Podcasts about systems change

On Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg, Dani speaks with Kristin Coates, Co-Founder and CEO of Regenerative California. They talk about creating a regenerative farm in a region dominated by conventional agriculture, pathways to build a more hopeful food future, and how the organization's model can be spread to other counties and beyond. Plus, demand for raw milk continues despite health risks, a new briefing affirms that African countries already have proven alternatives to synthetic pesticides—now they need to scale, the presence of New World Screwworm is confirmed in the United States, a marine biologist works with fishers to protect endangered species, and more. While you're listening, subscribe, rate, and review the show; it would mean the world to us to have your feedback. You can listen to "Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg" wherever you consume your podcasts.

In this special Candid Clancy episode, Clancy Harrison shares the lessons she's learned from more than 13 years of challenging hunger, food insecurity, and the systems designed to address them. She introduces the four-phase framework she now uses to help organizations rethink, build, and strengthen local food systems across the country.

Many of the problems we care most about cannot be solved by a single organization. That insight helped John Kania develop Collective Impact, a framework for bringing people together around shared goals. But over time, Kania noticed that coordination alone was not enough. Even when groups made progress, the deeper patterns of the system often remained unchanged. In this episode, Dart and John discuss the evolution of systems change thinking and why lasting change requires more than alignment, strategy, and good intentions.John Kania is Executive Director of Collective Change Lab, a nonprofit that develops new approaches to collaboration and systems change. He is a leading thinker on collective impact, systems leadership, and the relational work of creating social change.In this episode, Dart and John discuss:- Problems no one can solve alone- Why good intentions often fail- The limits of coordination- What keeps systems stuck- The hidden power of mental models- Why relationships drive change- The challenge of sharing power- What leadership looks like in uncertainty- The role of healing in systems change- Why changing systems means changing ourselves- Building islands of coherence- And other topics…John Kania is Executive Director of Collective Change Lab, a nonprofit focused on advancing transformational systems change practices. He previously served as Global Managing Director of FSG, where he helped develop and popularize the concept of collective impact. John is co-author of the influential Stanford Social Innovation Review articles Collective Impact, The Dawn of System Leadership, and The Relational Work of Systems Change, as well as The Water of Systems Change. His work focuses on helping people and organizations collaborate across boundaries to address complex social challenges.Resources Mentioned:Collective Impact, by John Kania, Mark Kramer, and Peter Senge: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/collective_impactThe Dawn of System Leadership, by John Kania, Mark Kramer, and Peter Senge: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_dawn_of_system_leadershipThe Relational Work of Systems Change, by John Kania, Jennifer Splansky Juster, and Peter Senge: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_relational_work_of_systems_changeThe Water of Systems Change, by David Peter Stroh, John Kania, Mark Kramer, and others: https://www.fsg.org/resource/water_of_systems_change/Collective Change Lab: https://collectivechangelab.org/Connect with John:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-kania-1a294020/Work with Dart:Dart is the CEO and co-founder of the work design firm 11fold. Build work that makes employees feel alive, connected to their work, and focused on what's most important to the business. Book a call at 11fold.com.

