Podcasts about packard foundation

In episode 226 of America Adapts, Dr. Susanne Moser, a world leading expert in climate adaptation returns to discuss a new report she's co-authored, The Tasks of Now: Toward a New Era in Climate Resilience Building. We explore how adaptation strategies have evolved—and why we need to shift from incremental approaches to truly transformational action.  Susi makes a compelling case for “multisolving”—tackling climate, social, and economic challenges together—and outlines the urgent need for better coordination, deeper investment, and a more justice-oriented approach to resilience. We talk about the funding gaps holding this work back, the untapped role of the private sector, and why foundations have a unique opportunity to lead especially considering the massive pull back on climate action from the federal government. We also dig into something that is often overlooked: communication. Susi and I talk about why effective outreach and engagement are not just extras—they're core to successful adaptation, and they need to be funded accordingly.  If you're working in or funding climate adaptation, this is a conversation you don't want to miss.   Check out the America Adapts Media Kit here! Subscribe to the America Adapts newsletter here. Donate to America Adapts Listen to America Adapts on your favorite app here!   Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/americaadapts/ @usaadapts https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-parsons-america-adapts/ Links in this episode: http://www.susannemoser.com/ The Tasks of Now: Toward a New Era in Climate Resilience Building https://static1.squarespace.com/static/66fea7f20a217f5f9c2558a4/t/67a66e9c6d84db21b0c166c1/1738960542330/6-Moser+et+al._2024_Packard+Resilience+Scan_Final+Deliverable_revised_11-27-24+copy.docx.pdf https://www.climateresilienceconsulting.com/climate-adaptation-field-status Previous Adaptation report mentioned by Susanne Moser in episode: Rising to the Challenge, Together   Doug Parsons and Speaking Opportunities: If you are interested in having Doug speak at corporate and conference events, sharing his unique, expert perspective on adaptation in an entertaining and informative way, more information can be found here! Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/americaadapts/ @usaadapts https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-parsons-america-adapts/ Donate to America Adapts   Follow on Apple Podcasts Follow on Android Now on Spotify! List of Previous Guests on America Adapts Follow/listen to podcast on Apple Podcasts. Donate to America Adapts, we are now a tax deductible charitable organization! Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Strategies to Address Climate Change Risk in Low- and Moderate-income Communities - Volume 14, Issue 1 https://www.frbsf.org/community-development/publications/community-development-investment-review/2019/october/strategies-to-address-climate-change-low-moderate-income-communities/ Podcasts in the Classroom – Discussion guides now available for the latest episode of America Adapts. These guides can be used by educators at all levels. Check them out here! The 10 Best Sustainability Podcasts for Environmental Business Leadershttps://us.anteagroup.com/news-events/blog/10-best-sustainability-podcasts-environmental-business-leaders Join the climate change adaptation movement by supporting America Adapts!  Please consider supporting this podcast by donating through America Adapts fiscal sponsor, the Social Good Fund. All donations are now tax deductible! For more information on this podcast, visit the website at http://www.americaadapts.org and don't forget to subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.   Podcast Music produce by Richard Haitz Productions Write a review on Apple Podcasts ! America Adapts on Facebook!   Join the America Adapts Facebook Community Group. Check us out, we're also on YouTube! Executive Producer Dr. Jesse Keenan Subscribe to America Adapts on Apple Podcasts Doug can be contacted at americaadapts @ g mail . com

Valeria Scorza, CEO of Fundación Avina, offers a compelling exploration of how philanthropy can act as an orchestrator in addressing some of the most pressing challenges facing Latin America and the broader Global South. With a 30-year legacy of fostering sustainable development, Fundación Avina operates at the intersection of climate action, democratic innovation, and economic transformation, working through six key programs—climate, circular economy, labor innovation, biomes, democracy, and water. What sets the foundation apart is its commitment to building trust, promoting systemic change, and fostering co-creation among diverse stakeholders. At its core, Fundación Avina embraces a decentralized model, with a team of 95 staff members across 15 countries, emphasizing coordination, autonomy, and self-regulation. Beyond simply deploying grants—having mobilized over $500 million across 13,000 initiatives—the foundation plays a catalytic role in multi-stakeholder collaborations, ensuring that local knowledge and grassroots organizations shape solutions tailored to their specific contexts. Expanding beyond Latin America, the organization is increasingly forging partnerships in Africa and Asia, reinforcing a philosophy that philanthropy must be complementary rather than prescriptive, engaging both grassroots actors and large institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank. A particularly striking element of Fundación Avina's work is its long-standing engagement with access to water, an issue affecting nearly a quarter of Latin Americans, with rural communities being disproportionately impacted. Viewing water access as a fundamental human right, the foundation draws from the principles of Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom, advocating for decentralized, community-led governance of shared resources. Through the Latin American Association of Community Water Management Organizations and other regional initiatives, Avina has helped scale innovative, locally-driven water management solutions, from rainwater harvesting to adaptive governance structures that enhance resilience in the face of climate change. The foundation's work in Brazil's semi-arid region, for example, illustrates the power of community networks in not only implementing practical solutions like cistern installations but also shaping public policy at the national level. The conversation highlights key bottlenecks in water governance, including the misconception that solutions must always be top-down or infrastructure-heavy. Instead, Avina advocates for a model that aligns incentives across communities, governments, and the private sector, ensuring that solutions are sustainable and adapted to local realities. The role of trust is particularly emphasized as a crucial yet often overlooked form of infrastructure—essential for managing climate-induced conflicts over water scarcity and ensuring long-term collaboration across sectors. Indigenous and tribal communities also play a central role in Avina's approach, with a strong commitment to ensuring their participation in decision-making processes. From advocating for indigenous representation in climate governance discussions to recognizing traditional water conservation methods as legitimate forms of technological innovation, the foundation underscores the importance of cultural intelligence in addressing environmental challenges. This extends to Avina's broader mission of reducing power asymmetries, ensuring that historically marginalized voices are not only heard but actively shape policy and investment decisions. Fundación Avina's collaborative ethos is further exemplified by its engagement with global and regional funders. From working with One Drop Foundation, Coca-Cola Foundation, and FEMSA in the Lazos de Agua initiative to partnerships with Skoll Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Packard Foundation, Avina positions itself as a key facilitator in bringing diverse actors together to drive systemic change. Whether working with corporate foundations, development banks, or local philanthropic funds, the foundation's role is not merely to fund initiatives but to strengthen ecosystems that ensure solutions are deeply embedded in their communities and sustained over time. Ultimately, this conversation sheds light on a model of philanthropy that moves beyond traditional grant-making to embrace systemic, collaborative, and trust-driven solutions. By leveraging its position as a convener, Fundación Avina is not only addressing immediate challenges but also reshaping the way sustainable development is approached across the Global South. Thank you for downloading this episode of the Do One Better Podcast. Visit our Knowledge Hub at Lidji.org for information on 300 case studies and interviews with remarkable leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship.  

Arum Lee Lansel, founder of ALL-in 4 Impact, shares her unique career journey from fashion design to international development, philanthropy, and venture capital. Driven by her immigrant family's experience and desire to create more equity, she has developed a deep understanding of how organizations can better support their employees. Her perspective bridges the worlds of venture capital and nonprofit sectors, highlighting the critical importance of investing in talent. Drawing from her experiences at the Packard Foundation, and at the venture capital firm General Catalyst, Arum discusses the key lessons that philanthropy can learn from venture capital, particularly the emphasis on investing in people as the primary driver of organizational success. She introduces her "Thrive" model, a practical framework for nonprofit leaders to systematically improve their workplace environment, which consists of three levels: stabilize (basic compliance), support (creating conditions for best work), and sustain (building a culture of innovation and well-being). In the episode, Arum argues that funders and nonprofit leaders must recognize that the success of their mission depends directly on the health, engagement, and development of their employees. By providing resources, creating supportive structures, and giving staff space to breathe and innovate, organizations can dramatically improve their impact and effectiveness. Key Takeaways: Nonprofit success is fundamentally tied to investing in and supporting staff, not just program outputs. The "Thrive" model provides a structured approach for nonprofits to progressively improve their workplace environment. Funders should view staff investment as a critical strategy for maximizing organizational impact, similar to venture capital's approach. Creating "space to breathe" for nonprofit workers is a form of equity and resource allocation that enables innovation and sustainability. Small nonprofits can start improving their workplace with affordable, targeted interventions, even without a full-time HR staff. Bio: Arum Lee Lansel is an accomplished leader with two decades of experience in the nonprofit, philanthropy, international development, and venture capital sectors. Arum's journey has taken her through vastly different work cultures and operating environments. Formerly she was Vice President of Learning & Development at General Catalyst, a leading venture capital firm with over $32 billion in assets under management. At GC she served as an HR leader where she led change management, shaped the culture, and designed employee development and performance management systems using a growth-mindset lens. She is certified in Employee Relations & Investigations and has led many trainings and facilitated tough conversations. Arum designed and spearheaded GC's first racial equity initiative and helped GC become a DEI leader within the VC industry. Arum led program operations at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. She worked with nonprofits across the globe to support their organizational effectiveness and designed capacity building strategies. She helped shape the organizational effectiveness team's theory of change and designed and led monitoring, evaluation, and learning strategies. Arum was also a core member of the initial funder collaborative of several large foundations working to combat the “nonprofit starvation cycle” and encourage funders to give unrestricted grants and pay for the real, indirect costs nonprofits incur to fulfill their mission. Resources: ALL-in 4 Impact Arum@allin4impact.com Arum Lansel on LinkedIn Buying vs Building  Talent-value chain document in FTP Toolkit Jamaica Maxwell podcast episode You can find all the episodes of this podcast plus our blog, toolkit and other resources at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fundthepeople.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And we invite you to learn from all the amazing past guests of Fund the People - A Podcast with Rusty Stahl at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fundthepeople.org/ftp_podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Send us a textDr. Christopher Stubbs, Ph.D. is the Samuel C. Moncher Professor of Physics and Astronomy, and has recently served as the Dean of Science in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, at Harvard University ( https://astronomy.fas.harvard.edu/people/istopher-stubbs ).Dr. Stubbs is an experimental physicist working at the interface between particle physics, cosmology and gravitation. His interests include experimental tests of the foundations of gravitational physics, searches for dark matter, characterizing the dark energy, and observational cosmology. Dr. Stubbs was a member of one of the two teams that first discovered dark energy by using supernovae to map out the history of cosmic expansion. Dr. Stubbs is currently heavily engaged in the construction of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), for which he was the inaugural project scientist. He founded the APOLLO collaboration that is using lunar laser ranging and the Earth-Moon-Sun system to probe for novel gravitational effects that may result from physics beyond the standard model.Dr. Stubbs received an International Baccalaureate diploma from the Tehran International School in 1975, a BSc in physics from the University of Virginia in 1981, and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Washington in 1988.Dr. Stubbs is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a recipient of the National Academy of Sciences Award for Initiative in Research, the NASA Achievement Medal, and is a co-recipient (with other members of the High-z Supernova Team who discovered the accelerating expansion of the Universe) of the Gruber Foundation Cosmology Prize and the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. Dr. Stubbs was awarded a McDonnell Centennial Fellowship, and a Packard Fellowship, and currently serves on the advisory panel for the Packard Foundation. He is an Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, in connection with his interest in arms control and technical aspects of international security issues, has served as a member of JASON advisory, a group of elite scientists and engineers who provide technical advice to government agencies on national security issues. He also serves on the technical advisory group for the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He recently published a book entitled "Going Big - A Scientist's Guide to Large Projects and Collaborations"  ( https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262547963/going-big/ ) which describes all the crucial skills scientists need to make a professional transition into large projects and collaborations that require governance and project management.#ChristopherStubbs #Physics #Astronomy #Astrophysics #GravitationalPhysics #DarkMatter #DarkEnergy #ObservationalCosmology #DeanOfScience #HarvardUniversity #ParticlePhysics #Cosmology #Gravitation #JasonAdvisory #QuantumComputing #NuclearWeapons #NuclearReactors #DualUse #CitizenScience #HumanGenomeProject  #STEM #Innovation #Science #Technology #Research #ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities #IraPastor #Podcast #Podcaster #Podcasting #ViralPodcastSupport the show

Origins host Beezer Clarkson sits down with her colleague Laura Thompson, fellow LP and Partner at Sapphire Partners, to discuss her recent conversation with Stephen Bluestein, Partner of Primary Investments at Adams Street and formerly Packard Foundation, about what it takes to make (and potentially later break) a franchise fund in venture. Together, Beezer and Laura debrief their top takeaways, including: do the hallmarks of a franchise differ between GPs and LPs (or even amongst different LPs); how does a franchise produce a lights-out 5x or 10x fund at their fund size; is a consistent 2x net good enough; parallels of sports franchises; and, does the right to win with the best founders mean you will then deliver the best returns? Learn more about Sapphire Partners: sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partners Learn more about OpenLP: openlp.vc Learn more about Asylum Ventures: asylum.vc Learn more about Adams Street Partners: adamsstreetpartners.com Read Laura Thompson's blog on why venture reserves aren't always a good thing: sapphireventures.com/blog/dirty-secret-venture-reserves-are-not-always-a-good-thing/ Read Laura Thompson's blog on fund recycling: sapphireventures.com/blog/fund-recycling-moves-the-needle-for-both-lps-and-gps-heres-how/ Read Laura Thompson's blog on QSBS: sapphireventures.com/blog/how-lps-gps-and-founders-can-leverage-qsbs-to-make-more-money/ Subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter for a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, delivered straight to your inbox.

