Dr. William Magee

Kathleen Magee and William Magee, M.D. are the founders of Operation Smile, a nonprofit organization that dispatches volunteer medical teams to developing countries to perform free corrective surgery on disfigured children. In the United States, many common birth defects are treated surgically in the first years of a child's life, but in countries where the most basic medical care may be inaccessible, disfigured children have little hope for treatment and are often ostracized or abandoned. In 1981, Dr. Magee joined his first volunteer mission to the Philippines to operate on children suffering form cleft lips and palates. For five days, the team world 16-hour shifts, operating on nearly 150 children in three cities, but another 250 had to be turned away. Haunted by the thought of the children left behind to live with their deformities, Dr. Magee and his wife Kathleen began raising funds for a return trip and a permanent organization. As of 2011, Operation Smile has treated more than 160,000 children worldwide and currently has a presence in more than 60 countries. Kathleen Magee serves as the organization's President, Dr. Magee as its CEO. This podcast was recorded during the Magees' presentation at the Academy of Achievement's 1999 Summit in Washington, D.C.