That sums up the noninvasive, respectful, helping attitude that governs Selnow's approach to people in the war-torn, illness-ravaged sections of the world to whom he brings technology and medical resources.
With and through WiRED, the organization he founded in 1997, Selnow travels - often at his own expense - to countries devastated by conflict, illness or poverty, to provide citizens with information and communication resources.
 Gary Selnow relaxes in his Montara home. |
The resources are eagerly snapped up where the need for medical information is dire.
WiRED, which collaborates with San Francisco State University's Marian Wright Edelman Institute, the U.S. Global Technology Corps and the U.S. National Institutes of Health, operates centers in the Balkans, Africa and Latin America. These centers provide health-care information to more than 1 million individuals each year. Selnow's work is also credited with bringing the potentials of cyberspace within reach for citizens of 10 countries on four continents.
Other countries that have benefited from WiRED's humanitarian programs include Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, Nicaragua and Kenya.
Most recently, Selnow has made several trips to Iraq to bring modern-day technology there, too.
For this work, Selnow, 56, was presented on May 29 with the SFSU President's Medal for Service. The award, which honors those who have made outstanding contributions to the university, San Francisco and the greater world, is given at the discretion of SFSU President Robert A. Corrigan.
"I am honored to present (the award) to Gary Selnow, whose courageous humanitarian work has had a resoundingly positive impact on the lives of many people in war-torn countries," said Corrigan. "Prof. Selnow inspires us by his creativity and courage."
Selnow is professor of business communication at SFSU. Previous President's Medal recipients include Congress-woman Nancy Pelosi and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.
Selnow, with characteristic humility, said he found the award to be "a nice surprise," but deflected praise for himself back to WiRED.
WiRED "is not a one-man band," he said. "It is right to accept it in the name of everyone who has done work with me."
In his quiet trips to Iraq, working primarily with physicians and medical students, he focuses on the job at hand instead of the conflict.
"I'm not tough. I'm not a hero. I go in and do the job," Selnow said with characteristic self-deprecation. When he added, "When I see the gratitude of those doctors ... " his voice trailed off.
Iraqi doctors are working with outdated resources, he said. "They look at (modern technology) and their jaws drop. They're taking notes, running back and forth, just like kids."
There, Selnow practiced his motto.
"I hope we reflect that one of the sides of the U.S. is the helping side, and demonstrate the generosity and goodwill of the American people," he said.
Calling Iraq the "biggest" job WiRED has taken on in terms of numbers of people reached, he said the goal there is "to just start to get the information to them as quickly as possible."
"Provide the people the tools, the training, some ongoing help when and where they need it, and they will take programs to places you could not possibly imagine for them," Selnow said.
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