A Salute to Our MOSAIC Award Recipients

Jewish Family & Career Services is proud to honor our MOSAIC Award recipients. These five individuals who call Louisville home have made significant contributions in their professions and our community. To date, JFCS has recognized almost 70 refugees, immigrants and first-generation Americans who make our community richer and stronger for their work. We are excited to have Neeli Bendapudi, Di Tran, Berta Weyenberg, Kaveh Zamanian and Bapion Ziba join the ranks of these remarkable individuals.

Neeli Bendapudi (India) is a well-respected university president who has quickly become a Louisville community pillar. Known for ensuring the University of Louisville celebrates diversity, fosters equity and strives to achieve inclusion, President Bendapudi’s story is one of focus and drive.

Di Tran (Vietnam) is a business owner, professor and active community member. After earning his Master’s from the University of Louisville, Di served as a computer engineer at Humana while, at the same time, opening and operating several nail salons in partnership with his family. His story is one of determination and overcoming the odds.

Berta Weyenberg (Cuba) is an educator and community connector through and through. Her passion for helping people – and for food! – is apparent as soon as you hear her story. Marked by her compassion and desire to see others achieve, Berta’s story is one of hope and service to others.

Kaveh Zamanian (Iran) loves spirits – and he will tell you so himself. Which is precisely why he founded Rabbit Hole Distillery in 2012. From his childhood in Iran, his family’s journey to the United States to finally making his home in Louisville, Kaveh’s story is full of taking chances and pursuing dreams.

If you don’t know Bapion Ziba (Burkina Faso) yet, you should. Or you should at least know his food! Ziba’s Bistro is located at Logan Street Market where you can experience internationally inspired dishes with the flavors of West Africa fused with French, Italian, and American cuisine. Bapion’s story, like our other MOSAIC Award winners, is impressive – and JFCS is especially proud because Bapion is a former JFCS Navigate client, too!

Congratulations to each of these amazing Louisvillians for being named MOSAIC Award winners! Over the coming week, we will share more about their individual stories on our blog and across our social media platforms. We will honor their contributions to their fields and our community at our MOSAIC 2021 Awards Presentation on Thursday, May 27 at noon. If you are interested in joining the celebration, register to attend here.