Ocean conservation with Cristina Mittermeier - Nat Geo photographer and co-founder of Sea Legacy

Today’s episode features Lori Schwanbeck. Lori is a passionate advocate for creating lives of meaning and engagement in both personal and professional realms. 

In this conversation we hear about her journey from marketing, to psychology and mindfulness, how we can start to recapture our attention so we can live fully, bringing compassion and gratitude practices into the workplace, and the potential benefits of wider adoption of nature-based mindfulness.

Lori Schwanbeck’s Bio:

With a background in marketing, positive psychology, and mindfulness practice, Lori brings a unique set of skills and expertise to working with individuals and organizations. She has taught thousands of people in diverse global settings and is known for her ability to foster connection with warmth, humor and authenticity, while inspiring the best in others.

She is a senior faculty member at Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute (SIYLI), an organization born at Google, where she mentors and trains teachers, and designs and facilitates both in-person and virtual mindfulness based emotional intelligence programs. Lori is currently involved in a 2-year project in Bhutan working in partnership with the Gross National Happiness initiative bringing SIYLI’s program to all levels of the Bhutanese government.

Lori is also a curriculum contributor and facilitator at: LinkedIn, Purpose Blue, Wisdom Labs, Mindfulness Rx and the Mindfulness Training Institute. Lori is a faculty member leading nature-based mindfulness retreats at Esalen Institute, Modern Elder Academy, and Canyon Ranch.

Lori holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Saskatchewan, and a MA in psychology from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. She is a certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, trained by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach through the Greater Good Science Center.

📍 California, USA

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🎙️ Hosted by Megan Doepker

📝 Show notes: https://www.thisiscandor.com/podcast/lori-schwanbeck

💡 Feedback?  Email megan@thisiscandor.com

On today’s episode I’m joined by Zécca Lehn. He’s the General Partner of Responsibly Ventures, backing U.S. PreSeed startups in both Social and Sustainable Tech. Zécca shares how his upbringing in an off grid house on San Juan island laid the early foundations for caring about sustainability and how he achieved a 20 year goal to be investing in sustainable companies.  His diverse portfolio of investments has a strong track record and you’ll hear about his process and what is perhaps an unexpected superpower!

Zécca J. Lehn’s Bio:

Zécca J. Lehn is the General Partner of Responsibly Ventures, based in California, backing U.S. PreSeed startups in both Social and Sustainable Tech—using multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a guidepost per investment.

Over the past 15+ years, he has worked as an Environmental Economist, Data Scientist, Non-Profit Board Member, and Co-Founder. He grew up in an off-the-grid Japanese-style home, on a remote island in the Pacific Northwest. Through his world travels and living in Scandinavia during his early 20’s, he discovered a deep love for people, planet, and diverse cultures.

For the past years, he has produced the podcast posi2ive, on Venture Scale Positive Impacts. He also leads regular community events – for posi2ive’s current base of around 5k+ members across platforms.

He holds a degree in Environmental Economics from Western Washington University, and a Certified Specialization in Data Science from Johns Hopkins University. Additionally, he’s certified under the UN Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). He often speaks on pitch panels, podcasts, and publishes articles on the PreSeed VC Impact arena.

📍 California, USA

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🎙️ Hosted by Megan Doepker

📝 Show notes: https://www.thisiscandor.com/podcast/zecca-lehn

💡 Feedback?  Email megan@thisiscandor.com

On today’s episode, I’m joined by Laura Budzyna. She’s the Associate Director for Innovation Practice at MIT D-Lab. We chat about MIT D-LABs unique design mindset approach to development, different impact measurement strategies, and how you can make data more fun. 

Laura Budzyna’s Bio:

Laura Budzyna is a global development practitioner and evaluator committed to participatory, flexible, and learning-focused measurement for the social impact sector. Specializing in the evaluation of innovative pilot programs, she works hand-in-hand with impact professionals to design measurement strategies that can adapt to evolving projects with emergent outcomes.

