Curt Rhodes is the Founder/International Director of Questscope, a non- profit, non-governmental organization established in 1988 for youth mentorship, alternative education, juvenile justice, community-building, mental well-being, and humanitarian aid programs in partnership with marginalized and refugee communities in the Middle East. Curt holds an MPH degree (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) and MS and PhD degrees (University of Wisconsin, Madison).
Curt was recognized in 2011 as Social Entrepreneur of the Year in the Middle East by the Schwab Foundation/World Economic Forum for visionary, pragmatic, and courageous contributions that significantly improve the state of the world. In 2014, he was awarded the Tufts University/Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award for his dedication to solving the most pressing problems facing the world. He has lived continuously in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, or Egypt since 1981 and is a fluent Arabic speaker.
Curt has emphasized inclusivity and participation as two foundational principles in the works he has fostered and the roles he has developed with and for local leaders over the past 35 years. He also emphasizes the importance of knowing people as spiritual beings - who must be known in relationships of trust that go beyond their physical needs for food, shelter, clothing, education, etc.
Curt began his career in the Middle East as an associate professor and assistant dean in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon in February 1981. He redirected his career towards social development initiatives in 1984 after observing outcomes of the 1982 war in West Beirut and founded Questscope in 1988.
1980: He worked in the midst of war and conflict in the 1980s with communities in the south of Lebanon and in what was once West Beirut with associations of Lebanese who came from a wide variety of religious traditions and heritages.
1990: In the late 1980s and 1990s he focused again on communities of varied traditions and backgrounds in Syria and Jordan, developing programs for at-risk and marginalized youth (mentally challenged youth/young adults, incarcerated youth, or those at risk of incarceration or post-incarceration, out-of-school youth) that served as focal points for cooperation among people of good will from all communities.
2000: In 2000-2010, he built up leadership teams and organizational capacity in Jordan and Syria with experience in expanding participatory approaches to social issues. Work with youth in mentoring and alternative education spread to Sudan, Yemen, and northern Iraq during this time.
2011: From 2011 until now, his teams have modeled developmental approaches within humanitarian/relief crisis situations (in refugee camps and in host communities) that have brought people of widely divergent experiences and traditions together for the benefit of all concerned.
More than a decade ago, Curt met Sherman Teichman and the Institute for Global Leadership (IGL) which has led to remarkable internships with Tufts students for ideation and creation of unique programs (including community mental trauma alleviation) to change the life trajectories of marginalized youth in the Middle East.
Curt is known as a resourceful peacemaker, practical innovator, and appreciative respecter of persons and traditions. He is relentlessly committed to putting the last first - the "motto" of Questscope - by engaging with individuals and their communities, institutions, and decision- makers at multiple levels.