Dave Santulli Discusses his Vision and Experience
Today, we spoke with our founder and President, Dave Santulli about his visions for a more united planet. Having been at the helm of our ship for the past sixteen years, Dave hopes to encourage others to follow a similar path. His urging for others to take part in this global community is only supported by his willingness to step in on his own, leading the charge towards global connections.
His passion and drive only permeate throughout the company’s inner confines. It’s infectious and calculated, always remaining true to United Planet’s core values. Having traveled all over the globe looking to spread his message, Dave has come to understand that if we work together and take one step in the right direction, then we will be on a path towards unity, connection and understanding.
Listen to the entire conversation below:
Full Transcript:
Annemarie: Welcome to United Planet Radio, a podcast where we chat with leaders,
influencers, volunteers, and visionaries who spend their time promoting our message and
our goal here at United Planet which is cross-cultural understanding. On United Planet
Radio, we have conversations that we believe are needed in the world today, what we call
“global conversations.” Global conversations go beyond borders and, ultimately, unite the
planet. My name is Annemarie with United Planet Radio and today we are joined by the
founder and president of United Planet, Dave Santulli.
Dave: Well, we are really excited about this second episode and about bringing in people
who can share their voices and share about different perspectives and insights into the
world, and I think one of the best ways we learn about each other and overcome some of
the misunderstandings that exist in the world is by bringing people together, having
conversations, learning how much there is to celebrate and learn from each other across
borders. I am really excited to begin this journey with our radio show and so grateful to you
for doing such a wonderful job hosting.
Annemarie: Thanks. Dave is the best. He is the greatest guy to work for, but can we talk a
little bit about your past with United Planet. Your experience, what made you decide to
start a company, just a little bit of background about United Planet as an organization. We’ll
start there.
Dave: How much time do we have tonight?
Annemarie: A good question. We’ve got a little bit of time.
Dave: I think looking back at my life, one of my first international experiences when I was
growing up. In middle school, I had the chance to go to the Soviet Union and at the time
there was a lot of fear and misperception across borders in that situation, and I had the
chance to go with a school group when I was about thirteen-years- old and it completely
changed my life. I met some of the Russian people and understood that they were also very
kind and supportive people. They wanted peace and understanding across borders and that
a lot of the misunderstandings that exist are based on things we hear through the media or
different positions of governments and it’s less about the people. I think as people, we
share so much in common and there’s a need for people to come together and build more
understanding.
Annemarie: If you don’t mind me asking, what year was this? Or around what time was
this?
Dave: Sometime in the 80s.
Annemarie: Okay.
Dave: I think we’ll just leave it at that.
Annemarie: Continue though, please.
Dave: And so I think at a young age, I grew up in Maryland, in the suburbs of Maryland,
going outside of my borders and having that experience opened up my eyes to the world. I
gained a different perspective about the situation and it really planted a seed in me and
inspired me to want to see as much of the world as I could and continue to learn from
people across borders. Later, I went on to study in Spain during college and after college,
worked for a bit and then travelled for a year, and happened to meet a Japanese family and
they invited me to live with them. The father was a professor at one of the universities in
Tokyo and they had a son who was about my same age and they said, “You know, here is a
chance for us to learn about your culture and for you to learn about ours. We’d like to
invite you to live with us.” So I ended up living with them for about six months, started
learning Japanese, immersed in the country and culture, and then later decided to go back
to Japan because I started to fall in love with the culture and had a business there for nine
years…
Annemarie: What business?
Dave: That was involved in international trading of different products. And even when I did
that business, I had the chance to meet with people from all over the world doing business
in Pakistan, India, and South America, and different places and I’d meet with people and
we’d have lunch, for example, and just talk about each other’s culture during the whole
time. And then afterwards remember “Oh, I think we have a little business to talk about.”
And then after getting married, I came back to the United States to start a fresh life with a
blank slate and look back at my life and it was my friendships with people from different
countries and cultures and my international experiences that had enriched my life beyond
anything I ever thought possible and I felt that there was a real need in the world for
building greater understanding among people that they’re divides and misperceptions that
exist among people and we really need to build more bridges within our own communities
and across the world and that was about sixteen years ago. It started off with the work of
United Planet and because of the mission of that work, it made sense that it was a non-
profit and when about trying to build the Board of Directors and advisors and really
strategize about what kind of programs can we create to build more bridges, to create
stronger relationships across borders and that’s in a nutshell a little bit about the work.