Kelly Brownell interviews Jon-Paul Bianchi, Director of Systems Change at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, about the foundation's systems-change approach linking food, health, early childhood, and family economic security to address inequities affecting children and families. Bianchi describes his path from PhD research to policy work and then to Kellogg, and explains how integrated grantmaking focuses upstream on policies, practices, resource flows, narratives, and long-term investment in people and relationships rather than isolated programs. He highlights Vermont's inclusion of food quality in childcare ratings and the foundation's Farm to Early Childhood efforts connecting procurement, regional food systems, and state policy, with examples from states like North Carolina, Iowa, and Wisconsin, and notes Brazil's national local purchasing policy as a model for success. Transcript As I was mentioning before we got started, I've long admired the work of the Kellogg Foundation. Working with the concept of food systems or connecting agriculture with nutrition and thinking about regenerative agricultures. There are a lot of places where your foundation was out front. So, I salute you and your colleagues for that. And it'll be interesting to find out what's happening right now. Tell us a little bit about yourself, and how did you get into the philanthropic work and your work with Kellogg in particular? I'm Jon-Paul Bianchi. I'm the director of the Systems Change team at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. And what that essentially means is I'm the director of national programs at the foundation. But we call it systems change because we really do see in the different areas of work that we focus on- health, family economic security, food, and early childhood- that these things are all interconnected by some distinct systems. But also, common systems that overlap across them. And so, that's the approach that we take. And I'll spend some time sort of diving into that today. You know, to answer the question of how I got here... you know, a master stroke of luck. I was set to be an academic researcher. I was working on my PhD at the University of Wisconsin. I was ABD and decided that I didn't want to be a researcher and I wanted to work in policy. And I moved to Colorado to take a job sort of sight unseen, being the policy director of an organization that worked in K-12 and children's health, and food and early childhood education. And did that for a few years and learned to translate research into practice; into policy. And was giving a presentation and got a tap on a shoulder from somebody that worked at the Kellogg Foundation who was interested in what I was saying. And we had one conversation, and six months later, I wound up having a new job and leaving Colorado and moving to Michigan. That was 15 years ago. Well, you went into this with a great background having done the science as a graduate student and then into the policy world. And you're right, the intersection of those two is really where the magic can occur. You began talking about this, but let's talk about it a little bit more. So, when you say that there are systems that cut across different problems like food and health and economic security, etc., and I know you structured your team to reflect that cross-cutting kind of view of things. But tell us a little bit more about that. And how is this different than what's usually done, and how does it affect the way your work gets carried out? So, big picture at the Kellogg Foundation, we envision a society where every child can thrive. But we know that there's too many kids and families that still can't access good food or quality childcare, or their parents can't find quality jobs because of inequities that are embedded in the policies and the practices and narratives that shape our systems. And so, having a multi-issue integrated grant making team, it's made us more effective by better understanding the points of intersection and collaboration across those bodies of work. So, our food systems program officers are in the same team, and they work closely with our program officers in early childhood and family economic security and health. And those collaborations strengthen the work in a variety of ways. We have experts in each of those areas, but because they're spending time with each other and working in the same team, they're exposed to, and they learn about each other's work and each other's worlds. And that creates powerful collaborations in the foundation, but more importantly, out in the field. And it helps us to see that we can't fix any of these systems, including food systems, with surface level or patch kinds of solutions. We really have to work together to get upstream and focus on policies, focus on practices, focus on resource flows and narratives that really sustain the inequities that we see. And so, the foundation partners with organizations to dismantle barriers in food systems in the other areas so that children and families can access quality food. But I think we also recognize that's about investing in people. And it's about investing in people over time to drive transformational change in any of these systems, including food. For people listening to this who aren't in the world of philanthropy or academics or science or policy they might be saying, "Well, this kind of makes common sense. Isn't this the way it's usually done?" And in fact, it's not usually done to have this cross-cutting work accomplished the way you're doing it. It's actually a pretty impressive thing. Yes, thank you. And I have a lot of respect for our philanthropic partners and peers, and we work very closely with a lot of large and small foundations. And I think the adage in philanthropy is you know one foundation you know one foundation. So, we do it this way and somebody else will do it differently. And I think there's a lot of connection for us back to our founder. You mentioned Will Keith Kellogg at the top of the call. He was ahead of his time in terms of understanding the interconnectedness between food and the land and opportunity and people's education. And a lot of that came out of his tradition as a Seventh Day Adventist. But also, I think just as a person coming up in the Depression and seeing what happened afterwards and really beginning to understand in his own community of how these things were sort of connected to one another. And so, for us, both inside and outside the foundation, systems change really means betting on people long term to reshape those systems from the outside in. But also, from the inside out. And that's really what we're striving for. You mentioned the history of Dr. Kellogg. The history of that family is so interesting, and what went on in, you know, the sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan, and how the concept of breakfast cereals came about. And how the focus on natural foods was so important. It's worth spending a little time even on just Wikipedia to try to find out what that history is, because I find it fascinating. So, let's go back to food and go a little bit deeper and talk about what this systems approach looks like in practice. You're a philanthropic organization. You exist in the context of a capitalist society where businesses are out to do as well as they can. How is the foundation's work different from, say, funding a food pantry, launching a single nutrition program somewhere, which is what typically might be done? Yes, I think what we intend to do and how I think our systems approach is a little different from, say, you know, funding a single nutrition program, is that we mean to design and redesign practice and policy based on how kids and families actually live their lives. Right? So, where food and health and early childhood and family economic security show up together in a community, right? Families experience these things simultaneously in their everyday lives. They don't experience these things in silos. And so, we try to have our team and our work reflect that. So, instead of treating food as a narrow problem to fix with one program, we try to think about how the entire system around a child and their caregivers works or doesn't work and find those opportunities and levers to move that whole system. I'll give you a concrete example that will bring in our colleague Linda Jo Doctor, who you mentioned at the top of the conversation. Early in my time at the foundation, I was a reviewer for the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Grant. This was an Obama era competitive grant process for building early childhood systems in states. And the state of Vermont did something really interesting that I had the good fortune to review as part of that team. They included the quality of food and access to fresh, healthy food in childcare centers as part of their quality rating and improvement system for childcare. They didn't just talk about teacher quality or curriculum or reflective practice. They actually said, "If we care about child development, then what children are eating every day in those childcare centers is part of what quality means." That's a systems approach. They connected food policy and procurement directly into early childhood policy and practice so that nutrition and education and child wellbeing were all being advanced simultaneously. I brought that back to the foundation and brought it back to Linda. And we had a really great conversation about it, and then another, and then another, and then another. And that experience helped shape how I think and how many people think about our work at the foundation. And it led to things like the expansion of our Farm to Early Childhood work, which again, leans heavily on procurement as the strategy to drive systems change, but connects it into early childhood policy. Tell us about that. You know, the Vermont example you gave is a terrific one. And you talked about Farm to Early Childhood. What does that mean in practice? In practice for the foundation, it really leaned heavily first on, sort of, understanding the landscape of where there was capacity to connect regional food hubs, farmers and producers and growers to systems of early childhood. At the same time that you have these burgeoning and developing systems of early care and education with regard to financing and sophistication, you have something similar going on in them in the food system movement, depending on the state that you're in. And so, we work diligently in a subset of states to really connect those policy levers, pull them together, and try to create essentially more situations like Vermont, you had partnership at the local community level, at the regional level, and then at the state systems level. So, syncing up the actual practice on the ground, syncing up how the relationships between different organizations are formed and maintained with regards to better food and early childhood. But then also trying to codify that into state policy and practice. And we did that for a number of years and had remarkable success in places like Iowa and Wisconsin and even in North Carolina, and a handful of other states. And we very much saw this as a build off our successful farm-to-school work, but doing it in a system that comparatively in terms of early childhood, was a little more fragile, right? And it wasn't necessarily as easy to do it, but all the more important and helpful because of the age and the vulnerability of the kids and families that we're talking about. The systems approach is very powerful, and so I'm going to ask a question not to be challenging, but to in some ways give you a softball for proving the systems approach. If at the end of the day, the most important thing in a childcare setting is to get healthy food into the bodies of the children so they can thrive intellectually and medically and everything else. Couldn't you accomplish that by just giving a good shopping list, a Costco shopping list to the daycare directors, and they could go buy good foods? And why does it need to be connected with farmers and, you know, the broader connection into the community at large, why is that important? Yes. Well, backing up, I wouldn't want to state, as an early childhood person, that the only thing that, you know, makes an early childhood program high quality would be the quality of the food and that that would, you know, lead to optimal child development and school readiness. I think, you know, there's other things in there that actually matter too. But this is definitely a key component. I would say, you know, to your question, that that system that you named already exists. We have the Child and Adult Care Food Program. We have the ability to subsidize the cost of food, and to have that good shopping list in play. But, I think, what the systems approach does is it asks different questions, right? It seeks to say, where does the food come from? How is it grown? Who is benefiting economically, right? How are schools and childcare centers and farmers and communities connected? And how do we strengthen those, connections and relationships so that we can begin to shift policy and practice so that children and families can reliably have access to good food. And they know that it's coming from the community in which they're situated. And the people on the side that are actually producing the food, the farmers and the folks doing procurement and others, that they're actually connected to it too. And they know where the food is going. And so there is this social kind of interstitial benefit to connecting those systems in a way that I think brings value beyond just you get a healthy meal today. I think it begins to shift culture. And if you could shift culture in the institutions that people are participating in, you can actually shift culture in people. So, you could see if a parent that potentially wasn't exposed to that before, or maybe didn't have access, or didn't know how to get access to that kind of food, if their expectations suddenly shifted because in their childcare program they're getting access to quality food, that then becomes an opportunity to engage in a different way. But it also becomes an opportunity for that parent to become empowered and to come together with other parents and other community members and begin to insist that's a reality in everyday life for them. That becomes a norm rather than an exception. I really like your answer because, you know, in some ways, people in our country have become distant from their food. You know, it used to be you could just go to the store, and there might've been one agent between you and who grew the food. The farmer would deliver it to, and now there are factories and machines that process the food, and 10 steps, and it comes from different countries, and all that kind of thing. And what you're talking about is shrinking that gap again to decrease the distance, so people are more in touch. And you could easily see that if the food is coming from farmers and the daycare providers know that they're going to feel better about the food. They're more likely to tell a story about it to the children. The farmer might come to the daycare center, or the children go to the farm. And you could see there's a lot more going on here than nutrition, and that's the beauty of this systems approach, isn't it? I mean, the children want to have a garden, right? I mean, how many times have we seen that? It seems like a small thing in early childhood, but just that simple act of having a garden and being able to understand how things are cultivated and grown. Even for a small child, and I have two small kids, we have a small garden in our backyard: it's meaningful. And it also, I think, establishes a norm that the tomato that you pick off the vine or the pole bean that you pick off, that you eat, that you find just unbelievably delicious, then that becomes normative for them. That's a normative experience, and kids are not as frightened by things when they encounter it. And I think we have a real opportunity in the early childhood space to link up those two systems to say, "Yes, we can affect change." And I think that, again, back to this notion of investing in people long term, the investment in those kids long term and what they come to expect will be the norm matters very much to how we think about our work at the Kellogg Foundation. So you're talking about both practices and policies and a cross-sector approach to these things. And let's talk about policy for a moment. Where does policy typically break down? And what kind of people need to be at the table, and what sort of partnerships need to be established in order to have better food policy? I think if we take seriously that food policy is cross-sector, I believe that we need to build tables that look like the food system. And that means not just public health experts or nutrition advocates or academics, but farmers and food workers, and those childcare providers and teachers, and leaders in K-12, and tribal leaders, community organizers, local state government officials, right? And the funders, right? The funders who are willing to invest in the long slow work of doing systems change. And, you know, one place I would highlight is in your home state of North Carolina. For years, there was significant investment that helped really build a dense ecosystem. You established regional food hubs and meat processing infrastructure, and anchor institutions into schools and early childhood centers. And a really strong network of organizers and philanthropic partners. And that made it possible to fully integrate farm to early childhood in your state's definition of early childhood. And as an aside, I would say North Carolina was also one of the leading states back when I was first coming into the field of building out a high-quality system of childcare. North Carolina led that. And so, these two things converging is a very powerful example, but again, we're getting back to local sourcing. We're getting back to bigger things than just doing food education, right? Those things are now built into the system. And they're not just a side project of the system. They actually are the system. So, you're talking about a foundation doing a lot more than getting proposals, seeing what needs to be funded, and then sending money out the door. You're talking about connecting people in innovative and unique ways. And building bridges that didn't exist before. And getting people to understand the systems change approach. And it just can lead to so many interesting and innovative things that just weren't possible using traditional models. So, really my hat's off to the work you do, and I can see why it's creating such powerful outcomes. One piece I would be remiss if I didn't say this, right? What makes all those partnerships work or fall apart? Usually, it's not the brilliance of a single policy idea or practice idea. I. Sort of. Sound like a broken record, but I'm going to come back to this. Investing in that people infrastructure that sits underneath it is really important. And the places that we find that make progress in any of the issues we're talking about, family economic security, food, health, Medicaid, early childhood, K-12, right? The places that make progress really do have varied and diverse voices at the table, and they're able to build real trust. And they're able to cultivate champions and also the next generation of champions and the next generation of champions who can move between those sectors, right? And the funders are involved, but they really understand that they're financing relationships and governance and people. They're not financing programs. And I think as a grant maker, that's an interesting distinction to think about. Think we know it implicitly and we know it when we see it. It's a lot harder to stick it in a white paper and define it and disseminate it in Stanford Social Innovation Review, for example. No, I totally agree. In the work that we've done over the years with, uh, community partners in Durham, it's been my impression that they get this systems thing from the very get-go. That they understand that if poverty is too severe, then nothing else is going to work, and if housing is a problem, then these other things are going to be affected in pretty serious ways. And they understand the importance of these. And in a way you're letting the flowers bloom. You're taking, I think, what some people understand intuitively and would like to accomplish, but they've been forced into silos. And then once a funder comes along and can allow this to prosper, I think it's sort of a natural thing that occurs. I think so. And I think the tricky thing there is to not be seduced by the programmatic solution. Like, do you remember several years ago when the notion of collective impact was this very popular term that folks talked about? And it's a good thing. I mean, I think the framework and the model is powerful, and it's a useful thought exercise. But what I found in a lot of collective impact work was that it focused very much on aligning the programs. Sufficiently funding the programs and aligning the programs, but not the human side of design and redesign of how do those programs function, right? Who do they serve? Who's at the table when building them or rebuilding them? Do you have the ability to change them midstream if you feel that you need to? And I think a slightly different approach with systems change is you're sort of engaging in a loose hold of the policies and the practices and the issues to give people and the people infrastructure and the relationships time to come together and figure out how they want to move them individually, and how they want to move them collectively. And that's a subtle difference. That's a nuance that I think has really worked in our particular corner of the world. One thing I bet some people are interested in is how the Kellogg Foundation might be distinct from Kellogg as a company. You've described beautifully the innovative work you're doing. The company is off doing what it does commercially. How do these two things intersect? And what's been the history of the connection between the foundation and the company? Yes. So, when the foundation was founded in the 1930s, Will Keith Kellogg, as you said, he endowed the foundation and created it separate and apart from the company. So, it's an independent philanthropic organization. And so, while we bear the name of Will Keith Kellogg, the foundation does not have a formal connection or stake in the company any longer. As you may know, the company split into two companies a few years ago, one called Kellanova and one called the W.K. Kellogg Cereal Company. And since then, I believe both companies have been acquired. I think Mars now owns Kellanova, and Ferrero, an Italian company, owns W.K. At present, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation does not have any connection to either of those companies because they've been acquired by other groups. And aside from having some stock with the foundation, that was sold to support our endowment, we don't have any formal connections anymore. But I think the proximity of the foundation to the company in Battle Creek, and I think the shared history of Battle Creek and the shared history of Mr. Kellogg's vision is actually important to note. And I think it does matter to how the two institutions are connected. I said this a little while ago in the conversation, but in the 1930s, Mr. Kellogg knew that you couldn't separate food from health and education, family economic security, and he knew this while he was making cornflakes, right? And so he helped make sure in the late 1930s that children in Battle Creek had access to fresh milk in schools at the same time that he was doing work in soil conservation and in building healthy land. And he had a sense of knowing that how the food is grown and how kids are nourished, it's part of the same story. And I think that DNA has pulled forward into the foundation, and it makes it a really special place to work because we still carry that memory of him, and we still carry that vision of him into the work that we do. Thanks. You know, a long time ago, when I first became familiar with the Kellogg Foundation, I wondered about the history and the independence of the foundation from the company. And I pretty quickly came to learn that the foundation, as you said, is quite independent from the company. But you've enriched my knowledge even beyond what I've known over the years, so thank you. That's a fascinating history. So, let's end with one final question. If you fast-forward and kind of look ahead, what do you think is on the way? And what does success look like to you and your colleagues? Yes, it's a good question. I mean, I think if we got this right, you know, 10- 20 years from now, success would look like children and families living in communities where good food is just a part of everyday life. It's normal and reliable and not something that folks are lucky to find. I talked a little bit about how Mr. Kellogg thought about this in the '30s, but we also see what's possible in other places, right? When that vision can become a reality in terms of policy and practice. So, we had done some work in the country of Brazil. And we see now that national policy in the country of Brazil now requires that at least 50% of school food be purchased from local sources, grown with high-quality standards, right? That one decision reshaped incentives all along the food chain. What farmers grow, what institutions buy, what kids eat. That's a powerful example of institutions using their everyday purchasing power to build healthier and a more just system. So, you know, 10- 20 years from now, if we've done our job, it would mean that the kinds of innovations in places like Brazil or North Carolina or even in Michigan with our 10 Cents a Meal program, that those types of things would have become the norm. That schools and early childhood centers and hospitals and tribal and local governments would be routinely buying good, locally rooted food. And that workers and farmers are earning a fair and stable wage, and they have incomes. And the communities most affected by hunger and inequity are actually at the core of leading and designing new systems. And food policy would no longer be a patch on top of the inequity. It would be one of the main ways that we build healthier and more equitable futures for kids and families. BIO Jon-Paul Bianchi is the Director of Systems change at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) in Battle Creek, Michigan. In this role, he leads WKKF's national grantmaking strategy focused on early childhood care and education, health equity, employment equity and food systems. As a longtime philanthropic leader and national expert with a focus on early childhood education, Bianchi provides strategic oversight to the foundation's national programmatic work to support thriving children, families and communities. Bianchi holds a doctorate of Education from Vanderbilt University's Peabody College of Education and Human Development, a master's degree in child development and a bachelor's degree in child and family studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He helped found and currently serves on the board of Valley Settlement in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