On this episode of the Fund the People Podcast (S7:E4), you'll get a bird's eye view of the threats to nonprofits, civil society, and social movements around the world. And you'll hear how one global funder has responded. Our guest today is Jamaica Maxwell, the Civil Society and Leadership Director at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.  We discuss the challenges faced by civil society globally, including shrinking civic space and threats to individuals and organizations working on critical issues like climate change and reproductive rights.  She shares how the Packard Foundation's efforts to respond to these threats, and how the Foundation's work has evolved from using an ‘organizational effectiveness' frame to a more holistic approach to supporting civil society, which emphasizes the interconnectedness of leaders, organizations, networks, movements, infrastructure, and civic space. Go to our website for a transcript of this episode and links to the resources discussed in the episode. You can find all the episodes of this podcast plus our blog, toolkit and other resources on our website, ⁠⁠fundthepeople.org⁠⁠. And we invite you to learn from all the amazing past guests of Fund the People - A Podcast with Rusty Stahl at ⁠fundthepeople.org/ftp_podcast⁠.

Michael Mantell joins us in this rerun episode to recount amazing stories of how donors can fund successful campaigns and make a major difference on a specific issue. Michael explains the ways donors can engage in funder collaboration for maximum impact. Episode Highlights:Pooling funds with other donors.How to fund effective campaigns.What to expect when there is a transition in leadership with the nonprofit organization you're funding. Michael Mantell Bio:Michael Mantell founded Resources Legacy Fund (RLF) and Resources Law Group (RLG) in 2000 to expand the work he had begun in partnership with the Packard Foundation and as a consulting lawyer in the late 1990s. Before consulting for the foundation, Michael was Undersecretary of the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) from 1991 to mid-1997. He was recruited to that position from his post as general counsel for the World Wildlife Fund. Prior to that, Michael had been a director of the Conservation Foundation and a deputy city attorney for the City of Los Angeles. Michael is known for innovating successful multi-stakeholder planning processes resulting in significant outcomes, particularly in the areas of natural resources conservation, urban open spaces, climate change, public funding, and engaging underserved communities. At CNRA, he saw the possibility to achieve greater outcomes by deploying simultaneous strategies to improve policy, refine regulations, acquire land and water rights, strengthen ocean protection, build capacity, and create networks but was stymied by tight budgets. Then he met Jeanne Sedgwick of the Packard Foundation. Links:Resources Legacy Fund https://resourceslegacyfund.orgThe David and Lucile Packard Foundation https://www.packard.orgFree Resources for Donors: https://www.doyourgood.com/funders If you enjoyed this episode, listen to these as well:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/150-an-example-of-a-pooled-fund-that-protects/id1556900518?i=1000631480086 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/148-sybil-speaks-the-ins-and-outs-of-donor/id1556900518?i=1000629876712https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/146-measuring-the-effectiveness-of-relationships/id1556900518?i=1000628228514Crack the Code: Sybil's Successful Guide to PhilanthropyBecome even better at what you do as Sybil teaches you the strategies and tools you'll need to avoid mistakes and make a career out of philanthropy.Sybil offers resources including free mini-course videos, templates, checklists, and words of advice summarized in easy to review pdfs. Check out Sybil's website with all the latest opportunities to learn from Sybil at https://www.doyourgood.comConnect with Do Your Goodhttps://www.facebook.com/doyourgoodhttps://www.instagram.com/doyourgoodWould you like to talk with Sybil directly?Send in your inquiries through her website https://www.doyourgood.com/ or you can email her directly at sybil@doyourgood.com.

Kimberly Sargent is the Chief Investment Officer of the Packard Foundation where she oversees $10 billion. She is a well-respected member of the Yale diaspora, having started her career under David Swensen. Our conversation covers Kim's time at Yale, some lessons learned from David Swensen, and her application of them and a lot more at Packard over fifteen years. Kim shares thoughts on a range of asset classes and closes explaining why her role is the best job in the world. For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here. Learn More Follow Ted on Twitter at @tseides or LinkedIn Subscribe to the mailing list Access Transcript with Premium Membership

