In the mid-1960s, Rob worked for Accion as a volunteer in some of Venezuela’s poorest urban barrios. Rob later became Special Projects Coordinator for Accion International and was part of a team that established new Accion affiliates in Brazil and Peru. Later, he served Accion as a consultant in Paraguay, Jamaica, and in the U.S. He also worked for Partners of the Americas as manager of their tri-lingual Fellowship in International Development (W.K. Kellogg Foundation).

Rob is fluent in English, German, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese and has lived or worked throughout Europe, South Africa, and most countries in Latin America.