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Gregory C. Carr

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Gregory C. Carr
File:CarrStill7.jpg
Born1959 (1959) (age 65)
Idaho Falls, Idaho
NationalityAmerican
EducationMaster of Science in public policy[1]
Alma materHarvard Kennedy School
Utah State University
Websitewww.carrfoundation.org

Gregory C. Carr (born 1959) is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. His most notable philanthropic venture is the restoration of Mozambique's famous Gorongosa National Park,[2] which has been ravaged by civil war and environmental destruction. He has pledged more than $100 million over 35 years to restore and protect the park's biodiversity, and to assist communities living adjacent to the park with health care, education and agriculture in a public-private partnership with the Government of Mozambique.[3]

Biography

Greg Carr was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, in 1959. His parents are Taylor H. and Betty O. Carr. He attended Utah State University as an undergraduate, majoring in history, and received a master's degree in public policy from Harvard Kennedy School in 1986. Later that year, inspired by the breakup of AT&T, he and Scott Jones founded Boston Technology,[4] one of the earlier firms to sell voice mail systems to telephone companies. Carr served as the chair of Boston Technology until it was purchased by Comverse Technology in 1998.[5][6]

From 1996 to 1998 he was chair of Prodigy, an early global Internet service provider.[7][8] He also co-founded Africa Online in 1996 and served as its chair until 1998.

In 1998 Carr resigned from his for-profit boards and dedicated himself to humanitarian activities. He formed the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University in 1999. Through research and teaching, the Carr Center seeks to make human rights principles central to the formulation of good public policy in the United States and throughout the world.

In 1999 he also founded the Gregory C. Carr Foundation, a non-profit organization through which he has been involved in various projects including the Gorongosa Restoration Project. The Carr Foundation is currently committed to the 30 year restoration of Gorongosa National Park in central Mozambique as well as to the sustainable development of the communities surrounding the park. The Gorongosa team has reintroduced species to the ecosystem, worked with the Mozambican government to extend the park's boundaries to include Mount Gorongosa and planted more than three million trees on the mountain, created an international restoration ecology science research center, established eco-tourism in the park, and provides health and education programs to the local communities living near the park's borders. National Geographic Television chronicled the park's restoration in their film Africa's Lost Eden, as well as the CBS News program 60 Minutes[9] on October 26, 2008. Carr has frequently been a keynote speaker and panelist on conservation and restoration at universities, conferences, and film festivals.[10][11][12][13][14] Since 2012, he has guest lectured annually to undergraduate students at Princeton University and was a featured speaker in Princeton's Class of 2014 Last Lectures series.

Carr has been active in human rights activities in his home state of Idaho. In 2000, he co-founded the Museum of Idaho located in Idaho Falls, and in 2001 he opened the Market Theater in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The theater was known for showcasing small independent and experimental productions. In 2001, he purchased the compound of the Aryan Nations, near Hayden Lake, Idaho after it was seized by court order following a successful lawsuit brought by the Southern Poverty Law Center against the Nazi group. The land, donated to North Idaho College, is now a park.

He was a close friend of biologist E. O. Wilson[15] and served on the board of the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation until Wilson's passing on December 26, 2021.[16]

Awards and honors

  • Honorary PhD Utah State University. 2003[17]
  • Idaho Technology Hall of Fame. 2013[18]
  • Honorary PhD Boise State University. 2015[19]

References

  1. ^ "Kennedy School Announces Center for Human Rights Policy" (Press release). John F. Kennedy School of Government. June 10, 1999. Retrieved October 26, 2008.
  2. ^ Hanes, Stephane (May 2007). "Greg Carr's Big Gamble". Smithsonian. Archived from the original on December 25, 2011. Retrieved October 26, 2008.
  3. ^ Adams, Patrick (February 20, 2019). "A Comeback for African National Parks". The New York Times. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  4. ^ Julie Sloane (October 11, 2007). "Anatomy of an entrepreneur". Fortune Small Business. Retrieved October 26, 2008.
  5. ^ Journal, Thomas E. WeberStaff Reporter of The Wall Street (August 22, 1997). "Comverse Technology to Buy Boston Tech for $845.2 Million". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  6. ^ "Comverse acquires Boston Technology". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved January 28, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ Journal, Jared SandbergStaff Reporter of The Wall Street (October 17, 1996). "Prodigy Plans on Becoming A 'New' Internet Service". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  8. ^ Journal, Jared Sandberg and Craig S. SmithStaff Reporters of The Wall Street (April 29, 1997). "Prodigy Becomes First Foreign Internet Provider in China". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  9. ^ One Man's Plan to Save a Natural Treasure. CBS News. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  10. ^ "Newsroom: Human Rights Banquet to feature philanthropist Greg Carr". North Idaho College. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  11. ^ "Greg Carr's schedule for Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival & Conservation Summit". jacksonholewildlifefilmfest2017.sched.com. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  12. ^ "Greg Carr | Mountainfilm Festival, Telluride CO". www.mountainfilm.org. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  13. ^ "Keynote Speaker Confirmed: Greg Carr, Philanthropist & Human Rights Activist". December 15, 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  14. ^ Missoulian, JOE NICKELL of the. "Speaker to tell story of African park restoration". missoulian.com. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  15. ^ French, Howard W. (November 2011). "E. O. Wilson's Theory of Everything". The Atlantic. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
  16. ^ "E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation".
  17. ^ "Honorary Degrees". Utah State University.
  18. ^ "Hall of Fame - Idaho Tech". Idaho Technology Council.
  19. ^ "Honorary Doctorate Recipients". Boise State University.
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