Ted Everts
His own life was as blatantly diverse as CONTACT. Ted cycled through periods of world-saving followed by those of reflection and frolicking. Having majored in Russian at Berkeley, he started a Soviet jazz import project, ran the U.S. branch of the Association of Space Explorers, and did translation gigs for Russian-American youth rafting trips and for the press and Secret Service on Gorbachev's visit to San Francisco. Ever seeking new destinations and experiences, Ted moved to Hanoi for a few years, learned some Vietnamese, met his wife, Nhung, and produced a son, Desmond. Back in the U.S., he worked at two S.F. Presidio-based nonprofits, the State of the World Forum and the Resource Center for the United Nations.
Ted and I shared a deep distrust of globalization as a threat to human cultural diversity. When he mentioned re-immersing himself in academia, I tried to convince him, almost successfully (he confided), to become an anthropologist, so much did I admire his talent and perspective. He eventually chose a Master's program in International Relations at San Francisco State University. His thesis examined the global issues of commercialization of the human genome and genetic engineering. In 2008, Ted finally felt ready to present at CONTACT and his talk reflected his new passion: "Meet Homo commoditas: Modifying and Commodifyng Genus Homo sapiens in a Capitalist World-Economy." Rave reviews.
It was with profound sadness for our loss and with deep respect for his memory that we dedicated CONTACT 2012 to a true world citizen, Ted Everts.