BIPOC communities are most likely to bear the effects of climate change, but BIPOC-led environmental justice groups are severely underfunded in climate philanthropy. In this episode, Abdul Dosunmu of the Climate Funders Justice Pledge talks about his group's aim to challenge big donors to give more equitably.(PDF transcript)(Active transcript)Text transcript:David RobertsWhether it's suffering the effects of fossil fuel pollution or fighting back against it, black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) are on the front lines of climate change. Yet they are starved for resources. More than a billion dollars a year goes toward climate philanthropy, but of that amount, little more than 1 percent goes to BIPOC-led environmental justice groups.The two-year-old Climate Funders Justice Pledge, run by the Donors of Color Network, is trying to change that. It challenges big donors to a) be more transparent about where their grants are going, and b) within two years of signing the pledge, raise the amount going to BIPOC-led groups to 30 percent.The pledge, featured in a just-released report from Morgan Stanley and the Aspen Institute on how to increase the impact of climate philanthropy, has already led to more than $100 million in annual commitments to BIPOC-led groups.I talked with Abdul Dosunmu, who runs the pledge campaign, about why BIPOC leadership is important to the climate fight, how transparency changes the behavior of foundations, and how to improve the relationship between environmental justice groups and big funders.Alright. Abdul Dosunmu. Welcome to Volts. Thank you so much for coming.Abdul DosunmuThank you so much for having me.David RobertsThis is an interesting topic to me with lots of ins and outs, but let's start with just, I'd like to get a sense of what is the pool of philanthropic money available to climate and environmental organizations? And then how much of that currently is going to EJ groups?Abdul DosunmuThe Morgan Stanley-Aspen report, that we were honored to be part of, and was just released really details a stark challenge in terms of what the author of the report, Randall Kempner, says is both the quantity of climate philanthropy and the quality of climate philanthropy. So, on the quantity side, according to the report, only about 2% of all global philanthropy is focused on climate.David RobertsThat's wild to begin with, honestly.Abdul DosunmuInsanely wild. And what's interesting about that, what's hard to square about that is the fact that if you ask philanthropists how urgent the crisis is, 85% of them say it's extremely urgent. So they're talking one game but walking another game.David RobertsRight.Abdul DosunmuSo, of all global philanthropy, only about 2% is focused on climate. And then of that 2%, only about 1.3% of it is focused on BIPOC-led environmental justice organizations. So if you think about the quantity versus quality framework that Randall has, the Morgan Stanley-Aspen report is really focused on the quantity side of it. The climate funders justice pledge, which I lead, is focused on the quality side of it.David RobertsRight. We'll get to that in just one second. I got a bunch of questions about that, but I just want to in terms of quantity, do we know that 2% that goes to climate related stuff. Do we know what that number is? I don't have any sense of scale at all.David RobertsIs that a billion dollars? A few million?Abdul DosunmuSo our data, and I'm not sure Randall goes into this in the report, but our data is really focused on about 1.3 billion or so of climate funding.David RobertsGot it.Abdul DosunmuSo we're looking at single digit billions. But we also know that in recent years, frankly in recent weeks, that number is steadily escalating as new Climate Funders come onto the scene with last names like Bezos, and Powell, Jobs, and others. And so we really don't have a solid sense of what that new number is.David RobertsRight.Abdul DosunmuBut in terms of the 1.3% number that we focus on at CFJP, we're looking at about 1.34 billion of that which was awarded to National Climate Funders. And of that, only about 1.3% is going to BIPOC-led environmental groups.David RobertsSo that's less than 20 million. Say something in that neighborhood, right?Abdul DosunmuAbsolutely.David RobertsOne other distinction on this is I know that there is giving that gets categorized under EJ activities, which is separate from money actually going to EJ led groups.Abdul DosunmuThat's right. So that's a critical distinction, and you've really just jumped in on the core part of the work that I do. We believe that it's important that EJ work is funded when it is BIPOC-led just as much as it's funded when it's not. And currently what we have is a system where EJ work led by communities of color, conceptualizing communities of color is not funded at the same scale that other work might be funded. And the reality of that is that there are deep consequences because as we often say, the communities that are closest to the problem are closest to the solutions, but they're also the furthest away from the resources.David RobertsSo let's get right into that then. I guess probably a lot of listeners will take this as self-evident, but when you go to big funders, people sitting on big endowments and stuff, and you are trying to make the case that BIPOC-led groups are important to tackling climate change, what's the case? What's the evidence? What do you tell them?Abdul DosunmuWell, we start with a basic concept that says that the climate does not discriminate, people and systems do. And the reason we start there is that we really want to drive them to the data that most of your audience will probably be familiar with around the fact that most frontline communities, the communities that are hit first and worse by the effects of climate change are Black and Brown communities. Most fenceline communities are Black and Brown communities that when it comes to the ways in which this crisis is manifesting itself on the ground and in people's lives, it disproportionately impacts BIPOC communities. So we start there.That if you're actually interested in mitigating the effects of this crisis, by necessity, you would start with BIPOC communities, right? The second piece is if you're actually interested in shifting the systemic landscape that has led to this crisis, you would start with BIPOC communities. And here's what I mean by that. Power differentials in society is what has created the condition for exploitation, extraction, and pollution. It's the power differentials that have created the foundations of this crisis. It's the fact that certain communities have been politically disenfranchised and subjugated and those are also the communities that have been impacted by environmental exploitation and extraction.David RobertsYeah, I feel like this is an important point because sometimes what you hear from, I don't know that they'll say it publicly a lot anymore, but sometimes what you hear in private from climate people is climate is about emissions. And we should attack emissions, right? We should be lowering emissions. And insofar as you are being distracted by other social, like you're mixing your ice cream of peanut butter or whatever, like you're letting your social issues get involved in your emissions issues, you're just going to be less effective at reducing emissions. I think that mindset still has quite a hold on quite a few people.So this point that they're linked is important, I think.Abdul DosunmuYou said. You don't know if people will actually share it publicly. I hear it almost every day.David RobertsSo they still do say it publicly.Abdul DosunmuThey still do say it publicly.David RobertsRight, that there is a sense that you can somehow disconnect the climate crisis from the social and racial inequities that exist in our society, when in fact, the communities that have been the most exploited and the most extracted have been communities that have been denied political voice, right. And they've been BIPOC communities. I often tell the story of a neighborhood in my hometown, Dallas, Texas, called the West Dallas neighborhood. And it's largely Black and Brown, historically has been as a result of housing segregation. And this community was home for 50 years to a lead smelter plant. And this lead smelter plant obviously polluted the environment.Abdul DosunmuIt also poisoned generations of young Black and Brown kids growing up in that community. And it was the political powerlessness of that community, it was the political subjugation of that community that allowed that lead smelter plant to operate with impunity for 50 years. And this is the critical point that we make. It was the rising up of that community. It was the mobilization of that community that ultimately booted that lead smelter plant from the community. And so it's important for us to see that these things are linkedDavid RobertsJust to sort of restate, the whole problem of environmental pollution generally, including climate, is this ability to basically produce waste and impacts that you don't pay for.Abdul DosunmuThat's right.David RobertsBut you can't do that unless there's some community that's disempowered enough that it can't stop you from doing it, right? I mean, the whole setup relies on there being disempowered communities that have no choice but to accept this junk.Abdul DosunmuThat's exactly right. I have a dear friend in the movement, Felicia Davis from HBCU Green Fund, who says we don't just have a climate crisis, we have a power injustice crisis.David RobertsRight. And relatedly, I think, another old piece of conventional wisdom, though, this I think has been changing in recent years. But if you go back I've been doing this for close to 20 years now, and if you go back like 15 years, I think the sort of conventional wisdom was climate is something that educated, affluent, White people worry about because they have the luxury and time to worry about it. And BIPOC communities, vulnerable communities, EJ communities have other things to worry about that are more proximate and more difficult and they don't have time to worry about climate change.And thus those communities are not going to be a big part of a social movement for climate change. And of course, now the data shows that that's wrong, like almost inversely wrong. So what is the level of kind of knowledge and engagement among these communities on the subject of climate change?Abdul DosunmuWell, and this is a key point that I like to make. The first part of that that I would like to deconstruct is this notion that climate is separate from the other issues that impact these communities, right? That in many ways, part of the innovation and the imagination that these communities are bringing to the fight is to recognize the interconnections between climate and housing, climate and labor policy, climate and transportation, right? That they are uniquely positioned to see that climate is connected to a whole range of other systems that decide and define how we live. So that's part of the deconstruction that has to be made.David RobertsAnd you might also say that a White affluent businessman is uniquely positioned to want to not see those interconnections, right? Like there's a lot of incentive not to see them if you benefit from them, basically.Abdul DosunmuRight. There is a desire to focus the fight against the climate crisis on a little intervention here, a little technology here. And the reality is that the crisis is the result of systems that shape how we live. And in order to fight the crisis, we've got to actually change those systems, right? And communities of color are uniquely positioned to be able to understand that and to lead that fight.David RobertsAnd that shows up in the data, and surveys, and polls and stuff. Do you feel like that sentiment, that knowledge is pretty widely dispersed in those communities at this point?Abdul DosunmuOh, absolutely. I think one of the things that we do at CFJP is we actually look at and profile a lot of the movement work that is happening on the ground in communities. And so we're not just talking at a level of theory, we're talking at a level of understanding the movements that are being led by communities of color. So there is a reason that billions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions are disrupted every year by indigenous organizers. There is a reason that it was the BIPOC-led organizations that pushed President Biden on Justice40, and that conceptualized the New Jersey and California environmental justice laws that preceded Justice40.There is a reason that the Climate Justice Alliance, for instance, has had a massive impact on shifting away from extractive energy practices. And so it's important for us to see that we don't need a poll to tell us, all we need to do is look at the work and the organizing that is happening in these communities and see the ways in which it is moving the needle on this conversation.David RobertsYeah, and I'll just say, from my perch, my perspective, like, I remember when the climate bill was being put together back in 2008 and 2009, I don't know if you were unfortunate enough to be in this area when that was happening, but EJ was it wasn't absent, but it was clearly an add on, right? It was like an amendment. It was like a thing you stick on at the end as an afterthought. And it's been remarkable to me just to see, over the years, EJ just becoming much more assertive and having a much bigger place at the table.David RobertsTo the point now that the Democratic, official sort of Democratic Party climate agenda has it right there at the core, and it's included in a lot of these Inflation Reduction Act grants. So it's like night and day in terms of the engagement on both sides. To me, obviously there's a long way to go, but I've seen the change.Abdul DosunmuThat's absolutely right. And that change was led by BIPOC-led organizations. And here's why that's important, right? Obviously, you know this better than I do. We're dealing with a movement that has historically excluded and alienated the voices of People of Color. And there are organizations out there that are doing this work around diversity, equity, and inclusion in the environmental movement, right? And the data has never been good. It's always been bad. And here's the core point that we make. I draw an analogy. One of my favorite football teams, I'm a great Texan, I'm a great Dallasite.So the Dallas Cowboys, what we're doing right now in the climate movement is the equivalent of the Dallas Cowboys finally making it to the Super Bowl but fielding only about a 10th of a team on the field. That's what we're doing right now in the movement. Our best players, our most imaginative players are not on the field because we have historically excluded them.David RobertsLet's talk about that. So the Climate Funders Justice Pledge, what is it specifically? What is it asking of large philanthropies?Abdul DosunmuSo it's pretty simple, which is not to say that they always receive it as such.David RobertsNot easy. Easy and simple are different.Abdul DosunmuEasy and simple are different. But it's pretty simple. It says two things. Number one, it says commit to transparency. So we call on the nation's top climate funders, primarily institutional funders, so we're talking foundations, big foundations to commit to transparency, right? And what that means is we ask them specifically, "how much of your current climate giving is focused on BIPOC-led environmental justice organizations? Not just environmental justice organizations, but BIPOC-led EJ organizations." And we define that very concretely.We say 50% of your board has to be People of Color, 50% of your senior staff has to be People of Color, and you have to have an explicit mission of serving communities of color. So how much in dollar amounts of your current climate giving is going to BIPOC-led environmental justice organizations? That's a transparency component.David RobertsAnd that information is not available today.Abdul DosunmuIt's not easily available. And to be honest with you, most funders have not asked themselves those questions, right?So one of the things that has been a learning journey for us is actually getting feedback from funders that have taken the pledge. And what they tell us is that for them, the most transformative part of it has been the transparency component because they had never actually looked at the data.David RobertsI bet they're not finding out good things, right? They're not pleasantly surprised.Abdul DosunmuNo, they're not. In the main, they are not pleasantly surprised. I mean, the data is what it is, right, nationally. And part of what we wanted to do with this pledge is we wanted to make that data available to communities and movements so that they could actually hold these funders accountable, right? And so that the funders who are committed to environmental justice can hold themselves accountable. So it matters that a Kresge Foundation, for instance, says, "you know what, what has been most imaginative about this for us is that it has forced us to go internal and look at our data."So that matters. And we don't just ask for the data, and hoard it, or put it in a report that we release annually. We actually post that number on our website. So if you go to our website, you can find that number for each of the funders that have taken the pledge. And then we do a whole bunch of media amplification around it because we actually want communities to organize around this data.David RobertsWhat's a typical number, like Kresge or whatever, once they looked, what are they finding?Abdul DosunmuWell, Kresge is actually, they're an anchor pledger of ours, which is great. And I don't want to misquote their number. If I'm remembering correctly, they were under the 30%, probably in the 20s range. And it's important to note that, again, they have had this as a commitment for a very long time. So actually challenging them to, "okay, let's look at the data," has been super helpful for them.David RobertsInteresting. Okay, so transparency is step one.Abdul DosunmuStep one is transparency. And I actually looked at the number. They're actually at 33%. Let me give Kresge their credit, they're at 33%.David RobertsI'm going to guess that's unusually high.Abdul DosunmuThey are one of the leaders in the field, no question about it. It is very high for the pledgers that we have, and they are making continued strides. So the transparency piece is very important because it allows us to have conversations like this one. "Where is this funder? Where is that funder, and how can we hold them accountable to the commitments that many of them have?" Right? So let me just put a pin in this and say after George Floyd, we saw a number of funders make new commitments around environmental justice, around BIPOC communities. And in the couple of years since, we've seen most of those commitments fade into the background, right?And so this has become a tool that communities can use to actually hold funders accountable to what they say they're going to do.David RobertsGot it.Abdul DosunmuAnd then the second component of the pledge is the 30% requirement. So what we say is after you tell us your number, if you're not at 30% and a good number or not, we challenge you to within two years of taking the pledge to get to 30%. So scale your grant making to at least 30% going to BIPOC-led environmental justice organizations over the course of two years.David RobertsCan I ask where 30% came from? I mean, is it just sounds reasonable or is there something more to it than that?Abdul DosunmuYou know, if you look at it, BIPOC communities, about 40% of the population, what we said was 30% seems like a good floor. It is not intended to be a ceiling. And what we hope to see is that over time, that number is far exceeding 30%. But at least as a floor, 30% felt right to the networks of movement organizers and leaders that we pulled together to help develop this campaign.David RobertsAnd so this funders pledge has been going on for how long, and what's the state of play? Are foundations signing on? How much money have you shifted? How long has this been running?Abdul DosunmuSo you're talking to me pretty much on the eve of our two year anniversary. And so we've been around for a couple of years. And to date, twelve of the Top 40 climate funders have taken the pledge.David RobertsInteresting.Abdul Dosunmu32 foundations overall have committed to at least one portion of the pledge. And so some of them will say we'll do transparency, but we're not quite ready to go to 30%.David RobertsRight.Abdul DosunmuAnd we accept that because sunlight is the best disinfectant.David RobertsYeah, I think you're right that transparency is the big piece here. It's like that dream where you wake up in school, and you're naked in school or whatever, all of a sudden everybody can see ... that alone, I think is going to create a lot of push.Abdul DosunmuRight. Nobody wants to be at the bottom of the list, right. Nobody wants to be in single digits when everybody else is in double digits. And the ones who are in double digits, like Kresge, they want to do better, right? They want to get more shine. They want to tell their story, more impactfully. And so we offer the transparency piece not just as stick, but also as carrot to those who are doing well in this fight, and want to help us tell the story, and amplify the mission. And so what we have seen is that there is momentum around the pledge.And we're very proud to say that we have helped to catalyze a new baseline, funding baseline through the pledge for BIPOC-led organizations of around $100 million in the two years that we have been around. But $100 million is really just a drop in the bucket because right now we're seeing, again, as I said earlier, new funders come into the field every single day.David RobertsWell, this was my very next question, is do we have any sense of what sort of dollar figure we would be talking about if this succeeded, if all the big philanthropies signed on, and if all the big philanthropies actually did it? Do we have any idea sort of like, what the ultimate pool of money is?Abdul DosunmuSo I don't have that hard number, but I can tell you that our campaign has a goal, right? An aim of catalyzing $500 million. So if we could get to $500 million, we feel like we would be radically transforming the possibilities for BIPOC-led environmental justice organizations. But that's going to require that we make the transition, the pivot, from what I would call the legacy funders, right? So legacy funders like Pisces, and Kresge, and Schmidt, and Rockefeller Brothers and Hewlett and ... a number of the ... MacArthur, a number of the others that have Heising-Simon's Energy Foundation, Packard Foundation, a number of those that have taken the pledge.We've got to make the transition from just those to now some of these more entrepreneurial startup funders in the space, like a Bezos, like a Waverley Street, like a Sequoia.David RobertsHave you talked to any of them? I mean, I assume you're reaching out. I guess one of the questions I'm sort of curious about is, is there a big difference in culture that you found between these established groups and the new ones coming in?Abdul DosunmuThere is. We are outreaching every day to the new funders. One of the reasons I make the distinction between legacy and entrepreneurial is that when you're a legacy funder, you have deeper roots in communities because you've been funding them for a long time, or at least you've been giving lip service to funding them for a long time, right? And so you're more susceptible to their accountability, right?David RobertsRight.Abdul DosunmuYou're more accountable to them than a new funder who's coming in, who is somebody who's made a bunch of money in tech and just wants to give it away out of a good spirit and a good heart. But there isn't the same level of connectivity there to communities, and so that has been the biggest challenge. And then the other piece of this is when you're an entrepreneur and you've come in right on the heels of having made a lot of money, a lot of money in business, you tend to think you know how to do things.David RobertsWhat? Tech guys?Abdul DosunmuI know, it's a crazy thought, right?David RobertsYeah. I was going to say I don't want to cast aspersions, or use any stereotypes, but when I think about tech-bros fresh off making billions of dollars like sensitivity to racial justice is not what leaps to mind.Abdul DosunmuWell and they may have the sensitivity, some of them, but they also have the kinds of neurosis that come from having made a lot of money and been very successful, and you think you kind of know everything, right? And so oftentimes they will come into the field and say, "here is what I want to do on climate," and it has no relationship to what communities actually are doing and need to do. That's really probably the biggest culture challenge that we face is that it's both the accountability piece, and it's the part of this that understands that, ultimately, this is a learning experience both for the funder and for the broader field. This is not top down, it's bottom up, and the best solutions come from the bottom up.David RobertsAs you've talked to foundations, have you received any straight up kind of disagreement about your goals?Abdul DosunmuWell, we mostly don't get that, right. We mostly get, "well ... we're going to work on ... " That's my impersonation. "We're going to work on it, and we're going to see, and talk to us in six months and ..." that sort of thing. But every now and then you do just hear "no, we're just not going to do it."David RobertsRight.Abdul DosunmuBut generally that doesn't come from a disagreement with the goals or the objectives of the campaign because it's hard to disagree with the goals and objectives of the campaign. It generally comes from a sense of, "you know what, this is just not part of our agenda. This is not what we do, and we're not going to have anybody external to our organization directing our strategy."David RobertsYeah.Abdul DosunmuAnd so that's generally where most of the resistance comes from.David RobertsIf you imagine a huge new flood of money descending on these groups, over the course of the next two or three years, you can imagine ways that that could go poorly. That's a big disruptive thing. And one of the things I was thinking about is when you talk to these small groups, often what they'll tell you they need is just operating expenses. Like they need to be able to pay decent salaries, right? Just to begin with. Trying to run a whole movement on underpaid people is difficult, and they need sort of just like cost of living, cost of operations, operations money.Abdul DosunmuRight.David RobertsAnd what you often find, or what they tell me they run into when they talk to funders is, of course, funders are wealthy, and therefore overestimate their own cleverness, and often have their own ideas about what they want groups to do. So I worry, like, is this going to be the right kind of support? And you can certainly imagine a big new pot of money coming with a bunch of sort of big footed demands about how these groups do things, right? Like, you can imagine big funders trying to sort of dictate the strategies of these groups rather than listening and learning from them.So I don't know how you go about, I mean, I don't know exactly what I want you to say in the switch, but are we confident that this support is going to be the kind of support that these sort of small struggling groups need most?Abdul DosunmuRight. You are really touching on a critical part of this that our campaign is going to be doing more work on. It hasn't been a core part of it thus far because we really see ourselves as the accountability mechanism in the field, but we do think there's an opportunity for us to engage on these questions. So to start, what we really need is a shift in the culture of philanthropy, right? And so part of that shift is a shift in the "philanthropy knows best" mindset. And we've been talking about that. Part of that shift is a shift in the desire of philanthropy to really dictate all of the terms of engagement. And they do that primarily by focusing most of their grant making on program grants.Right.And so you might get a grant to run a specific program, but you're not going to get a grant to actually scale your organizational capacity.David RobertsRight. This is a notorious complaint from nonprofits across the board from time immemorial, right. They're like, we can get a grant to do a specific thing, but we just need, like, printer paper,Abdul DosunmuRight! "We can get a grant to do a specific thing, but we need to hire people to do the thing, and we need to be able to offer them insurance, health insurance, and we need to be able to keep the lights on in the building." And that is a part of this conversation that, again, we have not touched on, but we see there's an opportunity for us to touch on as we continue to move forward. So those are really the two of the areas where there's room for additional intervention. The other thing I'll say is this. It's a bit of a vicious cycle that these groups are in because they don't get the funding, so they can't build the capacity. And because they don't have the capacity, that lack of capacity is used as a pretext to deny them more funding, right?So it's a vicious cycle. And now we're in a moment where there's some $500 billion coming down from the federal government, on climate related resources. And a lot of that is sort of focused on, or earmarked on a climate justice lens. And we're happy about that, right? We fought for that, the movement organized for that. But the concern that we have now is that because of this disparity in funding and private philanthropy, many of the organizations that are BIPOC-led, that are going after these grants won't be able to successfully compete because they've been locked out of the private funding, right?And so a lot of work is being done on the ground, and movements, and organizations to actually try to help organizations build capacity over time to be able to compete for these new dollars that are coming down and to actually be able to fulfill the spirit of Justice40, but we need more funding to do that, and the private funding market is critical.David RobertsYeah. And another thing I've heard from these groups, these are most often pretty small under-resourced groups. And another thing I've heard is that even the process of applying ...Right ...For these things, is burdensome, and difficult, and expensive. Like, if you're a two, or three, or four person operation, it's nothing for a Kresge to sort of send someone out to hear your pitch. But for you to make the pitch is a lot of hours of labor which you can't really well afford. And I've heard from groups where they say, they'll come consult with us and ask us how to do better in their EJ funding and et cetera, et cetera, and we make these elaborate presentations and then they vanish and we never hear from them again.So I just wonder, are there broader ... you could imagine a regime where a big wealthy funder pays some small stipend to a group to offset the cost of consulting, the sort of free consulting they do, or the cost of applying for grants or something like that. And that would just be can you think of are there larger ways that we need to change the relationship between small EJ groups and big funders, beyond just the monetary beyond just giving them money, in terms of just the kind of social aspects and cultural aspects of their interaction? Are there larger reforms we need in that aspect?Abdul DosunmuHow much time do we have?David RobertsI thought you might have something to say about that.Abdul DosunmuRight. I have the privilege of wearing a bunch of hats in my work.David RobertsYeah, I meant to say, I read your LinkedIn page. I had to take a nap halfway through. You're a busy man.Abdul DosunmuI'm a busy man. I do a lot, and I sit across a lot of different buckets, right. And so on the CFJP side of things, obviously, I'm wearing a bit of a philanthropic hat. We don't necessarily consider ourselves philanthropy, but we're not movement. We're somewhere in between, right. But we definitely wear a philanthropic hat. And then in my other work, I actually lead a grassroots voting organization of Black lawyers and law students. And so on one side of my work, I am challenging funders to do more. And then on the other side of my work, I am living every day the ways in which this system is inequitable toward founders of color and leaders of color.And so I see this from both sides. Really, I think the first place to start in this conversation is with a conversation. And so typically the exchange between funder and organization is a one-way conversation, right. It's a one-way street.David RobertsYeah. Speaking of power differentials.Abdul DosunmuExactly. These broader power differentials in society are being replicated in how foundations engage with organizations. "And so you can apply for a grant if we invite you to apply, we want it in this 60-page application format."David RobertsAnd then you get the grant. And like we need a 60-page report every year.Abdul DosunmuThat's right, "we need the 60-page report every year. Oh, and by the way, you probably won't get the grant in time to actually do the work you need to do with it because we're going to take our time delivering the grant to you, and you interface with us and interact with us when we invite you to."David RobertsRight.Abdul DosunmuThat has to change. And so part of the culture change that you're talking about that so many organizations are advocating for, starts with making that one-way conversation, a two-way conversation, and actually listening to organizations on the ground and having those organizations inform your grant making practices, right?So let me go back to Kresge for a minute. One of the other things that they have said to us has been impactful for them is actually the transformation that the pledge has wrought in their grant making practices, in their day to day grant making practices, and how they engage, and how they interact with grantees.David RobertsSo that just means they've been learning by doing, they've been learning by interacting with these groups?Abdul DosunmuThat's right. That's right. Absolutely. And we've heard that from multiple funders. And so really what has to happen is that the funder has to become a learner, right. And that's what we're pushing through this pledge. We're challenging funders to become listeners and learners and actually hear from the organizations on the ground about what needs to change in their grant making practices in order to be more equitable. And a lot of them are making changes. I think that's really where this starts is the conversation, shifting it from one-way to two-way.And one of the things, by the way, that we have tried to do is that a number of these funders have said, "well, how do I actually get this data? How do I actually get the demographic data information? How do we kind of navigate that?" And what we have done is actually provide resources for them, so that when they're seeking out this data, they're not creating more layers of burden on these groups, right? So we have tried to incorporate that even into our own program.Right, so these groups don't have to sort of do another report on our demographic makeup, et cetera, et cetera. So that's a little bit more public. And it also occurs to me I mean, maybe this is even too obvious to point out, but it also occurs to me that it would be nice if these big funders going to these groups were not like 18th century British royals visiting the islands like strangers in a strange land. Like, it might be nice if they were composed if the makeup of the actual big funders changed.Well, there you go. There you go. I mean, you've made exactly one of the critical points, which is that the work that Green 2.0 and so many other organizations are doing to actually change the makeup of these funders is directly connected to our work. Because you're absolutely right. You should not be visiting these communities as though you're visiting from Mars. You should have people on staff in senior positions who are deeply rooted in these communities, that know the work that's happening, that know the challenges facing these organizations and are directly invested in this work, right? Part of what I have seen in the time that I've been doing this work is that there are so many brilliant folks across the country who are directly and deeply invested in this work, and they are the people who have been laboring in obscurity.They are the people who've been laboring without resources. And in order for this system to change, the system of philanthropy to shift, part of what we've got to do is bring those voices from the outside in and make sure that they actually have the ability to transform these funding institutions. And that last point is critical because it is not enough to have People of Color faces in high places if they do not have the ability to actually engineer change.David RobertsI used to work for a nonprofit. The first journalistic organization I worked for, Grist, was a nonprofit. And especially back when I first started, we were very small. There's like four or five of us. So I became intimately familiar with the grind of begging foundations for money. Luckily, I didn't have to do that part for long, but I saw enough of it. And one thing that just struck me immediately and overwhelmingly is that we were an organization that was specifically targeting young people. We wanted to be sort of irreverent, and funny, and just all these kind of things that appeal to young people.But the people we're talking to and begging for money are, to put it bluntly, White boomers. They're older White people who are not necessarily who you'd go to to learn about what the youth of today want out of a journalistic outlet, right? And so I wonder if you have gotten any sense that younger people in general are hipper to this issue than their elders?Abdul DosunmuIn some ways, yes, and in some ways, no, right. And so what's clear is that younger people just generally understand the climate crisis better than their elders. So we start there, right. You have less of a case to make to younger folks about the urgency of this crisis, but I think it's important for us to be clear that when it comes to age, that does not necessarily portend more enlightenment on racial justice issues.David RobertsYes.Abdul DosunmuAgain, I work in sort of the democracy space, and I think there's always this assumption that the younger the electorate gets, the more progressive it's going to get, just because younger people have grown up in more diverse environments. On some level, I think that is true, but I would not want to bet the house on that. And I think we have to continue to be more intentional about cultivating, even among younger people, an understanding of the racial justice implications of this crisis. And so, as a case in point, I was in Miami for the Aspen Climate Conference last week.David RobertsYes.Abdul DosunmuAnd I did a number of panels during the week, and most of the programming had a climate justice angle to it, right. Most of the speakers referenced it. It was rare that you would sit through an hour long panel, and it wouldn't come up.David RobertsRight.Abdul DosunmuBut I'll be honest, there were still rooms that I walked into where I was the only Black person in the room. And I don't want to put any blame on anybody. This is not me trying to do that. This is not about assigning blame. But it is about recognizing that even among the cool, hip kids who are invested in the climate movement, that investment in racial justice still needs to be intentionally and actively cultivated. And we cannot assume that it is going to happen by osmosis.David RobertsRight.Abdul DosunmuOr that it will happen just because younger people are younger people, right.David RobertsJust because the arc of history right.Abdul DosunmuThe arc of history is long, but it bends towards justice. I firmly believe that. But I also believe that we have to bend it.David RobertsYeah, there's a reason it bends towards justice, because all the people are working to bend it, right?Abdul DosunmuAll the people are working to bend it. And so I think there is more consciousness than ever about climate, and there's more consciousness than ever about racial justice, but we still have to do the work to actually translate that consciousness into action.David RobertsWell said. Well said. Thank you. Abdul Dasumo, thank you so much for coming on. This is very illuminating. I'm glad you took the time.Abdul DosunmuThank you so much for having me. Thank you for the platform. It was an honor to be with you.David RobertsThank you for listening to the Volts podcast. It is ad-free, powered entirely by listeners like you. If you value conversations like this, please consider becoming a paid Volts subscriber at volts.wtf. Yes, that's volts.wtf, so that I can continue doing this work. Thank you so much, and I'll see you next time. Get full access to Volts at www.volts.wtf/subscribe

