Mark Walker (Guatemala) publishes
DIFFERENT LATITUDES
Apr 21 2017
SUMMER, 1971. A naïve young man must decide his path upon graduation from a small
university in Colorado. Amidst the turmoil of the counterculture years and the looming
possibility of being sent to Vietnam, he concludes that he wants to travel, serve, and, if possible,
save the world.
As a Peace Corps Volunteer Mark embarks on a vigorous cross cultural
experience in a Caribbean and two Central American countries, with a final stop in one of the
more isolated areas of the highlands of Guatemala. Though beset with a fear of the unknown and
feelings of profound isolation due to being the only Volunteer in a remote village, he eventually
gets to know and appreciate the people of the rural communities he is privileged to live among.
After a near-death experience takes him to another part of Guatemala and eventually to a horse
town, Mark meets the love of his life, Ligia, who will bear him three children and be part of a
lifelong commitment to and appreciation of this beautiful and unique country. Much of their
courtship takes place on a coffee plantation owned by Ligia’s family, where Mark experiences a
different side of Guatemalan society.
While Ligia selflessly abandons her own career to focus on establishing a stable bi-cultural home
for their three children during the violent Guatemalan Civil War, Mark’s “wanderlust” takes him
on a four-month solo trek through Latin America and then a country change based on threats
from a guerrilla group. Mark’s thirteen-year career promoting rural development through various
international NGOs begins when he sets up a local development agency in Guatemala to help the
poorest of the poor, whose plight is at least partially due to the policies of his own government.
Eventually family circumstances force a radical career change for Mark and a return to the US
with his family to begin a thirty-year calling. Inspired by the “extreme do-gooders” he had met
along his journey, he takes some of the wealthiest American families in the world to meet some
of the world’s poorest in some of the most isolated, unstable countries. This leads to many
adventures, with both wealthy and poor growing from their shared experiences.
Mark’s career comes to a sudden and unexpected turn after he is let go as the CEO of one of
these international NGOs, and this frees him up to focus on his three children and his six
grandchildren. This twist in the road also provides a new opportunity to reflect on what he has
accomplished, where he’s failed, and where the international NGO community has come up
short.
Different Latitudes is more than a travel memoir. It is a tale his of physical and spiritual selfdiscovery experienced through the topography, cuisine, politics, and history in Latin America,
Africa, Europe and Asia.
MR. WALKER IS A SEASONED development leader who makes
presentations in both Spanish and English. He is dedicated to promoting international
collaboration amongst organizations. He is known as an outstanding trainer, facilitator and team
builder with an ability to inspire others to excel. His fundraising specialties include major gifts,
planned giving, foundations, case and board development, and campaign and international
fundraising. Walker is the founder of Fund Development Innovations, LLC. and a VP and Senior
Counsel for Carlton & Company. He served as CEO of Hagar USA, an international Christian
organization dedicated to the recovery of survivors of human trafficking. Prior to that, Mark was
the Vice-President of Make-A-Wish Foundation International and Senior Director at Food for the
Hungry and MAP International.
MR WALKER HOLDS A B.A. from Western State University in Gunnison, Colorado as well as
a masters degree in Sociology and Economics from the Institute of Latin American Studies at the
University of Texas in Austin. Mark is the Past President of the Greater Arizona chapter of the
Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Planned Giving Roundtable of Arizona, and
has been a presenter at the Hemispheric Congress for Fundraising in Mexico City. His honors
include the “Service Above Self” Award from Rotary International. Mark and his wife, Ligia,
reside in Scottsdale, Arizona with their three children.
THE AUTHOR DECIDED to write about his experiences to help other RPCV’s
appreciate the impact of their own experiences and to consider sharing them with others. Walker
also wanted to inspire students and young professionals considering a career in international
development. The acknowledgment of his book is three pages long presenting all the different
types of people who helped him write it. Several of the members of his Peace Corps group in
Guatemala helped him reconstruct the early story of the training process. Several RPCV authors
provided invaluable insights on all levels of the writing and publishing process. A number of
friends with whom the author worked abroad or who still work and live in Guatemala provided
important historic information and details. His Guatemalan wife Ligia as always was the editorin-chief.
•
Different Latitudes: My Life in the Peace Corps and Beyond
by Mark D. Walker (Guatemala 1971–73)
Peace Corps Writers
April 2017
332 pages
$18.00 (paperback)
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