Laura is the Associate Director for Innovation Practice and the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager at MIT D-Lab, which works with people around the world to develop and advance collaborative approaches and practical solutions to global poverty challenges. Laura leads the visioning and development of MIT D-Lab’s impact measurement strategy, has implemented evaluations on 20+ D-Lab inclusive innovation programs, and advises partner organizations on their impact measurement strategies.

Laura holds an MPA in Development Practice from Columbia University’s School for International and Public Affairs and a BA in International Studies from Middlebury College. She is the author of The Metrics Café, a framework that aims to bridge the divide between funders’ and grantees’ impact management needs.

📍Boston, MA USA

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🎙️ Hosted by Megan Doepker

📝 Show notes: https://www.thisiscandor.com/podcast/laura-budzyna

💡 Feedback? Suggestions for a guest or topic? Email megan@thisiscandor.com

On today’s episode I’m joined by Jana Amin. Jana is a 17-year-old Egyptian-American advocate for changing the narrative around Muslim Women and gender parity.

In this episode Jana discusses:

• Hosting 17 speakers, ranging from Suzanne Ehlers, CEO of the Malala Fund to Nibras Khudaida, Refugee and Human Rights Activist, on her 17th birthday to bring awareness to the millions of girls that are estimated to have dropped out of school and will not return because of the pandemic. 
• How she organized this birthday event in only a couple of weeks!
• Overcoming obstacles in archival research to curate an exhibit at the American University in Cairo titled “Princess Fawzia and the Duality of Egyptian Women”.
• The importance of youth voices and how we can better support them. 

Jana Amin’s Bio:
Jana Amin is a 17-year-old Egyptian-American advocate for changing the narrative around Muslim Women and gender parity. An avid speaker, Jana has given a TedX-Youth talk about her work and spoken at the United Nations General Assembly. She works closely with The Collateral Repair Project, an NGO based in Jordan to support refugee women and girls. Recently, she hosted a virtual event, #17for17: Advocating for Girls' Education. Her research focuses on the media representation of Muslim women; she curated an exhibit at the American University in Cairo titled “Princess Fawzia and the Duality of Egyptian Women”. She is currently interning at the Harvard Kennedy School. Jana is a member of the Youth Activism Project and one of the founders and podcasters on UnTextbooked. Recently, she was selected as one of Arab-America's 20 Under 20 and one of The Conversationa-LIST's 2020 Education honorees.

📍Boston, MA USA

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🎙️ Hosted by Megan Doepker

📝 Show notes: https://www.thisiscandor.com/podcast/jana-amin

💡 Feedback? Suggestions for a guest or topic? Email megan@thisiscandor.com

On today’s episode I’m joined by Curtis Smith. Curtis is the founder of Moment of Mindfulness where he empowers corporate and educational communities to activate their best intentions through culturally responsive and evidence-based mindfulness tools.

In this episode Curtis discusses:

• Co-founding a school and leading the character development curriculum.
• How he expanded mindfulness programs to 1000’s of scholars in 33 NYC public schools and design workshops for Barack Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Alliance.
• Mindfulness exercises he uses with scholars and corporate clients.
• How affirmations and language have impacted both his and his scholar’s lives.

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🎙️ Hosted by Megan Doepker

📝 Show notes: https://www.thisiscandor.com/podcast/curtis-smith

💡 Feedback? Suggestions for a guest or topic? Email megan@thisiscandor.com

On today’s episode I’m joined by Paolo Gallo. He’s the author of “The Compass & The Radar: the art of building a rewarding career while remaining true to yourself” and the founder of Compass Consulting. Previously he served as Chief HR Officer at the World Economic Forum and Chief Learning Officer at the World Bank. 

In the conversation, Paolo discusses some of the essential tools for a successful career, helpful exercises that he uses as a career coach,  leadership traits needed to tackle the issues our world faces, and more.

