After I left Humboldt I went to law school. I knew at the time that I might not practice, but I went because I thought I could work in the public sector, and I didn’t think I had the writing skills to do a Ph.D. in political science. I was fortunate to meet someone at the conclusion of my law studies who changed my life. He was one of the first people ever hired by the U.N., and had a long and distinguished career in international work. I helped him write his memoirs. When I finished that piece of work, I went to LA and practiced public interest law. But, I kept thinking about what my mentor had done, so I used his contacts to get myself an interview an international non-profit. I went to Uganda to work in the civil war doing humanitarian work. I did that for three years, returned to the States and practiced law (public defender), but was so attracted to international relief work that I returned to Harvard to do a Masters in Public Administration, and then shipped out to Africa. Other than a brief stint with UNHCR, I have done humanitarian relief work for the last 20 years, living many years in Africa and Asia, but most recently in Washington, and rising up the ranks of the bureaucracy. During my career I found that I had an aptitude for management, so gradually was called on to manage larger organizations (today my portfolio exceeds $2.5 billion). I also knew that I was capable of handling multiple issues at once without getting flustered, which is ideal for doing disaster assistance.