Kachina Chawla from USAID joins Ann to discuss her work in India. Kachina and her colleagues work to prevent and treat Tuberculosis, HIV, and other diseases that otherwise might not be provided for in many communities. Communities are the "epicenter" of this work.  Working within communities helps her team reach out to the most marginalized. Kachina offers specific examples as to why drugs alone will not improve health. Kachina educates us on what USAID is, who funds it, and explains her role in the organization as well as her personal outlook on working in communities. Her specific examples will help you think about how you can be more effective in your community work.Items discussed :Why communities are the critical branch of the health systemHow communities provide the feedback needed to bridge the demand and supply gapWhy she chose the Empowerment Methodology and the power of community dialogueThe role of the government in health promotionWe need to let go of our own baggage when working in and with communitiesWhy the power of the collective is the community possibility she seesBioKachina Chawla, MPH, is the Senior Advisor for the Health Office at USAID/India where she works on digital technology, inclusive development and other emerging priorities such as COVID-19, air pollution and urban resilience. She is a public health professional who has spent the last 20 years working extensively in areas of maternal and child health, family planning and infectious diseases across three continents. Prior to joining USAID, Kachina was a founding partner at Lighthouse Health Solutions LLC, an international consulting firm that serviced clients like BMGF, the Packard Foundation and the Public Health Institute. At Lighthouse, she led their investment on using social movements to ignite changes that impact health.  Kachina received her bachelor's degree in History and Science from Bennington College, Vermont, and a master's degree in Public Health, specializing in Monitoring and Evaluation from the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University, New Orleans.Community Possibilities is produced by Zach PriceMusic by Zach PriceLike what you heard? Please like and share wherever you get your podcasts! Connect with Ann: Community Evaluation Solutions How Ann can help: · Support the evaluation capacity of your coalition or community-based organization. · Help you create a strategic plan that doesn't stress you and your group out, doesn't take all year to design, and is actionable. · Engage your group in equitable discussions about difficult conversations. · Facilitate a workshop to plan for action and get your group moving. · Create a workshop that energizes and excites your group for action. · Speak at your conference or event. Have a question or want to know more? Book a call with Ann .Be sure and check out our updated resource page! Let us know what was helpful. Community Possibilities is Produced by Zach Price Music by Zach Price: Zachpricet@gmail.com

Bella is a young professional, currently working in the field of philanthropy at the Packard Foundation in Silicon Valley. She graduated during the pandemic with a Bachelor's degree in International Relations with an emphasis in Global Environment and three minors in Climate Science and Policy, Human Rights, and Professional Writing, and was able to study abroad twice during her undergraduate career to Ecuador and Australia. As a true California native, Bella enjoys the outdoors including camping, hiking, traveling to the mountains and the beaches, and going out in the city. Her true passions lie with the environmental and climate justice movements, exercise and holistic nutrition, traveling, and advocacy and activism for the environment.LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/bellabucheli/ IG: @bellarbuchTwitter: @bellsbuchels

Host Matt Fisher's guest is Cynthia Brandt, Ph.D, CEO & President of Lucille Packard Foundation for Children's Health. They discuss the introduction to healthcare foundations; mission of a foundation; connection to advancing goals of affiliated organization; different forms of philanthropy and involvement; development of relationships with donors. To stream our Station live 24/7 visit www.HealthcareNOWRadio.com or ask your Smart Device to “….Play Healthcare NOW Radio”. Find all of our network podcasts on your favorite podcast platforms and be sure to subscribe and like us. Learn more at www.healthcarenowradio.com/listen

Would philanthropy be more impactful if donors took a trust-based approach? In this episode Reshma Anand, CEO of Hindustan Unilever Foundation, and Anand Sinha, India country adviser at Packard Foundation, discuss the role of trust in philanthropy and why power needs to be shared in order to create a more just and equitable society.  Highlights: Power dynamics in philanthropy are deeply entrenched. Changing this to share power with others requires donors to significantly change how they do business and think about accountability.  If philanthropy wants to bring about sustainable, long-term social change then it needs to focus on enablers and capabilities and not just on activities.  A strategic approach to giving is compatible with a trust-based approach. Trust works both ways—grantees and donors must build and earn each other's trust so they can communicate more effectively.   For more information about IDR, go to www.idronline.com. Also, follow IDR on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram. Read more: 1. Why can't more philanthropists think like MacKenzie Scott? 2. Where Indian philanthropy has gone wrong 3. Reflections: Philanthropy in India during COVID-19 4. The Trust Based Philanthropy Project 5. It's time for funders to pay-what-it-takes 6. How funders in India can better manage the risks of big philanthropy 7. Love, not log frames 8. “Philanthropy is not only for the wealthy” 9. Is philanthropy really changing anything? 10.  Making philanthropy more business-like is a big mistake

Dr. Cynthia Brandt joins Eric to discuss her mission to unlock philanthropy to improve health for children and mothers around the world through the foundation, which directs all fundraising for the Lucile Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford and for the maternal and child health programs at Stanford University School of Medicine. Cynthia shares some“bright spots” in children's healthcare today. In addition to the foundation's mission, the discussion also touches on topics from health equity to the evolution of philanthropy in healthcare.    Cynthia Brandt is Chief Executive Officer & President of the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health. Since 2018 she has been on a mission—with the outstanding team at the Foundation—to unlock philanthropy to improve health for all kids and moms, in Silicon Valley and around the world. During 20+ years in fundraising and communications, Cynthia has contributed to important missions and great teams as Campaign Director for the Smithsonian Institution, VP for Advancement at Mills College, and Associate Dean for External Relations at Stanford University's School of Humanities & Sciences. She is grateful and motivated to give back because others' generosity allowed her to pursue a PhD and MA in sociology at Stanford and a BA in English and fine arts at Vanderbilt. Cynthia is passionate about the potential for science to heal humanity and the planet. She is emphatic that this work must be grounded in empathy and a commitment to lift up all people equally.

