Glen Leet

"Shortly after his graduation from Norwich University in 1930, Glen Leet began an extraordinary 60-year career in public service. Originally from Brockton, Mass., Leet became a field representative for the American Public Welfare Administration, where he helped draft many of the social welfare laws during the Great Depression. In 1944 he was appointed by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration to direct relief efforts in Greece. It was there that Leet became involved in antipoverty work. With very little capital, Leet helped Greek peasants pull themselves out of the extreme poverty and deprivation that prevailed in rural areas.

"The success of Leet’s work received worldwide recognition and led to similar individual improvement and community development initiatives in other parts of the world.

"Leet met his wife, Mildred Robbins, through their mutual involvement in international development. She served as the president of the Save the Children Federation and also as the first chief of the Community Development unit of the United Nations. Mildred was a member of the International Peace Academy and a past president of the National Council of Women. Together, Glen and Mildred formed a consulting firm and travelled the world to help organizations working on social issues.

"During a trip to the Caribbean nation of Dominica, the Leets recognized that even the world’s lowest income people have entrepreneurial potential. In 1979, at the age of 70, Glen and Mildred formed Trickle Up, an international nonprofit designed to assist low-income populations. With the help of local agencies and $1,000 of their own money, they gave 10 people grants of $100 to launch their own microenterprises. " [1]

"Before starting Trickle Up in 1979, the Leets were no strangers to the nonprofit world. From 1957-1968, Millie worked for the National Council of Women of the USA, a group that focused on civil rights, family planning, and international peacekeeping. She served as its UN representative from 1957-1964 and president from 1964-1968. From 1968 to 1970, she served as an active member on the Women’s Advisory Committee on Poverty in the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity, and from 1968-1974 she helped develop the International Peace Academy. Glen had spent most of his career with the United Nations. He was the first chief of community development at the UN, where he worked with governments to build schools and set up agricultural projects. Later, he served as president of Save the Children, one of the largest international development organizations in the world. Glen and Millie met at a UN conference focused on disaster relief and population in Mombasa in 1973, and they married a year later." [2]

"In 1974 she married Glen Leet (1908-1998), then President of the International Society for Community Development. Among his many activities in foreign development, he served as U.N. Advisor to Greece (1947-1950), and the first U.N. Consultant on Social Welfare Policy. In the 1960s he became of President of Save the Children. Together Glen and Mildred developed Hotline International, a telecommunications conferencing program that covered five U.N. conferences from 1974 to 1978. " [3]

"Trickle Up's chief executive for over 20 years and board chair until 2006, she continued as Board Chair Emerita until her death. A born entrepreneur, she dedicated her enormous energy and unwavering optimism to a wide range of organizations that she helped found or lead, including the U.S. Committee for the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), United Cerebral Palsy, Metropolitan College of New York, and InterAction. Active in Democratic politics and civil rights, she was proud to have stood on the speaker's platform for Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech. Among many honors, Mrs. Leet received, along with Mother Theresa and Wangari Maathai, the Women of the World Award in 1989, presented by Princess Diana." [4]

Resources and articles

Related Sourcewatch

• UN Development Fund for Women [5]
• In Oct 1961 Glen F. Leet of Old Greenwich is named executive director of the Save the Children Foundation to succeed the late Dr. Willard W. Beatty, who died Sept. 29.
• Tanganyika Community Development Trust Fund