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Global activist and executive director & co-founder of Survivor Corps, Jerry White is recognized worldwide as a leading expert on survivorship and resilience. White believes that, with the right tools and support, everyone can rise above tragedy. As a college student studying abroad in Israel in the mid-1980s, White was returning from a camping trip when the ground exploded under his feet. A landmine—leftover from the 1967 War—blew apart his right leg. After spending six months in an Israeli hospital wing with other injured men who were returning from the war in Lebanon, an inspired White transformed his traumatic experience into his life's work. White co-founded the Landmine Survivors Network to help the hundreds of thousands of civilian landmine victims rebuild their lives. As a leader in the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, White worked alongside the late Diana, Princess of Wales and Queen Noor of Jordan in their humanitarian efforts, and his work has received praise at the highest levels, including the 1997 Nobel Prize for Peace. Testifying before the United Nations and the US Senate, White has led the effort to establish protection for 650 million people with disabilities worldwide. Through Survivor Corps, White is now facilitating a global network of survivors overcome war and rebuild their communities with programs in 39 countries. Survivor Corps has been at the forefront of the reintegration efforts on the behalf of the returning troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. In his book, Getting Up When Life Knocks You Down: Five Steps to Overcoming a Life Crisis, White shares stories from fellow survivors, takes us through the process of not only surviving tragedy, but transforming unexpected challenges into growth and opportunity.

“Jerry White gave an excellent presentation at the 2007 McInally Lecture. He shared valuable insights from 10 years of human rights work, and an inspiring vision for the future”- University of Michigan