In this podcast, Cynthia Brandt, President and CEO of the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health shares her passion for giving back and encourages others to do so with their financial support, time, and expertise. The Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health unlocks philanthropy to transform health for all children and families. Find all of our network podcasts on your favorite podcast platforms and be sure to subscribe and like us. Learn more at www.healthcarenowradio.com/listen/

David Baker is the director of the Institute for Protein Design, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, the Henrietta and Aubrey Davis Endowed Professor in Biochemistry, and an adjunct professor of genome sciences, bioengineering, chemical engineering, computer science, and physics at the University of Washington. His research group is focused on the design of macromolecular structures and functions.He received his Ph.D. in biochemistry with Randy Schekman at the University of California, Berkeley, and did postdoctoral work in biophysics with David Agard at UCSF. Baker has received awards from the National Science Foundation, the Beckman Foundation, and the Packard Foundation. He is the recipient of the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, Irving Sigal and Hans Neurath awards from the Protein Society, the Overton Prize from the ISCB, the Feynman Prize from the Foresight Institute, the AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize, the Sackler prize in biophysics, and the Centenary Award from the Biochemical society. Sixty-five of his mentees have gone on to independent faculty positions, he has published over 500 research papers, been granted over 100 patents, and co-founded 13 companies.Baker is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is also a project leader with The Audacious Project.Thank you for listening!BIOS (@BIOS_Community) unites a community of Life Science innovators dedicated to driving patient impact. Alix Ventures (@AlixVentures) is a San Francisco based venture capital firm supporting early stage Life Science startups engineering biology to create radical advances in human health.Music: Danger Storm by Kevin MacLeod (link & license)

Cathy Kimball served as Executive Director and Chief Curator of the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) for twenty years and planned her retirement as the ICA turned 40 in 2020. She is curating the Marcus Lyon project, "De.Coded: A Human Atlas of Silicon Valley" by the Packard Foundation, scheduled for 2022 at the ICA. Previously she held curatorial roles at the San Jose Museum of Art and the New Jersey Center for the Arts. She and I discuss defining a curatorial legacy, knowing who to listen to, balancing a career and a life, prioritizing family, graceful exits, mentoring a team, serving a community, and how good it feels to create a space for artists! *** This episode is brought to you by Kelly Klee private insurance . Please check out their website: Kellyklee.com/Heidi and they will make a $50 donation to Artadia, an art charity I've recommended, per each qualified referral. This episode is brought to you by Best & Co. Please visit www.BestandCoAspen.com and use discount code Heidi2020 to receive 5% off of any item on the Best & Co. website. If you are interested in creating a custom piece please email custom@bestandcoaspen.com and mention that you heard about Best & Co. on my podcast to receive the special discount. *** Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Please email press@hiz.art *** If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests.Follow Heidi: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heidizuckerman/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/heidizuckerman LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidi-zuckerman-a236b55/

Jim Fogarty is the President and Chief Content Creator at the 2 Ticks & The Dog Productions, Inc., the award winning video production company and media agency founded over twenty ago in Warren, Ohio and currently located downtown on Courthouse Square.  When he's not producing video content or leading media campaigns for his clients, he's proud to have served his community in various capacities for over two decades as an outspoken activist, arts educator and motivational speaker. Jim has volunteered with several non-profits including as the former marketing chair for both the John F. Kennedy Center for the Arts Any Given Child Warren arts learning initiative with Warren City Schools and The Trumbull Art Gallery, as well as past President for both the non-profit  W.D. Packard Foundation, and the W.D. Packard Park and Music Hall board of Trustees .  He currently serves on Kent State University's Trumbull Theater advisory board . His podcast, The ProdCast will enter its third season this summer of 2021 and has listeners in all fifty states and over forty countries worldwide.  The ProdCast is available on all major podcasting platforms or can be found at www.TheProdcast.net. 2 Ticks & The Dog Productions, Inc.197 West Market Street (Suite 201)Warren, Ohio 44481(330) 720-7560http://www.2ticksandthedog.com/

Carrie Freeman is Co-CEO of SecondMuse, an impact and innovation company that builds resilient economies. Since 2012, she has been steering the global company’s approach to finding and nurturing innovators dedicated to social and environmental good, and building supportive ecosystems around them. Its mission aligns with Carrie’s fundamental belief in the infinite capacity for humans to learn and grow, and the potential for inclusive markets and businesses to massively scale positive change.Under Carrie’s leadership, SecondMuse has run programs that define inspiring visions, build lasting businesses and unite people across the globe. Over the last decade, they’ve designed and implemented programs on 7 continents with 600+ organizations such as NASA, The World Bank, and Nike. Carrie’s experiences at SecondMuse have strengthened her conviction that deep, sustained collaboration between governments, businesses, and the communities in which they operate, fosters innovation.Before joining SecondMuse, Carrie worked for 15 years at Intel, where she honed her business and leadership experience in a range of management positions. In her most recent role there as Director of Sustainable Business Innovation, she pioneered strategies around a corporate impact investing fund and became deeply involved in, and impassioned by, technology market solutions to global sustainability problems.In life and work, Carrie is drawn to challenges. She credits her guiding belief in the capacity of the human spirit to experiences that tested her physical and mental limits: rafting one of the most challenging rivers in the world; climbing out of a canyon during a thunderstorm; standing steadfast, time and again, before skeptical gazes as the only woman in a boardroom. Her outdoor adventures have also expanded her view of capital, beyond financial assets, to include the environment and human potential — both of which provide the world immense, often untapped or under-appreciated value.Throughout her life and career, she has mentored and advocated for women, encouraging them to take risks and to see the value in their unique perspectives and experiences. She has also promoted the true inclusion of diverse views and experiences in the businesses and departments she has been fortunate enough to lead.She has held numerous advisory and board positions that span the for-profit, non-profit, public and philanthropic sectors, including the U.S. EPA, Water Innovations Alliance, the Technology Venture Corporation, Packard Foundation, World Economic Forum, the Nature Conservancy, the Permaculture Credit Union, Bonneville Environmental Foundation, World Policy Institute, LAUNCH, the government of Costa Rica and several cross-industry consortia.Carrie has undergraduate degrees from New Mexico State University and an MBA from the University of New Mexico.Connect with Carrie on LinkedIn.

Podcast PERSPEKTIF Selasa, 23 Maret 2021. Jam 09.00 WIB. "Perempuan dan Keberlanjutan Perhutanan Sosial" Narasumber: (1) Naomi Marasian - PtPPMA Papua (2) Lentjie S. Y. leleulya - Balai PSKL Maluku - Papua Host: Davida R Khusen Jangan lewatkan dan pantau terus informasi dari kami. Penyelenggara: Beritabaru.co - The Asia Foundation - UKAid - the David Lucile and Packard Foundation

Podcast PERSPEKTIF Rabu 24 Maret 2021. Jam 09.00 WIB. "Keadilan Akses Perempuan Terhadap Informasi SDA" Narasumber: (1) Andriani Salman Wally, S.St - KIP Papua (2) Yessi - Champion Aceh Timur Host: Al Muiz Liddinillah Jangan lewatkan dan pantau terus informasi dari kami. Penyelenggara: Beritabaru.co - The Asia Foundation - UKAid - the David Lucile and Packard Foundation

Podcast PERSPEKTIF Senin, 22 Maret 2021. Jam 09.00 WIB. "Peran Perempuan dan Tantangan Bencana Ekologis di Tanah Papua" SDA. Narasumber: (1) Aries Toteles Ap, Kepala Bidang Perlindungan Hutan Dinas Kehutanan dan LH Provinsi Papua (2) Silvya M. A Makabori, Dinas Kehutanan Provinsi Papua Barat Host: Novita Kristiani Penyelenggara: Beritabaru.co - The Asia Foundation - UKAid - the David Lucile and Packard Foundation @theasiafoundation @AksiSETAPAK @SikolaMombine @hanasatriyo @ermanrahman @hadiprayitno82 @beritabaruco @packardfdn

Sean Carroll is a Research Professor of theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology, and an External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute. He received his Ph.D. in 1993 from Harvard University. His research has focused on fundamental physics and cosmology, especially issues of dark matter, dark energy, spacetime symmetries, and the origin of the universe. Recently, Carroll has worked on the foundations of quantum mechanics, the emergence of spacetime, and the evolution of entropy and complexity. Carroll is the author of Something Deeply Hidden, The Big Picture, The Particle at the End of the Universe, From Eternity to Here, and Spacetime and Geometry: An Introduction to General Relativity. He has been awarded prizes and fellowships by the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Sloan Foundation, the Packard Foundation, the American Physical Society, the American Institute of Physics, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the Royal Society of London, and the Guggenheim Foundation. Carroll has appeared on TV shows such as The Colbert Report, PBS's NOVA, and Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, and frequently serves as a science consultant for film and television. He is host of the weekly Mindscape podcast. This episode I'm joined by Emma Hill, an Alaskan singer-songwriter and old friend of mine. Listen to the song I wrote with Emma after being inspired by our conversation with Sean and all the other Podsongs

Podcast: Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas (LS 69 · TOP 0.05% what is this?)Episode: 127 | Erich Jarvis on Language, Birds, and PeoplePub date: 2020-12-14Many characteristics go into making human beings special — brain size, opposable thumbs, etc. Surely one of the most important is language, and in particular the ability to learn new sounds and use them for communication. Many other species communicate through sound, but only a very few — humans, elephants, bats, cetaceans, and a handful of bird species — learn new sounds in order to do so. Erich Jarvis has been shedding enormous light on the process of vocal learning, by studying birds and comparing them to humans. He argues that there is a particular mental circuit in the brains of parrots (for example) responsible for vocal learning, and that it corresponds to similar circuits in the human brain. This has implications for the development of intelligence and other important human characteristics.Support Mindscape on Patreon.Erich Jarvis received his Ph.D. in Animal Behavior and Molecular Neurobehavior from Rockefeller University. He is currently a professor in the Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language at Rockefeller and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Among his many awards are the Alan T. Waterman Award from the National Science Foundation, an American Philosophical Society Award, a Packard Foundation fellowship, an NIH Director's Pioneer award, Northwestern University's Distinguished Role Model in Science award, and the Summit Award from the American Society for Association Executives.Web siteRockefeller web pageGoogle Scholar publicationsWikipediaTalk on vocal learning and the brainTwitterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Sean Carroll | Wondery, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.

If you work in the nonprofit world, you've certainly heard about Ford Foundation, the world's largest social justice funder. This week on the podcast, I'm joined by Kathy Reich, who leads Ford's BUILD initiative globally and has a deep understanding of the stresses facing nonprofiteers, especially women and people of color, during the pandemic—and even before. Lucky for us, she also has a lot of great thoughts on how funders can alleviate some of that stress! bio Kathy Reich leads the Ford foundation's BUILD initiative in the United States and in 10 global regions. (We'll get into that more in our conversation!) Before joining Ford in 2016, Kathy was director of organizational effectiveness and philanthropy at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, where she led a cross-cutting program to help grantees around the world strengthen their strategy, leadership and impact. Previously she had served at the Packard Foundation as policy analyst and program officer, and before that, she was policy director at the Social Policy Action Network, served as a legislative assistant on Capitol Hill, and worked for state and local elected officials in California. Kathy currently serves on the boards of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations and the Peninsula Jewish Community Center. She was selected as a Schusterman Fellow in 2016. She holds a master's degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a bachelor's degree in history from Yale University. resources EAT™ | Your way to health Donate to the EAT™ scholarship fund Ford Foundation Philanthropy's Commitment During Covid-19 The Wellbeing Project Simply: Health Coaching --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/liza-baker/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/liza-baker/support

Many characteristics go into making human beings special — brain size, opposable thumbs, etc. Surely one of the most important is language, and in particular the ability to learn new sounds and use them for communication. Many other species communicate through sound, but only a very few — humans, elephants, bats, cetaceans, and a handful of bird species — learn new sounds in order to do so. Erich Jarvis has been shedding enormous light on the process of vocal learning, by studying birds and comparing them to humans. He argues that there is a particular mental circuit in the brains of parrots (for example) responsible for vocal learning, and that it corresponds to similar circuits in the human brain. This has implications for the development of intelligence and other important human characteristics.Support Mindscape on Patreon.Erich Jarvis received his Ph.D. in Animal Behavior and Molecular Neurobehavior from Rockefeller University. He is currently a professor in the Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language at Rockefeller and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Among his many awards are the Alan T. Waterman Award from the National Science Foundation, an American Philosophical Society Award, a Packard Foundation fellowship, an NIH Director’s Pioneer award, Northwestern University’s Distinguished Role Model in Science award, and the Summit Award from the American Society for Association Executives.Web siteRockefeller web pageGoogle Scholar publicationsWikipediaTalk on vocal learning and the brainTwitter

Julie Packard is Executive Director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. In this conversation, she talks about the process of establishing the aquarium, its role in educating the public about ocean conservation, and the work of the Packard Foundation in advancing sustainable seafood initiatives. Plus: Carter and Julie reflect on the ongoing pandemic and how it reveals the profound connection between nature and human health.

