Since graduating my career has focused on building systems that permit individuals, groups and institutions to gain knowledge and abilities to participate in constructive societal change.
From 2005 until 2018 I served as Director of the Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity (ISGP). The Institute develops learning environments - engaging in research, writing materials, training people, and implementing programs - oriented toward bettering social conditions. With a strong team of collaborators, the Institute has developed and coordinated seminars for university students intended to help them understand social issues with a critical mind in light of certain spiritual principles. With a similarly strong network of international collaborators, the Institute pursues research in areas of inquiry related to social processes, taking into account both spiritual and material aspects of human behavior.
Two significant areas have been The Movement of Populations, and Peace and Justice in Societies in Transition. As ISGP’s Director I have learned a great deal from others, a testament to the strength of working within dynamic, cooperative structures and systems.
Prior to ISGP I spent 23 years working with FUNDAEC (Fundación para la Aplicación y Enseñanza de las Ciencias) in Cali, Colombia. There I held various positions, including 14 years as Rector of FUNDAEC’s Centro Universitario de Bienestar Rural, a university developed in an Afro-Colombian region and serving rural populations as well as those experiencing forced rural-urban migration and the effects of prolonged conflict. Other positions within FUNDAEC included developing educational materials for their Sistema de Aprendizaje Tutorial (SAT) and Preparation for Social Action (PSA) programs as well as for the university, and directing projects to advance FUNDAEC’s programs funded by the Gates Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, CIDA, and IDRC, among others.
I continue to collaborate with FUNDAEC and ISGP, and currently am exploring how my past experience will shape my next decade of work.
Email: harbabc@gmail.com