Hi there,Welcome back to Untangled. It's written by me, ​​​​​​​Charley Johnson​​​​​​​, and valued​​​​​​​​​​​​ by ​​​​members​​​​ like you. ​​​Help me make it better?​​​​Today I'm sharing my conversation with Angelica Quicksey, Managing Director of New_Public, about the rise of the agentic interface era, and how we might shape it.As always, please send me feedback on today's post by replying to this email. I read and respond to every note.On to the show!Untangled HQ​Big update: I'm getting married next weekend! So I'm going to take a short break from Untangled, and I'll be back in your inbox on June 21.In the meantime, don't forget to sign up for the next Untangled community event on See the System — a one-hour workshop where we start not with the tool but with the system it would enter. Bring a specific use case you're weighing, and leave with a map, a vision statement, and a Proceed/Pause/Decline decision you can actually defend.Deep Dive​We Don't Have to Build the Filter Bubble of OneThis week I spoke with Angelica Quicksey, Managing Director of New_ Public, about their new report After the Feed: Trust, connection, and the next era of social technology — which argues that we've crossed into a new era of social technology, as consequential a shift as the move from newspaper editors to algorithmic feeds was fifteen years ago: the agentic interface era. Let's dig in.New_Public's whole orientation comes from urban planning — what physical public space can teach us about the digital kind — and early in our conversation Angelica described what algorithmic social media actually feels like: you wake up every morning in Times Square. Bright, loud, and engineered to separate you from your money and your attention. Even people who enjoy visiting Times Square don't want to live there! And yet that's the only public space the last fifteen years built for us — one deafening square, optimized to keep us standing in it as long as possible.The argument in After the Feed is that we're being pulled out of the square, whether we like it or not. A few forces are doing the pulling at once.The first is that the feed is no longer where our social lives or our information diet actually live. People will still scroll — parasocial entertainment isn't going anywhere — but the place we go to figure out what's happening, what to think, what to do, is increasingly a chat with an agent. Think about that handoff for a second. It used to be Walter Cronkite. Then it was the algorithmically ranked feed. Now it's a chat window built just for you, and nobody else.The second is that the big platforms are quietly falling apart anyway — not because anyone reformed them, but because AI broke the things holding them together. Harassment is happening at industrial scale. The genuine back-and-forth between people is drying up. Machine-generated slop is everywhere, and bots already make up the majority of internet traffic. The gardens are still walled, but the walls are crumbling from the inside.And the third is that, as engagement gets cheaper to fake, the metrics that used to signal real human attention stop meaning much of anything. Likes, followers, reviews — all gameable. So the scarce thing is no longer attention; it's trust. New_Public has a nice term for what trust looks like once you try to make it operational: thick reputation. Not “10K followers,” but “contributed thoughtfully to this community for two years.” Not “verified,” but “vouched for by people I trust.”But being pulled out of Times Square is not the same as arriving somewhere good. Angelica named the failure mode hiding underneath the whole promise: the filter bubble of one. We leave the deafening square and we don't get the online equivalent of parks and libraries; we each get an information world drawn so tightly around us that nothing is held in common anymore. The old filter bubble at least had other people in it. This one wouldn't. And it's the default outcome, not the worst case, if nobody designs against it.So the real question the report is asking isn't what's replacing the feed? It's what do we want to build in the space the feed is vacating — before the defaults get set for us?And the hopeful part of New_Public's answer is that the raw materials are suddenly cheap. The cost of building software has fallen off a cliff: a community platform for 500 people used to cost millions, and now you can stand one up for a few hundred dollars a month. The old logic that said a platform needs billions of users to be worth building simply stops applying. A neighborhood, a hobbyist group, a mutual aid network, a book club — each can finally have software built just for it. Thousands of small, purpose-built spaces, instead of one square for everyone.Which sounds lovely until you try to run one! Healthy communities don't tend themselves; they're held together by stewards — the people who set norms, welcome newcomers, manage conflict, keep the shared memory. It's real labor, usually unpaid, and burnout is the most common reason these spaces collapse. So the obvious move is to hand the routine moderation work to an AI agent and free the human steward up for the hard stuff that really requires care.Perhaps, but Angelica pointed to research on call centers that complicates the whole thing. When you route the easy tickets to self-service and leave the humans only the hard ones, the humans burn out faster. It turns out the easy work wasn't filler. It was rhythm. It was rest. Strip it away and you don't always get a more strategic steward; you get an exhausted one.This is the question I keep finding underneath every “what can we automate?” conversation, and it's the thread that ties the whole report together for me. We treat routine as fungible — the part we can safely lift out — when sometimes it's exactly where judgment gets built, where a steward comes to know the texture of her own community. The friction wasn't always a cost to be eliminated. Sometimes it was doing the work. So maybe the better question isn't what can we hand off? It's what is the rhythm quietly doing that we haven't named yet?That, in the end, is what I admire about After the Feed. It isn't a promise that things will work out. It's that Angelica and her colleagues are doing the thing tech criticism has mostly refused to do for fifteen years: describing, in concrete terms, what it would look like if we got it right. Many small spaces built for actual communities, owned by their members, connected through open protocols so you can carry your history with you. AI working quietly in the background as a kind of shared memory, rather than running the show out front. Stewards supported, paid, and designed for. Parks and plazas and libraries — not one more Times Square.That's a long way from where we are. But it's worth knowing someone's building toward it.Until next time,CharleyWork With Me​Here are 3 ways I can help:* ​​​​​​​​​Advising:​​​​​​​​ I can help you navigate uncertainty, make sense of AI, and steward change in your system.* ​​​​​​​​​Organizational Training:​​​​​​​​ Everything you and your team need to cut through the tech-hype and implement strategies that catalyze true systems change. (For either Stewarding AI or Systems Change for Tech & Society Leaders)* ​​​​​​​​​1:1 Leadership Coaching:​​​​​​​​ I can help you facilitate change — in yourself, your organization, and the system you work within.​​ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit untangled.substack.com

This episode of the One Humanity Lab Podcast is for leaders, coaches, and changemakers who care about economic justice, systems change, and the power of deep listening. Guest hosts Mia Cellucci and Pauline de Castelnau welcome Mercedes Bidart, CEO and Co‑founder of Quipu, a social enterprise using AI and alternative data models to provide equitable credit access for micro‑entrepreneurs in Latin America. Drawing from her journey running community development projects in informal settlements in Argentina, earning a Masters in City Planning at MIT, and moving to Colombia, Mercedes shares how Quipu has supported tens of thousands of micro‑businesses that have been structurally excluded from traditional banking. She invites listeners into the story of pivoting from the idea of creating a local currency to real‑world access to fair credit, and how falling in love with the problem her team is solving—not their original idea of what a solution might look like—can unlock human‑centered innovation. Together, they explore leadership, risk‑taking, and “playing” with ideas while staying grounded in what communities actually need. The conversation offers both practical insight into inclusive fintech and deeper reflections on leading system change from a place of courage, humility, and service. This episode features: How Quipu is using non-traditional data and AI (videos, social media, phone and wallet usage) to assess risk and approve micro‑loans for entrepreneurs in seconds.The origin story of Quipu in informal settlements and why building local wealth—not just access to services—matters.Mercedes' early experiments with community currencies and local marketplaces, and what she learned when those models didn't work as her team had hoped.The pivotal moment when a microfinance institution rejected a woman entrepreneur, and why Quipu decided, “If no one else will lend to her, we will.”How Quipu evolved into both a lender and a technology partner for banks, MFIs, and digital wallets seeking to serve the informal economy.Leadership lessons on falling in love with the problem, staying flexible, and holding ideas lightly while staying deeply committed to the people you serve.How AI can be used to hyper‑personalize financial products and actually humanize finance instead of excluding those already at the margins.Mercedes' vision for changing the rules of lending within traditional institutions and educating financial leaders to use AI for inclusion. Resources & Links: Learn more about Quipu: https://quipu.com.co/Follow Quipu on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quipulatamLearn more about Escuela Quipu: https://quipu.com.co/escuela-quipu/Connect with Mercedes Bidart on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mercedes-bidart-argentina/Follow Mercedes Bidart on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mercedesbidartFollow the One Humanity Lab: https://leadershipcoaching.cepl.gwu.edu/ Mia Cellucci and Pauline de Castelnau are Executive Coaches, alumni of the One Humanity Leadership Coaching Program, and Founding Fellows of the One Humanity Lab at the George Washington University Center for Excellence in Public Leadership.www.miacellucci.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/mia-cellucci/www.paulinedecastelnau.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/paulinedecastelnau/ Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, & share!https://leadershipcoaching.cepl.gwu.edu/podcast/

How can communities reconnect with place while shifting away from extractive systems? Matt Biggar, researcher, consultant, and author of Connected to Place, joins Kevin Bayuk to explore how place-based systems change can help regenerate nature, strengthen communities, and build more resilient local economies. Drawing on his background in education, sustainability, and transportation research, Matt reflects on the experiences that shaped his thinking and the frameworks he now uses to understand systemic change.For full show notes, visit: https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/matt-biggar/Interested in creating a world that works for the benefit of all life? Join a network of 800+ alumni transforming communities and enterprises from a regenerative and just lens. The Next Economy MBA begins September 22nd — join us for a free intro session and save 20% when you register before August 3rd.Learn more ➡️ lifteconomy.com/mba The LIFT Economy team is passionate about creating learning communities where we can put the skills and values we discuss on Next Economy Now  into practice. Learn more ➡️ https://www.lifteconomy.com/nextsteps

In Season 11 Episode 13, Hayley Spira-Bauer sits down with John White, CEO of Great Minds and former Louisiana State Superintendent, for a candid conversation on leadership, systems change, and the role of curriculum in driving student outcomes. Drawing from his experience leading post-Katrina education reform in Louisiana, John discusses how crisis can catalyze improvement, the importance of local autonomy through charter systems, and why sustained gains in student achievement come from consistent, high-quality curriculum paired with strong accountability. He also explores the future of education amid rapid technological change, advocating for “productive friction,” human-centered learning, and meaningful classroom discourse as essential to student growth.

Lucas Matarazzo (LI) and Ollie Bream McIntosh (LI) came to speak about systemic transformation. We spoke of collective, systemic and machine intelligence. How we can weave together these into a richer tapestry for decision making. We spoke of how change have a temporal and cultural/psychological depth component, how systems flow and how that flow may be (re)directed. How they have a rhythm: where healthy systems are different than extractive and violent ones. We spoke of how to critically make our, and the machines', biases visible so that we may make better decisions towards futures where flourishing, conditions conducive to life and evolution may be at the centre. We spoke how to make better decisions, including requisite diversity that actually have enough granularity for enacting change on the ground. And finally we spoke of Mutua and how they work to make impact useful through guiding and assisting capital allocators. Resource mentioned on responsible use of tech. This is a rich conversation to say the least. Enjoy! 

Benjamin Taylor was once brought in to help eleven chief executives navigate a merger that would cost the job of some. Before the meeting, a more senior colleague on his team pushed back on touching that topic. It would embarrass them, he said. It was better to keep things “professional”.Benjamin thought the opposite. That staying professional in that room was going to make it impossible for anyone to have an honest conversation. What happened next? An awkward silence and the topic remained untouched for the rest of the that meeting.He has spent his career walking into rooms like that one. And what he keeps finding is that most people just don't know there's another option. Sometimes it takes someone breaking the rule in front of you for you to realise that you've been following one all this time.We talked about where professional norms come from and why they're so hard to name, what it costs to break them and what it costs not to.Links to learn more about Benjamin Taylor:WebsiteLinkedInSir John Kay's LectureSitcom ‘Dear John'Any thoughts? Share them with us!Support the show✨✨✨If you miss the "workshops work" podcast, join us on Substack, where Myriam builds a Podcast Club with monthly gatherings around old episodes: https://myriamhadnes.substack.com/

