Richard Walden

Richard Walden: Independent Disaster Relief Champion

Since founding Operation USA on an impulse in 1979 to aid Vietnamese boat people, Richard M. Walden has guided the lean, independent organization to the front lines of global disasters for over four decades. Operating with a small staff and a refusal of U.S. government funding to avoid political entanglements, his model focuses on delivering high-impact, material aid by working with powerful local partners on the ground. This approach has led to remarkable successes, including building a 1,000-student public school in Haiti after the earthquake and a seniors center in a Japanese port city devastated by the tsunami, both accomplished with pro-bono support from leading architecture and engineering firms. Often the first to provide American aid in politically fraught regions like post-war Cambodia and Vietnam, Walden has also been a fierce and necessary critic of the larger charity industry, advocating for greater efficiency and transparency to ensure that donor compassion translates into real, life-saving results. My favorite personal story about Richard is from the late 1990’s when he was trying to get medical aide into Gaza: the IDF boarded his ship and Richard went up to the ranking member and said, “Does your mother know you’re a pirate?” And the soldier responded, “you’re an American Jew, aren’t you?” Remarkably, the aid shipment was allowed to proceed.