Brian Rosborough, founder of the environmental watchdog organization Earthwatch, never much liked investment banking.
In an interview prior to last night's speech, Rosborough said he was "not very interested in the pursuit of assets."
"It was more fun to give money away than to make it," he said with a chuckle.
He said what interested him more was the opportunity to be of service to others, and since then he has devoted himself to this pursuit.
Earthwatch offers its members opportunity to work with scientists studying life on earth in a program called EarthCorps, Rosborough said.
"I started the organization when I recognized that problems were best solved by people who were willing to work with them," he said.
Members, ranging in age from 15 to 85 years, volunteer their time and funds to the projects, he said.
Since the organization started in 1972, it has funded more than 2,000 community service expeditions, Rosborough said. In a sense, EarthCorps is a global community service.
In addition to serving as chairman of Earthwatch, Rosborough is a trustee of Princeton University where he recently attended a conference on the future of higher education.