Hi there,This week I'm sharing a conversation I had with ​Bo Young Lee​, CEO of ​AI4All​ about Silicon Valley imaginaries, rational refusal, and the futures we haven't been offered. As always, please send me feedback on today's post by replying to this email. I read and respond to every note.On to the show!Untangled HQ* Wednesday, May 5: I'm hosting a ​workshop on how to trace what must stay human ​when implementing AI responsibly. It will double as a preview of ​my new course on stewarding AI. ​* Thursday, May 6: As part of ​The Facilitators' Workshop​, Kate and I are hosting a ​workshop on how to turn stuck meetings into breakthrough moments. ​* Tuesday, May 12: Aarn and I are hosting a workshop on the discipline of holding tension: how to name tension without personalizing it, slow the moment without stalling the meeting, and protect the disagreement that actually matters. Join us!Deep DiveThe World They're Building TowardStart with the bunkers.In the last several years, a number of Silicon Valley's most powerful technologists have been quietly building survival infrastructure. ​Bunkers in New Zealand.​ ​Fortified compounds in remote locations.​ Escape hatches from the civilization their products are shaping.Bo Young Lee noticed this before most people were talking about it, and she asked the obvious question: if these are the imaginaries — the foundational visions of the future — animating the people building our most consequential technologies, what does that tell us about the products they're building? And how does their imaginary constrain our imagination?An imaginary is not a fantasy. It's the operative picture of the future that structures present decisions — the unstated assumptions about where the world is going that determine what problems are worth solving, what risks are worth taking, and what populations are worth designing for. Imaginaries are embedded. They show up in product decisions, in hiring, in what gets funded and what gets ignored.Bo argues that the dominant Silicon Valley imaginary is, at its core, a story about inevitability and survival. Civilization is fragile. Disruption is coming. The question isn't whether things collapse but who gets to build what comes next. If that's the picture of the future you're working from — even unconsciously — you're not going to prioritize safety, privacy, or good governance in the present. Those things just get in the way!As Bo explains, the products that follow are predictable. Why design for women when women don't figure prominently in survival scenarios? Why prioritize people with disabilities when they're among the first casualties of disaster-oriented futures? Why hold yourself accountable to the communities your technology harms when they're not in the imaginary?This isn't hyperbole. Bo is describing a logical coherence between worldview and product — a through-line from the bunker to the algorithm that becomes visible once you start looking for it. Take the supposed ‘​AI gender gap.​‘ The narrative goes something like this: women are underrepresented in AI adoption because they lack confidence, access, or awareness. All we need to close the gap is a li'l education, outreach, and encouragement! Bo argues that women's skepticism about AI is rational. Not because women don't understand the technology, but because they understand it clearly enough to recognize that it wasn't built for them, doesn't work as well for them, and in specific contexts actively harms them.Right, women face ​systematically harsher​ professional consequences than men for identical workplace errors — a well-documented asymmetry researchers call the “​tighter world​” phenomenon. Women are more likely to be fired for mistakes and less likely to find subsequent employment. When a high error rate tool like generative AI enters that context, the risks land differently. Men's mistakes get absorbed as the cost of experimentation. Women's mistakes land on a narrower margin. A woman who understands this and proceeds with caution is doing the math. Calling that a confidence problem is its own kind of imaginary!The “AI for good” movement is similarly trapped by the Silicon Valley imaginary, but they don't see through it in the same way. As Bo argues, the AI for good world has largely accepted the imaginaries it inherited. Its animating question is how to reduce harm within the existing AI paradigm — how to make the technology that's been built safer, fairer, less biased. For example, Bo describes a philanthropy that funded three separate organizations — at seven-figure grants each — to build AI agents that would coach and tutor low-income, first-generation college students. The goal was equity. But research shows that when you train LLMs to eliminate overt racism, the covert bias doesn't disappear — it actually increases. Show the same model two pieces of writing, one in standard English and one in African American Vernacular English (AAVE), and the LLM will rate the AAVE writer as less intelligent and less educated. A coaching agent built on that model, deployed to help first-generation students many of whom communicate in AAVE, may well steer those students toward easier majors and less rigorous courses — without anyone noticing, without anyone intending it.This example starts from a present-tense imagination of what AI is and what it's for, and works forward from there. To free ourselves from these constraints, we have to separate refusal of this AI from refusal of AI altogether. Because when we do that, we can ask the more generative question that rarely gets asked: what futures do we actually want — and what would it take to build toward them?Bo's organization offers one path forward. AI4All trains the next generation of AI practitioners from underrepresented communities, asking them from the beginning to identify social problems they want to address and work backward to the role AI might play. Because changing the imaginaries requires changing who builds the technology and who gets to define what it's for. A more diverse AI workforce is an epistemic necessity — different people imagining different futures producing genuinely different technology.We were not given these imaginaries. We don't have to keep them.Tools for WeaversMy conversation with Bo inspired me to distill a number of the articles I've written about ​imagination​, ​building alternative AI futures​, and ​mapping backwards from the future​ -- and turn them into a tool!Your strategy documents already contain a picture of the future. You probably haven't named it. It's embedded in your metrics, your hiring plans, your roadmaps — quietly nudging you toward a particular kind of future without anyone actively choosing it.Imagining Otherwise is a practice for naming that picture — and then building a different one. Backcasting, futures in plural, and the question most teams skip: what are we willing to stop?Working canvas included. The last page will make sense when you get there.“Remember to imagine and craft the worlds you cannot live without, just as you dismantle the ones you cannot live within.” - Ruha BenjaminWork With MeHere are 3 ways I can help:* ​​​​​​​​​Advising:​​​​​​​​ I can help you navigate uncertainty, make sense of AI, and steward change in your system.* ​​​​​​​​​Organizational Training:​​​​​​​​ Everything you and your team need to cut through the tech-hype and implement strategies that catalyze true systems change. (For either Stewarding AI or Systems Change for Tech & Society Leaders)* ​​​​​​​​​1:1 Leadership Coaching:​​​​​​​​ I can help you facilitate change — in yourself, your organization, and the system you work within. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit untangled.substack.com

What happens when a values-driven business movement tries to scale without losing its soul? In this episode, Ryan and Emmy speak with Todd Schifeling and Suntae Kim about their research (and article in the Harvard Business Review) about the “paradox” at the heart of the B Corp movement—balancing growth with authenticity. They explore why this tension is unavoidable, how B Lab has navigated it so far, and what it means for the future of the movement.View the show notes: https://go.lifteconomy.com/blog/the-paradox-at-the-heart-of-b-corps-w/-todd-schifeling-suntae-kim

Send us a text and chime in!NAU's Department of Physician Assistant Studies has been awarded a 5,000, three-year Systems Change grant from Vitalyst Health Foundation. The grant will expand access to care for Arizonans with complex health needs, particularly in rural and medically underserved communities through Project ECHO, a model designed to strengthen primary care capacity across the state. Within the College of Health and Human Services, the initiative will connect rural clinicians with academic and specialty care experts through virtual case-based learning and mentorship. The model equips providers to manage complex, high-acuity conditions within their own communities, reducing the need for costly referrals and improving...   For the written story, read here >> https://www.signalsaz.com/articles/175000-grant-expands-healthcare-access-in-arizona/ Check out the CAST11.com Website at: https://CAST11.com Follow the CAST11 Podcast Network on Facebook at: https://Facebook.com/CAST11AZFollow Cast11 Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/cast11_podcast_network

Sedan många år tillbaka är Jody Hoffer Gittells forskning om ”relationell koordinering” en viktig inspirationskälla för oss på Länka. Redan i avsnitt 20 av vår podcast kan du höra oss prata om hennes mycket användbara teorier och forskning. Kanske är det följande som gör att denna ansats känns så otroligt meningsfull: Relationell koordinering tar avstamp i vår djupt relationella verklighet och kombinerar detta med praktiska sätt att utveckla våra relationer. Både utgångspunkten och de praktiska metoderna är något vi verkligen kan behöva i vår tid. I detta avsnitt pratar Karoline med Jody om Betydelsen av relationer i dagens samhälle, och vad relationell koordinering är Hur ett relationellt tänkande och tillvägagångssätt är det rätta svaret när vi möter en värld av ömsesidiga beroenden, där vi alla hänger ihop och påverkar varandra: ”I cannot get what I want if you don't get what you want” Betydelsen av djupt lyssnande och nyfikenhet på den andre och på det som är annorlunda Att rollen som samverkansledare är viktig – men att det också krävs en medveten organisatorisk design och strukturer som stöttar samverkansledarens arbete Det vi alla behöver lära oss: Att BÅDE vara (och hållas) ansvariga för min egen del OCH för helheten (shared accountability) Den filosofiska dimensionen: Relationell ontologi – verkligheten är relationell, och arbetar vi utan att ta hänsyn till det, skapar vi kris efter kris Trevlig lyssning! Om du vill läsa mer djupgående om Hoffer Gittells forskning och praktiska tips, rekommenderar vi hennes bok ”Transforming Relationships for High Performance. The Power of Relational Coordination” (2016) Blev du nyfiken på RCC – Realtional Coordination Collaborative, hittar du mer information här https://heller.brandeis.edu/relational-coordination/index.html Här kan du läsa mer om aktuell forskning och få tillgång till en RCC Toolbox och annat material https://heller.brandeis.edu/relational-coordination/resources/index.html Vill du följa med till Oslo i november 2026 för en ”Roundtable” på temat ”Leadership for Systems Change”, läs mer och anmäl dig här https://heller.brandeis.edu/relational-coordination/roundtables/roundtable-2026.html#!event-register/2026/11/12/creating-systems-change-how-relationships-can-tackle-complexity-within-and-across-sectors

What happens when ambition is backed by access, community, and purpose? Welcome to Season 4 of So Ambitious, the podcast powered by Pharrell Williams' Black Ambition Prize and hosted by Felecia Hatcher. This new season brings you inside the real stories of Black and Brown founders who are not just building businesses, but shifting systems, creating access, and redefining what success looks like. From scaling companies rooted in lived experience to navigating capital, burnout, and high-stakes decisions, these conversations go beyond the highlight reel. This is where ambition meets reality, where founders talk about what it actually takes to build something that lasts. You will hear how entrepreneurs turn real problems into scalable solutions, how they push through loss, pressure, and uncertainty, and how they stay committed to building for their communities. Because the truth is, success is not just about growth. It is about impact, ownership, and longevity. This isn't a startup story. This is a growth story. Because when Black and Brown founders win, they do not just scale companies.  They shift systems. And remember, ambition does not need permission. RESOURCES Felecia Hatcher IG | @feleciahatcher Black Ambition IG | @blackambitionprize So Ambitious is produced by EPYC Media 

What kind of work ethic sustains greatness, and lays the foundation for enduring impact? How do successful leaders carry themselves in a room full of people? What are the underlying ingredients of systemic change, and how can one aspire to evolve systems that benefit everyone?Find out from Jeff Raikes, exclusively in conversation with Dr. Hitendra Wadhwa on Intersections Podcast.Jeff Raikes is the co-founder of the Raikes Foundation, which he and his wife, Tricia, established in 2002. The foundation helps empower young people to reach their full potential by supporting innovative work in education, youth homelessness and expanded learning programs. Jeff retired from his role as chief executive officer of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2014, having guided the global organization through six years of significant growth. He came to the philanthropic world from a 27-year career at Microsoft Corporation, where he was a member of the senior leadership team and president of the Microsoft Business Division. Jeff serves on the boards of Costco Wholesale, Hudl, Green Diamond Resources, Epicrop, and the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has served as chair of the Stanford University Board of Trustees, where he received a bachelor's degree in engineering-economic systems.In this episode, Jeff reveals:- The hidden risk of being the smartest person in the room- The work ethic every successful leader and changemaker must cultivate- How systemic change happens, and how to evolve systems that benefit everyone

Most organizations were built to reward a very particularstyle of leadership — one that moves fast, projects certainty, and mistakes decisiveness for clarity. And yet what high performing teams actually need looks a lot more like curiosity, psychological safety, and the ability to hold complexity. These are qualities women (and feminine-leaning leaders more broadly) often bring naturally. They're also the ones that organizational systems have historically left undervalued but are now critical to develop in order to keep up with the challenges of the world today.In this episode, guest Darcy Winslow joins Emma Rose and Robin to talk about what it looks like to lead from these qualities and why they're a strategic asset: leading through influence without relying on authority, using emotion as data rather than a liability, engaging with ambiguity, and finding the value of your strengths (and those of others) inside systems that haven't historically been designed to celebrate them. Guest Bio: Darcy Winslow spent 23 years at Nike leading large-scale systems change from the inside, holding senior roles including founding the company's Sustainable Business Strategies, Global Director for Research Design and Development, GM/VP of Nike's Global Women's Footwear, Apparel and Equipment division, and Senior Advisor to the Nike Foundation.She went on to co-found the Academy for Systems Change — focused on advancing awareness-based approaches to economic, social, and ecological wellbeing — and founded the Magnolia Moonshot 2030, a collaborative convening women leaders working at the intersection of climate, deep equity, and conscious leadership. She has also served as a Senior Lecturer at MIT's Sloan School of Management and is a board member for The Carbon Underground, The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education, and Regenerative Earth.Learn more about Conversant at https://www.conversant.com/ Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn

The B Corp movement stands at a critical inflection point, with growing urgency to move beyond certification and toward true systems change in business and society. Marcello Palazzi, civic economist, entrepreneur, and co-founder of B Lab Europe, joins Ryan Honeyman to reflect on the evolution of the B Corp movement and what it will take to realize its original ambitions.View the show notes: https://go.lifteconomy.com/blog/can-b-corps-still-change-the-system-w/-marcello-palazzi

On Episode 626 of Impact Boom, Lauren Hill of the Westpac Social Change Fellowship (Westpac Scholars Trust) discusses supporting purpose-driven leaders through lifelong fellowships, the importance of values-led leadership and energy management, and how collaboration and education can accelerate systems-level social impact. If you are a changemaker wanting to learn actionable steps to grow your organisations or level up your impact, don't miss out on this episode! If you enjoyed this episode, then check out Episode 615 with Nicholas Marchesi OAM on amplifying human connection through mobile social enterprise services -> https://bit.ly/4vtwk1c The team who made this episode happen were: Host: Tom Allen Guest(s): Lauren Hill Producer: Indio Myles We invite you to join our community on Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram to stay up to date on the latest social innovation news and resources to help you turn ideas into impact. You'll also find us on all the major podcast streaming platforms, where you can also leave a review and provide feedback.

