One in seven people in the world live in a state of extreme poverty, surviving on less than $1.25 a day. In the continual effort to remedy this global crisis, the Mosbacher Institute in the Bush School of Government and Public Service will host a lecture Tuesday with Neal Keny-Guyer, CEO of the non-profit Mercy Corps.
“Bank of America funds an annual event about volunteerism and we invite a speaker every year and this year we invited Neal Keny-Guyer, the CEO of Mercy Corps,” Cindy Gause, program coordinator for the Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics and Public Policy, said.
The event is intended to encourage students growth and learning in volunteerism, Gause said. This provides students the opportunity to see what Mercy Corps is doing and their methods, said Lori Taylor, director of the Mosbacher Institute.
“He is going to speak on the issues of how they form partnerships to make lasting change, how nonprofits work to alleviate humanitarian crisis around the world,” Taylor said. “I anticipate he will talk a bit about cultural programs, the Ebola crisis, the idea is that the non-profit sector is becoming a very important player in the world.”
Mercy Corps has 4,000 employees working in more than 40 countries on health and conflict issues. Taylor said the organization has developed a two-pronged approach to development — responding to natural disasters quickly with emergency aid, such as the Ebola crisis in Liberia, and then encouraging entrepreneurship to improve overall conditions in the long term.
Taylor said she considers the organization’s approach to be effective at mediating disaster and encouraging growth.
“The idea being that you need to address issues where they first arise,” Taylor said. “Non-profit organizations like Mercy Corps are particularly well poised to be able to make those changes in the world.
In addition to Keny-Guyers talk, Will Brown, a Bush School associate professor and leader of the non-profit management program, will be conducting a question and answer portion with questions pertaining to the talk as well as questions that came up throughout the day, Taylor said.
This opportunity is meant for more than just students in this degree field, Taylor said.
“Having speakers like this visit A&M helps us to connect with the global world that we are all going to become a part of after we leave College Station,” Taylor said.
The lecture will begin at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the George Bush Presidential library. A reception will precede the event at 5:00 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.