Sam Carpenter (philanthropist)

Sam Carpenter
Born October 28, 1949
Lowville, New York
Nationality American
Occupation Philanthropist, entrepreneur, politician, business writer
Known for Kashmir Family Aid
Home town Bend, Oregon
Website
Kashmir Family Aid

Samuel Stephen Carpenter (born 1949, New York), known as Sam Carpenter, is an American philanthropist, author and entrepreneur. He is the founder and director of Kashmir Family Aid (KFA), a non-profit organization that supports secular education in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, India Kashmir, and northern Pakistan.[1] Carpenter started KFA in the wake of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and directs the efforts of supporting, staffing and improving schools in the quake-affected areas.[2] Carpenter is a business writer, owns several businesses and is the CEO of Centratel, based in Bend, Oregon.[3]

Biography

Carpenter grew up in Upstate New York and graduated with an Associate degree in Forestry from SUNY-ESF Ranger School. He relocated to Oregon in 1975. In 1984, after several failed business attempts, Carpenter bought a struggling telephone answering service business.[4] Headquartered in Bend, Oregon, Centratel provides emergency live messaging to business clients such as medical professionals and heating and air conditioning firms and funeral homes. Customer calls are routed to representatives who can respond and dispatch emergency service much like a public-safety answering point.[3] In 1987, the company made industry news when it upgraded to an Amtelco telephone exchange system integrating alpha-numeric pagers, cutting edge technology at the time.[5] The company saw periods of growth over the next 25 years as it established itself in its industry. In 2014, Centratel underwent another major expansion with a new facility and an additional 20 employees; Carpenter credited the growth in part to the effect of the economic recovery on his customers.[3]

The first edition of Carpenter's book Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less was published in 2008.[6] The book reflects Carpenter's business and personal philosophies, especially his Metatheory that effective change comes from an external ("outside and slightly elevated") perspective of a system.[7][8] He advocates process documentation to cut down time spent "fighting fires" or dealing with emergencies.[9] The book became a business bestseller; Greenleaf Publishing released the 3rd edition in 2012. Based on the book's popularity, Carpenter launched Work The System Consultants, LLC and Business Documentation Software, LLC, a tool for documenting processes as described in his book.[10]

Philanthropy

Main article: Kashmir Family Aid

Carpenter wrote several freelance articles about life on the ground for schoolchildren in Muzaffarabad in the weeks following the 7.6-magnitude earthquake that struck the region on October 8, 2005.[11] He subsequently developed an international perspective on issues related to the area and the impact of education, particularly for women, on terrorism.[2] Carpenter's experience of the Koran-focused Madrassa system, in comparison to secular public or private schools, was that they did not offer enough subjects like math, science or foreign language to provide a basis for future careers.[1] Carpenter started Kashmir Family Aid in 2006 to fight poverty and create opportunity by supporting schools in Kashmir. The non-profit provides support directly to schools, their staff, and the students. Carpenter has been repeatedly petitioned to allow the local governments to disseminate the organization's funds and refused, which has led to political tensions and at least one expulsion of Carpenter from the region.[1]

Politics

For more details on this topic, see United States Senate election in Oregon, 2014.

In October 2012, Carpenter filed with the Oregon Secretary of State to run for a seat in the United States Senate as a Republican against incumbent Jeff Merkley. He ran on a platform of "less government and more freedom and more opportunity for the people of this state and for the country."[12] On November 7, 2013, Carpenter withdrew from the race in support of Jason Conger.[13] Monica Wehby won the Republican nomination and on November 4, 2014, Merkley won re-election.

Personal life

Carpenter raised his two children, a son and a daughter, as custodial parent.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Strauss, Daniel (September 19, 2008). "Fighting Terrorism With Education". American Prospect. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Stoller, Christopher (February 19, 2008). "Fighting poverty with books in Pakistan". CNN.com. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Ditzler, Joseph (September 12, 2014). "Centratel plans business expansion". The Bulletin. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  4. ↑ Staff. "Company Overview of Centratel LLC". investing.businessweek.com. Bloomberg Business Week. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  5. ↑ Williams, Bruce (August 19, 1987). "High-tech System Wave of the Future". The Bulletin. p. B-2. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  6. ↑ Mapes, Jeff (October 10, 2013). "Sam Carpenter, Bend Republican, enters Oregon Senate race with $100,000 loan to his campaign". Oregon Live. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  7. ↑ Carpenter, Sam (October 1, 2011). Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less (3rd ed.). Greenleaf Book Group Press. p. 304. ISBN 978-1608322534. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  8. ↑ Moyers, Davey (July 6, 2013). "Review: Work the System". ActionableBooks.com. Actionable Books. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  9. ↑ Wainwright, Colleen (July 14, 2009). "Book Review: Work the System". communicatrix.com 23, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Work the System Academy". Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  11. ↑ Hawryluk, Markian (January 20, 2006). "Building more than houses". The Oregon Bulletin. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  12. ↑ Lerton, Barney (December 24, 2013). "Conger giving up House Dist. 54 seat in U.S. Senate bid Says crowded field can be good; likely to endorse GOP candidate to succeed him". KTVZ.com in association with CNN. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  13. ↑ Jarrell, Lacey (November 8, 2014). "Political Notebook: Carpenter withdraws from Senate race". Herald and News. Retrieved November 21, 2014.

External links