Dan O'Neill, Founder

Founder of Mercy Corps

Dan O'Neill has committed his life to serving the world's vulnerable and oppressed since 1972. Working in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, he encountered poverty, famine and war, which he documented in photographs, articles and journals. O'Neill witnessed Idi Amin's reign of terror in Uganda, terrorism at the 1972 Munich Olympics and war in the Middle East, including the civil war in Lebanon. Later he would witness the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon and subsequent global atrocities in Sudan, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo and elsewhere.

In 1979, O'Neill co-founded Save the Refugees Fund, an emergency relief task force to assist Cambodian refugees. He served on the White House Cambodian Crisis Committee at the request of Rosalynn Carter. In 1981, he founded Mercy Corps in order to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build just, secure and productive communities. The agency has since generated more than $1.3 billion in humanitarian aid in 100 countries, assisting children and families with cost efficient, high-impact relief and development programs.

An eloquent and charismatic spokesperson, O'Neill has met with US presidents, Senators, congressional leaders, White House cabinet members, world leaders, top corporate executives, and religious figures including Pope John Paul II and Rev. Billy Graham. O'Neill has been a guest at the White House during the Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton administrations, and has appeared on global news services including CNN and the BBC, as well as many national and local TV and radio networks to discuss the mission of Mercy Corps. O'Neill has authored award-winning books and articles and his editorials have appeared in national and international publications, including the Los Angeles Times.

O'Neill was born in Olympia, Washington, in 1948. In the 1960s and 1970s he was a syndicated political cartoonist and graphic artist. He later served as an executive in publishing, art direction, TV production and Middle East tour coordination. O'Neill received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Washington in 1972, a Doctor of Humane Letters from Warner Pacific College in 2004 and a Doctor of Humane Letters from Willamette University in 2007. He is also a recipient of the 2006 Mother Teresa Award.

O'Neill lives with his wife Cherry and their five children in Sammamish, Washington.