The Thriving Beyond Story
Matt Millar grew up in a small town in southern Wisconsin (USA) where there was very little by way of cultural diversity. In 2011, he moved to Nairobi, Kenya where he suddenly found himself as a racial minority swimming in uncertainty about how to navigate the massive cultural differences he was experiencing.
Prior to his departure to Kenya from the USA, he was offered zero cultural training to prepare him for how to engage meaningfully with the Kenyan people he was now living among. He came to see that many around the world that move to other nations are not properly equipped to succeed in cross-cultural living and relationships.
Matt Millar grew up in a small town in southern Wisconsin (USA) where there was very little by way of cultural diversity. In 2011, he moved to Nairobi, Kenya where he suddenly found himself as a racial minority swimming in uncertainty about how to navigate the massive cultural differences he was experiencing.
Prior to his departure to Kenya from the USA, he was offered zero cultural training to prepare him for how to engage meaningfully with the Kenyan people he was now living among. He came to see that many around the world that move to other nations are not properly equipped to succeed in cross-cultural living and relationships.
Over time, as he encountered the Kenyan culture more and more, he grew as an individual in new and exciting ways. As a result, his interest in intercultural studies exploded. He became increasingly more eager to learn about EVERY culture and all that each context had to teach him about himself and the world we live in.
As time passed, Matt realized that he couldn’t keep his intercultural experience to himself. There was birthed in him a genuine desire for everyone to have significant and meaningful interactions with people and places that were culturally unfamiliar to them. Thus, Thriving Beyond – a cultural equipping center – was born.
Over time, as he encountered the Kenyan culture more and more, he grew as an individual in new and exciting ways. As a result, his interest in intercultural studies exploded. He became increasingly more eager to learn about EVERY culture and all that each context had to teach him about himself and the world we live in.
As time passed, Matt realized that he couldn’t keep his intercultural experience to himself. There was birthed in him a genuine desire for everyone to have significant interactions with people and places that were unfamiliar to them. Thus, Thriving Beyond – a cultural equipping center – was born.
About the Founder
Over the past ten years, Matt has lived in Kenya, Liberia, Canada, and the USA. During this same time period, he has traveled to, and interacted with indigenous people from, more than 50 countries around the world. He has authored the books Thriving Beyond: Engaging Meaningfully with Our Multicultural World and Live the Adventure: A Guide to Experiencing Life As It Was Meant to Be. Matt also possesses a number of formal education qualifications, as seen below.
While Matt was residing in Toronto, Canada he apprenticed with three different organizations as they trained men and women for intercultural assignments. During that time, he served as a house parent in a refugee home where he had the fantastic opportunity to live in the same space with many people from multiple different countries from every continent of the world!
From that opportunity, from his personal experiences, and from his extensive pursuit of intercultural intelligence he has put together this cultural equipping center in order to train individuals, groups, and organizations to thrive beyond their local context and culture. Matt’s desire is to see a world that honors, respects, and values each and every individual person as well as the beauty of cultural diversity in our world.
Occupation and Qualifications
Currently, Matt is the Operations Director for a global non-profit organization. His main responsibility is to help the organization contextualize the work that they’re doing in the different cultures around the world so that they are relevant, respectful, and effective everywhere that they operate. He also possesses a number of formal educational qualifications: