Podcast

When human potential is wasted, we all lose something.

Most people who look at Alister Martin’s resume would assume he’s led a charmed life. A medical doctor as well as a White House Fellow, he holds dual appointments on the faculty of Harvard Medical School and Harvard Kennedy School of Government and excels in just about every way you can imagine. He even has a mean tennis serve.

Yet his life has not been charmed, at least not in the ways most people would imagine. He grew up rough, he had struggles and it all almost went sideways. He also had some luck, was able to push through and make it. Many of those he grew up with did not.Struggle and hardship can make people feel bitter. Some, once they make it to the top, want to pull the ladder up behind them.

But Alister feels a sense of gratitude and responsibility to those who did not make it and works to help the ones that still can. So he established his organization, A Healthier Democracy, to leverage the healthcare system to deliver crucial services to people in marginalized communities. One of these, @Vote-ER, has helped almost 100,000 people to register to vote at over 700 facilities.

Listen to the entire episode to learn more..