Meet Steve Stirling: "I Was a Throw Away" Kid who Grew Up to be CEO of a Global Organization Providing Life-Changing Medicines to Kids in Need.
We honored Steve Stirling at the 2018 Human Excellence Awards, because he is an inspiration to a new generation of social action youth leaders. Mr. Stirling sees the potential for greatness in every child, especially those with serious health needs who can easily be overlooked in societies without sufficient health care resources. He comes by the work naturally. Growing up in South Korea, he contracted Polio at the age of 2. Imagine contracting a disease that can now be prevented by modern vaccines that are cheap and now ubiquitous to the developed world. His family abandoned him in an orphanage where he lived until he was 11 years old, and then he was adopted by an American family.
Mr. Stirling grew up to be a successful and impactful leader in business and philanthropy. He graduated from Cornell University, and was later awarded a Masters in Management from Northwestern University. He would gain decades of experience in executive leadership, marketing, fundraising, and the management of multinational corporations and non-governmental organizations, including Heifer International, World Vision, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Presently, he serves as president and CEO of Map International, an organization that provides free medicines to people and youth living in poverty globally.
Map International's mission is to provide medicines and health supplies to ever person around the world in need, so that they might experience life to the fullest like Steve. His organization helps families gain access to vaccines, prenatal care, treatments, and disaster relief in times of need. Providing the highest quality medicine to those in need is MAP’s top priorities.