Doug Dilts was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1952 to Russell and Mary Charlotte (Fritzie) Dilts. The family moved to Augusta in 1962 and Doug graduated from ARC in 1970 where he was Cadet Colonel in the ARC JROTC program as well as being a standout on the Musketeer tennis team.

 

Doug graduated from Stanford University in 1974 and earned his PhD from the University of Massachusetts in International Education in 1988. After graduating from Stanford, he worked for six months on the Alaska oil pipeline as a cook to pay off his school loans.

 

He first visited Indonesia in 1975 as part of Stanford’s Volunteer in Asia program. He immediately fell in love with the country and its people and stayed on to work for World Education in Indonesia and Thailand.

 

One of Doug’s greatest accomplishments was developing, leading, and managing the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s field training program. At that time, toxic pesticides that were banned in the West were flowing freely into Asian countries, causing many health issues for the farmers who were applying them. Under Doug’s guidance, the program was able to decrease the dependence on the use of toxic pesticides. The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) did a two-part documentary on the program and it can be seen on Youtube by searching TOXIC TRAILS. It also taught farmers ecological methods of farming that helped to greatly increase rice yields. The program has reached over two million farmers in twelve Asian countries. In 2002, Doug founded the Farmers Initiative for Ecological Livelihood and Democracy (FIELD), which continues its work today.

 

With so many of the street children in Jakarta suffering from health issues, Doug and his wife Wahyu established the Dilts Foundation in 1999 to provide health care for these children. The Foundation has now been expanded to include education and job training. Their oldest son, Bayu, serves as the Director of the Foundation.

 

When a tsunami devastated Indonesia in 2005, Doug worked as the regional coordinator for USAID’s Environmental Services Program in Sumatra, Indonesia.

 

His last job was working to establish a national park in Indonesia for reforestation and the protection of endangered species such as the Sumatran tiger and the orangutan. 

 

In October 2011, while hiking in the mountains with colleagues, Doug, who never dodged a challenge, raced to the top of a steep hill to gain a better view. However, as he bent to look at a rare tiger paw print, his heart failed him.

 

 

After his death, a busload of farmers from Sumatra traveled for over a day to sit by his grave as is their custom.

 

As part of his memorial, his friends and colleagues put together a 344 page “memory book” composed of 1-2 page remembrances and photos. The breadth and depth of these is incredible. Doug touched the lives of a lot of people from many places as a friend, family member, mentor, colleague, and visionary.

 

Doug was known and loved by his friends and colleagues for his unique ability to inspire them to achieve more than they thought possible. He was firmly committed to the rights and dignity of all people, and his work provided a voice to millions of farmers and inspired the rural poor to organize and achieve a better life.

 

Scot Marciel, the U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia said of Doug, “(W)e also remember that to Indonesians he wasn’t just a boss or partner but he became a member of the family. He was welcomed and felt comfortable in the poorest homes, always had time to sit down and listen.”

 

Doug and Wayhu Setyowati married in 1985 and together raised 5 children. Their two teenage sons, Bagas and Dewo, are now living in Rochester, NY with their mother. Their three older children all reside in Jakarta, where daughter Sari is an attorney, son Bima is a businessman and the father of their only grandson, and Bayu serves as the Director of the Dilts Foundation.

 

Doug’s sisters, Barbara and Martha, are both ARC graduates – classes of 1963 and 1965.