Desiring to live a life robust with contributions to civic endeavors, Stephen Avery has lent much of his time to various nonprofit charities, foundations, committees and facilities. Leveraging his vast breadth of knowledge, he has excelled in a multitude of roles, including as a member of the President’s Council of the World Jewish Congress and the scholarship committee of the American Indian Education Fund since 2005; AmeriCares, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the International Rescue Committee since 2004; and the Founders Circle of the Vada Sheid Community Development Center at Arkansas State University and the National Campaign for Tolerance since 2002. Notably, Mr. Avery has also served as a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum since 2001.
Likewise, Mr. Avery has thrived as the founding sponsor of the Statue of Liberty Museum of Ellis Island since 2018, the National Museum of American Jewish History since 2009, the Flight 93 National Memorial since 2006 and the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial since 2005. He has further been active as a member of the Academy of American Poets, the American Film Institute and the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, who named him a national patron.
Alongside his civic roles, Mr. Avery is also a prolific and established writer and playwright since 1989. Before venturing into his independent writing, he previously served as a freelance reporter of The Sentinel-Record and New Era between 1970 and 1973. Additionally, he served in the United States Navy for the following four years. Books to his credit have included “Burning Bridges,” “Insidious,” “Because” and “Hungry: Three Plays.” Moreover, he was the production partner of two documentaries, “Viva la Causa” and “Ever Again.”
As a testament to his resounding success and contributions to the nation, Mr. Avery has earned a myriad of accolades. Recently selected for inclusion in the Wall of Honor of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in 2018, he previously received the Medallion of Commitment from the World Jewish Congress in 2013, the Gateway Award from Save Ellis Island, Inc., in 2012, and the Nahum Goldmann Leadership Award and the Leadership Award from the World Jewish Congress Foundation in 2007 and 2011, respectively. In addition, Mr. Avery was honored with the American Spirit Medal from the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2007, two Congressional Orders of Merit in 2006 and 2007, and inclusion in the Republican Presidential Honor Roll of the National Republican Congressional Committee in 2005.
Looking toward the future, Mr. Avery intends to continue dedicating his time to civic duties, as well as continue sharing his wealth of wisdom within the pages of his books and plays.
