Bio
Growing up in rural America I longed to see other lands and experience other cultures. Fortunately my parents and a few good mentors had impressed upon me the concept of service and the need to make the world a better place, so combining these passions I was among the first volunteers for the Peace Corps. After completing field work in community development and agriculture in Colombia I traveled extensively throughout South America before finishing graduate studies in Social Anthropology, organizational behavior and administration. Afterwards I pursued a career as a Labor Negotiator, HR Director and mediator before joining the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations. With DPKO I served with the UN in high profile and frequently hazardous assignments in Somalia, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan and Sudan, among others. I retired after twenty years but have been called back for special assignments to East Timor, Democratic Republic of Congo and twice to Sudan.
From simple beginnings in rural America to global peacekeeper, I like to think that my path in life has allowed me in some way to foster and fulfill my passion for peace and social justice. Through personal connections and unique cultural experiences I have discovered that what we share worldwide with all humans far outweighs our differences as individuals, an opinion that is regularly challenged by current events and the changing political climate. My ambitions have brought me to places unlike any I could have imagined and continue to guide me on my travels and in my writing.
