Political scientist and global development champion Kirk Bowman offers an alternative approach to international development projects and philanthropy. Kirk Bowman, a champion of global development projects, is a professor and associate chair at the Georgia Institute of Technology where he specializes in Latin American politics and development. He is also the co-founder and director of the international NGO Rise Up & Care (www.riseup.care). Bowman's academic work has received support from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Ford Foundation, among others. He received the University System of Georgia Excellence of Teaching in 2007, and was named Georgia’s Carnegie-Case Professor of the Year in 2008. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and has authored numerous books on Latin American politics. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at.