VABAW is pleased and honored to feature our keynote speaker, Jerilyn Brusseau co-founder and President of PeaceTrees Vietnam. PeaceTrees Vietnam works alongside the Vietnamese people to help build a safe and healthy future by removing landmines, clearing unexploded ordnances, and planting trees. Ms. Brusseau co-founded PeaceTrees Vietnam in 1995 as a project to foster cross-cultural friendship and healing with the people and the land of Vietnam. Since that time, PeaceTrees Vietnam has been committed to working alongside the Vietnamese people to reverse the legacy of war through clearance of landmines and unexploded ordnance and providing accident prevention programs for children. PeaceTrees Vietnam’s work focuses on the Quang Tri province, an area heavily impacted by the legacy of war. For more information about PeaceTrees Vietnam, visit http://peacetreesvietnam.org

Ms. Brusseau is also a cook, baker, restaurateur, business-woman, humanitarian and cultural diplomat. In 1978, she founded “brusseau’s in Edmonds”, a flourishing French sidewalk café and country bakery, which she operated with her family until 1993. During that time, Ms. Brusseau was invited by Restaurants Unlimited to join them in the pursuit of the “perfect” cinnamon roll, resulting in 1985 in the creation of the Cinnabon World Famous Cinnamon Rolls. She has been a frequent guest on national and local television and radio. She was recently featured in People Magazine and in an Emmy-Award-Winning documentary film, “Vietnam Revealed,” on behalf of PeaceTrees Vietnam. For an interview of Ms. Brusseau on KUOW 94.9 FM about Cinnamon Diplomacy, please click here.

To reserve your seat at the annual banquet, please click here for a printable version of the reply card seen below.  Please send the reply card and advance payment by September 30 to reserve your seat.

For details, please contact VABAW Banquet Chair and President-Elect Thi Huynh at thi@huynhlaw.com or 206.569.4547. For information about sponsoring the Fourth Annual Banquet, please click here.