Archives: leaders

Willy grew up in a mud hut in a small village in Northern Tanzania. His parents could only afford 7 years of formal education, after which Willy headed to Arusha to work as a mechanic.   He worked his way up and went on to create the best safari business in the country. Willy believes that… Read more »

Célia Xakriabá is a teacher, poet, and activist from the Xakriabá people in the Cerrado biome of Brazil. She is one of the founders of the National Association of Ancestral Indigenous Women Warriors (ANMIGA) and a leading member of the Indigenous women’s movement in Brazil. She also helped to create the “Reforesting Minds” movement based… Read more »

Josefina Tunki lives and travels in the heart of the Cordillera del Condor from where thousands of tons of gold and copper are extracted. She is the first female president of the Shuar People in Ecuador. In recent years, she has become the Indigenous leader who is the face of the anti-mining struggle in her… Read more »

Of Quechua heritage from Peru, Lourdes Inga was born in Lima and has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for many years. A career in philanthropy culminated in her joining the board of International Funders for Indigenous Peoples (IFIP). She now serves as Executive Director. Foundation: Please give us an overview of IFIP. Lourdes:… Read more »

Co-Founder, Shake Hands with the World Bristol, Vermont The owner and retired president and CEO of VBT Bicycling & Walking Vacations, Gregg Marston and his wife Caroline were on a tour of Vietnam with a small group of VBT travelers when they came upon the Duc Son orphanage in the city of Hué. They were… Read more »

President, OnePlanet Burke, Virginia Community organization and well-being, biocultural conservation, and responsible development are the goals of OnePlanet, a nonprofit that partners with indigenous and traditional communities to build a more sustainable world. An Associate Professor of Integrative Studies at George Mason University, Mike Gilmore is also the president and founder of OnePlanet. He shares… Read more »

The leader of the Himalayan Trust Nepal is busy planning and celebrating the Centenary of Sir Edmund Hillary. Our interview with Mingma will be posted soon.

Principal, San Francisco de Chachagua School San Francisco de Penas Blancas, Costa Rica Grand Circle Foundation has partnered with the San Francisco Chachagua School to create a sustainable microfarm that not only feeds 184 students breakfast, lunch, and sometimes even dinner, but it also impacts the entire community with its surplus food supply and lifelong… Read more »

Founder and President, Wine to Water Doc Hendley dreamed up the concept of Wine To Water while bartending and playing music in nightclubs around Raleigh, NC. In February 2004, Doc held his first fundraiser. And by August, he was living halfway around the globe in Sudan, Africa installing water systems for victims of the government-supported… Read more »