2004 Honorees

Before his appointment as the president of the Institute of Americas in June 2003, filling the post of the late, much-respected, Ambassador Paul Boeker, Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow had a career spanning more than three decades in the US Foreign Service. He retired as America's highest-ranking diplomat, and is one of only three people holding the personal rank of Career Ambassador.

A graduate of University of Massachusetts (B.A., 1965) and the University of Minnesota (B.A., 1967), he later completed post-graduate work in India on a Fulbright travel grant. In 2002, he received an honorary doctorate in law from the University of Massachusetts. He has also been a Visiting Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government and at the Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University.

After marrying the former Joan Labuzoski, Ambassador Davidow joined the State Department in 1969 and has held increasingly key senior postings related to Latin America and Africa. Early in his Foreign Service career, Ambassador Davidow served as congressional staff aide, organizing in 1979 the first congressional hearings on the possibility of establishing a Free Trade Area for North America. Over the last 10 years, he has been Ambassador to Venezuela, Assistant Secretary of State for Latin America, and Ambassador to Mexico. Upon returning to the United States, Ambassador Davidow worked extensively with Harvard students during the 2002-03 academic year on a book about US-Mexican relations. El Oso y el Puercoespín has become a best-seller in Mexico and will soon be published in English in the United States.

Married since 1969, the Davidows are proud parents of two daughters, Gwen and Audrey. Before marrying, Joan served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon. She also served as a guide at the 1967 US Pavilion at the Montreal World Fair. While overseas with her husband and children, Joan pursued interests in teaching, linguistics, welfare activities, and local culture. In Mexico, she worked closely with women's cooperatives in Chiapas and Puebla to help them sell their homemade textiles and pottery at fair prices.

The Davidows currently reside in La Jolla, as they quickly integrate themselves into the exciting San Diego/Tijuana border region.

José Fimbres Moreno presides as the President of Baja California's regional supermarket chain, Calimax (Central Detallista S.A. de C.V.), founded by his father in 1938. Upon joining forces in 1993 with North American conglomerate, Smart & Final, Mr. Fimbres also serves as a member of their board of directors. There are over nine Smart & Final and 40 Calimax stores in Baja California today.

Formally educated as an accountant, Mr. Fimbres graduated from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in 1957. After marrying Socorro Mendoza, he attended management programs at the University of California, University of Chicago, New York University, and the Instituto of Panamericano de Alta Dirección de Empresa.

In addition to serving on numerous professional boards, including the Baja California Regional Advisory Board for Banco de México S.A. and BANAMEX, Mr. Fimbres has been active with Tijuana's Center for Employers, Chamber of Commerce, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey. He was also first president of the board of directors of CETYS Universidad, and the founding president of the Pro-Construction Committee of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

His community service includes participation on the boards of Centro Cultural Tijuana, Tijuana Opera, and the Binational Mainly Mozart Festival.

Mr. Fimbres is also an active board member of Pronatura Penínsular de Baja California, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving Mexico's biodiversity. PRONATURA co-produced the award-winning giant-screen film, Ocean Oasis, which shows daily at the San Diego Natural History Museum, as well as in select theaters around the world.

Recognizing his efforts in the corporate community, the Association of Sales and Marketing honored Mr. Fimbres as the "Entrepreneur of the Year" in 1985. In 2002, Frontera newspaper honored him as the "Person of the Year," and CETYS recognized him as a "Groundbreaker and Pioneer" that same year. In 2003, Mr. Fimbres accepted the Corporate Award for Social Responsibility on behalf of Calimax from the Fundación Internacional de la Comunidad, A.C. and was also honored on Tijuana's Walk of Fame.

Socorro Mendoza de Fimbres, mother of Rosella Ivette, Mónica Lizette, and José Baraquiel, and grandmother of three, co-founded the Catholic Ladies Club. She joins her husband in his volunteer efforts with the Binational Mainly Mozart Festival, and actively participates with Fundación Esperanza de México and the Association Gilberto, A.C.