Team Member Introduction
Hi, Iām Dustin Johnson š Over the last 2 decades, I’ve worked closely with nonprofit home-builders, nonprofit reforesters, nonprofit youth sports clubs, and now this — my first ever school-builder project! I try to spend my time engaged in gratitude-through-action and challenging myself to justify my existence every day. I don’t mind failing in pursuit of virtue.
I’m an Engineer by trade, Musician by heart, and a Sailor by summer.
Q: What made you interested in the CambodiaSchool.Build project?
From a young age, I’ve had ‘build a school’ on my bucket list. As an avid reader early on, I remember developing empathy and gratitude when learning about impoverished nations in my reading — promising myself I’d do something to help. For years, I’d been sketching up plans for a hackerspace project I named, “African Commons”, targeting Zimbabwe.
A few years ago, Derek and I were having an ongoing discussion about long-term accomplishment and how “accomplishable” seemingly-impossible goals can actually be… Long story short, he came in all pumped-up to build a school in Cambodia one day and asked me if I was in — without question, I said, “It’s already done.”
Q: What have you learned from this project?
(1) An effective team is essential. (2) Humans are humans, no matter where you go. (3) Never underestimate the power of relentlessly and repeatedly failing forward towards a goal over time.
