Matt Gerber always knew he was going to travel the world—he just didn’t realize how much territory he was going to cover. As a boy growing up in La Grande, Gerber used to dream about living in Australia, a dream that came true when he was 16. That year, thanks to his supportive parents and the Rotary Club exchange program, Gerber lived with a family in Ocean Grove, Victoria, near Melbourne.

The international experience proved to be the first of very many linked to his education and an active philanthropic organization he launched after graduation. Since his high school experience, the 27-year-old has collected memories for a lifetime—he was in Paris for the new millennium, in Havana at the peak of the Elian Gonzales crisis, and in the Middle East during 9/11. “I have lived, worked and studied in almost 50 countries,” Gerber says.

After finishing high school, Gerber entered George Fox University as a Ford Scholar, studying international business and pre-med. During those years, he made several service trips to Latin American countries, helping out in orphanages and with construction projects. He also participated in George Fox’s semester abroad program, traveling to Cairo, Egypt, in the August of 2001. After the events of September 11, he remained in the Middle East, his interest in the topic of globalization deepening.  In the summer of 2002, Gerber traveled to 15 countries in Latin and South America to research his thesis on the connection between community development and globalization.

After graduating in May of 2003, he returned to Nicaragua with a group of friends from George Fox to help a church and its orphanage ministry there. Soon after that, Gerber formed TeamWorks International, which continues this humanitarian work worldwide. When Gerber left the group in May 2007—“I had to find a paying job,” he says with a laugh—the Portland-based group served communities in eight countries. Gerber then worked as director of business development at a Portland-based publishing house. “While I was there, I was able to help the publication company form a foundation,” he says, “and that really fulfilled the need I have for philanthropic work.”

Latest adventure
After being laid off, Gerber took a road trip to Montana, where he served as director of U.S. operations for the European company that manufactures Satski, an interactive GPS for skiers.
In January, Gerber decided to return to Portland. “I will spend the next few months traveling to Australia and Africa, consulting and public speaking,” he says, “and preparing to depart, I hope, for medical school this year.”

Whatever Gerber eventually does, it will no doubt meld his penchant for travel with his need for service. And it may even get him closer to his small town roots. “When I grow up,” Gerber says half jokingly, “I want to be a physician, teach at a university, then do my international work from a small town in Oregon.”