Dream, Plan, Do!
How It Gets Done!
Pre-order the BookWells Mountain Initiative was concieved not in a boardroom, but in the quiet observation of unevenly distributed opportunity. It began with a simple, rigorous premise: intellect and ambition are universally distributed, but the resources to cultivate them are not.
I established WMI to act as a bridge. Not an act of charity, but an investment in human possibility. By identifying highly motivated individuals in under-resourced environments and providing them with the means to pursue higher education, further support and training endless possibilities are unlocked.
The approach is intensely focused. We do not seek to save the world in broad strokes, but to empower specific, capable hands to lift their own communities. The expectation is clear, demanding, and unwavering: those who receive support must, in turn, become pillars of support for others. This cycle of reciprocity is the engine of the initiative.
The Twelve Principles that
Tom "Papa Tom" Wells
“preaches” to the Scholars:
Listen more, talk less. Yes, listen, really listen. Don't be busy planning what you want to say in response while you are listening. If what you heard was particularly valuable, write it down.
Learn the difference between urgent and important. Admittedly, some things are both — a fire in the room, for example. Most things are not. Education, training, and a friend in trouble are important. Many phone calls and interruptions are not. The key is to stay focused and prioritize.
Education is the most valuable tool you can use to change the world. Nelson Mandela went further. He called his education not a "valuable tool" but a "powerful weapon." The key is to never, never stop educating yourself.
We are a product not of our circumstances, but rather of our decisions. There is no question some have it easier, a lot easier, just by their birth circumstances. However, hardship is opportunity. Wealth is not success. Decisions matter. In the end, we all must take responsibility for our own destiny and what we accomplish.
"They thought they could bury us, but they did not know we were seeds." Wonderful words from a Mexican poet. Seeds grow. The takeaway here is to never, never give up. As I tell folks facing adversity, "When a door closes, a window opens."
Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Yes, education, again, listening, again. Do both, again and again.
Never doubt that a small group of committed individuals can change the world. As the quote from anthropologist Margaret Mead continues, "Indeed it is the only thing that ever has." I believe this. I have lived this.
What we are is our gift from God; what we become is our gift to God. This is the plaque that hung on my kitchen wall when I was growing up. Be grateful for your blessings. Give back. Pay it forward.
Fake it until you make it. What this really means is believe in yourself. Become who you want to be. If you want to be a leader, act like a leader. If you want to be a professional, act professional.
Fail again, fail better. Don't be afraid to fail. Learn from failure. As WMI Student Scholar Alpha Habib Bangura said at our conference — which I like even better than my "Fail better" — is "Fail forward!"
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It really has never been better said than these words by Jesus Christ. This concept undergirds most all of the world's religions. To me, it is the ultimate show of faith and respect. Live it. When you miss the mark, go to bed and get up the next day and try again.
Dream, Plan, Do! In long form: Dream big! Plan well! Just Do it! By all means, do it over and over again. It works.
Dream Big Conference
An intensive symposium where scholars converge to dissect global challenges, forge alliances, and refine the strategies they will implement in their home nations.
Support WMIWMI in Action
_Alpha Pokharel (Nepal)_Costase Ndayishimiye (Rwanda)_Hillary Madura (Nigeria)_Raphael Ajima (Nigeria).jpg.jpeg)
.jpg.jpeg)
.JPEG)
.JPEG)
.jpg.jpeg)
.JPEG)
"The initiative did not merely fund my education; it demanded my accountability to something larger than myself. It is a profound responsibility to be chosen to uplift others."
Give Back.
It's the Main Thing.
The story of the Wells Mountain Initiative — how one belief in human potential became a movement that spans continents. Available August 2026.
Be the first to know when it launches. No spam, ever.
Turn the Pages
A few excerpts from Dream, Plan, Do!, click the cover to open the book, then flip through the story of WMI's first twenty years.
Dream, Plan, Do!
Thomas M. Wells
Dream, Plan, Do!
