During his tenure from 1978 to his retirement in 1994, I had the honor of working with The Rev. Scott I. Paradise, the convener of the Technology and Culture Forum and the Episcopal Chaplain at MIT.  When I first started working with Scott in the mid-1980's, it was admittedly a great part-time job to help get me through graduate school.  However, as I spent time with Scott and worked on our projects and programs together, I was changed, even transformed.  Scott's tireless commitment to issues of justice, environmental and economic sustainability, the poor and the disinfranchised was inspirational.  With a gentle, yet powerful presence, Scott was a steady force at MIT--challenging people's assumptions and bringing voices to campus that would otherwise have gone unheard.  I was "hooked" and never looked back.

As Scott struggled with the ravages of Parkinson's during the past decade, he did so with dignity and humor, steadfastly accompanied by his wife, Jeanne.  Their relationship was full of grace and sustaining love which only deepened as Scott's illness progressed.  To witness this love and grace, this patience and wisdom, was an incredible gift.

One afternoon during a visit a few years ago, Scott and I were talking about the seemingly hopeless crises facing humanity and the planet.  But Scott was never one to give up.  As we talked about the experience of being on the "losing side", he reminded me: "What kind of people would we be if we had never tried?"  

Try and persist we will!  With Scott's passing, we here at Radius are deeply saddened but also infused with a great sense of honor and a renewed commitment to continue the work of this extraordinary friend and colleague.