the book
the author
Marc-Daniel Gutekunst

The son of French professors who taught in Africa for 23 years, Marc-Daniel Gutekunst was born in Rwanda in the town of Astrida (now Butare), and grew up in Rwanda, Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Burundi. In 1968 at age ten, Dr. Gutekunst and childhood friends visited the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda where Dian Fossey had just begun her studies. Dr. Gutekunst returned to Rwanda between 1979 and 1981 to conduct field work on environmental conservation and with gorillas, pursuant to his Bachelor's in zoology at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. His work culminated with his directing and co-producing "Le Dernier Sanctuaire des Gorilles" an award winning documentary film on Rwanda and the Mountain Gorillas in 1981. In 1992, Dr. Gutekunst founded the Atlanta based consulting firm Afrique Santé & Environnement, LLC (ASE) (Africa Health & Environment) to provide consulting services on health and environmental projects in Africa. The same year, Dr. Gutekunst began consulting with the Ministry of Health of Rwanda. In 1993, ASE designed a Post War Rehabilitation & Development Program with health and environmental projects. Shortly thereafter, in 1994 the Atlanta-based non-profit organization, Forging New Tomorrows, Inc, (FNT), was created to implement some of the projects designed by ASE in Rwanda. Dr. Gutekunst Co-Chairs FNT and the DeKalb International Training Center (DITC) with Ambassador Andrew Young, Former Atlanta Mayor. HSH Prince Albert of Monaco and he co-founded the DITC. He is also currently appointed as a Visiting Scholar at Emory University Institute for Comparative & International Studies, and he serves as Senior Mentor at the Emory University School of Public Health. Dr Gutekunst has two daughters, Malaïka and Naomie. His wife, Claire-Anne, is Assistant Professor at the Emory University School of Medicine Department of Neurosurgery.