Christopher J. Elias - PATH

Christopher J. Elias is the President of PATH, the Program for Appropriate Technology and Health, an organization based in Seattle and active in 65 countries.

He tells Global X why it's not enough to bring new technologies to a community --it's also necessary to strengthen the health services and systems delivery and to foster individual and community healthy behavior.

After medical school, Chris Elias worked in a Cambodia hospital where he noticed that most diseases that needed to be treated were actually totally preventable. That realization made him switch his practice from clinical medicine to primary public healthcare, and to public outreach to prevent diseases.

This had a huge influence on his medical career, and ever since, he has been working in public health and using his medical skills to prevent as opposed to treat.

His advice to fellow social entrepreneurs:

- Always question! "Be skeptical when you feel certain of something. Change requires that we constantly question the assumptions that we take for granted."

- "Look beyond the predictive fields of answers. Talk to many people in many disciplines."

- Bring balance to your life if you want to sustain the energy to be a social entrepreneur! Maybe not on a daily basis, but it should average out over longer periods of time.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• socialEdge
• GlobalX
• Skoll
• schwab
• ChristopherJElias
• PATH

[osirusoft1]

Does your healthcare influence still include genocide now that you've taken over Bill and Melinda Gate's "charitable organization"?

[CMHThierolf]

I am the Operations Mgr for Pain Centers of America, Inc. I am interested in developing a network of mentors to expand my healthcare influence. Would you become a mentor for me?