Corey Engelen is the director of the Denver-based UN Diplomatic Services Corp., which coordinates clean water initiatives in West Africa. He holds degrees from the University of Denver and Kennedy Western University. Engelen was raised in Iowa and started his own successful screen-printing business before pursuing international development work. He now works to convert commodities from West Africa into funds for infrastructure projects by establishing partnerships around the world.

1. M E E T C O R E Y
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2. Corey Engelen is the director of the
Denver-based UN Diplomatic Services
Corp., which coordinates and funds clean
water initiatives throughout West Africa.
Corey is also the Ambassador of Trade to
Japan from Somalia, the Executive Director
of Help Somalia and Help Horn of Africa,
and the President of Aculift America.
Engelen holds a B.A. in Business
Administration from the University of
Denver Daniels College of Business (Cum
Laude) and an MBA from Kennedy
Western–Cheyenne Wyoming.

3. E A R LY Y E A R S

4. E A R LY Y E A R S
Engelen was born and raised in a small town in Iowa. In high
school, Corey was active in many activities and sports including
baseball, golf, track, and starting his own business. He couldn’t
play football on account of his father being a chiropractor, but
Corey did get into BMX racing in his teens.

5. E A R LY Y E A R S
Finding BMX racing to be such a
good exercise, Engelen went on
to form his own racing team made
up of friends that he ran around
with. They landed a sponsorship
with Mongoose, a leader in BMX
products. Corey worked odd jobs
in high school that included
Adventureland, Mcdonald’s, Hy-
Vee Food Stores, and Pace
Warehouse (now known as Sams
Club).

6. E A R LY Y E A R S
Though Corey learned a lot from these experience, he
eventually grew tired of working for others, so he decided
to form his own business. Borrowing $3,500 from a bank
with a little help from his parents got him got him started in
screen-printing. His business went on to be successful and
remained open for 4 years.

7. T O WA R D S A W I D E R P E R S P E C T I V E

8. T O WA R D S A W I D E R P E R S P E C T I V E
Moving from his small town roots, Corey Engelen left for the
city of Des Moines, Iowa where Corey attended college in the
area. Following college, Corey went into the consulting
business with the US government being a main client.
Furthering his career, about 10 years ago he began working
with a UN diplomat as an advisor.

9. T O WA R D S A W I D E R P E R S P E C T I V E
This eventually turned into what Corey
does today, converting material assets
into liquid currency in order to provide
humanitarian needs such as roads and
schools. Foreign Humanitarian Projects
are what Corey specializes in today as
the director of UN Diplomatic Services.
His area of focus is West Africa and he
works closely with the Economic
Community of West African States
(ECOWAS).
!

10. T H E U . N . S E R V I C E S C O R P.

11. T H E U . N . D I P L O M AT I C S E R V I C E S C O R P.
Corey travels six months out of the year, and is in West Africa four
times a year. Being in these poverty stricken areas regularly, Corey
finds it eye-opening to see the circumstances these people live in
first hand. Upon his first trip he gave away every dollar he had. The
locations that Corey visits frequently lack resources, access to clean
water, and basic facilities that many westerners take for granted.
!
!

12. T H E U . N . D I P L O M AT I C S E R V I C E S C O R P.
Corey Engelen’s role is that of a
financial agent on the behalf of West
African nations. His job involves him
traveling to these countries to gather
commodities such as titanium, gold,
and diamonds. He than takes these
commodities to Europe and Asia to
monetize them. After successfully
selling these commodities at a
competitive price point, Corey brings
the proceeds back to Africa to help
establish infrastructure where it is
needed most.

13. T H E U . N . D I P L O M AT I C S E R V I C E S C O R P.
Corey’s work with the Diplomatic Services Corp. has allowed him to
establish relationships with numerous diplomatic organizations and
thought leaders throughout Africa and the world. After working
extensively to bringing economic empowerment to West Africa,
Corey was sought out to continue the same work in Somalia as the
Ambassador of trade to Japan. His work entails drumming up
support for investment in Somalian business and increased trade in
Somalian good. This in turn has lead to his charitable works with
Help Somalia and Help Horn of Africa.

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