Ed's work as a geologist has taken him across the globe, and he has managed to stay involved with AMIGOS. He was recognized as the 2008 Veteran Service Award Winner for his extended dedication to the organization.

 

AMIGOS: How did your involvement in AMIGOS impact your life?

Ed: My parents observed that the difference in me before and after AMIGOS was like night and day. Before AMIGOS, I was a typical laid-back California teenager.  After my experience, they noticed much more self-confidence, energy and a sense of purpose.

 

AMIGOS: What is your favorite AMIGOS memory?

Ed: My favorite Volunteer story took place when I was in Ecuador in 1977.  My partner and I were vaccinating against measles and tuberculosis, and we had traveled eight hours on mules to a village in the eastern foothills of the Andes. When we arrived at the school to begin vaccinating, there were over 500 children lined up to receive shots. I also have many great memories of my time on field staff.  In particular, I recall watching hesitant young volunteers travel to their villages, and then returning a week later to see them fully integrated in their communities.  The AMIGOS experience was happening before my eyes!  I made many great friendships during my AMIGOS years, and I stay in touch with some colleagues to this day.

 

AMIGOS: Did your experience with AMIGOS influence your career path?

Ed: One of the reasons I chose my line of work is that it is a truly global business that would afford me the opportunities to live in many unusual places – like AMIGOS villages: places where tourists don’t often visit. Working on the water well project in AMIGOS was a great career-development experience for me, because I was able to put a lot of the academic training I was receiving at the time into practice. I suppose the two summers I spent digging water wells in Honduras were my first professional experiences as a geologist.

 

AMIGOS: You have traveled all over the world in your work as a geologist and lived in Houston, Alaska, Colombia, Venezuela, Russia, and now, Denmark. How many languages do you speak?

Ed: I speak Spanish, French and Russian more or less fluently.  I am taking three hours a week of Danish lessons at the moment, but have a long way to go, because the pronunciation is so complicated. There are lots of benefits to being able to communicate in the local language: it’s a great ice-breaker, it helps get business done, and it’s a great window into understanding the culture.

 

AMIGOS: What is your family like?

Ed: While in AMIGOS, I met Suky Umaña of La Ceiba, Honduras. We have been married for over 22 years, and have two children: María Isabella (19 years) and Brendan (16 yrs).  Isabella and Brendan have attended several international schools, and are already fluent in several languages, and Suky and I think that our gypsy lifestyle has been good for them.  Isabella had a great experience as a volunteer in Uruguay in 2007, and I hope that both of them will return to AMIGOS in the future.

 

AMIGOS: What are you and your family currently doing?

Ed: We are enjoying a great quality of life in Copenhagen at the moment. Everything in the country is at a human scale: very compact, no buildings over six stories tall, no traffic. The transport infrastructure should be a model to other countries. We’re enjoying not having a car, and I ride my bike to work.

 

AMIGOS: Have you enjoyed serving as an International Board member?

Ed: Serving on the International Board is a wonderful break from my usual job, and has put me in contact with some wonderful, intelligent, generous people, with different viewpoints than the ones I usually hear.  It is an enriching experience for me, and again, AMIGOS is giving me more than I can ever pay back.

 

AMIGOS: Last year you walked the final 110 km of the 1000-year-old Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in northwest Spain and asked your friends and family to support the effort by making a donation to AMIGOS. Why?

Ed: Though some of the principal objectives of my pilgrimage were selfish – to spend time with my family, and to escape, for one week, from the modern world – I also wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to summon some additional motivation to carry me across the finish line in Santiago de Compostela. I used the pilgrimage as an opportunity to raise money for my favorite charity: AMIGOS.

 

AMIGOS: How have you seen AMIGOS evolve over time?

Ed: Although the projects have changed a great deal, the basic premise is still the same: give idealistic young people a life-changing experience by handing them more responsibility and less structure than they have ever had in their lives thus far.  Mix in the prospect to become totally immersed in another language and culture, and in the process, create a lasting positive impression on total strangers from another part of the world, and you have a unique opportunity.  Entrepreneurs are true innovators in our society, and my definition of an entrepreneur is someone who creates something with a minimum of resources. This seems like the AMIGOS program to me.