Last month I came back to Appleton for my 50th reunion, and I stood under that arch a good while longer than I needed to. Lawrence gave me the habit of asking better questions—and the nerve to act on the answers. Almost everything I’ve built since started here.
While I was on campus I had the privilege of sitting with President Laurie Carter, and I came away energized. She spoke about two things I care about deeply: giving Lawrence students a real path into global public health, and building sources of strength for the university that reach beyond tuition. Those aren’t competing goals. Done right, they’re the same goal.
I’ll be honest about why I’m writing now rather than someday. This past year handed me a few reminders—some hard, some full of grace—that time is the one thing none of us can manufacture more of. That clarity is a gift. It’s pushed me to give something lasting back to the place that launched me, while I can help shape it with my own hands and heart.
So here is my offer, plainly. After Lawrence I founded Force for Health—a physician-founded health network that turns learning about health, and helping your community, into something people actually want to do. It’s already built: gamified courses, real credentials, live public-health data, friendly AI coaches, and community projects with measurable impact. I would like to bring all of it home to Lawrence—as a curriculum spine for a global public health program, a student chapter that any group can start, a credential ladder that reaches out into the world, and a mission-aligned line of work that helps sustain the university.
This isn’t a pitch so much as a hand extended. From one Lawrentian to the leaders, teachers, and students carrying it forward: let’s build something here that outlives all of us.
