Greg Mortenson

Greg Mortenson
Mortenson shown in 2005
Born
St. Cloud, Minnesota, U.S.[1]
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of South Dakota
Occupations
  • Professional speaker
  • writer
  • veteran
  • mountaineer
SpouseDr. Tara Bishop
Parent(s)Irvin and Dr. Jerene Mortenson

Greg Mortenson is an American professional speaker, writer, veteran, and former mountaineer. He is a co-founder and former executive director of the non-profit Central Asia Institute and the founder of the educational charity Pennies for Peace.[2][3]

Mortenson is the co-author of The New York Times Bestseller Three Cups of Tea[4] and Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan.[5]

Mortenson was accused of financial irregularities in handling donations to the CAI and falsehoods in his books. In 2012, Mortenson repaid $1 million to the CAI after an inquiry by the Montana Attorney General.[6] The inquiry determined that he had improperly used over $6 million of the organization's funds; however, no criminal activity was discovered.[7]

  1. ^ Curt Brown. "A fraud or a tempest in a teacup?". Star Tribune. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
  2. ^ Marissa Bronfman (January 13, 2010). "Greg Mortenson Inspires Branksome Hall to Raise $9,000 in Pennies for Peace Drive". Huffington Post. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  3. ^ "Greg Mortenson on War and Peace". On Point with Tom Ashbrook. December 8, 2009. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  4. ^ Schuessler, Jennifer (22 April 2011). "Inside the List". New York Times. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  5. ^ Jay Mathews (December 20, 2009). "Book review: 'Stones into Schools' by Greg Mortenson". Washington Post. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  6. ^ "Questions over Greg Mortenson's stories - CBS News". CBS News. 2017-05-20. Archived from the original on 2017-05-20. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  7. ^ "Three Cups of Tea author must pay $1m to his charity". BBC News. 2012-04-06. Retrieved 2024-06-12.