Former Marine Champions Public Service, Leadership
A former U.S. Marine who co-founded a nonprofit organization in one of Africa’s largest slums and who champions a collaborative framework for thinking about leadership will speak at Alma College in commemoration of Veterans Day.
Rye Barcott, author of It Happened on the Way to War: A Marine’s Path to Peace (2011), will speak at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13 in the Dunning Memorial Chapel. The talk is free and open to the public.
Rye Barcott
Barcott challenges students and others to gain a better understanding of those parts of the world that face major challenges of poverty, violence, corruption and disease, says Ed Lorenz, professor of history and political science at Alma College.
“A feature once common in the United States is the expectation and respect for public service — risking one’s life to serve the nation and the world,” says Lorenz. “Barcott models this and, best of all, ties into a commitment to educational excellence.”
The publication of Barcott’s book in 2011 marked the 10th anniversary of Carolina for Kibera, a nonprofit organization that Barcott co-founded in Nairobi, Kenya. While leading Marines in Iraq, Bosnia and the Horn of Africa, he and his Kenyan co-founders Salim Mohamed and Tabitha Festo built the organization that today impacts more than 250,000 people, many of whom live on less than two dollars per day.
In his book, Barcott shows how small groups of committed people from different ethnic, religious and educational backgrounds can make a profound impact. While weaving together themes of empowerment, personal discovery and risk-taking, Barcott gives first-hand examples of 21st-century leadership that have made a difference in the world.
Barcott has presented his story to a wide variety of audiences — including the Aspen Institute, Google, American and European universities, and the U.S. House of Representatives — and was named to the 2011 Class of the World Economic Forum’s Forum of Young Global Leaders. He has master’s degrees from Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
“It’s important that we think every day, not just on Veterans Day, about the service and sacrifices of our veterans, who have given so much for our country,” says Dale Sanders, a member of the Alma College Co-Curricular Committee that helped arrange Barcott’s talk.
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Posted: Tue, October 23rd, 2012 at 9:30AM
