Growing up in an under-resourced community in Malaysia, Gerald Thomas seemed an unlikely candidate for MIT. Encouraged by a high school math teacher, he applied and was accepted, but lacked the money to get to the US. A local group in Kuala Lumpur raised funds to finance Gerald’s first trip outside his home country. Four years later, Gerald graduated with degrees in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, and Management.
After working in Paris for a commodities trading firm, then earning an MBA at the GSB, Gerald again embraced the unknown, moving to Sydney, Australia, where he still lives.
Though he described himself as a “lone wolf,” Gerald forged ties with his classmates at the GSB and expanded those connections at his 25th GSB reunion, soon joining a group of classmates launching Project Redwood. Inspired by his own life experiences, he became a valued member of Project Redwood’s Grant Review Committee, bringing both a global perspective and a deep appreciation for the obstacles to emerging from poverty.
Over his years on the Grant Review Committee, Gerald found that the in-depth evaluation of grant proposals not only advanced Project Redwood’s mission of combating poverty, but also strengthened his bonds with fellow alumni. “With my background, I’m obviously interested in the challenge of global poverty and having impact fighting it,” he says. “But I also found that time of intense working together in Project Redwood very enjoyable.”
Gerald also championed WorldShare, sponsoring the nonprofit through four Project Redwood grant cycles and four years of implementation support. WorldShare equips vulnerable communities across Asia and Africa to break the cycle of extreme poverty — and with Project Redwood funding, it expanded girls’ education programs and agricultural training for smallholder farmers in Uganda. These results reflect what becomes possible when committed people and resources align: tens of thousands of lives have been measurably improved. For Gerald — someone whose own trajectory was changed by a teacher, community support in Kuala Lumpur and, importantly, GSB alumni working together — that kind of collective impact is anything but abstract.