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BeSeeDo.com · Impact Advisory

Helping humane leaders build a flourishing world.

BeSeeDo works with purposeful partners, chosen carefully.

If you are a philanthropist, policymaker, or educator wanting to help people flourish — let’s start a conversation.

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“In my wildest dreams, I never imagined that I would step on a landmine, negotiate treaties, or share the Nobel Peace Prize. I learned to flourish by helping others to flourish, and so can you.” Jerry White · Founder
Jerry White at tree
New release
BE SEE DO book cover
May 2026 · Humane Leadership Academy

The new book from Jerry White.

The art of strategy The science of flourishing The practice of leadership
“If you aspire to help all beings flourish, Jerry White’s BeSeeDo approach will teach you how to make the great gifts that will fulfill your highest purpose.” James E. “Jay” Hughes, Jr. · Author, Family: The Compact Among Generations
Read excerpts →
How we work together

Start with a season. Stay for a generation.

Partnership unfolds over time. Every relationship begins with a short, defined season. What grows from there is decided together.

I
3–4 weeks

The Orientation

Assessment and engagement.

We listen carefully and pressure-test the intention behind the work — helping you clarify what you’re actually building.

  • Private exploratory conversations
  • Proposal to refine strategy framework
  • Introduction to thought partners
  • Mutual decision whether to continue
II
3–4 months

The Learning Arc

Strategy compass with results.

For partners ready to build change that compounds over years, we help you design impact strategies worthy of your legacy.

  • Retained strategic counsel
  • Leadership and coalition architecture
  • Campaign design with results framework
  • Proposed impact-aligned partnerships
III
3–4 years

The Impact Horizon

Outcomes that outlive us all.

The results framework. The campaigns we help build are designed to outlast everyone in the room.

  • Sustainable movements outlive founders
  • Institutions strengthened and stewarded
  • Leaders mentoring a rising generation
  • A legacy measured in generations
A flourishing world

Human flourishing comes from living harmoniously with nature and each other.

We flourish together or not at all. From kitchen-table campaigns to global treaties, our work has rested on three requirements for flourishing — always linked, never optional. Connect. Protect. Create.

I.
CONNECT
You need community.

From the kitchen table to the public square to the cultures we share.

II.
PROTECT
You need security.

Physical safety and survival, the dignity and peace that belong to everyone.

III.
CREATE
You need inspiration.

Beauty in nature, arts and science, lifelong learning and storytelling.

Already in motion

Outcomes that already changed the world.

What flourishing looks like when the work compounds.

A mine-free world

>50 million landmines destroyed.

164 treaty states and demining efforts have turned conflict zones back into places people can farm, walk, and raise children.

A barrier-free world

Dignity written into law for all of us.

192 countries guarantee legal protection for the dignity and rights of 1.3 billion people living with disabilities — the direct result of a coalition we helped build.

A victim-free world

Violence treated as a contagion.

Thousands of interfaith leaders are learning to treat violence as a contagious disease — inhibiting its viral spread.

What others say

Voices of colleagues.

“How many people can say they were in the room where it happened — privileged to cocreate historic treaties that affected hundreds of millions of lives? Jerry White has been in rooms where a lot gets done.”

Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein
Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

“From surviving catastrophe to helping ignite global movements for justice and peace, Jerry White has lived the very transformation he now teaches. He shows how leaders are not born in boardrooms or institutions, but in the quiet decision to live with courage, compassion, and imagination.”

Colleen Clark
Head of Optimistic People, Life is Good

“Jerry White is wonderfully, deeply alive because he stretches and, time after time, moves history and makes our world a much better place. If you want the deep inner power and calm of a Mandela, enjoying Jerry’s insights and stories will be a big help.”

Bill Drayton
Founder, Ashoka: Innovators for the Public

BE SEE DO is a profound call to conscience to reawaken the humanity in all of us. Jerry role-models how to stand with courage in the face of inhumanity and indifference.”

Zainab Salbi
Co-founder, Daughters for Earth; Founder, Women for Women International

“Jerry doesn’t pretend change is glamorous. He doesn’t sell you hype. He talks about alignment. About courage. About actually doing the work. I incorporate his BE SEE DO principles in my teaching because my students don’t need more noise — they need frameworks that connect inner clarity with outer action.”