In this episode, Rusty talks with Kathy Reich, who works at the Ford Foundation, and previously worked at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. They discuss how, in each foundation, Kathy discovered the need to provide support to the staff of grantee organizations. Listen in to hear more about: Kathy's journey in philanthropy and the non-profit workforce What changed Kathy's practices as a funder Lessons learned with the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and impact on talent investing initiatives The Values of Listening Deeply and more Building trust and building relationships around the world with Ford Foundation and the BUILD program Links Mentioned: Community Leadership Project BUILD Moving the Ford Foundation Forward - Blog By Darren Walker Organizational Assessment Tool Kathy's Bio: Kathy Reich leads the Ford Foundation's BUILD initiative, a 6-year, $1 billion effort to strengthen key social justice institutions around the world. BUILD is an essential part of the foundation's strategy to reduce inequality, a strategy arising from the conviction that healthy civil society organizations are essential to driving and sustaining just, inclusive societies. Before joining Ford in 2016, Kathy was director of organizational effectiveness and philanthropy at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, where she led a cross-cutting program to help grantees around the world strengthen their strategy, leadership and impact. Previously she had served at the Packard Foundation as policy analyst and program officer. Prior to that, she was policy director at the Social Policy Action Network, served as a legislative assistant on Capitol Hill, and worked for state and local elected officials in California. Kathy currently chairs the board of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO). She was selected as a Schusterman Fellow in 2016.

Fossil fuel divestment ain’t what it used to be. In a good way, if you ask advocates.In this episode — the second episode of Political Climate's special DITCHED miniseries — we get further into the weeds on what’s driving the Divest/Invest movement and where it’s going. We cover a lot and connect the dots in an interview with Justin Guay, director of global climate strategy at the Sunrise Project.Prior to joining Sunrise, Justin managed grant-making and strategy development for global coal campaigns at the ClimateWorks Foundation and Packard Foundation. He also ran the Sierra Club’s International Coal Campaign, with a special focus on international finance.In this conversation, we discuss how cutting off the flow of capital into fossil fuels has taken on a variety of different forms, as well as lessons learned from coal divestment that could influence a shift away from oil and gas. Justin addresses the tricky question of whether making fossil fuels harder to finance will actually curb demand for these products. We also talk about what a future without fossil fuels would look like, and how it could affect individual workers and even geopolitical relations. And that’s not all. We launched the DITCHED miniseries to shed light on the divestment movement, and the growing trend of moving money out of fossil fuels and into more sustainable investments. Episodes air Mondays on Political Climate. Subscribe here!Recommended reading:Foreign Affairs: Coronavirus Bailouts Stoke Climate ChangeIEEFA: Over 100 Global Financial Institutions Are Exiting Coal, With More to ComeGTM: Devil in the Details for World’s Largest Coal InvestorReinsurance News: California to conduct first climate-related stress test for re/insurersFT: JPMorgan Chase removes former oil boss from lead director roleWorld Oil: Chesapeake joins more than 200 other bankrupt U.S. shale producersPolitical Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts!This episode is brought to you with support from Lyft. Lyft is leading the transition to zero emissions vehicles with a commitment to achieve 100% electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030. Learn more at lyftimpact.com/electric.

Cathy Kimball - Executive Director and Chief Curator San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) Cathy Kimball as been with the ICA since 2000 and has planned her retirement as the ICA turns 40, though she will continue to participate in various ways, specifically to assist with the Marcus Lyon project, "De.Coded: A Human Atlas of Silicon Valley" by the Packard Foundation, scheduled for 2022. Join us in our conversation with Cathy about her decision to retire, the museum/gallery industry's adjustment to COVID-19, and the process of being a curator. And a little insight into her singing, which she does not intend to pursue as a second career. (Spoiler Alert) Look for the ICA's various virtual programs and plan to join the 40th celebration, "WTF" on June 20. https://www.sjica.org/ https://www.instagram.com/sanjoseica Read interview with Cathy from  2013 in issue 5.3 "Act" https://bit.ly/CathyK53 Since this recording, ICA has announced Alison Gass as the incoming director and chief curator at the San José Institute of Contemporary Art to begin on July 1. Recorded May 7, 2020. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/content-magazine/support

Today’s guest is Justin Guay, Director of Global Climate Strategy at Sunrise Project, and organization that grows social movements to drive the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy as fast as possible.Justin  has a decade of experience in nonprofit advocacy and foundation strategy development, including managing grant making and strategy for global coal campaigns at ClimateWorks Foundation and the Packard Foundation. At the Packard foundation he oversaw a $40 million grant making portfolio across all climate and energy priorities in India, China, the US, the EU and South East Asia. He has also run the Sierra Club’s International Coal Campaign as the Associate Director for the International Climate Program.  The program focused on global efforts to transition energy systems beyond coal to clean energy with a special focus on international finance.In today’s episode, we cover:Overview of Sunrise ProjectJustin’s history pre-Sunrise ProjectWhen he started caring about climate change, and whyHow his thinking has evolved on the problem from when he started to nowGoals of Sunrise project and nature of the coal problemWhere we are with getting off of coal and where we need to get toBiggest changes that would accelerate this pathBiggest hurdles to these coming about and how to helpRole of CCS, nuclear, etcRole of innovation, philanthropy, and policyJustin’s advice for others looking to find their lane in the climate fightLinks to topics discussed in this episode:The Sunrise Project: https://sunriseproject.org.au/ClimateWorks Foundation: https://www.climateworks.org/Sierra Club: https://www.sierraclub.org/IPCC 1.5 degree report: https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/Global Energy Monitor: https://globalenergymonitor.org/Ohio coal and nuclear bailout: https://insideclimatenews.org/news/23072019/ohio-coal-nuclear-bailout-law-signed-cuts-renewable-energy-efficiency-programs-governor-dewineYou can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.Enjoy the show!

Since 2004, Xiao-Wei Wang has worked at the Packard Foundation where she leads a program that aids the nation's most promising early-career professors in pursuing innovative science and engineering research. From inquiries into ancient microbes to exploring the evolution of galaxies, Xiao-Wei supports Packard Fellows as they dare to think big, take risks and explore new scientific frontiers. Xiao-Wei is a graduate of the College of William and Mary and Stanford University—completing her graduate thesis while working and parenting full-time. She cherishes her roles as domestic concierge, nurse, nutritionist, storyteller, counselor, Scout den leader, piano coach, chauffeur and custodian. Xiao-Wei lives in the San Francisco Bay area with her husband and two kids. The self-proclaimed black sheep of her family, Xiao-Wei was the only one to skip the path of pursuing anything related to science, instead focusing on liberal arts as an undergrad - because she always knew she wanted to focus on community, volunteer work, and bettering society on the humanitarian side. Today, Xiao-Wei is both a mom and a career-woman, explaining to us that she always knew she would have both - because she saw her mom do the same thing, and never felt the need to choose only one. Going on to explain, Xiao-Wei shares, “at the end of the day, being a working parent makes me a better parent. It makes me more balanced to have my own interests, and passions, and focus - outside of being a mom. That’s just who I am.” And the secret to balancing it all? “Definitely keep your sense of humor, and make sure your kids have a sense of humor as well, for when they have to deal with shortcomings,” jokes Xiao-Wei. Joining us to share her story, Xiao-Wei opens up about issues for women working in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields and beyond, mistakes she’s made while trying to accomplish so much, and the importance of women’s networks.

Aunnie Patton Power is the founder of Intelligent Impact, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Skoll Centre for Entrepreneurship, Associate Fellow at the University of Oxford's Saïd Business School, Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economic's Marshall Institute and advisor to the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation at the University of Cape Town's Graduate School of Business. Aunnie provides us with a unique insight into and particular approach to Impact Investing, using technology - AI, Blockchain, IoT & more - to achieve what we need: “… Maybe there is going to be the model that works, maybe we're going to adapt it, but maybe we're going to come up with a brand-new model that creates value and wealth for individuals that are actually for the end-users of these companies, as well as making money for investors. I hope that Impact Investing continues to push the boundaries of how we distribute capital, how we distribute wealth, and how we treat the environment.” Highlights in the episode: * How to use technology to solve difficult problems in impact investing such as capital allocation * Perpetual growth of cost model can be at odds with impact businesses  * A real lack of capital at the mezzanine level * The 144 impact investment platforms and 170 blended impact finance platforms * Sitting at 40,000 ft and looking at the different silos and seeing everything that is happening * How IoT will impact data collection for impact measurement * How to create structures to incentivise social enterprises * When offering impact investment products: multiple choice questions vs questions like “how do you feel about a product?” Useful links: Intelligent Impact - [https://www.intellimpact.com/](https://www.intellimpact.com/) Aunnie Patton Power’s Linkedin - [https://www.linkedin.com/in/aunniepatton/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/aunniepatton/) IFC Impact Investing Principals [https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/Topics_Ext_Content/IFC_External_Corporate_Site/Impact-Investing](https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/Topics_Ext_Content/IFC_External_Corporate_Site/Impact-Investing) Innovative Finance MOOC: Hacking Finance To Change The World [https://www.coursera.org/learn/innovative-finance/](https://www.coursera.org/learn/innovative-finance/) New Forest Fund -  [https://newforests.com.au/](https://newforests.com.au/) Packard Foundation -  [https://www.packard.org/](https://www.packard.org/) Impact Finance Network -  [https://impactfinance.network/#findings](https://impactfinance.network/#findings) Dutch Good Growth Fund - [https://english.dggf.nl/](https://english.dggf.nl/) 60 Decibels (Lean Impact) - [https://www.60decibels.com/](https://www.60decibels.com/) Ruth Bader Ginsburg - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Bader_Ginsburg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Bader_Ginsburg) CogX 2019 + Expo & NetworkingInvitation from JP - [http://bit.ly/CogX2019_JP_EN](http://bit.ly/CogX2019_JP_EN) Time Stamp: [03:00] IFC Impact Investing operating principles [05:00] Wicked problems in impact investing [08:00] No decent impact investment data from IoT and blockchain [14:30] AI and ML for capital allocation and chatbots [26:00] Impact Investment platforms [31:30] Tokenisation of blockchain [33:46] Changing food and agriculture impact [36:00] Using knowledge of finance to change the world [39:00] Inspiring women behind Aunnie Patton Power Connect with JP Dallmann on [Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jp-dallmann/), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/JPDallmann), or [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/inspiredbyjp/). How to incorporate SDGs into your business - [Fast Forward 2030](http://fastforward2030.com/) Find talent and careers with impact - [Realchangers](https://www.realchangers.com/) Impact Leaders is produced by [Podcast Publishing](http://podcastpublishing.help)

In 2016, a report on philanthropy in Silicon Valley revealed a major disconnect between donors and the local community. The report found that 90% of philanthropic dollars leave the region and of the dollars that stay, the vast majority are given to hospitals and universities. The good news, and the opportunity, is that the report revealed that our booming Silicon Valley community houses more than 76,000 millionaires and billionaires. American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley CEO Suzanne St. John-Crane speaks with ALF Senior Fellows Carol Larson, CEO of the Packard Foundation, and Rick Williams, CEO of the Sobrato Family Foundation at a San Jose Rotary Club meeting on how we as a community must play a role in creating a “give where you live” culture.

The linkages between environmental health and human well-being are complex and dynamic, and researchers have developed numerous models for describing them. The models include attempts to bridge traditional academic boundaries, uniting fields of study under rubrics such as social–ecological frameworks, coupled human and natural systems, ecosystem services, and resilience theory. However, these efforts have been constrained by varying practices and a failure among practitioners to agree on consistent practices. Writing in BioScience, Jiangxiao Qiu of the University of Florida and his colleagues describe this state of affairs and propose an alternative approach to understanding the interplay of social and ecological spheres: causal chains. The authors describe these chains as an "approach to identifying logical and ordered sequences of effects on how a system responds to interventions, actions, or perturbations." The idea was originally formed as result of a workshop funded by the Packard Foundation, and Dr. Qiu joins us in this episode to discuss causal chains and their implications for the future of policy and management. Learn more: Read the article (free download). Subscribe on iTunes. Subscribe on Stitcher. Catch up with us on Twitter. 

