A lifetime of service and adventure

Glenn Geelhoed (M.D. 1968) has spent his life pushing boundaries — from a pioneering surgical career in Washington, D.C., to humanitarian work across the globe.

Geelhoed spent almost all of his surgical career at George Washington University Medical Center. In the early 1970s, he led some of the first successes in kidney transplantation.

A humanitarian, educator, and scholar, Geelhoed founded the nonprofit Mission to Heal, which delivers medical supplies and training to the world’s most remote communities, including areas of Ghana and the Great Rift Valley. The focus is on building capacity with the tools and supplies communities already have.

Geelhoed has written several books about medical mission work, including Gifts from the Poor, in which he shares his conviction that those who carry out this work benefit even more than the people receiving the assistance. “When you go on these missions, you realize that you are the recipient and not the donor,” he says. “I call that transformational learning.”

Geelhoed also has a passion for running, having completed more than 170 marathons around the world, including the Marine Corps Marathon, which he has run 48 times and only missed twice since 1975. Through his decades of inspiring service, teaching, care, and running, Geelhoed’s mission has been clear: embrace challenges and empower others.