📍Italy

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🎙️ Hosted by Megan Doepker

📝 Show notes: https://www.thisiscandor.com/podcast/paolo-gallo

💡 Feedback? Suggestions for a guest or topic? Email megan@thisiscandor.com

On today’s episode, I’m joined by Dr. Raghu Appasani. Raghu is a psychiatrist, Neuroscientist, Mental Health Advocate, and the founder & CEO of The MINDS Foundation, a mental health nonprofit focused on bridging the gap between western and eastern practices to create a wholesome society.

In this episode, Raghu discusses the importance of mental hygiene, breaks mental health stigmas, and shares his vision for a world where anyone, anywhere can access the mental health resources they need whilst being supported by a society full of empathy, compassion, and love.

Dr. Raghu Appasani’s Bio:

Dr. Raghu Kiran Appasani is a Psychiatrist, Neuroscientist, Mental Health Advocate, and Social Entrepreneur focused on bridging the gap between western and eastern practices to create a wholesome society. His vision is to create a world in which anyone, anywhere can access the mental health resources they need whilst being supported by a society full of empathy, compassion, and love. He is the Founder & CEO of The MINDS Foundation, a mental health nonprofit, for which he has been recognized as a One Young World Delegate Ambassador, StartingBloc Fellow, Nexus Global Delegate, EchoingGreen, MassChallenge, and Kellogg Innovation Network Delegate. Through his extensive scientific research, he has published over 35 peer-reviewed articles and edited six books. He has given over 50 talks on mental health, entrepreneurship, global health, and consciousness in parallel with authorship for ThriveGlobal, The Better India, and The Huffington Post. He has been recognized by CNN, Vogue, Rollingstone Magazine, Boston Globe, and many others. His commitment to wellness has led to the develop of initiatives focused on reliance and empathy in physicians, resulting in him receiving the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award from the Gold Humanism Honor Society. He serves on a number of boards and advisory councils in the health and wellbeing space. Raghu received his Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience & Behaviour/Science in Society with a focus in Philosophy from Wesleyan University and his MD from The University of Massachusetts Medical School.

📍Los Angeles, CA USA

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🎙️ Hosted by Megan Doepker

📝 Show notes: https://www.thisiscandor.com/podcast/dr-raghu-appasani

💡 Feedback? Suggestions for a guest or topic? Email megan@megandoepker.com

On today’s episode I’m joined by Carolina García Jayaram, the founding executive director of The Elevate Prize Foundation. The mission of the foundation is to amplify the impact of innovators, activists and problem-solvers. In its first year, the global entrepreneurship competition powered by MIT SOLVE had nearly 1300 applicants from 119 countries. There are 10 winners who receive funding and embark on a 2-year program. In addition, they’re building a powerful platform to mobilize communities, catalyze positive change, and awaken the hero in all of us. This conversation was recorded at the end of September, shortly before the 10 winners were selected. 

In our conversation we talk about:

• Carolina’s background leading arts and culture organizations
• What makes The Elevate Prize Foundation different  (like why they're industry agnostic and award some of the prize money directly to the entrepreneur, in addition to their organization).
• The pain points felt by social entrepreneurs and how they plan to help.  
  
  

Guest Bio:
Carolina García Jayaram is the founding executive director of The Elevate Prize Foundation and she has more than two decades of experience in leading national institutions and initiatives dedicated to enriching and shaping social-impact, philanthropic and cultural communities across the United States.  She most recently served as CEO & President of the National Young Arts Foundation and, prior to that, as President & CEO of United States Artists, where she helped manage $25M in unrestricted awards to this country’s most accomplished artists and spearheaded a $20M operating endowment campaign.  Carolina was also Executive Director of the Chicago Artists Coalition (CAC). While there, she was a member of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Cultural Advisory Council and was named “Chicagoan of the Year in the Arts” by the Chicago Tribune.  Her philanthropic work extends to serving on the Advisory Council for Ruth’s List Florida (which aims to elect progressive women to public office in Florida) and on the Latin American and Latinx Committee for the Perez Art Museum.  Carolina received her JD (with honors) from the University of Miami School of Law, where she is now an Adjunct Professor as well as a member of the Advisory Committee for the Law School’s Art + Sports Law LLM program. She has also studied not-for-profit management at Harvard Business School.  In 2019, she delivered the commencement speech at Broward College and received an honorary degree for her commitment to community service and leadership. 

