Christopher Dunford, President, joined Freedom from Hunger
in 1984 and became its president in 1991. He holds a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University
of Arizona and a Bachelor's degree in Biological Science from Cornell University.
He has 30+ years of experience in development planning and management in Africa,
Asia, Latin America and the United States. In addition to his work with Freedom
from Hunger, Dr. Dunford has also worked with United Nations and USAID. Dr.
Dunford was instrumental in the design and implementation of Freedom from Hunger's
strategy for combining microfinance services with education on business, health
and nutrition issues. He has served on the boards of InterAction; our partner
organization, CRECER; and Microcredit Enterprises, Inc. He was a member of the
U.S. Agency for International Development's Advisory Committee on Voluntary
Foreign Aid from 1997 to 1999 and he received the Warner P. Woodworth Social
Entrepreneur of the Year Award given by the Marriott School of Business at Brigham
Young University in 2004. He has authored numerous papers, impact studies and
two books. Dr. Dunford is a frequent speaker at practitioner events and conferences
around the world. He married and has a son in high school.
According to Chris, "When I visit the field to sit among the women at
a self-help group meeting, I know I've made a difference. Once they settle back
into their meeting routine after the disruption of my arrival has passed and
they get back to business, I just sit there and listen to the rhythms of their
knowledge and watch their faces and gestures. I can feel the impact of my work
on their lives. I can feel the difference between groups, some responding to
the opportunity of receiving credit and training more than others, but at almost
every meeting I can feel what this program means to them. It means a great deal.
The headaches of management and fundraising, the anxieties of program design
and implementation, the uncertainties and ambiguities of evaluation, the missteps
and setbacks, all go quiet. Their spiritual energy renews my own."
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