Cantori's degree in geography initially led him into government work as a cartographer for Annapolis-based Dewberry & Davis, a planning and architectural consultant firm. From there he went to work for the Defense Mapping Agency and then moved on to work involving digital charting--a system that insures, for instance, that in a combat situation the air force would not drop bombs on the marines landing on the beaches.

His emotional turning point came during the Persian Gulf crisis. "I was preparing for the battles while the troops were massing in the Middle East," he says. "It was exciting--and upsetting. In the end, we killed about 250,000 people."

At that point, he decided it was time to make a career change. Light Street Housing--a fledgling operation with a staff of three and a budget of $90,000--approached him to be its executive director. When Cantori exited seven years later, there were 20 on the payroll and the budget was just under $1 million.

Cantori's most recent career move led him to the Marion I. and Henry J. Knott Foundation--a Baltimore-based family foundation, which in 2000 awarded more than $2.7 million in grants to local organizations in five areas--human services, health care, Catholic activities, arts and humanities and education.

Much of Cantori's efforts at the foundation have been directed toward evaluating grants--a process that can be frustrating. "A lot of proposals are not well thought out, they're not well documented and often do not focus on helping an organization move strategically forward," he says. "Many nonprofits are just so busy staying alive that they lose sight of their mission."

To resolve the dilemma, Cantori began using Knott's resources to seek out those in need, rather than wait for them to ring the doorbell. "We picked two Catholic schools in Baltimore City, which were in dire need of improvements, that had playgrounds that were dangerous and did not have any computers," he says. "We made a capital commitment to each of $200,000 for four years. This funding will also make it possible to hire reading instructors and guidance counselors for the kids whose work is marginal in the hope of making it possible for them to remain in school."

Looking back at his decision to dramatically change careers, Cantori professes no regrets. "What is wonderful about working in the non-profit sector is the immediate gratification, and that you really make a very direct difference in many people's lives," he says. "And, interestingly enough, these days, I'm getting a number of calls from people who have worked in the for-profit sector who now want to make a difference, and they believe that the best way to do that is in the non-profit arena."

Greg Cantori is the son of Lou Cantori, professor of political science, and brother of Eric Cantori '86, computer science.