📍Miami, FL USA

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🎙️ Hosted by Megan Doepker

📝 Show notes: https://www.thisiscandor.com/podcast/carolina-garcia-jayaram

💡 Feedback? Suggestions for a guest or topic? Email megan@megandoepker.com

On today’s episode I’m joined by Gregg Trienish, the Founder and Executive director of Adventure Scientists. Since their founding in 2011, Adventure Scientists has sent thousands of volunteer adventurers on missions to collect data from remote, difficult-to-access locations for scientists and conservation partners. 

Gregg's passion for scientific discovery, exploration, and adventuring with purpose is evident. Sixteen years ago he thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail and in 2008 National Geographic named him an Adventurer of the Year when he completed a 7,800-mile trek along the spine of the Andes Mountain Range. He’s also an Ashoka Fellow and this year he was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, to name just a couple accolades out of the many he’s received.

Gregg talks about:

• Asking himself, “What would I do if money didn’t matter” while hiking the Appalachian Trail sixteen years ago and his path to starting Adventure Scientists.
• The impact of Adventure Scientists, like helping put an end to illegal timber poaching, collecting scat samples to aid in the battle against antibiotic-resistant superbugs, and building one of the largest global microplastic pollution datasets.
• Why the environmental movement has a marketing problem. 
• The different ways you can contribute to the environmental movement.
  
  

Gregg Treinish’s Bio:

Gregg founded Adventure Scientists in 2011 with a strong passion for both scientific discovery and exploration. National Geographic named Gregg an Adventurer of the Year in 2008 when he and a friend completed a 7,800-mile trek along the spine of the Andes Mountain Range. He was included on the Christian Science Monitor's 30 under 30 list in 2012, and the following year became a National Geographic Emerging Explorer for his work with Adventure Scientists. In 2013, he was named a Backpacker Magazine "hero", in 2015, a Draper Richards Kaplan Entrepreneur and one of Men's Journal's "50 Most Adventurous Men." In 2017, he was named an Ashoka Fellow and in 2018 one of the Grist 50 "Fixers."  Gregg was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2020. Gregg holds a biology degree from Montana State University and a sociology degree from CU-Boulder. He thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2004.  

📍Bozeman, MT USA

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🎙️ Hosted by Megan Doepker

📝 Show notes: www.thisiscandor.com/podcast/gregg-treinish

💡 Feedback? Suggestions for a guest or topic? Email megan@megandoepker.com. 

On today's episode, I'm joined by Trish Costello. She's the founder and CEO of Portfolia, which offers a radically different investing process designed for women and other emerging investors. They're building a movement to collectively invest in diverse founders solving problems that were often previously ignored, like in women's health, active aging, and financial justice. 

Trish talks about:

• Why Portfolia is full sail ahead investing in world-changing startups and raising funds even amidst the pandemic and economic downturn.
• Launching the first fund dedicated to women's health (and how traditional VC had been too uncomfortable to talk about vaginas) and the first fund led by all women of color. 
• How Portfolia is connecting with diverse founders, even as we go remote. 
• Why the regulations of what qualifies someone as an accredited investor should be updated, and how you can gain experience even if you're not accredited.
• The importance of women harnessing the power of their wealth. 
  
  

📍Bay Area, CA USA

Recorded August 11, 2020

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🎙️ Hosted by Megan Doepker

📝 Show notes: https://www.thisiscandor.com/podcast/trish-costello

💡 Feedback? Suggestions for a guest or topic? Email megan@megandoepker.com.