Still Going Strong in His Overseas Encore Career at Age 79

12/31/2009 - 10:00:00pm

W. Frederick Shaw, sees no reason to stop after working nearly 40 years in international development, primarily in South Asia.

At age 79, the 2009 Purpose Prize fellow is living in Chandigarh, the capital of the Indian state of Punjab, and is providing services to more than 14,000 residents of two slums, Janta Colony and Adarsh Nagar. Nearly all of these residents have incomes below the official national poverty level. But he’s perfectly content and encourages other experienced workers to pursue encore careers in international development.

Engineer Helps Farmers Grow Their Way Out of Poverty

12/14/2009 - 10:00:00pm

When Paul Osterlund retired from Intel Corp. after 23 years as a designer and engineer, he figured he’d find a way to educate people about technology. His favorite experiences at Intel involved centers that let the public experience technology powered by Intel’s microprocessors.

“I hadn't even considered a social venture as a follow-up to my engineering career," Osterlund says.

Two years later, Osterlund’s Abundance Farming Project is helping subsistence farmers in Africa, India, China and South America improve their yields and increase their incomes with a soil additive that helps dirt hold moisture longer.

Former Teacher Fights Poverty in Latin America

08/17/2009 - 02:20:54pm

When Lynne Randolph Patterson left her job as a family educator in Long Island and moved to Bolivia in the late 1980s at age 50, she never dreamed she would be instrumental in creating one of Latin America's largest and most successful microfinance networks, Pro Mujer. Since it was founded, the organization has loaned $582 million to poor women entrepreneurs in Latin America and has assisted them with health care and business and empowerment training.

As the nonprofit organization’s cofounder and director, Patterson, now 70, has learned to value the skills and experience of midlife career changers. Many of Pro Mujer's top executives are encore careerists with backgrounds in business and finance.