Bill Gates, Nobel-prize winner Dr. Peter Agre, and management consultant Rob Mathers have taken on ‘encore’ careers focused on tackling malaria. According to Marc Freedman, author of Encore: Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life, sees the last few decades of our life as a new life stage, one in which it is possible to make a difference in the world. Nowadays, many Boomers are interested in starting new careers with a positive social impact, rather than ‘retiring’ in the traditional sense of the word.

Mr. Mather, founder of Against Malaria, is involved with raising funds for this international charity which is dedicated to:

“…the relief of suffering from malaria by the provision of funds for the prevention
and/or treatment of malaria and the advancement of education in the subjects of
a) the problems and suffering caused by malaria and b) what can be done to alleviate
them.”

Dr. Agre left an administrative position at Duke University to lead the Malaria Research Institute at John Hopkins. And Mr. Gates, who retired this month from Microsoft, is also now focused on giving back by dedicating a major portion
of his philanthropic efforts to fighting this easily preventable disease.