Beyond Good Intentions: IEP Student Tori Hogan

As an undergraduate at Duke University, Ed.M. candidate Tori Hogan planned to become a geneticist. A 10-day field trip to a refugee camp in Lebanon with her Modern Arabic Literature and Culture class, however, drastically changed her future plans. "As I spent time with several families in the camp, I was overwhelmed by both the tragedy of their situation and the hopeful resilience that they displayed. The experience was really transformative," she says.

From that point on, Hogan's perception of the world and education forever changed. Although it was not her first experience with humanitarian work -- she had volunteered at an orphanage in Togo when she was 17 -- it was a remarkably influential moment in her life. "At that moment I really dedicated myself to trying to figure out how I could be of service to refugee children around the world," she says.

After graduating from Duke, Hogan went on to work for various aid organizations in Africa and study as a Fulbright Scholar in Egypt. Her experiences ultimately left her feeling jaded about the effectiveness of international aid in helping individuals. "I came back to the U.S. thinking that I had more legitimacy working in my own country and I said, 'I'm either going to quit international aid altogether and never do it again, or I'm going to figure out what works,'" she says. Hogan opted for the latter, and her decision led her to the International Education Program (IEP) at HGSE where she is a Reynolds Fellow in social entrepreneurship.

Hogan has also launched her own nonprofit organization, Beyond Good Intentions, which explores different strategies being used in humanitarian aid today. "I wanted to uncover the most innovative and effective approaches to improving the world," Hogan says, "and I knew that being [at HGSE] and being a fellow would be really formative as I tried to launch this social enterprise."

Beyond Good Intentions has expanded since its inception, and now has 10 volunteer staff members working on both coasts. The organization's largest project to date is the production of a documentary film that shares its name. For the film, Hogan spent one year traveling to aid organizations in 10 countries, interviewing community members, social entrepreneurs, volunteers, and donor groups. She shot 193 hours of footage for the film, which will be released in fall 2008. The documentary highlights 63 organizations in Colombia, Peru, Argentina, India, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Madagascar, Mozambique, and South Africa, and is a commentary on what is working in international aid today.

Hogan experienced many influential moments throughout her journey. One such moment occurred in Peru, where she realized that she needed to do more than make a documentary. "I got to thinking, 'This can't just be a film, that's not enough.' I wanted to transform the next generation of aid workers by getting them to think more innovatively about aid, how they can do it better, and what their role could and should be," she says.

With this in mind, she and her colleagues have prepared workshops and curriculums to accompany the film. They are also working with several universities on an internship program that will allow college students to do exactly what Hogan did. Students will be given the opportunity to travel to different world aid organizations and produce short film segments about each one. The videos will then become part of an online film archive. "It will be the first of its kind, and it will allow aid workers, donors, and philanthropists to go on and see where the new ideas are, what's working, and what's not, and help philanthropists start understanding where they can better direct their money," she says.

While many of Hogan's goals for the future of humanitarian aid are big, she knows she has an entire lifetime to work toward them. "Ultimately, I want people to realize that it's not okay that we don't question this," she says. "In reality, people think that if you're critical about aid, you are antihumanitarian. But we fail to recognize that these are people's lives that we are affecting. And it's not okay to not be sure about whether or not we're doing it well. There's too much at stake here."

To learn more about Beyond Good Intentions, and to view the trailer for the documentary, visit www.beyondgoodintentions.org.