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Karen Chouhan describes herself as a professional "visionary".
A full-time race relations campaigner and community activist, she is described by former colleagues as effectively in charge of the 1990 Trust, and she was a director of the Black Londoners' Forum when it got its Greater London Authority grants. She left the forum's board in November.
Pakistan-born Mrs Chouhan, 50, lives in Leicester with her husband Jagdish, 48, a lecturer at De Montfort University, and her three children. She was a senior university lecturer in social and communities studies before joining the 1990 Trust.
She is well known in Leicester for chairing the board of community centre the Peepul Centre. She was a finalist in last year's Leicestershire Woman of The Year award.
In 2005 Mrs Chouhan was named a "professional visionary" by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, earning a trip to Chicago to meet the Reverend Jesse Jackson, the civil rights campaigner and former presidential candidate. Her vision statement said: "The UK will have a completely different framework for delivering race equality, led by Black communities themselves.
"Black communities in Britain will be first across the world to lead in deciding race equality policy and discourse; working as top level partners with government, public and private sectors and setting the terms of the debate. I see a time when race policy will only be actioned with the sanction of communities."
Last November, a 1990 Trust press release announced the Chouhans had been named "Britain's brainiest family" after competing in the national finals of Nintendo's Big Brain Academy computer game.
Local newspapers reported that Mr Chouhan and his eldest son were "cheering from the sidelines" as Mrs Chouhan and her two younger children won the £20,000 first prize. Part of the deal was that they then starred in a Nintendo TV commercial aired over the Christmas period.
Click on the links below to read the original emails between Lee Jasper and Karen Chouhan
"Torrid and passionate embrace..."
"How many ways do I love thee?"
"There is lots to talk about..."
Reader views (1)
This is priceless, if it wasn't so serious I'd say it was hysterical. Personally I feel sorry for Jasper's wife and all of his 9 children.
- Steve G, London uk, 04/03/2008 14:01
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