programme, USAID and other NGOs working in emergency and conflict zones.
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Since 2010, Edesia has reached more than 15 million children in better than 60 countries, including Somalia, Venezuela, Yemen and Syria.
In 2020, Salem expanded her mission to include addressing hunger in the United States and works with the USDA in providing food for its COVID-19 emergency response efforts for both school lunch programs and food banks.
Salem was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year/New England in 2018, New Englander of the Year by the New England Council in 2017 and New England Business Woman of the Year by Bryant University.
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She was awarded honorary degrees by her alma mater, Boston College (2012) as well as Bryant University (2014), Providence College (2017), Curry College (2018), and University of Rhode Island (2021). She is a Trustee of Boston College.
Walgreen, a member of Salve Regina’s Board of Trustees, and her family are longtime friends and supporters of the university. In celebration, Salve Regina named Walgreen Hall in their honor in 2013. The parent of a Salve Regina alumnae, Walgreen has been a staunch benefactor of the Sisters of Mercy and their work both in the U.S. and abroad.
She is grateful for the 16 years of education she received from the Sisters of Mercy, including her time in nursing school.
An advocate for historic preservation, Walgreen was a member of the Vice President’s Residence Restoration Foundation in Washington, D.C., and founded the Walgreen Drug Stores Historical Foundation, which has become a leader in the movement to collect and preserve the history and artifacts of Walgreen Co.
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Allen started his business career at Heritage Bag Company, working in most departments within the company before becoming its president and CEO, then buying the Dallas-based company outright in 2005.Under Allen’s leadership, Heritage experienced its greatest sales and built new manufacturing facilities in California, Utah, Texas, Ohio, Georgia and New Jersey. He sold the company in 2016.
Allen’s philanthropic projects span several countries with primary focus areas of education, ecology, defense and health research. A passionate outdoors adventurist, Allen hosts “The Outdoors with Carl Allen” TV series and together with his family launched Allen Exploration in 2016 to research, explore and improve the world’s oceans.
This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Salve Regina: Edesia founder Navyn Salem to speak at commencement