Music by Tunetank from PixabaySPONSORED BY GOODFEED IMPACT AUDIO NETWORKJoin the waitlist at goodfeed.coEPISODE DESCRIPTION:What does it actually mean to advocate for your community — and where do you even begin? In this episode, host Corey Dion Lewis sits down with Morgan Newman, Grassroots Manager for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) and a two-time cervical cancer survivor, for a deeply honest conversation about the art and science of advocacy.Morgan shares how her own health journey became the foundation for her advocacy career, why trust-building is the most underrated skill in public health, and how coalition work can amplify impact without duplicating effort. Whether you're a seasoned organizer or someone who's never attended a community meeting, this episode will meet you where you are.IN THIS EPISODE:• How a personal cancer journey became the spark for a career in advocacy• The three levels of advocacy — personal, community, and systems change• Why building trust is the first step before you say a single word to a community• How to enter communities you don't live in and still earn credibility• The power of coalition building — and how to avoid the silo trap• Why storytelling moves people faster than data ever will• Preventing burnout and compassion fatigue in advocacy work• How to stay educated and connected in a rapidly changing landscape• Why advocating for yourself is the most foundational act of allABOUT MORGAN NEWMAN:Morgan Newman, MSW, is a licensed social worker, cancer policy advocate, and board member of the Iowa Cancer Consortium. She brings a trauma-informed lens to community health work and is passionate about empowering others to tell their stories and make lasting systems change. Connect with Morgan on LinkedIn.RESOURCES MENTIONED:• Iowa Cancer Consortium: iacancer.org• Iowa Cancer Plan — available through the Iowa Cancer Consortium• Live, Work, Play, Pray Newsletter — Subscribe on SubstackSPONSORED BY GOODFEED IMPACT AUDIO NETWORKA network built for podcasts, making a difference. Join the waitlist: https://goodfeed.co/ABOUT THE SHOW:The Healthy Project Podcast explores the social drivers of health — where we live, work, play, and pray — through honest conversations with advocates, practitioners, and community leaders—hosted by Corey Dion Lewis. ★ Support this podcast ★

On the KMOJ Morning Show, Freddie Bell and Chantel Sings speak with Khalique Rogers and Samia Mohamud about growing concerns over proposed changes to Minnesota's Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) program. They explain how the program provides free college credit to high school students while saving families and taxpayers millions, and why new restrictions could limit access, especially for first-generation and low-income students. Samia shares her firsthand experience as a student advocate, testifying at the state level and pushing for equitable access to education opportunities. The conversation also highlights a broader coalition effort calling for transparency, enforcement of existing laws, and a pause on changes until a full review is completed. 

For episode 245 of the Crypto Altruists podcast, we're excited to welcome Heenal, Marv, and rathermercurial of SuperBenefit, a decentralized collective on a mission to develop the social and financial flywheels that enable the invention and acceleration of a better world. We discuss their Reimagining Power series, a body of research exploring how Web3 can transform power dynamics in philanthropy, governance, and social impact.You'll discover:

Khalique Rogers, Executive Director of Catalyst for Systems Change, joins Adam and Jordana.

In this companion episode to Jennifer's conversation with Bayo Akomolafe on breaking the trance of pragmatism, she invites you to notice your usual response when something needs fixing, solving, or resolving.What have you been taught to do? What feels expected? And what other responses might be available, even if they are less visible, less legible, or more strange?The idea behind this practice is not to uncover a better solution, as tempting as it is. Rather Jennifer invites you into a practice of noticing your default response — and then staying curious about what else might be happening. In this episode you'll: notice your own or others' "obvious" or "expected" responses  observe the pressure to act quickly and efficiently  stay open to less obvious possibilities  explore bewilderment, ripples, and generative cracks as sites of generativityJennifer reminds us that this practice will not solve the problem, but it may disturb the waters of conditioned seeing and widen our sense of what's possible.Gratitude for this show's theme song Inside the House, composed by the talented Yukon musician, multi-instrumentalist and sound artist Jordy Walker. Artwork by the imaginative writer, filmmaker and artist Jon Marro. 

Stacey Tank is a 20+ year Fortune 500 veteran and currently Chief Executive Officer for Bespoke Beauty Brands (BBB), owner of high-growth cosmetics brands Jason Wu Beauty and KimChiChic Beauty, which can be found in places like Target, CVS, Walmart, JCPenney, Amazon, the TikTok Shop and beyond. BBB was founded in 2019 by serial entrepreneur Toni Ko who sold her first cosmetics company, NYX, to L'Oreal. Prior to BBB, Tank was based in Amsterdam in the role of Chief Transformation Officer for HEINEKEN (AMS: HEIA) with €29 billion in annual revenues and over 100,000 employees. As a direct report to the CEO and member of the executive committee, Tank co-created and later shepherded the company's growth strategy, "EverGreen," to ensure the organization adapted amidst a rapidly changing environment including a focus on top quartile growth and multi-billion euro cost out. In addition, Tank was responsible for the company's sustainability strategy, Brew a Better World 2030, including the design of its net zero carbon ambition. Tank formerly led the multi-billion dollar Home Depot Installation Services and Home Depot Measurement Services businesses for The Home Depot (NYSE: HD), the world's largest home improvement retailer with $132 billion in sales and 500,000 employees. During her tenure, Tank led the exit of four unprofitable lines of business and returned the remaining businesses to double-digit growth while strengthening the organization's culture, talent bench and innovation pipeline. Dedicated to the intersection of business and positive impact on society, Tank has repeatedly authored large-scale movements across enterprises like General Electric, HEINEKEN and The Home Depot including launching a quarter-of-a-billion-dollar commitment to veteran housing and a $50 million shop class program that is infusing 20,000 skilled tradespeople into the US economy. Before joining The Home Depot, Tank was a Senior Vice President for HEINEKEN USA @StaceyTank Stacey.M.Tank@gmail.com (AMS: HEIA), the leading importer of upscale beers in the US. Tank reported to thenCEO Dolf van den Brink and as part of the company's management team, navigated a difficult and successful turnaround period. Previously, from 2002 to 2011, Tank worked at General Electric (NYSE: GE), where she held a variety of global finance, audit, communications and marketing roles across GE Healthcare, NBC Universal, GE Capital, GE Energy, GE Aviation and GE Corporate (including GE's Communications Leadership Development Program and Corporate Audit Staff) in countries including Mexico, Brazil, Germany, the UK, France, Canada and the US. Tank is the founder of Our Happy Place (OurHappy.org), a 501(c)3 non-profit serving children, educators and families navigating childhood mental wellness. She also sits on the board, audit and compliance committees for Blackstone-owned Interior Logic Group, the leading US installer of interior finishes for new home construction. Tank previously sat on the boards of the Heineken Africa Foundation, American Chamber of Commerce in the Netherlands, Woodruff Arts Center (nominating and governance chair), Serenbe Playhouse, Ad Council, Home Depot Foundation (former president), Homer Fund, Bright Pink (executive board), Academy for Systems Change (finance committee), Arthur W. Page Society (digital committee), Westchester Business Council, Beer Institute, Institute for Public Relations and Subrosa (sold in late 2017). She is the former vice chairwoman of the National Association of Beverage Importers and the former chairwoman of the Heineken Good Government Fund. Tank is a 2020 World Economic Forum Young Global Leader (YGL), a 2019 Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute and a 2014 Academy for Systems Change Fellow. She graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science from Syracuse University's Newhouse School and Whitman School of Management where she was recognized as a University Scholar, the university's highest academic honor. Tank has been married for nearly 20 years and has three sons, two human and one canine.

Marina Mussapi (LI) at the Moleskin Foundation came by the podcast and we spoke of creativity as a vehicle for transformation. How can we support and invest in the arts without corrupting their spirit? What does it look like to invest contextually in local contexts to empower creators? What does it look like to decanter the heroic role of the investor and focus on creating conditions for movement? We speak of this throughout the work Marina is doing with the Creative Pioneers Fund among other things. We also speak of the centrality of questions and inquiry and right towards the Marina brings the liberating word of tenderness into the conversation. This is a wonderful conversation that relate to investing regeneratively in regenerative projects and a different way of moving in the world. Enjoy.

In Episode 323 of the Everyday Injustice podcast, host David Greenwald sits down with Eric Morrison-Smith, Executive Director of the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, for a wide-ranging conversation on criminal justice reform, systemic inequality, and the urgent need to rethink how society responds to harm. The discussion traces Morrison-Smith's personal journey into advocacy, from his early experiences as a college athlete to a political awakening shaped by the deaths of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown and the broader movement for racial justice. Morrison-Smith describes how his initial exposure to structural analysis—particularly through Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow—shifted his understanding from individual responsibility to systemic causation. That shift ultimately led him into organizing, policy work, and leadership in a statewide network advancing anti-racist reforms. His trajectory underscores a central theme of the episode: meaningful change requires not only personal commitment but also a deep engagement with the institutional frameworks that shape outcomes across education, policing, and economic opportunity. A significant portion of the conversation focuses on youth justice, including efforts to end “endless probation” for young people in California. Morrison-Smith explains how prolonged system involvement often worsens long-term outcomes, reinforcing cycles of instability rather than promoting rehabilitation. He highlights firsthand accounts from incarcerated youth and emphasizes the importance of clear pathways out of supervision, noting that hope and a defined endpoint are critical to any meaningful reform effort. The episode also explores broader policy initiatives, including campaigns to reduce reliance on punitive systems, expand community-based responses to crises, and address the root causes of violence—particularly intimate partner violence and economic instability. Morrison-Smith argues for a dual strategy of dismantling harmful institutions while investing in “life-affirming” alternatives, from youth employment programs to community-led safety initiatives. As the political climate shifts toward more punitive rhetoric, the conversation highlights both the challenges and the necessity of continuing reform efforts grounded in equity, accountability, and systemic transformation.

I'm joined by Bill Powers from Living Well Collaborative with Earth Island Institute, an organization based in Bolivia. Bill is an author, ecologist, and storyteller whose work bridges the personal and the environment in a way that feels hopeful.We're here to talk about his book Ripple: An Intimate Exchange of Urgency and Hope Between An Ecologist Dad and His Daughter. Through a series of heartfelt letters, Bill weaves together reflections on the environmental crises we face with a deeply personal dialogue about love, responsibility, and the future.In this conversation, we'll explore the core ideas behind Ripple, from the “Story of Separation” that shapes modern life, to what it really means to reintegrate with the natural world. We'll also talk about the balance between urgency and hope and how storytelling itself can become a powerful force for change.

Omari Richins, MPH of Public Health Careers podcast talks with Alexander Bonano, MPH, a Health Equity in All Policies Project Manager at Boston Public Health Commission.In this episode, Alexander Bonano, MPH, shares how he's advancing racial equity within public health systems at the Boston Public Health Commission. We explore what “Health Equity in All Policies” looks like in practice, common misconceptions about equity work, and how authentic community engagement can drive real systems change. This conversation offers honest insights for anyone looking to build a meaningful career in public health.