Think theoretical physics is irrelevant to your everyday life and way over your head? You'll think differently after listening to this interview with Sean Carroll, theoretical physicist, poetic naturalist, and author.The meaning of life, the finitude of life, the choices we make and our experience of happiness and suffering all have a connection back to the scientific realm that will both fascinate and provoke thought in you.      This week we talk to Sean Carroll Sean Carroll is a theoretical physicist at the California Institute of Technology. He received his Ph.D. in 1993 from Harvard University. His research focuses on fundamental physics and cosmology, especially issues of dark matter, dark energy, spacetime symmetries, and the origin of the universe. Recently, Carroll has worked on the foundations of quantum mechanics, the arrow of time, and the emergence of complexity. Carroll is the author of The Particle at the End of the Universe and From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time, He has been awarded prizes and fellowships by the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Sloan Foundation, the Packard Foundation, the American Physical Society, the American Institute of Physics, and the Royal Society of London. He has appeared on TV shows such as The Colbert Report, PBS's NOVA, and Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, and frequently serves as a science consultant for film and television.   His latest book is called: The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself In This Interview, Sean Carroll and I Discuss... The Wolf Parable His book, The Big Picture; On the Origins of Life, Meaning and the Universe Itself That who we become is a combination of the choices we make and what the Universe gives us The philosophy of Poetic Naturalism - 1 world, many ways of talking about it 3 Levels of Stories: Fundamental, Emergent, Comprehensive What it means to be real You can't make "ought" out of "is" That facts and moral values are different things His perspective on life mattering - that it comes from within, that it's not imposed on us from the outside The fact that we care is the origin of things mattering in this life and world Life is a process, it's something that's happening - always moving and changing - and that there's always something else that we want How his book lays out the design for you to decide how to live your life and what kind of person you want to be The mistake of fetishizing happiness How you cannot separate happiness and suffering in life - especially a life well lived That our goal shouldn't be to reach some state of happiness and stay there because life is a dynamic process and it doesn't work like that The finitude of life The average human lives for three billion heartbeats That the difference between right and wrong is up to us to decide and that can be scary That the world - including us - is only really made up of 3 basic particles and 3 basic forces That the big bang isn't necessarily the beginning of the universe but it's as far back as we can go Physics books for the non-science people - look for books by either Brian Greene or Lisa Randall Life's Ratchet by Peter Hoffman is another interesting book for a non-science person   Please Support The Show with a Donation    

Host Lisa Kiefer interviews Vicki Abadesco, the director and co-founder of Soul Shoppe, an organization that teaches empathy, anger management, and peacemaking to school children and their adults with programs across the US, Canada, and Holland. Abadesco is an author, Packard Foundation-Ashoka Changemakers "Building Empathy" Award winner, and fellow for the Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at MIT.TRANSCRIPTSpeaker 1:Method to the madness is next. You're listening to method to the madness. I Biweekly Public Affairs show on k a l ex Berkeley celebrating at bay area innovators. I'm Risa Keefer and today I'm interviewing Vicky Abba Jesco. She's the director and Co founder of soul shop, an organization that teaches empathy, anger management, and peacemaking to school children and their adults with programs across the u s Canada and Holland. [00:00:30] Welcome to the program. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Speaker 2:You're the director and Co founder of soul shop. What is the problem that soul shop is trying to solve? How to really create safe environments for kids and really safe environments for anyone. We know that we want kids to have a happy and fun and productive time at school, and sometimes that just doesn't happen for lots of different reasons. And so our [00:01:00] role is to go into schools and really support schools to create that kind of environment where kids feel safe, kids feel respected when oftentimes they don't. I'd be reading so much about bullying. I mean, it's in the paper magazine articles. It's not new. I mean, I remember bullies in school. Why is there such a surge of interest in it right now? Has something changed? You know, we've been doing this work for 15 years and I'm currently in my 30th year of education and I feel a lot of these skills [00:01:30] that we're teaching in soul shop. Speaker 2:I've been teaching my entire career and the issues that we see in young people are really the same issues I feel like I've seen through the years. Um, and we started doing bully prevention work 15 years ago. It wasn't a so popular in the news or the media, but we know that the behaviors are still the same. That just seems to be a highlight of that in the recent years and again, with so many suicides and deaths and the social media issues, [00:02:00] we really see it highlighted. So we're just, we just have more access to the information. Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. I think there's a way that kids have always suffered and always felt alone and that the pain of that, and I think there need to get attention to be seen to be heard. I've shown up in so many different ways, right? We can say drugs and alcohol and you know, all sorts of things that we see, you know, those, those kids or those teenagers, those young people doing that are really just a need [00:02:30] for them to be seen and acknowledged in some way. Speaker 2:And so both the students who are victims and even the students who are doing the bullying, we feel like everybody needs the same and equal respect. And how do we listen to both sides and how do we give all kids the things that they're really needing emotionally and socially? Well, I know there are several different people in this space. Yeah. How is yours different for us? You know, we really believe that learning and things shift through and connection. [00:03:00] And so a lot of other programs that are out there tend to be focused on how to teach the teachers how to teach this content in their classrooms. And we know that they're such a burden and expectation on our teachers and our educators right now. And so we want to come into schools and really help them with this issue to make sure that the, the issues and the topics are really taught in a way that the kids are grasping. Speaker 2:I'm still, we're not a curriculum or [00:03:30] a video or DVD that a teacher can pop in and show the students. It's us really having a relationship and a connection to be able to teach these skills and these tools in real time. So we get to act out scenarios that are actually happening in the classroom and really help teachers resolve conflicts and help students talk through issues that are, that are showing up that might be disrupting the classroom and their learning. And also again, disrupting any fun that they might be having in school. [00:04:00] So you do this by teaching the teachers the empathy of feeling what that's like. So is it role playing? Can you describe, yeah, so for us, you know, when we go into a school, we see the entire school. So we see every kid in that school through storytelling, through activities, through games that we play with them, uh, through our own personal sharing is they really get an experience like, wow, yeah that has happened to me. Speaker 2:And Oh that happened to you too. And then we get to ask the entire room, [00:04:30] how many other people has that happened to her? Have you felt that way? And when we see every hand go up, then every kid gets like, oh, it's not just me, I'm not alone. And then that experience that so many young people have about feeling so alone or feeling so isolated, there's some relief that comes to them knowing that the person next to them is also raising their hand. So you've been doing this since 2001 so you've had time to measure the results of all of this work. What have you found out? So [00:05:00] we found out a few things. One is I think teachers and principals really appreciate having an extra person on campus that gets to come in once a month or once every other month to have these kinds of conversations with the students. Speaker 2:And we get to work with the students in a really different way and get to support the teachers. And so, you know, we'd been around for 15 years and those first few schools we had 15 years ago, we are still in those schools today. And to me that's like the greatest measure of the success [00:05:30] of our programs is the longevity in which the schools are committed to working with us and invite us in year after year to work with their students to really cultivate and hold this kind of a compassionate school community. Um, you know, at the end of every year we ask teachers how they feel we are impacting their school and when they tell us that they're spending less time on discipline, when we actually see discipline records on the school level [00:06:00] through the school district go down, principals will acknowledge that we are a big contributor to that factor. Speaker 1:Yeah. We talked to you about a couple of things. What age is this the most successful in and how you engage the home life, which could be the source of the [inaudible] Speaker 2:problem. Yeah. That's one of the biggest concerns that schools have is that, you know, we're teaching these skills throughout the entire school community, from the students to the teachers, to the administrators and all of the school support. Everyone gets trained [00:06:30] by us. And so we're always trying to bridge how do we have the students take these skills? They're learning here at school and take them back home. And so we do parent trainings and parents get an opportunity to practice the skills themselves and practice with the students. And how do you even get them to come in? You know, we do whatever we can to partner with that school to get parents in on that parent night where we get that opportunity. One of the things that we like doing is at the end of every workshop that we do, the students get a bookmark [00:07:00] and sometimes on that bookmark there are questions and we really invite the students who take that bookmark home, show it to their parents so they get like, oh, this is what I learned today and these are some questions you can ask me. Speaker 2:And they're prompts for the parents so that the, again, they know what their kids are learning. Oftentimes we also get emails or calls from parents saying, wow, I didn't realize what my kid was learning through soul shop and thank you so much cause you know me and my partner were arguing and my kids stepped up and said, [00:07:30] hey, there's a better way. And they taught us how to communicate in a way where we're not raising our voices, we're not yelling and we really thank you for teaching our kids skills that we didn't have. And so we're communicating in a different way and I [inaudible] Speaker 1:may not ever yell at my kid again because of these skills. If you're just tuning in, you're listening to method to the madness. A biweekly public affairs show on k l expertly celebrating Bay area innovators. Today our guest is Vicky Ebid Esco. She's [00:08:00] the director and cofounder of soul shock and organization teaching empathy, anger management and peacemaking to school children and their adults. Tell me about the differences of presenting this whole program from Grade School, Middle School, and high school. How is it different? What are your challenges? So when I started my career Speaker 2:30 years ago, I worked in San Francisco high schools and I taught life skills and I taught violence prevention, conflict resolution, [00:08:30] and it was a challenge. You know, I was teaching very similar skills on that level. You know, they called me prevention specialist and I did a lot of intervention work on that level. And I started to question when does prevention really happen if we're doing true prevention one, does that happen? And so after 13 years of working for San Francisco School district, I thought, I want to try something. I want to see how can we work with younger kids, bring these same tools to [00:09:00] elementary schools and see how they embrace learning these skills at that level. Because by high school, they're just in the midst of it, right? There's lots of ways that they're being in the way that they're socialized is really anchored into their body. Speaker 2:The way they communicate all of that from what they've learned at school, their communities in their homes, their families. Yes, they can learn new ways of doing things, but it's so much more of a challenge and so when we started looking at working with elementary kids, we thought, wow, [00:09:30] what would it be like as they're growing developmentally to learn these tools just in how to socialize and make friends and be friends. What if we get really gave them the language skills to be able to communicate and resolve conflicts at that age so that when they got some middle school, when they got to high school, when they're really faced with the peer pressure and the stress and all of the physical changes that somewhere in their body they're going to remember that there's another way that they're gonna remember that they have tools [00:10:00] and skills to make a different choice that's not going to hurt themselves or hurt someone else. Speaker 2:The earlier the better. That's what you're saying. That's what I'm saying. Yeah. You're also an author of a book free to be and you've written curriculum and you have activity cards for teachers and all that stuff. Can you talk about this book free to be, what is it about? I was curious about the impact of bullying and I set out to just do interviews with people and part of this kind of, it showed up organically because [00:10:30] when I would meet people and they would ask what I did for a living, I would share with them and right away they wanted to tell me the story about how they were bullied some time in their life. And so stories from being kicked out of a friendship to stories about being bullied in the workplace, to being teased for their body, their high, they're weight smarter, this being smart, having money, no money, all of these things. Speaker 2:And as the years have gone by [00:11:00] and people have shared so many stories with me, I could still feel the pain and the impact that that incident, whether is onetime or ongoing, had on people sharing these stories because it was always so ripe for them in their mind, the situation, the scenario, the pain, what it felt like. So I thought, wow, I think I want to write a book about this that just has the stories in them. And so people can just really see that no [00:11:30] matter what age you are. So I have a young person who is 11 years old who also wrote her own book about what it was like for her to be bullied to somebody in their sixties and so they've lived this long life and yet they still can remember being taunted, being teased, being chased down the street for living in a certain part of town. Speaker 2:And also for being, you know, a single parent living with a single parent and it just never leaves. And that was what I was really curious about. And so when I was writing this [00:12:00] book, I just thought, wow, look at how profound it is. And for so many people, most of the people I've interviewed and that are in the book actually never told their stories to anybody. Even for them, sharing it with me and having it written out in this way in this book brought a lot of healing and closure for people because it was also the first time that people, that somebody just listened to them. And I feel like that is what's true every day when we walk into those schools is kids just want us to stop [00:12:30] and listen. Speaker 3:Well, it's interesting to me that you know, these things, they don't ever leave you, which makes me curious about your life. Did something happen or things happen to you that kind of led you to education in the first place and specifically conflict resolution and all that? Speaker 2:Yeah, there was a saying that our greatest wound is our greatest gift and I definitely believe that is true for me. I'm the youngest of four kids. My parents were immigrants to this country and um, did their best [00:13:00] to assimilate, uh, here and they did a great job and they did what they could to provide for us. And we had a house and food every day. And as a California, I was born and raised in San Francisco and it was still a struggle for my mom especially. And so she just struggled emotionally with lots of different things. So she started to, to drink and so she was an alcoholic and that alcoholism was just a way for her to cope. And so being the youngest kid, [00:13:30] I really felt like I was invisible. There was just a way that I wasn't really seen in my family. You know, we have students in our program that we call peacemakers. Speaker 2:I feel like that's what I was when I was a kid in my family. And part of my role was making sure that everything was okay. And so when my mom was drinking, making sure she was calm enough that she wouldn't go into, you know, crazy psychotic episodes, which sometimes she would do. Um, and I really just felt it was my role to just calm her down and make things peaceful. [00:14:00] And so at a really early age, I really was able to, I've managed a lot of emotions and manage the people that around me to make sure everyone was safe. And meanwhile, there wasn't a place for me to go. There wasn't anyone for me to talk to. I'd go to school and not really know like, you know, I didn't feel like this was something I was supposed to be sharing with anyone and have my own shame and sadness and really felt isolated. Speaker 2:And at an early age felt. Now as I look back, you know, really [00:14:30] I was a depressed kid and nobody really saw that. And I know that I must've gone to school looking sad or looking depressed and I don't remember one teacher ever saying, hey, what's it like to be you today? What's going on? You seem sad. You look sad. Is Everything okay? And back then, that wasn't roles of teachers. They didn't do that. And it wasn't until I was in middle school that I felt like a teacher saw me and asked me those questions and it was a first time that I got to [00:15:00] share what it was really liked to be me. And so when I was in high school, I got involved with the peer education program and I became a peer educator because I was that kid that everyone came to you with their problems. Speaker 2:When something happened, people were feeling sad, they were having problems in their own family. My friends came and they talked to me. So I always knew that I was that person. And so when I went to college and I got a degree in psychology, I thought it was going to be a therapist because I felt like this is just [00:15:30] my natural skill. This is just what I do. And but it wasn't it. I felt like there was just something else. And so when I got my first job in a high school in San Francisco and was teaching a group of students who were in these gangs and it was my job to just keep them in school and just keep them enrolled and I just did everything I could to just be with them. And no matter what fancy curriculum I pulled out of the hat for them. Really what was most valuable [00:16:00] that somebody was just sitting with them, not trying to change them, not judging them, just being with them and listening to their stories and giving them a place to just be seen. Whether they were mad, whether they were sad, whether they were confused, whether they felt hopeless. So I feel grateful for everything that I've lived through because it's giving me that capacity to hold a lot of emotions and to really just be with people and to be with young people and anybody with whatever it is that they're feeling. Speaker 3:You're in Canada and you're in [00:16:30] Holland and other parts of the United States are the challenges different outside of cal, I think of California is a little more progressive, but how, how is it different or is it different or do you have the same bullying, conflict problems everywhere? Speaker 2:Yeah, I've done youth programs all over and I'm going to say the bottom line is still the same that you know, you could plop me anywhere. So even in Holly and yeah, there's just something really interesting about this. You know, I want to do more traveling internationally to, to really [00:17:00] look at this phenomenon because I, you know, it makes me curious about do other kids and other places where, you know, in our country here we're so, we pride ourselves in our independence and being low, being able to do things to a level where, I mean this is where the isolation hurts us. Other communities and cultures where, you know, entire families live in a really small Shakka home room. Everyone sleeps together, everyone eats together and you know, for some cultures are almost like [00:17:30] literally we're like right almost on top of each other. And I wonder if they feel lonely. I wonder if they feel that same level of hopelessness that I feel like sometimes we hear in our young people, Speaker 3:I want to talk to you about technology in relation to this because exponentially there's a tremendous amount of technology in these kids' lives since you, this program. Speaker 2:How is that impacting what you do and in the schools themselves with the ability for kids to be on social media at all times? Yeah, it definitely [00:18:00] makes it a challenge for, you know, we see so much especially um, high school college where, you know, social media is just used in such a way to hurt other people. You know, again, I think there's a level of expression that is happening that maybe they're not able to get in other places. And so it happens through social media and I see that on a lot of different ways where, you know, people want to share like here's the highlight of my day, or wow, this thing happened to me. [00:18:30] Or you know, again to be able to use it to gossip about somebody to spread a rumor about someone. But there's still a place underneath it all where someone's trying to get acknowledged for something. Speaker 2:Somebody is trying to be seen for something, you know, emotional intelligence, life skills, what are these things had been around for a really long time. And it's interesting for me to see us come back to some of these things that have been around, which are helping us to put down our [00:19:00] devices, figure out how to get eye to eye with somebody and really have those conversations because technology has been around enough so that we are seeing the impact that's having on our brain and the way you know, the different parts of our brain that's being used in ways and how empathy is really a skill that needs to be cultivated and that can be cultivated personally. Right? It's like we want to be able to make sure that our body language, eye contact, those sorts of things that are so important [00:19:30] are really helping, you know, putting down devices and being able to connect personally with people is what I feel like we're coming back to because of so much of what we're seeing happening to that. Speaker 2:So for sure that the part of the brain that we're empathy happens. Is it diminished with technology? Do we know this? Yeah. There's some neuroscience neurobiology that are coming up with with some of the that research. And so this is what they were saying about why it makes it easy for somebody [00:20:00] to gossip or bully through social media because there's a disconnection there. There's not a personal connection. So if I know you, if I had a chance to really hear your story or get who you really are, what you're going through, I wouldn't even think about getting on social media and saying something bad about you. And so there's this place where yet it's like where does empathy really come into play? And so one of the things we're curious about and we know other folks are, it's like how do we then help to have this experience [00:20:30] of empathy or forgiveness and compassion? Speaker 2:Where does that show up in the world? That leads me to a question I want to ask you. You're a fellow at the Dalai Lama Center for ethics and transformative values at MIT. I am really curious about what goes on there. Are these the kinds of things that you talk about? Yeah, absolutely right. So like his holiness, the Dalai Lama is really committed to youth global leaders. You know, he has a vision of how do we bring more compassion to young leaders everywhere. And so [00:21:00] part of that is some of the things that the folks at MIT are looking at, right? And so they're experimenting with both in person workshops, also different types of technologies and games to really bring to young people and in schools to really practice how do we really work with empathy in this way? And so, you know, one of the things that we're finding is that it's a challenge to just have technology do that alone. Speaker 2:It really takes some human components [00:21:30] of whether it's just somebody facilitating a conversation about how to use this technology. It's still giving somebody a personal experience. Do you were chosen as one of six a Shaka changemaker awards? Was that a monetary award? Yeah, it was a, a what they called an empathy competition. And they were, um, you know, a show Kia changemakers along with Packard Foundation. They partnered together to really look at how are people building empathy through communities. And so [00:22:00] we thought, well, we definitely are building empathy through communities. And so we went ahead and applied in the competition and we were able to receive the award and it's been such an honor. But how much did you win? We won $100,000. Um, and it's been such an incredible blessing for us, you know, again, do you have to get grants every year? How do you fund this privately? Speaker 2:Fine. A lot of private funding. A lot of individuals who really have seen [00:22:30] our work, love what we're doing in schools and know that we've been around as long as we've been around, money comes directly from schools and there are some schools that can't pay the full price of our program. And so getting donations and having programs like this really helped to supplement, um, those schools who can't afford to bring in a program like ours. Uh, the a hundred thousand dollars helps us to do some things that are new and different that we're looking at. We're looking at some online training as well. We're having [00:23:00] conversations again about, you know, how do we build something digitally to so teachers could download the two 10 institute them and their school well to do it more as follow up some ways to really help teachers and their own empathy building skills and you know, we want teachers to be able to have some of these conversations with their kids when we're not there and some of the teachers get that kind of training. Speaker 2:I think that's one of the reasons we're looking at this online course to really have them look at, you know, how in a six week course can they just [00:23:30] work on their own empathy skills, you know, in order for us to be great teachers, anything we have to have the experience of it as well. That's one of my visions is that every teacher have that kind of training just for themselves so that they can find way where they can have more capacity, emotional capacity, so that when the things show up in their classroom, they can handle it better. That there is a way that they're not personally triggered by what's happening with the kids. That may be empathy, could be there as an option. Can you tell [00:24:00] us a story about someone or some school where this was, you have lots of stories. So I tell this story about this young girl, you know, we got a call from a principal, he said we're having an issue with bullying and will you come in and basically kind of fix what's happening here. Speaker 2:And so, you know, he wanted to tell me about this kid and I didn't want to know. I just like, you know, let us come in and let's see what's happening. And he invited us to come in for one time to do this one assembly. And so we got on campus and as soon as we got on [00:24:30] campus, the principal wanted to point out this belief and we didn't want to know who this kid was cause it's not about one kid and it's about the entire school community. And so we start our assembly and we talk about feelings. And when we have so many feelings, we get really full. And when we get really full, we do things, push somebody. We might talk behind someone's back. We might ruin somebody's four square game, you know, we're just disrespectful. And [00:25:00] we asked, you know, how many of you ever felt that full little hands go up? Speaker 2:And this is a room of maybe 204th graders. So we see those hands go up and then we ask is there anybody that wants to share what they're feeling inside you? And usually at this point when we ask this question, it's like silence. The kids are all looking around like no one wants to raise their hand, but we patiently wait cause we know what's in the room and we're not expecting, you know, this kid that they called us to this school to raise their hand, [00:25:30] you know, which just like it's anybody. We know, there's lots of kids who have really that they feel really full in that way. So all of a sudden we see this little hand go up and the whole room moves and then we hear like this whispering. And so we know this is the bully, this is that. We know it. Speaker 2:So this sweet little girl comes up to the front of the room, she sits in what we call the chair of help, and we ask her, what's going on with you? And she's got these little tears coming out of her [00:26:00] eyes. So it's like silence. And these kids are mesmerized that this kid who's been labeled a bully is in front of all of them crying. And so even right in that moment you feel something shift in the room. And so she says that she lost her best friend, that her grandmother died. And the room is stunned because this was a girl that when the principal called us, he said that they did everything to fix her behavior on the playground, including suspending her two [00:26:30] times for her behavior that they didn't know our grandmother died. I think they knew her grandmother died. I don't know if they knew the extent of the impact because here we had a broken hearted little girl who lost best friend. Speaker 2:And so she went on just to share about how it's really harder to mom, how her, her mom doesn't want her talking about her grandma. Let's just not talk about it. She comes to school, she pushes people around, she creates havoc on the playground at recess. Nobody knows what to do with her and she's just [00:27:00] sad and brokenhearted. And so we asked her to tell us about her grandma. And so she gets a big smile on her face. She tells us how she made the best cookies ever. She was the only person in her life that told her she loved her and she was sad. And then we ask, you know, how many of you have also lost someone? Right? So we see these hands go up. So how many of you would be willing to sit with her and maybe ask her about what her grandmother was like? Speaker 2:Almost every hand in that room went up. So a kid who previously everyone [00:27:30] was staying away from now is the most popular kid. Yes. What happens to this girl? All right, so a couple weeks later we call the school and principals like, yeah, it's really gray. We haven't really seen any more incidents from her or the kids are asking and they, he found that there was an opportunity for the other kids to share the people in their lives. They also lost it. They didn't know how to talk about doe. Now this girl becomes this, like you're saying, they can talk to someone they can talk to. That's really a beautiful transformation. Yes. [00:28:00] You know, so for me it's like that's, that's part of the success story. And so, you know, when you ask about the challenge, it's, you know, that school didn't have much more funding for us to come back and we would have loved to have done that. Speaker 2:And so I would say that's always the biggest challenge is for us to be able to have the resources to be able to do followups for stories like that. What are your goals for the future? It sounds like you've done a tremendous amount. We are looking at models to be able to grow our programs throughout the country. Again, we're looking at some things digitally [00:28:30] so that that will help to make that happen. And we're looking at some online courses for teachers so that teachers everywhere can get even at least this first level course on how to get empathy skills for themselves. So again, that they have a greater capacity and understanding about that personally to be more available to their kids and their students. How do we get programs up throughout the country and also enough facilitators and train in a certain way so that I feel confident [00:29:00] that folks who are out in schools are really able to facilitate these kinds of conversations with kids because it definitely takes training and a lot of time working again on our own self development to be able to have the capacity to really work with kids on this level. Speaker 2:It's fascinating to me all the ways that we have found to hurt each other through our words. Right? And any way that we can separate ourselves. So somebody else is just different, right? And we're all different, so we all at any time are targets of this [00:29:30] on some level it's so ridiculous. And then on another level, we can't seem to stop ourselves, but it's great that you've gone deeper to see that, that there's something else behind all of that, right? That's the superficial manifestation, right? If people want to get a hold of soul shop or you personally, do you have a website that they can go to? Soul shop, which is s o u l s h o p p e.com and to get ahold of me, you would just put Vicky v I C K I at [inaudible] Dot Com Speaker 1:do you have a Jessica, [00:30:00] thank you for being on the program. Thanks Lisa for having me. You've been listening to method to the madness, a biweekly public affairs show on k a l x Berkeley Celebrating Bay area innovators. If you have questions or comments about this show, go to the calyx website, find method to the madness and drop us an email there. You'll also find the link to previous podcasts. Tune in again in two weeks at the same time. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Click here for Radio LinksPeople to People Fundraisingtedhart.comHe lectures around the world but now is here for you. From the latest in charity news, technology, fundraising and social networking, Ted Hart and his guests help you maneuver through this economic downturn in the charitable sector to greater levels of efficiency and fundraising success. PAGE 2 GUEST EXPERT Beth Kanter is Chief Executive Officer of Zoetica.  Beth is also the author of Beth’s Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media, one of the longest running and most popular blogs for nonprofits.  Beth has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 30 years. A frequent contributor to many nonprofit technology websites, blogs, and magazines, Beth has authored chapters in several books, including “Internet Management for Nonprofits,” edited by Ted Hart and published in 2010.  A much in-demand speaker and trainer. In 2009, she was named by Fast Company Magazine as one of the most influential women in technology and one of Business Week’s “Voices of Innovation for Social Media.” She was the 2009 Visiting Scholar for Social Media and Nonprofits for the Packard Foundation. She is also a 2010 fellow with the Society for Communications Research.