Mentor Dida
Global Futurist in Residence, Arizona State University

BE SEE DO is an important book for every parent of a young adult — and for anyone trying to live a life that counts. Jerry has spent his life building what the rest of us only describe.”

Lois Quam
Former CEO; three-time FORTUNE Most Powerful Women in Business

“Jerry White provides a thought-provoking framework for how humanity can flourish. Through concepts like vision, intention, and resilience, Jerry reminds us we all have the power within us to be changemakers.”

Eric Gertler
Executive Chairman, U.S. News & World Report
Ways to engage

Three doors — each a beginning.

Advisory

Partner on a legacy that outlives you.

A private conversation about your work — and the moves that compound results over time. Begin with a season; decide together whether to stay.

A handful of engagements · By invitation
The book

BE SEE DO: The Art of Humane Leadership

A field guide to flourishing — craft impact strategies that connect people, protect communities, and create a better world.

Launches May 2026 · Order and share
Speaking

Book Jerry for your next stage.

Keynotes, commencements, and convenings on humane leadership, resilience, and the next generation of changemakers.

Limited keynotes · Booking through 2027
Global Impact Advisory

Impact that outlives you.

Philanthropy · Policy · Higher Education

Begin with a conversation.

A private 45 minutes. No deck, no pitch — just a first read of the work you’re trying to build and whether we’re the right partners for it.

Speaking · Writing · Teaching

On stages, at podiums, and in conversation.

A speaking practice built over three decades — keynotes, commencements, and private convenings on humane leadership, resilience, and how ordinary people build extraordinary movements.

Jerry White
Profile · Jerry White

Entrepreneur, author, professor, diplomat, nonprofit executive.

For more than thirty-five years, Jerry White has partnered with survivors, statesmen, and philanthropists to turn conviction into international outcome. His work shaped three international treaties — the Mine Ban Treaty, the Convention on Cluster Munitions, and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities — and a shared 1997 Nobel Peace Prize with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.

Jerry teaches humane leadership, advises philanthropists and policymakers, and is the author of I Will Not Be Broken: 5 Steps to Overcoming a Life Crisis (St. Martin’s Press, 2008; paperback Getting Up When Life Knocks You Down, 2009), co-author with Georgette F. Bennett of Religicide: Confronting the Roots of Anti-Religious Violence (Post Hill Press, 2022), and author of the forthcoming BE SEE DO: The Art of Humane Leadership (Humane Leadership Academy, May 2026).

Open the full gallery →
Books

Three books, one thread — ordinary people building extraordinary movements.

BE SEE DO book cover
Humane Leadership Academy · May 2026

BE SEE DO

The Art of Humane Leadership

A field guide to flourishing — together or not at all. Drawn from 35 years of coalition-building, treaty work, and teaching, it names the craft plainly: be yourself, see what’s possible, do something useful.

BE SEE DO is a brilliant master class on strategy to inspire a rising generation of leaders.” William Ury · Co-Founder, Harvard Program on Negotiation; author, Possible: How to Survive (and Thrive) in an Age of Conflict
Religicide book cover
Post Hill Press · 2022

Religicide

Confronting the Roots of Anti-Religious Violence

Jerry White and Georgette Bennett

A field study of anti-religious violence and its deliberate destruction of faith communities — with a working framework for the diplomats, clergy, and coalition-builders working to end religicide.

I Will Not Be Broken / Getting Up When Life Knocks You Down book cover
St. Martin’s Press · 2008 (paperback 2009 as Getting Up When Life Knocks You Down)

I Will Not Be Broken

5 Steps to Overcoming a Life Crisis

Part memoir of surviving a landmine explosion as a young traveler, part working manual — the five steps the author distilled from a decade of walking alongside survivors of violence and disaster around the world.

“An important book that tells us all how to battle the unthinkable. Jerry White’s story will give you strength and heart.” Lance Armstrong
Recurring themes · Every talk tailored

Seven themes — every talk built for the room.

No two engagements are the same. These are the themes Jerry returns to most often — each one shaped to the audience, occasion, and moment. The throughline: humane leadership, survivor-led change, and the craft of turning conviction into collective impact.

