publications
george roter
George
Roter has been recognized as one of Canada’s emerging leaders in the non-profit
sector. He strongly believes that Canadians are passionate about driving social
change both within our country’s borders and abroad. He has dedicated the
past 8 years to building organizations that engage a broad cross-section of Canadians,
and specifically foster the involvement of our country’s next generation
of leaders.
Most of that dedication and effort has been focused on building Engineers Without Borders, an organization that, together with Parker Mitchell, he co-founded and where he continues to serve as Co-CEO. While completing his Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Waterloo, George became aware of the complex challenges facing three billion people around the world who live in poverty. He also saw an opportunity to mobilize engineers and their unique problem-solving approach as agents for social change.
He has since learned that the challenges of poverty will not be solved overnight, nor with handouts. Since its inception in January 2000, EWB has taken the approach of building capacity of individuals and organizations in developing countries to be able to create sustainable change locally. To this end, EWB has sent over 200 volunteers on projects in 25 countries around the world. EWB also engages 18,000 members across the country who are helping Canada and Canadians be part of the solution through pro-poor actions, attitudes and policies. In recognition of the results it has achieved, EWB has won six major international awards in the past 2 years.
George is a frequent speaker at conferences and events across North America and has recently been named as one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 (2005). In 2004 he was awarded a prestigious Action Canada Fellowship (2004) on public policy. He has received previous awards for his work with Engineers Without Borders from the Canadian Bureau for International Education, 2002 and the University of Waterloo, 2000. He has been featured by Time magazine as one of Canada’s next generation of social leaders (2001), and has appeared on television, radio and in numerous print publications across the country. George serves on the Board of Directors for a number of non-profit organizations, including Volunteer Canada, Canada’s major promoter of volunteerism.