Businesses and nonprofits have much to learn from each other, especially around using social media to achieve new levels of success. Join us as we learn what your brand can be doing from social media consultant Beth Kanter.Beth Kanter is a consultant, speaker, and author on using social media in the nonprofit arena. Beth authors the blog How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media, one of the longest running and most popular blogs for nonprofits. Beth was named by Fast Company Magazine as one of the most influential women in technology and one of Business Week's "Voices of Innovation for Social Media." In March, 2009, she will serve as the 2009 Scholar in Residence for Social Media and Nonprofits for the Packard Foundation.

Businesses and nonprofits have much to learn from each other, especially around using social media to achieve new levels of success. Join us as we learn what your brand can be doing from social media consultant Beth Kanter.Beth Kanter is a consultant, speaker, and author on using social media in the nonprofit arena. Beth authors the blog How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media, one of the longest running and most popular blogs for nonprofits. Beth was named by Fast Company Magazine as one of the most influential women in technology and one of Business Week's "Voices of Innovation for Social Media." In March, 2009, she will serve as the 2009 Scholar in Residence for Social Media and Nonprofits for the Packard Foundation.

William K. Reilly's lecture was presented on January 29, 2009. William K. Reilly is a founding partner of Aqua International Partners, LP, a private equity fund dedicated to investing in companies engaged in water and renewable energy, and a senior advisor to TPG Capital, LP, an international investment partnership. Mr. Reilly served as the first Payne Visiting Professor at Stanford University (1993-1994), Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1989-1993), president of the World Wildlife Fund (1985-1989), president of The Conservation Foundation (1973-1989), and director of the Rockefeller Task Force on Land Use and Urban Growth (1972-1973). He was head of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Earth Summit at Rio in 1992. Mr. Reilly is Chairman Emeritus of the Board of the World Wildlife Fund, Co-Chair of the National Commission on Energy Policy, Chair of the Advisory Board for the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University, Chair of the Board for the Global Water Challenge, and a Director of the Packard Foundation, the American Academy in Rome, and the National Geographic Society. He also serves on the Board of Directors of DuPont, ConocoPhillips, and Royal Caribbean International. In 2007 Mr. Reilly was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He holds a B.A. degree from Yale, J.D. from Harvard, and M.S. in urban planning from Columbia University.