TALKEETNA, AK, July 31, 2018 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Jay Katzen with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Mr. Katzen celebrates many years' experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Jay Katzen has served as a National Park Service Ranger at the Talkeetna Alaska station of Denali National Park and Preserve since 2011. From August 2005 to May 2006, he served as Acting Chief of Staff/Chief of Operations of the Peace Corps in Washington, D.C. From February 2004 to January 2009, he concurrently served as the Peace Corps' Regional Director, overseeing 19 programs in Europe, the Mediterranean area, and Asia. Previously, in 2003, Mr. Katzen was chosen in a national search to become CEO and President of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, charged by Congress and the White House to erect a memorial in Washington to the over 100 million victims of communism. The monument was unveiled and dedicated by the Foundation's Honorary Chairman, President George W. Bush, in June 2007. In 1990, Mr. Katzen was appointed by President Reagan and confirmed by the Senate as Vice Chairman of the Board of the African Development Foundation, and served in that post for two years. From 1959 to 1979, Mr. Katzen served as a career Foreign Service Officer, posted in Australia, Burundi, Congo (Kinshasa), Washington, communist Romania, Mali, at the United Nations in New York, at the White House, and in Congo (Brazzaville). His responsibilities included political and economic reporting, labor affairs, multilateral negotiation, consular affairs, promoting American business and overall management. He served as Charge d'Affaires at two challenging posts. He speaks five foreign languages - French, Romanian, Swahili, Lingala and Kirundi.
Also in the political/legislative realm, Mr. Katzen served as precinct chairman then vice-chairman of Alaska's Matanuska-Susitna borough's Republican Committee in 2015. In 2016, he was chosen as a delegate for Donald Trump to the State Republican Convention in Fairbanks and, subsequently, was a delegate for Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. He was the Republican Party's nominee for Virginia's Lieutenant Governor in 2001. He also was GOP nominee for Congress in Virginia's Ninth District in 2002.
In 1993, he knocked on 14,128 doors and was elected as the first Republican to represent the 31st legislative district of Fauquier, Rappahannock, and Warren counties in Virginia's House of Delegates. He was chosen Freshman Class President, party whip, and co-patroned over 3,000 bills, including landmark legislation improving the quality of Virginia's education and reforming welfare and law enforcement, while not raising taxes and protecting the Constitution. He served in leadership positions on the Finance, Education, and Agriculture Committees. He was re-elected three times.
Shortly after his first election, Mr. Katzen headed an NGO team to assist Rwandan refugees in eastern Congo. In highly challenging conditions, Mr. Katzen treated disease victims and motivated his team members. Tragically, the team buried 18,000 Rwandans who were found dead prior to its arrival.
Mr. Katzen participated in the drafting of the foreign affairs platform at the 1984 Republican Convention. He was chairman of the Fauquier County, Virginia GOP Committee, was a full-time volunteer, then paid advisor on Issues at HQ in the 1992 Bush/Quayle campaign, attended the Houston Convention, and was an Alternate Delegate at the GOP Convention in Philadelphia.
In the business realm, he served in New York as senior advisor reporting directly to the chairmen of corporations including Bechtel, Consolidated Gold Fields, Fluor, Kennecott, Newmont Mining, and Phelps Dodge from 1979 to 1991.
He served as a visiting professor at Boston College Graduate School of Management in 1978. Mr. Katzen pursued a formal education at Princeton University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science, magna cum laude, in 1958. He subsequently attended Yale University in 1959, graduating with a Master of Arts in international relations. In 1977 he attended National War College.
Mr. Katzen was a member of the advisory boards of the Duke University Primate Center and the University of Kentucky's Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce.
He was named the Family Foundation's Legislator of the Year. He has been recognized by the National Rifle Association, the National Federation of Independent Business, Vietnam Veterans of America, Virginia's Council on Indians, 4-H, the Virginia Society for Human Life, and Virginia's Armenian community. He served as chairman of the Rappahannock River Basin Commission, and as a board member of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. He is the recipient of a Martin Luther King Jr. Award and several Boy Scouts of America recognitions. Mr. Katzen also has received awards from the National Park Service. He is a past president of his local Lions Club International and has been a member of Rotary International. He was awarded the Philo Sherman Bennett Prize for his publication on "The Communist Movement in Greece, 1941-1951."
Jay and his wife of 55 years, Paddy, are residents of the State of Alaska. He is proud to serve as Chairman of the Board of Combat Wounded Veteran Challenge, and is a board member of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. He and Paddy are active members of the Iditarod Trails Committee. Paddy earlier served as Assistant Secretary of Natural Resources in Virginia. The Katzens have three grown sons, all Eagle Scouts, and six grandchildren.
He has been listed in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Politics, Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in the East, and Who's Who in the South and Southwest.
In recognition of outstanding contributions to his profession and the Marquis Who's Who community, Mr. Katzen has been featured on the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement website. Please visit www.ltachievers.com for more information about this honor
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis® now publishes many Who's Who titles, including Who's Who in America®, Who's Who in the World®, Who's Who in American Law®, Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare®, Who's Who in Science and Engineering®, and Who's Who in Asia®. Marquis® publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who® website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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