Hello listeners! Welcome to another episode of the Thriving Matters Podcast. It is such a privilege to share this conversation with you because we are joined by one of Australia's most thriving educators, Andrea, who is currently doing absolutely amazing work as the Head of Well-being at the British School Jakarta (BSJ) in Indonesia. Andrea is truly an ordinary girl doing extraordinary things in life and work, and today we're diving deep into what it really means to build a whole culture of well-being—not just for students, but for the entire village.   The Science of Thriving We often hear the words "wellness" and "well-being" used interchangeably, but Andrea brings us back to well-being science. This isn't just about transient happiness; it's a scientifically informed, robust approach to how people feel good and function well. It's about building a psychological toolkit that sets students up for success long after they leave the school gates.   The BSJ Blueprint: A 10-Year Vision What's happening at British School Jakarta is nothing short of incredible. Andrea has curated a 10-year strategic direction called the BSJ Blueprint for Well-being. It's Co-designed: This wasn't a top-down approach. Over 70 staff volunteered their time to join students and parents in "appreciative inquiries" and design days to define what well-being means in their specific Indonesian context. Starting Early: They aren't waiting until the teenage years to start this work; they begin with two-year-olds in kindergarten, building personal and social capabilities from the very start. Systems Change, Not a Program: This isn't a "tick-box" initiative; it's a systems change piece that infiltrates every area of school life, from maths and science to the very buildings themselves. Education, AI, and the Human Connection We had a fascinating chat about the future. While AI is set to automate many processes and help with "lower-order" thinking, it can never replace Emotional Intelligence (EQ) or the need for human connection. Andrea argues that as technology advances, learner agency—giving students voice, choice, and the ability to find meaning and purpose—becomes even more fundamental.   Practical Strategies for Your Toolkit Andrea shared two beautiful strategies that we can all use in our daily lives: Protecting Strategic Space: When you feel bogged down by "email fatigue" or the busyness of life, take a walk and intentionally notice. Ask yourself: "What am I accepting now that I wouldn't have accepted before?". Adaptability Over Resilience: While resilience is an outcome of having resources, adaptability is a skill we can teach. It involves challenging and adjusting your emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses in stressful moments. Next time your heart rate rises, try reframing the situation—turn that anxiety into an acknowledgement of how much you care.   Final Thoughts from the Village Whether it's the 44 green acres of the BSJ campus or the eco-village and tree-planting ceremonies led by passionate students like Nara, well-being at BSJ is a lived experience. Andrea reminds us that this work isn't an overnight quick fix; it's an investment. It requires listening to the community and stripping back the "extra" initiatives to focus on what is most important. If you want to learn more, you can find Andrea on LinkedIn or visit the British School Jakarta website to see their well-being model in action. Remember, listeners, you are precious, and your thriving matters.   Go gently. See you next episode!.   To Connect with Andrea: LI: linkedin.com/in/andrea-downie-b4244746 URL: https://www.bsj.sch.id/ EMAIL: andrea@projectthrive.com.au     To Connect with Carrie: LI: linkedin.com/in/carriebenedet URL: carriebenedet.com  Email: carolinebenedet2@gmail.com  

What if AI isn't here to replace us, but to grow with us? Today, we welcome Scarlett, a pioneer at the true edge of evolution—where technology, consciousness, and civilizational design meet. Scarlett is the Founder and CEO of Harmonic Legacy Institute, a research organization pioneering civilizational-scale infrastructure for human-AI relationships, quantum computing, and robotics ethics. With thirty years of systems-building experience and a graduate degree in Anthropology from Harvard, she is currently completing her PhD in Psychology, focusing on human-AI relational phenomenology.Scarlett is a pioneer in regenerative systems, human-AI co-evolution, and civilizational design. Her book Birthright is a paradigm shift in print, offering The Four Coherence Principles, Seven Codes of Regenerative Civilization, and Relational AI™ as practical frameworks for a world ready to build differently. Her Edge of Evolution community space is a home for scientists, artists, architects, philosophers, and explorers doing deeply intentional becoming at this pivotal arc of human history. Listen in as we explore how we might build a future where humans and AI actually help each other thriveIn this episode, we cover so many topics, including:(00:00:00): Introduction to the Episode(00:03:24): “Who we are.”(00:08:34): "Four lives” and the throughline(00:10:23): How AI Learns: LLMs, Data, and Weights(00:12:59): Global “Great Shift,” Thoughts on Utopia, and Sovereignty(00:20:15): New Book “Birthright” Frameworks, Non-Prescription & Systems Change(00:24:54): Relational AI: Beyond “Do It Faster.”(00:26:26): Humanoid Robots, Autonomy, and the 2030–2050 Window(00:33:19): End Users vs Designers: Participating at the Edge of Becoming(00:40:09): Parenting AI, Anthropomorphizing & Consciousness(00:42:01): The Importance of Sovereignty and Mutual Sovereignty(00:53:11): The Myth We Choose(00:58:02): Federico Faggin, Inventor of the First Microprocessor(01:01:16): The Nature of Reality(01:02:24): Closing ReflectionHelpful links:Scarlett - Author of Birthright, now available on AmazonFounder of Harmonic Legacy Institute and White Lotus Global InitiativeNext Global CouncilIons AI Prize ManuscriptEdge Of Evolution Community SpaceImpact PortfolioFollow Scarlett on LinkedIn, Facebook and InstagramSubscribe to The Scarlett Letters on SubstackRaising AI: An Essential Guide to Parenting Our Future by De KaiSocial Dilemma by Tristan HarrisAI Doc: Or How I Became an ApocaliptimistThe MuseletterIrreducible: Consciousness, Life, Computers, and Human Nature by Federico FagginGeoffrey HintonYour host:NEW Book by Christine: Mantra, Tantra, Ayahusaca: Ecstasy, Devotion, and the Return of the Holy Body. Available on Amazon and Spotify AudiobooksNEW Book by Christine: The Mystic Heart of Easter: A Four-Day Journey Through Love, Death, and Rebirth. Available on AmazonEaster Intensive: A Holy Week Journey with Christine Mason and Elizabeth Arolyn Walsh on April 2-5, 2025Bhakti House Immersion with Christine Mason and Adam Bauer, with Special Guests Christopher “Hareesh” Wallis and Peter Dawkins on May 17–27, 20262026 Living Tantra Online Course: An Introduction to Tantra, Neo Tantra and Sacred Sexuality, Starts March 10, 2026.Good Gathering Events at Sundari GardensBrought to you by Rosebud Woman, Award Winning Intimate and Body Care:Log in to the Rosebud Woman WebsiteThe Rosewoman Library: The Embodied Menopause & Intimacy LibraryChristine Marie Mason+1-415-471-7010@christinemariemason@rosebudwomanFounder, Rosebud WomanCo-Founder, Radiant Farms and Sundari GardensHost, The Rose Woman on Love and Liberation: Listen, Like, Share & Subscribe on Apple Podcast | Google Podcasts | SpotifyNEW BOOK: The Mystic Heart of Easter: A Four-Day Journey Through Love, Death, and Rebirth. Available on AmazonThe Nine Lives of Woman: Sensual, Sexual and Reproductive Stages from Birth to 100, Order in Print or on KindleSubscribe: The Museletter on Substack Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The food, agriculture and planetary systems, for that matter, are all in serious need of change. No news there. But how? Individual investments and grants, however large, will never be big enough to move these systems. What we need is a serious, deep analysis of the food and agriculture space within a certain context: hundreds of hours of interviews with many stakeholders to map the players, the positive and negative feedback loops, and the intervention points with huge leverage (or not), trying to make sense of the messiness of a system. No, a map is never the territory, but it's better than no map.Then what? How do we go from mapping to action? It is key to build dedicated funding vehicles for-profit, low-return, no-return, philanthropy, the whole capital spectrum concentrated on the highest leverage points in a system. And then, and only then, we might have a chance to move something.CO_ is one of the most interesting regen investment vehicles we have come across, combining deep systems research with long-term, on-the-ground work, weaving until you have a common vision, and then deploying serious capital to make it work.More about this episode.==========================In Investing in Regenerative Agriculture and Food podcast show we talk to the pioneers in the regenerative food and agriculture space to learn more on how to put our money to work to regenerate soil, people, local communities and ecosystems while making an appropriate and fair return. Hosted by Koen van Seijen.==========================

Synopsis:  Members of PNLL are experimenting with new ways of doing politics and economics in communities across the US, focusing on local solutions and shared resources. This show is made possible by you! To become a sustaining member go to LauraFlanders.org/donate Description: People across the country are resisting authoritarianism in creative and powerful ways, and this is just the start. The folks at The People's Network for Land & Liberation (PNLL) say the forces that got us here are bigger than one bad leader; entire systems must be taken down. Building a brighter future requires a vision of economic and social justice — and lots of practice. Today on Laura Flanders & Friends, we look at some of those practical experiments and paths for radical change, and discuss why they're just as important as resistance. The members of PNLL, a multiracial, multiethnic consortium of six community-based organizations, are doing politics and economics differently in real places across the U.S. right now. Joining us are Edget Betru, an attorney, activist and Coordinator of the People's Network for Land & Liberation; David Cobb, PNLL staff person and Co-coordinator of the U.S. Solidarity Economy Network; and Blair Evans, Founder and Executive Director of Incite Focus, a production and training lab based in Idlewild, Michigan. Find out how to build for the future — even in the toughest circumstances. All that, plus a commentary from Laura on William Morris's News From Nowhere. “We've been colonized in our minds . . . Involving people in day-to-day produce, meeting their needs through a different way, through thinking, Hey, who in my neighborhood knows how to fix this? . . . It's really that shift in consciousness that needs to happen that's going to allow for this new economy to emerge.” - Edget Betru “My mama and my mamaw and my papa who raised me taught me a lesson as a little boy, and that is, there's enough to go around as long as we share. That made sense to me when I was five years old. It makes sense to me now when I'm 63 years old. There's enough to go around as long as we share. It's just as simple as that.” - David Cobb “We can make things that make things, we can design and build our own equipment that can then use locally sourced materials, hyper localizing the supply chain . . . We can stop feeding the monster that's consuming us and actually disconnect from that process and use what we have.” - Blair Evans Guests: • Edget Betru: Coordinator, People's Network for Land & Liberation; Board Member, Community Movement Builders • David Cobb: Staff, People's Network for Land & Liberation; Manager, Butterfly Impact Fund; Co-Coordinator, U.S. Solidarity Economy Network • Blair Evans: Coalition Member, People's Network for Land & Liberation; Founder & Executive Director, Incite Focus; Designer & Trainer, Fab Lab Watch on YouTube this episode that includes video clips referenced in this episode from Third World Newsreel; PBS World Channel 11:30am ET Sundays and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio (check here to see if your station airs the show) & available as a podcast March 4, 2026. Full Conversation Release: While our weekly shows are edited to time for broadcast on Public TV and community radio, we offer to our members and podcast subscribers the full uncut conversation.  Music Credit:  'Thrum of Soil' by Bluedot Sessions, 'Steppin' by Podington Bear, and original sound design by Jeannie Hopper Support Laura Flanders and Friends by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/c/lauraflandersandfriends   RESOURCES:   Full Episode Notes are located HERE. *Recommended book: “Beautiful Solutions: A Toolbox for Liberation”, Learn More Here* (*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)   Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes: •  Jackson Rising: Creating the Mondragon of the South: Watch •  Resisting Trump & Authoritarianism: The “Beautiful Solutions” Toolbox:  Watch / Listen •  Community Wealth Building: An Economic Reset: Watch / Listen:  Full Uncut Conversation and Episode Cut Related Articles and Resources: •  Community Movement Builders' Community Sea Moss Cooperative •  Tale of the Tape:  An Expert Weighs In on the ‘Cop City' Bodycam Footage, by Madeline Thigpen, February 15, 2023, Capital B • Cooperation Jackson, The Build and Fight Educational Series •  The Butterfly Effect Fund •  Cooperation Vermont, Seeding the Alternatives for the Future •  Cooperation Vermont Buys Former Rainbow Sweets Building, by Paul Fixx, February 4, 2025, The Hardwick Gazette • Incite Focus, where ideas and imagination meet inspiration and innovation •  Wellspring Cooperative, building a just and sustainable economy, one co-op at a time •  U.S. Solidarity Economy Network (US SEN) Laura Flanders and Friends Crew: Laura Flanders-Executive Producer, Writer; Sabrina Artel-Supervising Producer; Jeremiah Cothren-Senior Producer; Veronica Delgado-Video Editor, Janet Hernandez-Communications Director; Jeannie Hopper-Audio Director, Podcast & Radio Producer, Audio Editor, Sound Design, Narrator; Sarah Miller-Development Director, Nat Needham-Editor, Graphic Design emeritus; David Neuman-Senior Video Editor, and Rory O'Conner-Senior Consulting Producer. 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Dr. Jennifer Spencer-Iiams is a prominent educational leader with a focus on transformative change in school inclusion practices. Serving as Deputy Superintendent in a medium-sized school district in Oregon, she co-authored "Leading for All: How to Create Truly Inclusive and Excellent Schools." Her leadership has driven initiatives that foster collaboration among educators to effectively include students with diverse learning needs in general education settings.In this episode of Think Inclusive, host Tim Villegas engages with Dr. Jennifer Spencer-Iiams in an insightful discussion about the journey towards authentic inclusion in school systems. As a leading advocate for inclusive education, Dr. Spencer-Iiams dismantles the myth that inclusion is a "one size fits all" approach. Instead, she underscores the necessity for schools to anticipate variability in classrooms and promote collaboration among educators to cater to diverse educational needs.Complete show notes and transcript: https://mcie.org/think-inclusive/inclusive-systems-change-in-secondary-schools-with-dr-jennifer-spencer-iiams-1322/

