Kevin Danaher

If you would like to plan a speaking event with Kevin, please contact speakers[at]globalexchange.org or call Marcia at (415)-255-7296 ext. 244.

Described by The New York Times as the "Paul Revere of globalization's woes," Dr. Kevin Danaher's analytical expertise, sense of humor and blunt eloquence make him an exceptionally dynamic speaker.

Since co-founding Global Exchange in 1988, Dr. Danaher has spoken at hundreds of universities and for community organizations throughout the U.S.

He conducts workshops on issues ranging from the dynamics of the global economy to how we can replace the power of transnational corporations with local green economy networks. A longtime critic of the so-called "free trade" agenda, Dr. Danaher explains how we can create 'grassroots globalization', empowering local communities to create sustainable local economies.

Dr. Danaher is a Founder and an Executive Producer of the Green Festivals, two-day events bringing together hundreds of green economy companies, social justice and environmental organizations, speakers, live music, organic food and drink, and tens of thousands of attendees hungry for a transition to the green economy. He is also the Executive Director of the Global Citizen Center -- a permanent Green Festival. The Global Citizen Center is planned to be a downtown San Francisco building that will unite the local Green Economy in a mixed-use, multi-tenant facility featuring non-profit offices, green businesses and multi-cultural event space.

Dr. Danaher is the author and/or editor of numerous books, including his latest(which he co-authored with Shannon Biggs and Jason Mark), Building the Green Economy: Success Stories from the Grass Roots (PoliPointPress).

Dr. Danaher has also published: Insurrection: Citizen Challenges to Corporate Power [Routledge Press], Ten Reasons to Abolish the IMF and World Bank; Democratizing the Global Economy: The Battle Against the World Bank and the IMF; Corporations Are Gonna Get Your Momma: Globalization and the Downsizing of the American Dream; Globalize This!: The Battle Against the World Trade Organization; Fighting for the Soul of Brazil; 50 Years Is Enough: The Case Against the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund; In Whose Interest: A Guide to US-South Africa Relations; Can the Free Market Solve Africa's Food Crisis; The Political Economy of US Policy Toward South Africa; South Africa: A New US Policy for the 1990s; and Beyond Safaris: A Guide to Building People-to-People Ties with Africa.

He has published articles in The Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, The International Herald Tribune, The Financial Times of Zimbabwe, Africa News, TransAfrica Forum, Harvard Educational Review, Issue, The Progressive and many other publications. His writing has covered subjects such as "US Agriculture and Its Impact on Third World Farming, "Hidden Costs of the War with Iraq," and "Challenging the Leadership of the World Economy."

Dr. Danaher has traveled widely in Africa, the Caribbean, Central America, North America and Europe. He is familiar with the problems and prospects of economic development in diverse cultural settings. Dr. Danaher is a veteran activist and has special expertise on the following subjects: the Local Green Economy; the Two Globalizations (Elite vs. Grassroots); Policies of the World Bank; WTO and International Monetary Fund; US Foreign Policy and Activist Strategies for Creating a Sustainable World.

Dr. Danaher received his doctorate in sociology from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1982. Before joining Global Exchange he was a senior analyst at Food First/the Institute for Food and Development Policy, an associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC, and for four years he taught in the School of Government at American University. He currently lives in San Francisco with his wife, Medea Benjamin, and his two daughters, Arlen and Maya.

Dr. Danaher is available for speaking events to discuss grassroots ways to respond to global economic forces and the transition to the local Green Economy. In his presentations, he not only provides a detailed analysis of what is wrong, but he also gives inspiring examples of what we can do to make things right. As part of Global Exchange's continuing efforts to plug people into ongoing activist work, Dr. Danaher will bring books and literature related to the talks. He is also very experienced at media interviews and will be available to do as many as requested. Dr. Danaher has appeared on television and radio shows around the country.

Dr. Danaher is offering any combination of the following speaking topics:

Accelerating the Transition to the Green Economy: The green economy is growing at a rapid rate and will increasingly challenge the existing, unsustainable economy. Evidence of this paradigm shift can be seen in growing consumer demand for nature-friendly products, huge investments in renewable energy and clean-tech sectors, and more corporate leaders acknowledging social/environmental responsibility as a competitive advantage. As Dr. Danaher documents in his new book, Building the Green Economy: Success Stories from the Grass Roots, there is abundant innovation going on at the grassroots level, but we could be doing much more at the national level to accelerate this transition to the green economy.

Corporate Accountability and the Local Green Economy: This talk discusses how corporate globalization is driven by the need to turn nature into money and find the cheapest labor. As an alternative, grassroots globalization is being built by community-based organizations linking across national boundaries.

Justice, Not War: "A momentous decision confronts us as a nation: Do we define the violence of Sept. 11 as an act of war or as a crime against humanity?," Dr. Danaher asks his audiences. "If we define it as war, it couches the issues in nationalist sentiment and separates us from the people of other nations. If we define it as a crime against humanity, it holds the potential for uniting humankind against the scourge of terrorism." Dr. Danaher will discuss how the US must, among other things, work for the establishment of an international criminal court and dedicate itself to ending global poverty if we are to succeed in abolishing international terrorism. Reducing global inequality has always been a moral imperative, Dr. Danaher says, and now it is also a strategic imperative. According to Dr. Danaher, if we hope to isolate suicidal fanatics, we need the cooperation of all the world's people. Unfortunately, the free-trade status quo has fostered a widespread resentment of the United States that presents an obstacle to cooperation. By encouraging a dog-eat-dog form of competition, corporate globalization has fostered alienation and bitterness, Dr. Danaher says, and prevented us from winning the hearts and minds of the world's people. To end the scourge of terrorism we need a kind of grassroots globalization based on peace, justice and international cooperation.

The Case Against the World Bank and the IMF: How We Can Create A Green, Grassroots Model of Development: Exploring the themes of Dr. Danaher's book, this talk argues how the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, by controlling hundreds of billions of dollars and setting the policy agenda in developing countries, keep developing economies open to corporate penetration, but promote policies that destroy the environment and undermine the standard of living for the majority. Diverse grassroots organizations around the world are uniting to create a sustainable economic model that leaves no one out.

Corporations are Gonna Get Your Mama: Globalization and the Downsizing of the American Dream: Based on Dr. Danaher's book, this talk focuses on the negative effects of globalization in the US, explaining how corporate globalization is exporting US jobs, bankrupting our government, undermining democratic principles, and destroying our environment. In response, grassroots organizations are fighting all of these effects but they need to come together in a unified movement.

Interested in organizing an event with Dr. Kevin Danaher? Find out more about hosting an event.

Topics covered

• Building the Green Economy
• People's Globalization vs. Elite Globalization