Annemarie: One of my favourite parts about United Planet, I think it is really cool that you
guys don’t just send people from the United States to other countries. It’s not about us
necessarily being better, like, you really are so interested in building bridges. Having that
cross-cultural conversation instead of it just being, like, we go in pose on you. In a sense,
that’s not what volunteer work is but some people, you know, it’s been criticized as being
that, but I think United Planet is so great and the fact that it’s mutual and I think that is
something that you really stress and that your travels obviously show. That’s really
interesting, that’s really great
Dave: If I had to describe United Planet in one word, it would be “relationships” and in the
early days of starting United Planet, I actually went to The Fletcher School of Law and
Diplomacy at Tufts University and did some research and peace building and had the
opportunity to go to Cyprus and there I met peacebuilders on the Turkish side and Greek
side and they had discovered some very innovative ways of bringing people together around
areas of common interest. People who love sports, for example, would come together
across their differences around sports or music or different areas and they use that as a way
of bringing people together across differences and I wanted to bring some of those
learnings into United Planet as we try to figure out how can we most effectively build
bridges among people and how can we come together across our differences and one of the
key points there is, well, what are the points of commonality that we have, and as an
organization, we’ve focused on two areas, the global issues that we face in the world around
our environment, around issues related to health and education and these are things that
unite us. Whether we’re from Nigeria, Bolivia, France, the United States, there’s an
understanding that these issues are greater than any one country and that the only way to
address these issues is by working together, and in order to work together, we need to be
able understand, respect, and support each other because that is the kind of teamwork it’s
going to take to address these issues that are beyond us that are, in that sense,
transnational. So that’s one area of commonality that we try to bring people together
around. The other one is just this cross-cultural sharing, this interest in recognizing that
there is so many rich and deep cultures around the world and we understand our own
cultures in our own little corner of the world but there is so much more we can understand
about humanity and the human experience when we open up those doors and learn from
people in Bolivia, China, and all over the world. So the idea is, bringing people together
around addressing global challenges, but also around sharing each other’s cultures and
learning from each other.
Annemarie: So for those who might not know a little bit about what United Planet does, can
you just talk a little bit about both of our program options? Our short-term, our long-term,
and maybe a little bit, and maybe the Gap Year. You’ve talked a lot about the Gap Year in
the past. I’ve read articles of how important a Gap Year is. I think that that’s really
fascinating it’s something I wish I would’ve done looking back and something that’s way
more common, I’m from the midwest, but way more common I’ve found with my friends
that grew up in the northeast actually, kind of interesting. So a little bit about what are
programs or what are quests look like?
Dave: Let me just start again with just a very short overview of the mission. In a word,
United Planet is “relationships” and we’re trying to bring about a world in which people
understand respect, support one another in a community beyond borders, and we do that
through international programs, local programs, and online initiatives as well. The
international programs have been our primary way of achieving the mission over the last
sixteen years and that involves sending people to different countries from as short as a
week to as long as one year where people immerse in the country and culture. They learn
the language, they usually live with families and they work with local organizations. They’re
supported through our country coordinators and the different countries around the world
and the idea is for them to really immerse in a way that allows them to build relationships
with the local people, gain an appreciation of the local culture and hopefully contribute to
some local efforts in partnership with the local organizations that we work with. I think all
of the programs have a wonderful value. The 6-month and 1-year programs are incredible
because you have that much more time to really immerse and the shorter term programs
are also wonderful ways to experience a different country and culture and when we do send
people for shorter periods, we’re always thinking about the most appropriate way to have
them interact, so we find appropriate activities for them to do that makes sense for a
shorter period of time and that’s a critical piece, always thinking about how can we create a
win-win situation for everyone who’s involved with United Planet, from the volunteers to
the host organizations to the host families. This is a community beyond borders, we’re all
working together, we’re all part of this mission and this vision for a more united planet and
that’s critical how can we all benefit and learn from each other as part of this process.
Annemarie: I know you said briefly you’re married, but you have two teenage boys. So
what has it been like being a dad and business owner, also I know travel is really important
to them, it’s kind of ingrained in [their mind], and they’ve seen a lot of places. How did you
raise them to be culturally-aware, if that makes sense? How important is travel to them and
what’s it’s like being a dad and a business owner?
Dave: I think my sons like travelling even more than I do and that’s kind of hard to believe,
but I think kids, through us, mostly pick up their interests maybe not all but a lot of the
interests of their parents. Initially, my wife and I, when the kids were very small, we’d go off
and travel on our own and either my dad would come up or my wife’s parents, but after a
while they kept asking to go with us. So finally we caved in and let them go and there’s
been no looking back, ever since then they’ve come on almost all of our trips and we’ve had
the opportunity to travel to many different places around the world and most recently went
to Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, a place called Nakhchivan, which is a different region of
Azerbaijan where very few tourists go, and every step of the way, the best part was
interacting with the local people, having those conversations and the realization that I had is
that people are the best diplomats, that if more of us go out there, connect with each other,
and celebrate our common humanity then we can build a more united planet if it’s in the
hands of the people to build those bridges.
Annemarie: That’s great. That’s really interesting to hear and I’ve met Tristan, your younger
son, and he’s fantastic and you can tell when someone has seen other cultures because they
are just so mature for such a young age and that’s really incredible to see so that’s great.
This is kind of an interesting question. If you were going to suggest one quest location, you
had to pick just one. I know that’s really hard– he’s shaking his head, he doesn’t know– but
if you were going to advise me and say, “Annemarie, you should go here. This is our quest
that you should do.” Which one would that be and why?