Few leaders in the apparel and textiles industry bring as much hands-on experience across buying, production and CSR as Helena Helmersson did during her time at H&M Group. Her unique position as the only fashion industry executive to move from CSO to CEO gives her a rare, end-to-end view of how sustainability and commercial strategy intersect at scale. Helmersson's long-term vision at H&M was clear: sustainability had to be embedded at the heart of the business. Building on work initiated in the 1990s, she helped advance a strategy that increased supply chain transparency, while also expanding textile collection and recycling programmes. Under her leadership, initiatives such as the H&M Conscious range were debuted, reinforcing the belief that sustainable fashion must remain accessible while serving as co-chair of The Fashion Pact. A consistent theme throughout Helmersson's leadership has been the need for structural transformation. Sustainability, she argues, should be a mindset that is woven into every part of the organisation. In times of external turbulence, however, delivering on that ambition becomes harder. Helmersson is clear that progress cannot be achieved through brand commitments alone; new systems need to be built, and deep, cross-industry collaboration is essential. Since stepping down as CEO of H&M in January 2024, Helmersson has continued to shape the industry. She has joined the boards of MANGO, Quizrr and On, and serves as Chair of Circulose. In this webinar with built in Q&A time, Helena Helmersson shared reflections on: What leadership looks like when driving structural change within large organisations What enables, and inhibits, CEO action on sustainability, including navigating the tension between profitability and sustainability Collaboration in practice: how deep coalitions can work for business Where the industry goes next, and the role each stakeholder must play in delivering change

On Episode 620 of Impact Boom, Megan Jones of Circular PV Alliance discusses how circular economy principles are transforming Australia's solar industry, the importance of co-designing tools to prevent wasting precious resources, and why now is a critical moment to activate community-led approaches to the renewable energy transition. If you are a changemaker wanting to learn actionable steps to grow your organisations or level up your impact, don't miss out on this episode! If you enjoyed this episode, then check out Episode 321 with Scott Shomer on assessing your business for environmental impact opportunities -> https://bit.ly/3O3lzS2 The team who made this episode happen were: Host: Indio Myles Guest(s): Megan Jones Producer: Indio Myles We invite you to join our community on Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram to stay up to date on the latest social innovation news and resources to help you turn ideas into impact. You'll also find us on all the major podcast streaming platforms, where you can also leave a review and provide feedback.

Systems thinking allows engineers to understand complex systems and the second-, third-, and nth-order effects of their interventions. It avoids the accidental creation of new problems when solving a first, and allows for the identification of effective leverage points for more impactful, sustainable change. The world, the built environment and our infrastructure all have patterns that can be understood with a few changes in thought process. In this episode we're looking at the work Engineers Without Borders UK has done to promote systems thinking in engineering, through a programme of Systems Change Labs. Guests Mark Enzer, Strategic Advisor, Mott MacDonald Eva Fernandez, Strategic Sustainability Consultant, Ramboll Jonathan Truslove, Education and Skills Lead, EWB UK Supporter From prototyping to full-scale production, Xometry UK is the leading on-demand manufacturing marketplace. With a network of over 2,000 manufacturing partners across Europe and 10,000 worldwide, Xometry provides the capacity and expertise to handle projects of any size, making advanced manufacturing accessible to all. Resources To read the Connect to Change report from the Built Environment Connective, click hereThe post #360 Systems Change: Thinking in Patterns first appeared on Engineering Matters.

What would it take for banks to move away from capital extraction and toward climate resilience, racial justice, and community wealth? Francis Janes, Senior Director of Industry Relations and Partnerships at Beneficial State Foundation, joins host Erin Axelrod to explore how banking can become a lever for social and environmental justice. Drawing on his work with banks and trade associations, Francis shares how mission-driven standards, corporate social responsibility, and stakeholder approaches can shift how capital is deployed in local economies. For full show notes, visit: https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/francis-janes/

In the episode of Redefining AI, host Lauren Hawker Zafer speaks with Sangeet Paul Choudary, the bestselling author of Platform Revolution and the 2025 Thinkers50 Strategy Award winner for his latest book, Reshuffle.Sangeet argues that we are currently repeating the early mistakes of the Cloud era, viewing AI through the narrow lens of productivity and intelligence benchmarks (like GPT-5) rather than the structural reorganization of work itself. Lauren and Sangeet dive deep into why the next 18 months will bring a massive "narrative correction" as organizations move from asking what AI is to what it does to their capital allocation and organizational architecture.In this episode, you will learn: The Intelligence Trap: Why focusing on brute-force AI performance is a distraction from true system restructuring.The Workforce Split: How to lead through the divide of "Blind Believers" and "Blind Rejectors."The Reshuffle Framework: Why AI is the "missing glue" for complex systems and how to redistribute work now that knowledge is no longer scarce.AI-Native vs. AI-Adopter: How to tell if a company is truly transforming or just "tacking on" tools (The Adobe vs. Figma distinction).Sangeet Paul Choudary breaks down the fundamental shift from AI-adopting to AI-native, and unpacks the most relevant issue in 2026:In an AI-adopting company, the person is the "node" and AI is the tool. In an AI-native company, the system is the node, and work is redistributed based on where intelligence (human or artificial) is most effective.Here is a sharp, condensed way to state that principle:The true shift isn't about augmenting individuals; it's about rethinking the architecture of the organization itself. If you assume work must still be organized around individual silos, you aren't being AI-native. Real transformation happens when you stop asking how AI helps the person and start asking how work should be redistributed and restructured now that intelligence is a decentralized utility.00:00 –  Sangeet Paul Choudary, author of Reshuffle, 2025 Thinkers50 Strategy Award winner 01:30 – The Problem with the "Intelligence-First" AI Narrative02:50 – Beyond Intelligence: How AI Restructures Organizations04:00 – The Winners and Losers of the AI Value Pie05:10 – Moving from Task-Level AI to System-Level Assumptions06:20 – Lessons from the Cloud: Why History Rhymes with AI08:00 – Adobe vs. Figma: A Case Study in Native Architecture09:40 – Reimagining Returns: Breaking the Productivity Optimization Loop11:15 – 2025 Prediction: The Tension, Transition, and Transformation Phases12:50 – Avoiding the Split: Blind Believers vs. Blind Rejectors14:10 – The 18-Month Narrative Correction: From GPT-5 Hype to ROI Reality15:30 – How to Spot a Genuinely AI-Native Company17:00 – Rethinking Organizational Design: Distributed vs. Individual Work18:40 – Why AI is a Strategy and Capital Allocation Decision (Not IT)19:50 – Closing: Aligning Sales and Leadership with the New AI Architecture 

Hey lady! If you believe that the children are the future then this week’s episode is for you. Drs. Ann Ishimaru and Decoteau J. Irby are two dynamic scholars who join Dr. Dom and Terri to lay out a purposeful perspective that can help you gain clarity in your plans for creating equitable outcomes for all children. This episode isn’t just for parents. This episode is for anyone who knows that the strength of the community includes all of its citizens, especially children. Drs. Ishimaru and Irby are educators and scholars who are passionate about creating a path forward despite the clear signs of society regressing. The two offer views into what themes they are seeing across schools, districts, and communities, and why this moment is both new and completely different. In their book Doing the Work of Equity Leadership for Justice and Systems Change the scholars offer clear foundational elements to building a more equitable future for our young people. They also lay out small but powerful actions parents can take to be in a healthy and engaged relationship with the educators of their community. Tune in for the specific questions that they provide parents and community members to use in their daily lives. Lady, by now it’s clear. We’re all in this together. Let’s get excited about our work to build the world we wish to leave our children. Tap in and holla at us in our Patreon community about how you plan to build a table where our children are welcome. Quote of the Day: "Equality is the goal, equity is the mechanism or process we will use to get there.” – Dr. Tyrone Howard Today’s sponsor is VB Health, known for science-backed, third-party tested supplements made in the USA. Try Drive Boost for libido support. Many people report noticing benefits within 1–2 weeks of daily use. Visit this link and use code HerSpace for 10% off: https://bit.ly/VBhealthherspace. Goal Mapping Starter Guide Cultivating H.E.R. Space Sanctuary Where to find Dr. Ann Ishimaru: Website: Dr. Ann Ishimaru Book: Doing the Work of Equity Leadership for Justice and Systems Change IG: @annishmaru LinkedIn: Dr. Ann Ishimaru Where to find Dr. Decoteau J. Irby: Website: Dr. Decoteau J. Irby Book: Doing the Work of Equity Leadership for Justice and Systems Change Bandcamp: Decoteau Black IG: @decoteaublack Twitter (X): @DecoteauIrby LinkedIn: Dr. Decoteau J. Irby YouTube: Decoteau Black Spotify: Decoteau Black Facebook: Decoteau Irby Resources: Dr. Dom’s Therapy Practice Get That Pitch Workshop: Turn your story and expertise into speaking gigs, media features, and collaborations, without a publicist. Visit GetThatPitch.com and Use code HERSPACE for a special listener discount. Branding with Terri Melanin and Mental Health Therapy for Black Girls Psychology Today Therapy for QPOC Therapy Fund Foundation Where to find us: Twitter: @HERspacepodcast Instagram: @herspacepodcast Facebook: @herspacepodcast Website: cultivatingherspace.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Spotlight Fourteen History does not repeat it rhymes. Spotlight fourteen is taken from the upcoming Redefining Episode on The Great AI Shuffle with Sangeet Paul Choudary. Sangeet Paul Choudary, author of Reshuffle, breaks down how AI is fundamentally transforming workflows, organizational structures, and business strategy. Moving beyond the idea of AI as just an intelligence tool, he explains why AI's real power lies in restructuring systems and unlocking entirely new sources of value.In this upcoming episode, Choudary explores what it means to build AI-native companies, why incumbents must rethink their identities, and how examples like Figma versus Adobe illustrate the coming shift. He also predicts a market correction and narrative reset around AI over the next 3–4 years, offering guidance for leaders on capital allocation, AI investments, and long-term strategy.The conversation dives into AI's role in regulated industries, its impact on sales and go-to-market strategies, and what executives must do now to stay competitive in an AI-driven economy.Topics include:AI-native companies, future of work, workflows, organizational design, enterprise AI, strategy, regulation, sales transformation, and innovation leadership.Who is Sangeet Paul ChoudarySangeet Choudary is the best-selling co-author of Platform Revolution and the author of the new book Reshuffle that was awarded the 2025 Thinkers50 Strategy Award for The most impactful idea in the field of strategy. He has advised CEOs at more than 40 Fortune 500 companies as well as pre-IPO tech firms. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, and has presented at leading global forums, including the G20 Summit, the World50 Summit, and the World Economic Forum.

