Gregory C. Carr

Gregory C. Carr is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. His most notable philanthropic venture is the restoration of Mozambique's famous Gorongosa National Park, which has been ravaged by civil war and environmental destruction. He has pledged $40 million over 30 years to rebuild the park as a source of tourist income for the local population.

Greg Carr was born in Idaho Falls, ID, 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 University's Kennedy School of Government in 1986. Later that year, inspired by the breakup of AT&T, he and Scott Jones founded Boston Technology, the first firm to sell voice mail to telephone companies. Carr served as the chair of this international telecommunications firm until 1998.

From 1996-1998 he was chair of Prodigy, an early global Internet service provider (ISP). 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.

Carr has been active in human rights activities in his home state of Idaho. In 2000, Greg co-founded the Museum of Idaho located in Idaho Falls. In 2001 Greg opened the Market Theater in Harvard Square, Cambridge. The theater was known for showcasing small independent and experimental productions.

He currently sits on the boards of Internews, Physicians for Human Rights, Witness, American Repertory Theatre, the Great Ape World Heritage Species Project and the Idaho Human Rights Education Center.

External links

* [http://carrfoundation.org/ Carr Foundation official site]
* [http://www.gorongosa.net/ Gorongosa National Park site]

References

*Hanes, Stephane. "Greg Carr's Big Gamble." "Smithsonian", May, 2007.