Diana Jenkins - Personal Background
Born in Sarajevo, Bosnia, Diana Jenkins grew up surrounded by the horrors of civil violence. She graduated from Sarajevo University, where she majored in economics, and in 1993 fled Bosnia to London, where she was granted refugee asylum.
In England, Diana Jenkins enrolled as a student at the City University of London. She began to learn English and worked at various jobs to support herself as well as send money back to her family in Bosnia. Soon after her arrival, Diana met Roger Jenkins at the Barbican gym and the couple married in 1999.
Diana Jenkins - Philanthropic Activities
One of Diana Jenkins' great undertakings to date is the establishment of the Sanela Diana Jenkins International Justice Clinic at UCLA. Launched in 2008 with a $4 million personal endowment from her, the organisation is dedicated to fighting for human rights, with particular focus on Balkan issues. UCLA law students and faculty members working for the organisation work to expose mass crimes and help bring to trial the war criminals behind them. They also make policy recommendations to improve mechanisms of international justice.
The first foundation created by Diana Jenkins as soon as she was able was the Sanela Diana Jenkins Foundation in memory of her brother, Irnis Catic. This largest privately funded organisation of its kind in Bosnia helps to establish Bosnian orphanages and schools, and provides funds for the University of Sarajevo's medical school. Additional funds go towards building homes for the poor, and to help with national projects, such as cleaning up polluted areas and restoring the natural beauty of the country's lakes.
With suffering in war-torn Bosnia in the back of her mind, Diana Jenkins immediately took action when she heard of the powerful earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in January, 2010. With her personal donation of $1 million, she and actor/director Sean Penn created the Jenkins-Penn Haitian Relief Organization. They gathered 12,000 pounds of relief aid, including medical supplies, organized a professional team of doctors and nurses, and flew to the site where scores of victims were awaiting treatment. Diana Jenkins joined them in Port-au-Prince, where she helped in alleviating suffering in any way that she could. She hopes that in the future her humanitarian organization will help in rebuilding hospitals and schools.
Diana Jenkins was the driving force behind a charity event in December 2008 co-hosted by George Clooney, Matt Damon and Jerry Weintraub. The event raised close to £10,000,000, which went to the organisation Not On Our Watch in support of refugees from Darfur. In 2008 Diana Jenkins was made a honorary adviser to the Bosnian president.
In early 2009, Diana Jenkins was declared the recipient of the prestigious 2008 Mostar Peace Connection Prize for her international humanitarian efforts. The winner of prize is announced once a year by the Bosnia and Herzegovina Center for Peace. Previous winners of the prize include Dr. Mohamed Albaradei, U2 singer Bono Vox and Nelson Mandella.
Diana Jenkins - Current Projects
In 2009, Diana Jenkins launched her new company, Neuro Drinks, which sells a variety of beverages designed to improve sleep, sports performance, weight loss and more.
Diana Jenkins has produced Room 23, featuring a series of photographs taken of celebrities in faux dramatic scenes inside the Peninsula Hotel's penthouse suite. Proceeds from book sales will help fund Diana Jenkins' existing projects, including the International Justice Clinic and the Sanela Diana Jenkins Foundation.
