About
Kurt grew up in the prairies of Canada and has been an entrepreneur since he can remember. He attended French immersion school and has memories of starting up some of his earliest ventures at 14. After high school Kurt pursued a degree in Political Science from Carleton University that took him to Mexico for 8 months where he learnt Spanish, civil societies studies and international business.
During university he was president of AIESEC, an international student lead organization present in over 107 countries, which opened the opportunity for him to travel and live in Pakistan for 2 years following the completion of his degree. There be picked up the basics of the language and also got to work at the prestigious Aga Khan University in Karachi. It was at that time that he set off on a 6 month journey through South Asia to learn, and write about grassroots sustainability programs. It was on that journey that Kurt co-founded my world, my choice!, a sustainability leadership and education program for young professionals and teens. Upon returning to Canada in Dec 2008, Kurt expanded the program to two Canadian cities and it was then that he received the Young Environmental Stewards grant to pilot the program that has now grown to 5 countries around the world. Shortly after the completion of the first term in Canada Kurt set off back to Pakistan to be with his new bride and to start an education program for a waste and recycling company in Lahore. It is also then that he and his wife, along with other good friends founded the Pakistan Sustainability Network that now boasts over 100 volunteers across 3 cities with the aim of mobilizing youth to get involved in sustainability in their country. Kurt also got the chance to work with AIESEC again, as an alumnus, by mentoring a team in Lahore who would carry out the next program of my world, my choice!, since then 3 more countries have signed on to run the program. It is also the same time that AIESEC international put out a top 40 under 40 publication highlighting the work that Kurt has done developing youth leadership.
Along the way, Kurt has been involved in the production of a documentary in Kenya on youth Apathy called “Why Should I Care? He has also facilitated and chaired a number of youth leadership conferences in over 15 countries, and has helped spread awareness to 1000s of young people about sustainability issues. Kurt second passion is design, and it something he has worked at on the side by developing websites, blogs and using social media as a tool to mobilize civil society causes.
Kurt is now back in Canada working on the next stage of my world, my choice! while building his sustainability and design consultancy on the side.
