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...About Me...Pt. I: The Early Years.
I was born a very young man in New Jersey in November of '64 -- making me a Scorpio for those who follow such things. My family upped and moved me to Connecticut for a few years before uprooting me again to transport my brothers and me to Cincinnati, Ohio where I became a POKEMON trainer and rooted unceasingly for the Cincinnati Reds -- OK, sometimes for the Houston Astros. After several years of being a bad boy in Cincy we moved outside the country to fellow rival nation Canada. There in Montreal my bullying skills were enhanced almost to perfection (yes, Terrance and Phillip were right -- Canada IS the enemy). But Fate had another move in store for the Hartig's and we soon found ourselves in Pensacola, FL -- the crossroads of Naval Aviation! I won't bore you with my struggle for power and political triumphs at Catholic High ...
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Pt II: Auburn University and Uncle Sam's Misguided Children (USMC)
War Eagle, Fly Down the Field (always to conquer, never to yield)! After graduating from Auburn University in '87 (where I acted the part of lead singer in the well-known indie rock band "The Bonnevilles" -- whose arch-rival group "The Bonnevillains" attempted several hostile take-overs with varying degrees of success -- and took a degree in Journalism) I was commissioned a second lieuy in the Marine Corps and traveled the uncivilized world as a "3502" (Motor Transportation officer) putting out brush fires where I found them in places like Japan, North and South Korea, Okinawa, (Camp Pendleton) California, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. (I wonder if they miss me now.) See my Myspace Website too. |
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Pt V: NYU, GPFA & VIPBG...
I graduated NYU in May of 2002, my thesis having involved developing Interventions to stem the high maternal mortality rate in Mozambique -- this project brought some fellow students and me to a rural part of that country, Chicuque, in order to study the problem there. My team, The Advocates for Safe Motherhood in Maxixe (ASMoM), and I finished the project and delivered it to our client, The United Methodist Church.
After graduating NYU, I was asked by the chairman of Global Partnership for Afghanistan (GPFA), to come to work for this brand new humanitarian organization as its executive director. I accepted this challenge and, working with a small cadre of other individuals, helped create GPFA from the ground up. Now the organization is a respected international non-profit organization working to address environmental and agricutural issues on the ground in Afghanistan. For my part in GPFA's creation, I mainly concentrated on developing the organization's strategy and developing a network of potential partners across the country and around the globe so as to create a base for GPFA to work from.
My last employer, the Professor of Economics and Senior Advisor to the H. E. Hamid Karzai and the Government of Afghanistan, Prof. M. Ishaq Nadiri, is one of the co-chairs of The Partnership.
After having worked a year with the organization, another challenge presented itself, offering me not only the opportunity to return to Bulgaria and work in the private-sector but also to do something that is near and dear to my heart. Working with Bulgarian friends in a town called Boboshevo we've started a small real estate/tourism company. The focus is to address the local economy and improve the lives of the town's citizens. The company's name is VIPBg, EOOD and it's located on Georgi Dimitrov Str. near the town's center. Our website should be up and operable soon. :) "Gorda stara Planina!"
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Pt III: Human Rights and Peace Corps
After serving in the world's finest military Peace-Keeping force I returned to the South and co-founded a non-profit human rights organization in Louisiana called Louisiana Electorate of Gays And Lesbians, Inc. (LEGAL, Inc.) where I served as president and executive director. I helped to organized the State's various communities and lobbied for various human rights issues -- working with the New Orleans chapter of Anti-Defamation League's Jerry Himelstein and members of LEGAL to pass a Hate Crimes Law (w/sexual orientation) and with LEGAL members, a good number of Louisiana State legislators, and various Louisiana groups to kill an unneccesary Anti-Marriage Bill. (See stories about LEGAL). In '98 I re-applied to teach with Peace Corps (having earlier served a brief stint with the organization in Poland in '92), was accepted and soon found myself in a little East European country called Bulgaria. In Bulgaria I taught kindergarten, primary and secondary English in four schools in one town (Troyan) and two villages. I returned Stateside July 15, 2000 -- after a week-long trip to visit relatives and friends in Ireland -- and now I am about to finish my education (thereby once again proving that I may never have a real job...), attaining a M.A. degree in International Non-Profit Management (with an emphasis on Humanitarian Relief work) at (The Wagner School of Public Service) at NYU.
Pt IV: To Infinity and Beyonnndddd!!!!
What do I wanna do with my life? I dunno. I'm currently intensely interested in International Policy and Non-Profit Management. But some of the most interesting people I know didn't know what they wanted to do at 40. Yeah. Philosophy. Hey....maybe that's a good idea.
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Brian Bonnevillain of the Bonnevillains
One night at the Pink Pony Pub, along the coast in Alabama, the Bonnevilles were about to go on-stage, when their archnemeses -- The Bonnevillains -- forced them into lockers, stole their guitars, and hit the stage in their stead!
"We'll get you Bonnevillains, if it's the last thing we ever do!" shouted the Bonnevilles. |
Eagle, Globe and Anchor...
This is the emblem of the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps is known for it excellence in "air, land and sea." These features are represented in the emblem by the Eagle (air), Globe (land) and Anchor (sea). |
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