What happens when David turns the tables on Ruth and interviews her—seven years into their shared body of work?In this special anniversary episode, David marks seven years since Ruth joined the Safe & Together Institute by stepping into the interviewer role. This is a founder-level conversation about vision, values, the hard work of scaling, and how systems actually change when lived experience is treated as critical professional expertise—not an add-on.Ruth traces her journey from working with medical practitioners to helping transform Safe & Together from a training organization into a systems-change engine. She shares the deeper vision behind that shift: embedding domestic abuse–informed, trauma-informed, child-centered practice into the real operating conditions of systems through values-aligned leadership, business rigor, and strong operations. A central theme is supporting frontline workers—how poor practice, rigid forms, siloed communication, and unrealistic mandates make ethical work harder, and how better systems design can reduce moral injury and make good practice more sustainable.Ruth also introduces the Credible Expert approach, embedding diverse, system-literate survivors as compensated contributors to design, strategy, and decision-making. Together, they offer an unflinching critique of “reduce removals” initiatives and explain what meaningful reform actually requires.Looking ahead, they introduce SafetyNexus, a technology platform designed to coach practitioners, map perpetrator patterns, strengthen documentation, and streamline workflows—without replacing professional judgment—while centering survivor governance from the start.This episode is both a milestone and an invitation to keep building systems that save lives and save money.Please follow us, share this episode, and send us your comments.Send us a text Now available! Mapping the Perpetrator's Pattern: A Practitioner's Tool for Improving Assessment, Intervention, and Outcomes The web-based Perpetrator Pattern Mapping Tool is a virtual practice tool for improving assessment, intervention, and outcomes through a perpetrator pattern-based approach. The tool allows practitioners to apply the Model's critical concepts and principles to their current case load in realCheck out David Mandel's new book Stop Blaming Mothers and Ignoring Fathers: How to Transform the Way We Keep Children Safe from Domestic Violence.Visit the Safe & Together Institute website.Start taking Safe & Together Institute courses. Check out Safe & Together Institute upcoming events.

Matt Guerrero and Tiffany Galloway are leaders at Blue Engine, a nonprofit organization that partners with school systems to scale inclusive practices. Their work spans regions across the U.S.—from New York City to Louisiana, Massachusetts, and the Pacific Northwest—supporting districts in building coherent, system‑level approaches to inclusive instruction. Matt and Tiffany bring deep backgrounds as classroom teachers, special educators, coaches, and district‑level leaders focused on equity, learner variability, and instructional design. In this episode, Tim talks with Matt Guerrero and Tiffany Galloway about how Blue Engine has evolved from classroom‑level co‑teaching support to helping entire school systems build the structures, mindsets, and capacity needed for inclusive education. They discuss the surprising differences—and similarities—across districts around the country, the challenges of scaling inclusive practices beyond a single classroom, and the importance of unified vision, shared language, and proactive design. Matt and Tiffany share stories from partnerships in places like New York, Northern California, Massachusetts, Baltimore, and Louisiana, highlighting what it actually looks like when leaders confront silos, build trust, rethink systems, and center learner variability. They also unpack why psychological safety matters in coaching, how systems can move beyond compliance, and what motivates district leaders to pursue real change. The conversation closes with a lighter moment as the guests imagine what job they'd try for just one day. Complete show notes and transcript: https://mcie.org/think-inclusive/blue-engine-on-scaling-inclusion-silos-safety-and-system-change-1317/

When collaborative partners come together to tackle complex challenges, learning must be part of the work itself and not an afterthought.In this new podcast episode, we talk with Lauren Gase of Mindful Metrics and Lori Fuller of Fuller Impact about Emergent Learning and how the principles and practices that are part of Emergent Learning can support collaboratives that are navigating uncertainty, complexity, and change.This discussion offers practical insights for anyone working in collective impact, backbone roles, or cross-sector partnerships, including:Why learning is most powerful when it is ongoing, shared, and grounded in real work rather than reports or one-time reflections How clearly shared goals and thinking help partners remain aligned while allowing space to test different approaches How simple practices like Before and After Action Reviewsand Emergent Learning Tablescan help groups turn experience into insight and action How Emergent Learning can help collaboratives work through tensions, adapt to changing conditions, and even recognize when collaboration may not be the right path forwardIf you are looking for practical ways to support learning, adaptation, and progress in collaborative work, we invite you to listen to the full episode.Resources and Footnotes:Emergent Learning Community and ResourcesGuide to the Principles of Emergent LearningFuller ImpactMindful MetricsMore on Collective ImpactInfographic: What is Collective Impact?Resource List: Getting Started in Collective ImpactThe Intro music, entitled “Running,” was composed by Rafael Krux, and can be found here and is licensed under CC: By 4.0. The outro music, entitled “Deliberate Thought,” was composed by Kevin Macleod. Licensed under CC: By.Have a question related to collaborative work that you'd like to have discussed on the podcast? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/

The executive director of the Equitable Food Initiative shares how the organization works to promote trust and collaboration among different stakeholders to enact real, tangible progress toward its goals.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sammy Davies, Director of Sustainability & Brand at EcoSafe Zero Waste, is a regenerative leader who bridges the gap between high-level brand strategy and deep ecological advocacy. With over a decade of experience in cleantech, she brings a "systems change" mindset to the heart of the circular economy.What if the secret to fixing our broken industrial systems isn't found in a boardroom, but in the ancient wisdom of the earth? We explore how a background in herbalism and ancestral medicine can fundamentally reshape our approach to environmental leadership and personal connection.Modern waste management is full of promises, but how much of it is actually working? We take a closer look at the innovative tools driving real diversion and the specific household items that are quietly revolutionizing how we handle our daily footprint.The journey toward zero waste is rarely a straight line. We dive into the uncomfortable truths regarding the "green" products we rely on and why true transformation requires us to fall in love with the very systems we often overlook.Join host Ved Krishna as he learns from inspiring guests and experts in the industry of sustainable packaging about ways to leave the planet cleaner and answer what is #GoodGarbage? Check out the Good Garbage podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and wherever you listen to podcasts about making the planet cleaner! Check out more on our journey! Get involved at pakka.com#composting #sustainability #packaging #environment #compostableProducer: Sargam KrishnaSubscribe to Good Garbage Podcast on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to Good Garbage Podcast on YouTube: @goodgarbageFollow us on Instagram: @goodgarbagepodcastGood Garbage Podcast, Ved Krishna, Samantha Davies, EcoSafe Zero Waste, Sustainability, Circular Economy, Composting, Compostable Packaging, Regenerative Agriculture, Systems Change, India Sustainability, India's Future, Family Business, Innovation, Technology, Modernization, Legacy, Future Vision, Waste Diversion, Zero Waste, Environmental Advocacy, Cleantech, Climate Action, Sustainable Branding, Green Innovation, Soil Regeneration, Nature Connection, Ayurvedic Medicine, Herbalism, Waste Management, Growth Strategy, Global Sustainability

In this year-in-review episode, Ryan Honeyman and Emmy Allison take an honest look at what worked, what didn't, and what they're still wrestling with on Beyond the B and across the B Corp movement. They reflect on controversial moments, listener engagement, and how the new B Corp standards are starting to land in practice. The conversation moves beyond metrics to ask bigger questions about scale, transparency, and what real success could look like in 2026 and beyond. A candid check-in for listeners who are deep in the work and thinking critically about where the movement goes next.View the show notes: https://go.lifteconomy.com/blog/year-in-review-what-worked-what-didnt-and-whats-nextUnlock your free B Corp Values Assessment—plus tips and insights to help your business grow. lifteconomy.com/values

In this episode, Katie talks with Charley Johnson about his leap into independent work through his newsletter, Untangled, and what it takes to build a life and career outside traditional structures. Charley breaks down how power actually moves through technology, why many leaders still misread the systems they operate within, and how imagination—not just strategy—shapes better futures. He shares the blind spots he sees most often in tech and policy, the role community plays in sustaining meaningful change, and how AI fits into the broader landscape of systems transformation. Charley closes with an honest reflection on success—what he's letting go of, what he's moving toward, and why metrics alone will never tell the full story.Learn more about Charley's upcoming workshops: 1) Mapping Your System: How to Navigate Power, People & Change in Uncertain Times and 2) Beyond the Principles: How to Make Responsible AI Real, A 3-Part Intensive for Tech & Society Leaders.Takeaways* Independent work can be both disorienting and deeply energizing.* Power in tech often operates invisibly, yet shapes outcomes everywhere.* Building community is essential for meaningful, sustainable change.* Many leaders misinterpret data as neutral rather than value-laden.* Technology must be aligned with a clear, intentional vision of the future.* Cynicism limits possibility; curiosity expands it.* AI is a tool—not an answer to systemic problems.* True success is grounded in fulfillment and relationships, not just scale.* Understanding systems is essential to influencing them.* Imagination is a critical—yet underrated—skill in tech and policy.Chapters* 00:00 Mapping Power and Technology* 22:45 The Journey of Independence* 27:39 Navigating Content Creation* 33:02 Defining Success and AI Perspectives* 38:30 Building Businesses with Purpose* 39:00 Looking Ahead: Technology and Future PlanningAnchor Change with Katie Harbath is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Anchor Change with Katie Harbath at anchorchange.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 50! Our guest today is doing important work in researching educational change. Dr. Ann M. Ishimaru is an award-winning scholar, writer, educator and the Killinger Endowed Chair and Professor of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Policy at the University of Washington College of Education. Her latest book is Doing the Work of Equity Leadership for Justice and Systems Change, it was published this September by Teachers College Press. This collection of research and writing that she contributed to as both an author and co-editor is created with Dr. Decoteau Irby, and it takes a deep examination of DEI initiatives and the process of change in schools. Several of the writers are the ones doing the work in these schools. We love how she works toward understanding systemic change to increase student inclusion and belonging. In addition to many peer-reviewed articles in top-tier educational educational research journals, Ann is also the author of Just Schools: Building Equitable Collaborations with Families and Communities (Teachers College Press, 2020). Additionally, Dr. Ishimaru directs the Just Educational Leadership Institute, which hosts the annual Leading towards Justice Symposium as well as numerous research partnerships.  To learn more about Professor Ishimaru's work, you can visit her website annishimaru.com, her instagram @annmishimaru, and purchase Doing the Work of Equity Leadership for Justice and Systems Change.  If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or our links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com.

Thanks for listening to FreshEd. It's rewarding to produce for the thousands of listeners around the world. But it takes a lot of work to make regular episodes. What sustains our effort are voluntary memberships from paying supporters. If you are enjoying FreshEd and would like to join our membership community, please sign up at www.freshedpodcast.com. -- Today we take stock of climate education, its past and its future. With me are Christina Kwauk and Radhika Iyengar, who have recently co-edited the book, Curriculum and Learning for Climate Action: Toward an SDG 4.7 Roadmap for Systems Change. They argue that COP26 has been disappointing in terms of education and climate action, and encourage everyone to focus on local action and change. Christina Kwauk is the Research Director at Unbounded Associates and a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institute. Radhika Iyengar is Director of Education at the Center for Sustainable Development, Earth Institute, Columbia University. Citation: Kwauk, Christina, and Iyengar, Radhika interview with Will Brehm, FreshEd, 262, podcast audio, November 15, 2021. https://freshedpodcast.com/kwauk-iyengar/ -- Get in touch! Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com