Dave: I think one of my answers is to follow up with more questions with you that what we
would do with all our volunteers. We always try to find out about each person’s interests,
backgrounds, their skills, so that we could find out which type of program, which country,
which organization would best suit your interest and also suit the organization that you
wanted to work with. That is a wonderful question.
Annemarie: Probably doesn’t have an answer.
Dave: There are so many and I’ve been very fortunate to visit our different countries around
the world that we work in and we have some incredible country coordinators, some of them
have been with us for over ten years and they’re so committed so it is very hard for me to
make any selection, but in Africa, we have strong programs in Ghana, Tanzania, South
Africa. In Asia, we’ve got Nepal and China. In South America, we have wonderful programs
in Ecuador, Chile, and Peru. We also have a strong program in Romania and there is so
much to learn from each and then on top of that we have all the 6-month and 1-year
programs. I think I could easily, if it wasn’t for the job here, unless United Planet’s going to
allow me to work remotely, to spend the rest of my life travelling around to United Planet
country sites living with the local communities, that would be a dream come true. There’s
always retirement or maybe remote work that is another possibility. Quickly, I did want to
mention is that we also have a program in the United States and recently, we had someone
from China come. As we speak, we have two young gentlemen from Costa Rica who have
come here to the United States for six months to learn about our culture, language and to
provide support to different host organizations here in the United States. One’s going to
spend six months in Oklahoma and the other one’s going to be in New Hampshire for six
months. So the idea of United Planet is that we’re a global organization that people from all
over the world are part of this organization. We’re working together to build multilateral
bridges across cultures and that’s the important part of the organization I think to mention
as well.
Annemarie: There is a notion that I find really interesting that I’ve been reading a lot about
lately and it’s the rejection of material things and instead having experiences and that’s how
humans are really happy is by gaining experience and seeing the world and making
memories and that seems like something you live by. Do you have any tips for happiness or
do you think travel is ingrained in maybe in being fully human if you could speak on that?
Dave: Well, I am not an expert on that subject, but I can share my perspective. I feel that
seeing the world is one of the greatest educations we could ever have. That travel is one of
the greatest educations. There is a Japanese proverb that says “We’re all students and
teachers” and I like to keep that in mind when I meet anyone. Whether it’s someone right
here in the shipyard or in Nakhchivan or another part of the world that regardless of our
occupations, our social economic background, every single person in the world has
something to teach us and I like to think that we have something to share as well and that
exchange is one of the most enriching experiences we could ever have and fulfilling that
we’re all part kind of a global family and we have so much to learn and share from each
other. And with all due respect to institutions of higher learning and education, which I
think are fantastic, there is another value to going out and experiencing the world that
provides a different, very special kind of education and in terms of happiness, I feel very
fortunate to do this work which I believe in deeply. I believe the mission of the work is very
important in today’s world and it seems that the need is growing greater and greater by the
day with a lot of different situations happening in the world. I am grateful to work with all
the people I work with and that I have worked with over these sixteen years. The team
members, the board members, the volunteers, it’s been the greatest privilege of my life and
I’m just very grateful for that and find that extremely fulfilling and that’s what keeps me
going. That’s the greatest reward I could ever ask for and if we could make some kind of
impact through our work on certain number of people’s lives then I think we have
something to be proud of.
Annemarie: That’s great and just to ask one more question, if that’s works? At United
Planet, like you said, we believe in building bridges in our everyday lives to build
communities and to bring people together. So, can you think of three things either big or
small that people could do in their everyday lives to help unite the planet because
something really important to you that I know you’ve spoke on to is you don’t have to travel
around the world to bring people together, you can start locally you could do it every day
and I know that is something you live by. How would you advise people that are listening to
do that?
Dave: I think oftentimes people are concerned. “Do I speak the same language as this
person?” “Will I be able to connect?” And I think it’s up to us to reach out. It’s up to us to
give someone a smile and whether we’re here or travelling. If someone is looking our way,
rather than just kind of looking off the other way, acknowledge them, look at them, say
hello, ask them how they’re doing, and reach out to them. Connect with the people around
you. We’re surrounded by people with incredible experiences facing unknown challenges
that we can’t even see and it’s great to reach out, connect, and support each other along
the way whether we’re hear in our local community or in a different part of the world. That
would be one of the main ways. The other would be if you’re concerned about something,
you’re not happy with something going on with the environment or the community, don’t
wait for someone else to do something about it. Do something yourself. If you see a piece
of trash on the street, pick it up. Start something within your community. And third, the
challenges are in incredible in today’s world but so is the potential and so are the
opportunities and it’s hard not be to broken by the weight of some of the challenges in the
world, but, instead of focusing on that, focus on the positives, focus on what we have to
learn from each other, the beauty of the world, our opportunity to make a difference in this
short life that we have and believe in yourself, go about and try to make it a positive
difference in some way.
Annemarie: That was fantastic. Thank you so much, it was great to talk to you. If any of the
listeners have never met Dave, they should absolutely reach out because he is a fantastic
person to know and he really does live by the mission of United Planet so thank you so
much for talking with us today. It was great to have you on and there was a lot of nuggets
of wisdom there so thank you again.
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