Kris Balderston ’77 believes that it takes a network of dedicated, committed partners to successfully address the challenges that face the world today, and he has devoted much of his professional life to doing just that.
As then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, Balderston developed more than 70 public-private partnerships designed to strengthen business across New York state, linking upstate farmers with downstate restaurateurs as but one example.
In his current role as the special representative for global partnerships at the U.S. Department of State’s Global Partnership Initiative (G.P.I.), he will continue to develop public-private partnerships, now working at a global level and in support of the department’s strategic initiatives. Since its establishment in July of 2010, the G.P.I. has brought together a creative and committed staff, focused new attention on world problems and developed projects that have garnered more than $250 million in commitments from new partners. Its goal over the course of the next year will be to develop the infrastructure necessary to bring people together to plan around issues of strategic importance.
“I like this job because it’s very practical,” said Balderston. “At a time when resources are tight, we have an opportunity to bring people together around serious issues and problems. I’ve met a lot of committed, inspirational people who are really trying to make a difference in the world.”
In addition to any directives that they receive from the U.S. Secretary of State, Balderston and his staff are addressing four specific priorities. First they are working to provide clean cookstoves to the more than 3 billion people around the world who cook on a traditional cookstove or over an open fire. Exposure to smoke from traditional cookstoves or open fires contributes to illnesses such as emphysema, lung cancer and bronchitis and leads to 2 million premature deaths annually. Second, they are seeking to help stabilize the Middle East by creating jobs and infrastructure for people in several nations, including Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Morocco, and by offering them English language training. Third, they are reaching out to first- and second-generation Americans, who annually send $48 billion back to developing nations. Finally, they are forming partnerships with members of the business community to develop what Balderston and his team call “investing with impact” projects.
It is an initiative that requires a leader with a decidedly creative and entrepreneurial spirit. During his swearing-in ceremony at the Department of State, Clinton described Balderston, who has worked for her for the past decade, as someone who “makes everyone around him play better, work harder and think bigger.”
“I’ve always had absolute confidence is relying in Kris’ judgment, talent and just his good, old-fashioned common sense,” she said. “Every step of the way he has helped to put together and support a great team, a team of people that really came together as part of an overall effort to make a difference in the lives of those we serve.”
Its emphasis on service is also what attracted him to Le Moyne. A political science major, he served on the Student Government Association and also met his wife, Patricia Reilly ’77, on the Heights. Today the Ignatian philosophy of searching for interdisciplinary, inclusive solutions to problems has a significant influence on how he approaches his job.
“At Le Moyne I learned that no one is disposable, no one should be discarded, and everyone should be brought to the table,” he said. “You go to everyone to try to solve a problem.”