BeSeeDo: Humane Leadership
Keynote · Commencement · Board retreat
Explosive Wisdom: How We Navigate Minefields
Keynote · Fireside
Are You a Philanthropist? Prove It.
Donor convening · Private salon
Violence Prevention 101: Stop Killing in the Name of God
Keynote · Interfaith gathering
Finding Your Missing Piece: The Power of Disability & Difference
Keynote · Inclusion summit
Your Survival Kit: Resilience and Hope
Keynote · Student address
“Manopause” and the Performance Trap
TEDx · Men’s health · Cultural keynote
From the stage

Voices from venues around the world.

What hosts, curators, and audiences have said after Jerry left the podium.

The PIE Europe · London · March 2026
“Jerry’s ability to captivate attention and inspire hundreds of people at once is remarkable. His storytelling is deeply personal, powerful, and on point, delivering a compelling call to action that everyone could relate to — entirely motivating and memorable.”
Amy Baker · CEO, The PIE
Glasgow Caledonian University · Honorary Degree
“People still talk about Jerry’s memorable commencement address in Glasgow, delivered with the passion of a prophetic preacher. He marched us through the five steps of resilience and survivorship on the day he was awarded an honorary degree by yet another Nobel Peace Laureate, Mohammed Yunus.”
Eva Haller · American philanthropist
TEDx Fargo · North Dakota
“Jerry is one of the rare speakers whom I trust on any stage to deliver what the audience needs then and there. He weaves ideas, emotions, and stories that pack a punch — always with a clear call to action.”
Greg Tehven · Curator, TEDx Fargo · CEO, Emerging Prairie
University of Michigan Ross · 2005 Commencement
“Jerry White moved people to tears. I think the standing ovation said it all.”
Len Middleton · University of Michigan Ross School of Business
Inclusion Summit · Bangalore · 2018
“As a global champion for disability rights, Jerry has won over fans across India. His speeches were so relatable, they resonated powerfully for our community. He makes us think beyond borders and ponder what it means to be human and humane.”
Sheetal Vaidya · HR specialist, Pune, India
Peer speaker · United Kingdom
“One of the finest, most fluid communicators I have ever witnessed in action — able to move an audience to tears, laughter, and ultimately action. Truly a next-level speaker.”
Bernie Hollywood, OBE · World record holder and accomplished speaker, UK
Book Jerry to speak
Speaking · Upcoming dates

Where Jerry will be next.

Jerry speaks a few times each year to audiences of philanthropists, policymakers, and students.

All engagements are custom. Inquire early — the calendar is short by design.

Upcoming dates
May
Book launch
West Coast
June
Book launch
East Coast
July / Aug
Private philanthropic salons
By invitation
Sept
Made Impact International Summit
United Nations, NYC
The longer bio

A life of campaigns, coalitions, and classrooms.

Jerry White is an American entrepreneur, author, professor, diplomat, and nonprofit executive whose work over more than thirty-five years has centered on the craft of humane leadership — the slow, deliberate building of the coalitions, institutions, and movements that make dignity and safety possible at scale.

At twenty, Jerry lost his leg to a landmine while hiking in Israel. That experience became the ground of a life’s work in survivor-led change. He co-founded the Landmine Survivors Network, which helped lead the International Campaign to Ban Landmines — a coalition that produced the 1997 Ottawa Treaty and a shared Nobel Peace Prize. Jerry went on to deploy the BeSeeDo playbook to design and deliver two additional treaties: the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) and the Convention on Cluster Munitions (2008).

He has since served as a senior U.S. State Department official working on conflict and stabilization, and as a Senior Ashoka Fellow and professor at the University of Virginia. He currently serves as Chair of MADE IMPACT, a global initiative to advance peace and prosperity through international education and exchange.

His first book, I Will Not Be Broken: 5 Steps to Overcoming a Life Crisis, was published by St. Martin’s Press in 2008 and re-released in paperback as Getting Up When Life Knocks You Down (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2009). His second, Religicide: Confronting the Roots of Anti-Religious Violence, co-authored with Georgette F. Bennett, was published by Post Hill Press in 2022. His third, BE SEE DO: The Art of Humane Leadership, is being released in 2026 by the Humane Leadership Academy.

Jerry lives and works from Piscataway National Park in Maryland.

The Root of It

Weekly notes on humane leadership.

No schedule. No tracking. Unsubscribe at any time.

Contact

A short note is enough to start.

Tell us a little about the work you’re trying to build. Jerry reads every inquiry and responds personally.