In the early 2000s, when JoAnn Patrick-Ezzell ’75 repatriated to the U.S. after working abroad, she and her husband, Andrew, felt compelled to act.
She had been president and CEO of AT&T Asia/Pacific in Hong Kong, but during decades of international travel, the couple witnessed many impoverished children lacking access to education, and they were moved to take action.
Viewing education as a critical lever to success, they established in 2002 their aptly named charity, Give Something Back International Foundation.
JoAnn Patrick-Ezzell ’75 developed a global perspective at Bucknell, which she has employed in her career and philanthropy.
The foundation supports education in rural and urban communities around the world in three ways: building schools and libraries; direct scholarships for students; and a global virtual-classroom program. Since its inception, the foundation has sponsored education for more than 2,000 students, and its virtual classroom program, focused on cross-cultural communication and understanding, has connected students from more than 600 primary and secondary schools in 62 countries.
Patrick-Ezzell also works to shape the lives of Bucknell students. She returned to campus the last five summers as a guest lecturer sharing her international leadership expertise with students in the Freeman College of Management.
“Bucknell really helped me to develop a global perspective and was instrumental in the way that I led,” says Patrick-Ezzell, citing her first-year adviser, David Lu, now professor of history and Japanese and East Asian studies emeritus, and Dean of Students John Dunlop as particularly influential. “That four years truly had a major impact on my career, my philanthropic pursuits and my life.”