At 30, a ‘convener’ travels the world lending a hand

Micah Fisher is 30 years old. This is a useful if disconcerting fact to keep in mind when attempting to document Fisher’s personal, academic and professional accomplishments over the past decade or so.

To think: Everything that Fisher accomplished before arriving at the East-West Center last year — working with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the World Bank to improve conditions in Indonesia, shepherding a $150 million proposal to deal with flooding problems in Jakarta, and spearheading the creation of the Indonesia Climate Change Center — came before Fisher turned the not-so-big 3-0.

"I like being a part of exciting new things," he says simply.

Fisher’s parents spent the 1970s and ’80s contributing to rural development efforts in Asia and the Pacific for the Ford Foundation and several nongovernmental organizations.

Fisher himself was born in Denpasar, Bali, and educated in Balinese schools until the age of 10, when his family relocated to Ithaca, N.Y.

A standout prep soccer player who spent summers playing in his grandmother’s home country of Romania, Fisher took a year off before college to train and play in Romania and Brazil. The experience helped him land a scholarship to the University of Richmond, where he earned a degree in urban practice and policy.

Upon graduation, Fisher joined two friends on a three-month trek along 1,200 miles of the Appalachian Trail from Virginia to New York to raise money for Doctors Without Borders and the International Rescue Committee in honor of a classmate who had died the previous year.

The publicity generated by the walk led to an opportunity for Fisher to return to Indonesia to work on economic development and infrastructure rehabilitation projects in Aceh.

Over the next five years, Fisher worked with several governmental and nongovernmental organizations on a variety of community-based projects, addressing issues such as urban development, flood management, coral reef management and climate change.

Last year Fisher moved to Hawaii to work on a master’s degree in urban and regional planning. He recently was awarded a scholarship given in the name of President Barack Obama’s mother, Ann Dunham, with whom Fisher’s parents were acquainted.

At the East-West Center, Fisher says he has found an unparalleled multicultural environment that fosters truly collaborative efforts to achieve common goals.

"I’ve always thought of myself as a convener, not necessarily a leader who jumps in front," he said. "I like bringing different people to the table and watching great things happen.

Correction: Last week’s column contributor, Christopher Petri­des, attends Hoaloha o ke Kai Montessori School. A different school was named in the column.