Frederick Tutman

Personal Statement

I have enjoyed a broad and varied career in media, civic advocacy, law and legal education. In my work, I often work to help others explore their own values with regard to nature and stewardship of the earth, and I try to mentor others to find personal truth and meaning in their transactions with raw nature. As a former journalist I have traveled the world extensively. For several years I worked with Ford Foundation on a project to empower African Traditional Healers to share their healing wisdom and cultural stories to the world. As a boy my parents had entrusted me to a Peace Corps volunteer in Sierra Leone, West Africa as my guardian and guide to many extraordinary experiences and adventures on the road while we pursued a bohemian life in a strife torn country during a long and bloody civil war. Consequently, I learned at an early age how to improvise, survive by my wits and think on my feet—skills that came in handy later as a journalist and then as an environmental advocate. I am also an avid outdoor adventurer having hiked, kayaked, backpacked, and mountaineered at destinations all over the globe. As a Blacksmith I dabble in primitive skills and arts plus the craft of self-sufficiency forged from earth, fire and steel.