What about the Fuller Center for Housing attracted you to working with the organization?
The vision of our founder, Millard Fuller, was life-changing. As a self-made millionaire who gave it all away, he believed in very modest salaries so that the resources go towards the work. He believed in truly empowering and working through the leadership of local people around the world, which remains extremely rare among nonprofits to this day. And he believed in working with families on a partnership basis, where they help to build their own homes and then repay the cost over time on a no-profit, no-interest basis to help more local families.
It was all motivated by a desire to take Jesus’ teachings seriously and try to live by them. Millard Fuller has since passed away but we continue to try to live by these principles.
On the roof of a home within a community we were building in Haiti
Describe a day in the life of the Director of International Field Operations.
Most days it’s a simple office life, where I kiss my wife and daughter goodbye and ride my bike into our office that is a converted old beautiful house in small town Americus, Georgia. There, I have a day’s worth of email and phone communications along with ongoing conversations with our small staff.
I help coach and oversee all of our projects in 19 countries around the world; but since we’re very grassroots and locally-led, I like to say that despite my title of Director it’s more like pushing ropes—and that’s by design, because we don’t want to be the one dictating all the decisions from here.
But there are other weeks when I’m off doing the glamorous work of visiting our sites around the world, meeting with the Board of Directors in a given location, opening up a new location for hosting volunteers, etc.
How do you use your business background in your current role?
My passion in business was in entrepreneurship—taking an idea and turning it into a sustainable, successful something. As we help local partners get up and running around the world, in many ways that’s exactly what I continue to do now, albeit with a higher purpose.
What led you to leave the for-profit sector and enter the not-for-profit world?
I was taught from a young age that the purpose God has for us is not to enrich ourselves but to live a life of loving God and our neighbors. At the time I felt my two options were (1) to try to earn as much as possible so that I could give generously and volunteer on the side or (2) to put my energy directly into helping others. I decided that option 1 was too much of offering to give the leftovers—and I knew that wealth was seductive and that if I accumulated some, I’d probably change my mind about giving much of it away! So when the opportunity arose to join Millard Fuller as a full-time stipend funded volunteer at the Fuller Center, I jumped for it.
At the Fuller Center office with President Jimmy Carter and our founder Millard Fuller
What is your proudest moment of working with the Fuller Center?
When I started here my charge was to get the next generation involved. To that end, I created a cross country bicycle ride called the Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure. It’s become a big deal for us, with several rides now happening throughout the year and the adventure raising over $2 million.
Last year we celebrated our 10th year of the rides with a big celebration in Savannah. So many past riders, who have become personal friends, were there. It was amazing.
Why should individuals choose to volunteer with the Fuller Center?
If you want to empower local people rather than undercut their initiative, if you want to do something that makes a real difference in the lives of people, if you want to do meaningful work not make-work, then we’re the program for you. Plus, we work hard to keep our programs affordable, which we know is important to everyone.
What does joining a Fuller Center trip look like?
All of our trips are team-based experiences. Some of those teams are closed groups—like schools, colleges, or churches—and others are open teams led by an experienced leader with volunteers from around the country or the world.
You spend one to two weeks in a given location helping to build a home and connecting to the community. We take care of all the arrangements within the country, from airport pick-up and drop-off, to food and water, to accommodations—which are in hotels or guest houses.
At the dedication of a Fuller Center home in Peru
If you could participate on any Fuller Center program, where would you go and why?
This question feels like you’re asking me which of my children is my favorite! We have a lot of terrific international host locations that I’d love to return to. I’d love to do the Fuller Center Bike Adventure’s National Parks tour next summer or to ride across the country again someday. The friendships, the natural beauty, and the lifestyle of the rides are all appealing to me.
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
It’s taking our minds off our own interests and wants and taking on a purpose of positively impacting someone else’s life. That means learning from those around you and making a sustainable difference. And the amazing thing is that the less we focus on getting what we want or ‘deserve’ and the more we focus on what might make someone else happy, the happier we become.
Why is it important for people to travel and experience new cultures?
Visiting another culture helps you better reflect on your own. It also makes you more informed about the world and helps you to become more genuinely sympathetic to people in places that you otherwise might view only from the lens of how their problems affect you.
Plus, you can have a lot of fun doing it!
With a group of student volunteers that we hosted from James Madison University (in center, holding the shirt)
What hopes do you have for the future of the Fuller Center and your role?
Now at 13 years old, the Fuller Center feels like we’re still a young entity and have a lot of ways that we will continue to grow and develop. We have the capacity to host a lot more teams, and our projects are asking for them. We also expect to continue to add locations in fascinating places at a moderate pace.
As for me, I look to grow my role by helping us to always accomplish more and to continue to learn and improve. In other words, ‘promotion’ to me is helping our work reach larger scale and always doing it better rather than a change in title.
Are there any projects you are currently working on or developments that our readers can expect to be seeing in the future?
We’re always looking to engage new volunteers or volunteer groups, and we keep ourselves open to potential new projects and locations if the situation is right. Right now we just recently opened up Puerto Rico and it’s had enormous interest.