Interactive Edition
Table of Content
PREFACE.............................. 9
I: HISTORY
1. THE BEGINNING ................ 15
2. GIVING BACK ...................... 19
3. THE EARLY YEARS ................ 23
4. OUR SECOND EMPLOYEE, THEN MANY MORE ...... 27
5. STREAMLINE AND EVOLVE ....... 31
6. OUR FIRST EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ..........37
7. GOING TO THE NEXT LEVEL ...41
8. DEVELOPMENT AND FUNDRAISING .............. 47
9. BOARD OF DIRECTORS .......... 53
10. DONORS .............................. 57
II: WMI PROGRAMS
11. EMPOWERMENT THROUGH EDUCATION....................... 65
12. FELLOWSHIPS ............. 71
13. GLOBAL ADVISORY BOARD... 75
14. THE ACADEMY ............... 79
15. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT GRANTS .............................. 83
16. GLOBAL AMBASSADORS .....91
17. FOUNDER’S AWARDS ..... 95
18. EDUCATE YOUR OWN ..... 99
19. GLOBAL MENTORSHIP INITIATIVE PARTNERSHIP ... 103
20. EDUCATE TO LEAD MATCHED SCHOLARS ........ 107
21. ADVANCING WOMEN’S ECONOMIC POWER ....... 111
III: DREAM BIG CONFERENCES
22. DREAMING BIG ...............117
23. 2015—DBC I .............. 119
24. 2018—DBC II ............ 123
25. 2023—DBC III ...............129
26. 2026—DBC IV................... 133
IV: TELL YOUR STORY
27. A QUIET PLACE ................... 137
28. DREAM, PLAN, DO! .................141
29. MOMENTS OF MENTORSHIP TO MY SUCCESS ................................. 147
30. THE POWER OF PERSEVERANCE AND RESILIENCE IN ACHIEVING DREAMS AND BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL CAREER INTEREST ............ 153
31. A DREAM FORGING A PATH TO SUCCESS .... 163
32. SAVING THE WORLD—ONE PERSON AT A TIME .....169
33. NOTHING IS INSURMOUNTABLE ........ 177
34. A STORY OF RESILIENCE AND DETERMINATION.....183
35. A QUEST TO DEVELOP A “SUPER CROP” VARIETY FROM NEPAL TO THE WORLD ...189
36. A GIFT RECEIVED THAT MADE ME WANT TO GIVE BACK...........195
37. THE STORY OF A SOUTH SUDANESE REFUGEE ................201
38. A TESTAMENT TO HOPE ...... 211
V: LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD
39. ONWARD! .......... 217
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...........221
ABOUT THE AUTHOR............ 223
APPENDIX ................ 251
Preface
It was 2005, five years into the new millennium, and I had an idea. I was by then just past fifty years old and at the tail end of the most ambitious years of a young man’s life. I felt like I had one more good entrepreneurial project in me. The last of our three kids was just off to college, and my wife and I had just closed the bookstore we had run for ten years. The result of all this is that late that year, I founded Wells Mountain Initiative with the goal of helping young people in the developing world by leveling the global playing field
for education, opportunity, and justice. At the start, the name I used, Wells Mountain Foundation, was a bit less ambitious, and my mission and purpose were simpler: to give a scholarship, and soon more than one, to young people with potential, who happened to live in the developing world. I would also support other charities I was involved in. Long term, as the number of what we would soon call “Scholars” grew, the emphasis on those we supported, “giving back” and community building became increasingly central to the mission.
Through a study abroad program at her Vermont high school, my daughter Jordyn had become friends with Victoria Galley, a fellow high school student in Ghana. Victoria was the daughter of the village chief through the third of his wives. She was one of the most driven students in her village and went out of her way to help others. As young women, Victoria and Jordyn often talked about how they could make the world a better place—so more girls could be leaders, so there would be enough resources for everybody. I met Victoria when I visited Jordyn while she was staying in Victoria’s village.
As the only Christian in her family, she memorably took me to church with her on Palm Sunday during that visit. As the only white person in a congregation of at least three hundred, at one point, I was asked to preach. But that is a whole different story. Fair to say, however, Victoria made an impression on me. Two years later, in college and thus off on her life journey, Jordyn returned to Ghana. She quickly discovered that Victoria had not had the same opportunity to pursue their shared goals as she had.
Victoria could not continue in college because her family did not have the funds for tuition. Jordyn asked me if I could help her. I said, yes, absolutely yes. From that support of this single student, WMI was born. What follows is the story of WMI’s first twenty years and its growth from a single student to more than a thousand Scholars. The story is very much about our wonderful donors and dedicated staff and how we grew this organization, including some of the nuts and bolts of that growth. Not surprisingly, our story is also very much the story of the thousand-plus young people and how they have worked hard,
given back, and changed the worlds they lived in. In the first sections of this book, the story is punctuated by highlighted boxes, mini-bios of some of our Scholars. In Section IV, twelve of our Scholars will tell you their own individual special stories. Pay particular attention to these individual mini-bios and to the stories. If you do, you will not be able to help but be inspired. Know that for every one of these stories, there are many more, no less inspiring. Next time you think you have it tough, think of any one of these young people. If you find your way to the Appendix,
the Community Development Grant reports will tell you about even more individual stories as you read about 50 of the 160 projects our WMI Scholars have completed. Honestly, all this is just the tip of the iceberg. The iceberg that is the Scholars of WMI. Superstars, all. World-changers, all. I am so proud of each and every one of them. Dream, Plan, Do! They have. We did. You should!
The End