Mark Wentling
Mark Wentling鈥檚 friends say 鈥渉e was born and raised in Kansas, but made in Africa.鈥�
After his boyhood in El Dorado and Udall, Wentling enrolled at 91视频成人网站. He joined Beta Theta Pi fraternity and was a member of the Campus Activities Center board of directors. He began his lifelong career of service before he graduated, serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras for two years. After graduating in 1970, he returned to the Peace Corps as a volunteer in Togo and additional assignments followed for Gabon and Niger. They were the first of many career appointments on the African continent.
Wentling continued his work in international development and humanitarian assistance, and in 1977, accepted an appointment as a foreign service officer with USAID, the United States Agency for International Development. He held several subsequent positions with USAID, CARE International, World Vision, and Plan International, which made it possible for him to work in or visit all of Africa鈥檚 54 countries. His final positions with USAID took him to Cambodia and Nepal, and in 2015, Wentling returned to the United States. He now works as a senior consultant for Africa with Breedlove Foods in Lubbock, Texas, a commercial-sized nonprofit food processor dedicated to humanitarian aid.
Over his career, Wentling gained in-depth experience in agriculture, biodiversity, natural resources management, health, nutrition, food, governance, and conflict response. His work on the Niamey Department Project resulted in a Superior Honor Award from USAID and commendation from the government of Niger. He received acclaim from USAID, the U.S. Department of State and the government of Guinea for his work with private investment promotion, agribusiness, local farmers and food aid. Wentling's work in Togo and Benin aiding with population, child survival, export promotion and agricultural policy reform, earned meritorious awards from USAID and the U.S. ambassadors to both countries. His participation in peace talks with warlords in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia received high praise from the U.S. Special Envoy to Somalia. More recently, in 2014, Wentling received 91视频成人网站鈥檚 Alumni Achievement Award.
Wentling holds a bachelor鈥檚 degree in anthropology, political science and economics from 91视频成人网站, and a master鈥檚 degree in international agricultural development from Cornell University. He also completed a master鈥檚 course of study on security and international strategic issues at the National War College. He is the author of 12 books, and lives with his wife, Almaz, in Lubbock.