Most recently, Megan and I spent a couple of weeks in Europe. We loved Portugal especially, the beaches there are amazing! The whole trip was really quite wonderful, but the dollar/Euro conversion makes every purchase (from coffee to clothes) a bit of a hard swallow.
And I might as well fess up that I actually have one more trip scheduled for next week, but for all intents and purposes, the partying is over and I’m ready to get back to work.
When I last posted, I felt pretty clear that I was planning to pursue dual paths – starting my own consulting company and working for an established organization. I’m still firm on that general plan, but I’ve gotten a bit more interested in working on the governmental side of things versus the non-governmental world.
During my most recent trip, we spent some time in Portugal with our friends Beth and Marv. These are the folks who actually introduced me to Megan so they have been an important part of my life for quite a while. It was great to see them, and in fact, our visit got me thinking about the possibilities of engaging my passion a bit differently.
Marvin is a consultant with NATO and he and I spent some time talking about NATO’s mission post cold war – its really quite fascinating. What you have is an organization that has been evolving its role and shifting its deployment strategy to better support nation stabilization as well as disaster relief and recovery. Its an organization that still manages considerable assets although many folks (myself included) have viewed them as a somewhat antiquated structure, born from a need that no longer exists. NATO is now a first-in organization in many disaster relief situations and when asked (as is increasingly the case), they are available to provide ongoing recovery support. As a next step, Marvin has offered to help me connect with an EU economist and ambassador to help me learn more about what’s possible here. While I’m not interested in the more military aspects of how NATO provides support, I am interested in their humanitarian efforts as directed/requested by the UN.
Beth also provided me with some food for thought. She encouraged me to connect on the straight-up political side of things. Her rolodex connections include former congressman Tony Hall who has been a longtime supporter of hunger relief efforts in Africa and Asia and who is currently working on Middle East issues. The idea of supporting within the political realm is a little hard for me to imagine for myself, but that could just be the bias of someone who has made a judgment from the outside without really understanding what’s going on. Without a doubt, there are more broad-based ways of helping out if pursued through the political arena. I’m still mulling this one over, but I’ll admit that there is some allure here…
And I might as well fess up that I actually have one more trip scheduled for next week, but for all intents and purposes, the partying is over and I’m ready to get back to work.
When I last posted, I felt pretty clear that I was planning to pursue dual paths – starting my own consulting company and working for an established organization. I’m still firm on that general plan, but I’ve gotten a bit more interested in working on the governmental side of things versus the non-governmental world.
During my most recent trip, we spent some time in Portugal with our friends Beth and Marv. These are the folks who actually introduced me to Megan so they have been an important part of my life for quite a while. It was great to see them, and in fact, our visit got me thinking about the possibilities of engaging my passion a bit differently.
Marvin is a consultant with NATO and he and I spent some time talking about NATO’s mission post cold war – its really quite fascinating. What you have is an organization that has been evolving its role and shifting its deployment strategy to better support nation stabilization as well as disaster relief and recovery. Its an organization that still manages considerable assets although many folks (myself included) have viewed them as a somewhat antiquated structure, born from a need that no longer exists. NATO is now a first-in organization in many disaster relief situations and when asked (as is increasingly the case), they are available to provide ongoing recovery support. As a next step, Marvin has offered to help me connect with an EU economist and ambassador to help me learn more about what’s possible here. While I’m not interested in the more military aspects of how NATO provides support, I am interested in their humanitarian efforts as directed/requested by the UN.
Beth also provided me with some food for thought. She encouraged me to connect on the straight-up political side of things. Her rolodex connections include former congressman Tony Hall who has been a longtime supporter of hunger relief efforts in Africa and Asia and who is currently working on Middle East issues. The idea of supporting within the political realm is a little hard for me to imagine for myself, but that could just be the bias of someone who has made a judgment from the outside without really understanding what’s going on. Without a doubt, there are more broad-based ways of helping out if pursued through the political arena. I’m still mulling this one over, but I’ll admit that there is some allure here…
3 comments:
Nice to have you back!
Aligned! I'm glad you're back w/us in the 'Nati :)
Put up some photos! Please!
Interesting the Tony Hall's name just came up in your quest. Although, not surprising as the political realm is something you hadn't really considered prior to. Rep. Hall went to Denison University (they obviously churn out some remarkable people :-) ). I have loosely followed some of his efforts in the past as I gained an interest back at Denison. I'd be really interested in hearing if you connect with him. Keep me posted. Cheers, Jess George
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