Martin Daniel Eakes

BORN: Sept. 22, 1954, in Greensboro.

FAMILY: Wife, Bonnie M. Wright; son, Justin, 20; daughter, Carlyn, 18.

EDUCATION: Bachelor of arts in physics and philosophy, Davidson College, 1976; law degree, Yale Law School, 1980; master's in public administration, Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School, 1980 (joint program with law degree).

HOBBIES: Reading, computers, science, junk TV, college basketball, water skiing.

OCCUPATION: Chief executive officer and co-founder, Center for Community Self-Help; lawyer.

SALARY: $60,000 annually.

POLITICAL HEROES: Martin Luther King Jr., Albert Einstein.

FAVORITE MOVIES: "Casablanca," "On the Waterfront."

FAVORITE BOOKS: "Chaos," by James Gleick; "Gandhi: An Autobiography," by M.K. Gandhi.

FAVORITE QUOTE: "Anyone who has the vision to see a problem has a duty to solve it." Mary Williams Eakes (mother).

CIVIC ACTIVITIES: Current or former board member of the N.C. Institute for Minority Economic Development; The Stewards Fund; Guilford College; N.C. Community Development Initiative; N.C. Center for Nonprofits; N.C. Low-Income Housing Coalition; Pew Partnership for Civic Change.

MAJOR AWARD: 1996 MacArthur Foundation genius grant of $260,000.

This story was originally published December 18, 2005 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Martin Daniel Eakes."