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Bud Philbrook
Co-founder and President |
"Sharing a four-bedroom, one-bathroom house with 10 brothers and sisters taught me patience," Bud recalls. It also taught him to be satisfied with few resources. "We never had much, but we didn't feel deprived. However, when I was old enough to live on my own, I really appreciated all that I had!" "For most of the time that I was growing up in Roseville, Minnesota, my father worked two jobs to support the family. My mother, who took care of the children, also picked up temporary jobs during the Christmas holidays and other times when money was tight. But my parents also always volunteered. My father read for the blind for over thirty years and my mother visited the elderly, worked at church, and raised money for cancer research and the March of Dimes. Holidays were always a festive time for us, and I have wonderful memories of my family gathering around the Christmas tree in hopes that Santa left something for each of us," he said. Bud attended a private military high school in St. Paul, Minnesota. That experience helped him understand the sometimes unfortunate necessity of war, but also inspired him to seek alternatives to violence to resolve international conflicts. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Political Science from the College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota, in 1969 during the time of the Vietnam War.He decided then that he would commit his energies to finding ways to prevent war, vowing that when the Vietnam War was over, he would somehow help the Vietnamese people. (In 1994 when the U.S. trade embargo was lifted, Bud made the first of many trips to southern Vietnam and encouraged other Americans to volunteer there as well.) Bud went on to earn a Master of Arts degree from the Hubert Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, with concentrations in International Economic Development and Public Administration, and a Juris Doctor degree from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota.
e was appointed Assistant Commissioner for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. He also served as a consultant to the Rural Ventures Program at the Control Data Corporation. After earning his law degree, Bud opened his own law office in St. Paul, where he concentrated on business and government law. He was in private practice representing small and medium-sized businesses for 12 years, when in 1994, he closed his law firm to become the full-time president and CEO of Global Volunteers, which he and his wife, Michele Gran, had co-founded 10 years earlier. It's a job he describes as "the best job in the world." Over the years, he's served as spokesperson for the organization with local, regional, national and international media including CNN, NBC, CBS, China Daily, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Oprah Winfrey Show, People Magazine, and international radio and TV, and has appeared nationwide in various speaking engagements. He has also lead more than 30 Global Volunteers teams over the organization's 20-year history. Promoting Global Volunteers and visiting hosts and local people in Global Volunteers' partner communities is what keeps his life in balance, Bud explains. "Whenever I need a reality check, I spend some time in a rural village in a developing countries. That puts my priorities in order," he said. "We've been extraordinarily fortunate to work with wonderful partners on important, life-enhancing projects in all corners of the world. We are grateful to the local people who have exhibited courage, leadership, persistence and optimism in the face of countless challenges," Bud asserts. "From caring for abandoned and handicapped children in Ecuador, India, and Romania, to creating educational opportunities in China and Ghana, to addressing conflict in Ireland literally face-to-face, our partners blaze a trail of peace, hope and justice for us to follow."
In May 2004, he traveled to Xi'an, China with his family to celebrate Global Volunteers' 100th team of volunteers to China. He has also taken his sons with him all over the world on host community visits from the time they were each eight years old.
My motto: We have so much to learn from one another. |
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