ABOUT the Founder:

Fr. Jacob Odish Yasso Aug. 20, 1932 - Dec. 29, 2014

Rev. Jacob O. Yasso was born in a Chaldean village (Telkepe) north of Mesopotamia. After graduating high School, he was sent to Rome / Urbaniana University to pursue his Master’s degree in Philosophy and Theology. He was ordained a priest in 1960 and returned to Nineveh, where he worked with the public school system. Later, he was called to Baghdad to serve as a rector, administrator and teacher of Philosophy and religion at the Patriarchal Seminary. In 1964, he was assigned Pastor in Detroit, where he served the community as well as identified the Chaldeans as an ethnic group for the first time. In 1974, Fr. Yasso founded the Chaldean Educational Center of America and with help from the city of Detroit, he started teaching English as a second language (ESL) for incoming Chaldean immigrants.

In 1988, Fr. Yasso got his third Master’s degree in the new Canon law. He was then assigned to serve in Canada where he established the first Chaldean parish and Educational Center. He also served as Tribunal Judge with the Archdiocese of Toronto.

In 1992, he returned to Detroit to resume his duties by adding activities and projects in and around the Chaldean town and the city of Detroit and he is still diligently doing so.

In 1996, hand in hand with the scholar in visual arts and Mesopotamian history, Amer H. Hanna, they reestablished the Chaldean Educational Center under a new vision and new mission.

About the Cofounder: AMER HANNA-FATUHI

Amer Hanna Fatuhi is a scholar in Mesopotamian History, Minorities, and Ethno-religious groups in Iraq & the Middle East. He is also a professional Writer and Visual Artist. He studied engineering, art & ancient history from 1975 to 1983. To learn more visit: www.amerfatuhiart.com