Advisory Council
The Advisory Council exists to keep the Nowruz Commission connected to the communities it serves. There are two seats on the Advisory Council for each participating community. Appointment to a seat on the Advisory Council takes place through nominations made by the embassy of a participating country/community. For the communities with no diplomatic relations with the United States, said nominations are made by community organizations operating in the United States. Nominations are received and placed on the roster by the Chairman of the Advisory Council. The selection process takes place under the direction of the Chairman of the Council, and in consultation with embassies and community organizations. Nowruz Commission Advisory Council members are confirmed by the Board of Directors of the Commission and serve a term as prescribed by the by-laws of the Commission.
Jim Clifton is Chairman of Nowruz Commission Advisory Council. He is Chairman and CEO of Gallup, the world’s leading polling and public opinion research organization. Under his leadership Gallup has grown from a U.S.-based company to a global enterprise with forty offices in twenty countries. He is the creator of the metric Gallup Path and the Gallup World Poll. Clifton chairs the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and holds several honorary doctorate degrees. “I am pleased to chair the Advisory Council of Nowruz Commission. Nowruz is an ancient symbol of renewal for the nature and bonds of friendship. Nowruz conveys the universal significance of the Vernal Equinox on the first day of Spring.” Jim Clifton said.
Darkan Nurmagambet serves as a member of the Advisory Council of the Nowruz Commission. As project director to the Maryland-based consulting firm MSS Consulting, Nurmagambet helps coordinate activities between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Russian Space Agency. Prior to that, he served as project coordinator on space agency activities for the Falcon Group in Alexandria, Va.
Nurmagambet has extensive experience in project development and management. He also served in senior positions at Mettler Toledo Instruments and Samsung Electronics in Kazakhstan.
Nurmagambet received his master’s degree in International Commerce and Policy at George Mason University, his MBA at the Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research in Almaty, Kazakhstan and his bachelor’s degree in Physics from Kazakh State University.
Sir Eldon Griffiths will remain in memoriam.
May 25, 1925 – June 3, 2014