When asked if I am pessimistic or optimistic about the future, my answer is always the same: If you look at the science about what is happening on earth and aren’t pessimistic, you don’t understand data. But if you meet the people who are working to restore this earth and the lives of the poor, and you aren’t optimistic, you haven’t got a pulse. ~ Paul Hawken, 2009

I am the founder of Life in Africa and a member of the Ned.com Board. I am an American who currently lives in Brussels, Belgium, after a lifetime that includes 46 countries traveled, worked in or lived in so far.

One of my main passions for the past 10+ years has been finding ways to use the internet to create meaningful grassroots change in African communities. I became an Ashoka Fellow in 2001 after creating the first microfinance program in Africa driven by global online donor relationships. That work evolved toward a focus on community building - both online and off, including connections between the two.

Of late, I have been resting, reflecting, and relocating after 10 very intense years in Uganda. In 2008 I handed Life in Africa over to Ugandan management, supported by a new non-profit (Life in Africa USA).

I am currently simmering on some new project ideas, and hope to fully re-emerge into social entrepreneurship around September 09.