Born October 6, 1930, New York City; family background; childhood in New York City, 1940 move to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, exposure to artistic, diplomatic and expatriate circles, development of leadership skills, formative trips abroad to Europe in immediate post-World War II years; education: High School Diploma, Collegiate School, 1948, B.A. Cultural History of Western Understanding, Yale University, 1952, M.B.A. Harvard University, 1956; military service: Diploma and Supply Officer Commission, Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps, Washington D.C. and France, 1952-1954; career: Foreign Service Officer, United States Department of State, Office of United Nations Political Affairs, Washington D.C., 1957-8, NATO Headquarters, Paris, 1958-1962, American Embassy, Warsaw, Poland, 1962-5, Rome, Italy, 1965-7; Founding Partner, Taylor Travel Service, Paris, 1967-9; European Director, National Industrial Conference Board, 1969-2; Director of Inner Cities Program and New York Representative, Save the Children Federation, 1972-5; Coordinator of Indochinese Refugee Resettlement Program, International Rescue Committee (IRC), New York, NY, 1975-1980, Program Director, IRC, 1980-1985, Executive Director, IRC, 1985-1993, President and Chief Executive Officer, IRC, 1993-1997, President Emeritus, IRC, 1997-present; IRC Relief Operations and Programs: Thailand, Cambodia, Burma, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, Rwanda, Congo, Iraq, El Salvador, Bosnia, and Kosovo; professional reflections: IRC origins and mission, legacy of Varian M. Fry, strong relationships with IRC founding members, IRC structural reorganization, relations with Board of Directors and Overseers, changing position of non-profit agencies, redefinition of word "refugee," post-conflict development work, Freedom Award dinners; retirement: Adjunct Senior Fellow for Refugees and the Displaced, Council on Foreign Relations, New York, NY, 1997-present, writing, publishing and speaking on refugee issues; awards: Peacemeakers Award, Episcopal Diocese of Washington D.C.; Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize, 1997; Freedom Award, IRC, 1997; Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Yale University, 2005; personal reflections: relationships with family and friends, impressions of New York City society, major public figures and cultural icons, World War II and European reconstruction, Cold-War and post-Cold War worlds, life in communist Poland and relations with Polish dissident movement, 1972-3 Israeli kibbutz experience, Soviet and American military operations of Afghanistan, generational dedication to public service work, impact of geopolitics and government on civilians, devotion to humanitarian ventures and values.
