Jerry White (activist)
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Jerry White is an American political activist and co-founder of Survivor Corps. He is a recognized leader of the historic International Campaign to Ban Landmines, co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and co-founder of Survivor Corps (formerly Landmine Survivors Network — the first international organization created by and for survivors to help victims of war rebuild their lives). He is a leading expert on survivorship and resilience. His life's work—transforming victims into survivors—is fueled by the conviction that, with the right tools, everyone can rise above tragedy and give back to their communities.
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[edit] Background
In 1984, White lost his leg—and almost his life—in a landmine accident. He has endured the pain of loss and the challenge of rebuilding. As co-founder of Survivor Corps, He has led efforts to draft and enact human rights and humanitarian laws that promote and protect the rights of 650 million people with disabilities. Through Survivor Corps, White is building a global movement to address the root causes of violence and armed conflict around the world.
White arranged for, and escorted, Diana, Princess of Wales, on her last humanitarian mission, to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and then spearheaded efforts to promote a mine-free Middle East with King Hussein and Queen Noor of Jordan.
White has appeared and published extensively in the media; testified before the United States Congress and the United Nations; and received several awards in recognition of his humanitarian and human rights leadership, including: the first International UNA Humanitarian Prize from Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills; the 2001 Paul G. Hearne/American Association of People with Disabilities Leadership Award; the 2000 Mohammed Amin Humanitarian Award; Brown University's 2000 William Rogers Alumni Award; the Center for International Rehabilitation's Leadership Award in 1999; and the 1997 Nobel Prize for Peace awarded to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.
[edit] I Will Not Be Broken
In May 2008, he will release his book, I Will Not Be Broken: 5 Steps to Overcoming a Life Crisis, which offers a formula for survivorship. Jerry has interviewed and helped thousands of victims of tragedy. He incorporates their stories, as well as his own, to describe a process for not only surviving crisis, but going on to thrive.
[edit] Personal
White lives in Maryland with his wife Kelly and four children.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from Brown University, a master’s of business administration from University of Michigan, and an honorary doctorate from Mount Sinai School of Medicine. In 2005 White delivered the commencement speech at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, where he had recently been awarded an MBA from the Ross School of Business.
Before he began the LSN, White had been an activist campaigning against weapons of mass destruction and had been interviewed or published in newspapers and journals such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and The New Republic. He has been Assistant Director of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, an editor for the award-winning publication Risk Report and in the late 1990s served on the Board of Directors of the Amputee Coalition of America. He has testified before the United Nations and the United States Senate.
