Electric Ladies Podcast

“During the pandemic, a lot of companies underwent digital transformations…At the same time that that was happening, sustainability was really catching wind, particularly in places like Europe.… (I)f you are a non-manufacturing company, your largest source of operational emissions is probably your IT. So…CIOs now have these mandates trickling down from their CEO or whomever that they need to reduce their energy consumption and their emissions. And they're saying, how do I do that while also meeting these business imperatives?”  Monica Batchelder on Electric Ladies Podcast

Information technologies have a huge carbon footprint, about 1.5% of total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which equals about all of what the UK emits. It’s about all the electricity those units use, including in their manufacturing process. But, they also reduce the impact of other systems and are critical to our lifestyles, economy and business goals. How we reduce the impact of IT?

Listen to Monica Batchelder, Chief Sustainability Officer of HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprises) in this fascinating conversation with Electric Ladies podcast host Joan Michelson to find out.  

You’ll hear:

• How the pandemic accelerated IT carbon management programs.
• What “radical collaboration” is and how HPE is using it to help startups access technologies
• The challenges CIOs are facing today to both reduce IT’s carbon footprint while it’s also the backbone of the system for reducing the impact of the rest of the organization.
• Addressing the conflict minerals challenge, global standards and frameworks, and much more
• Plus, insightful career advice ….

“Leadership isn't a title. It's not about having decision making power. It's not about being around the table in the boardroom. If you have the right idea, it is a pragmatic idea, you have built trust in that your peers know that if you bring them an idea, it is going to be thought through and it is going to be sound, and it might be transformative, (then) you will get the buy-in, you need to make change happen… It's about building trust with stakeholders from the start to get your ideas across. And that's how you can create the change you want.” Monica Batchelder on Electric Ladies podcast

You’ll also want to listen to:

• Michele Mueller, Michele Mueller, Manager of Connected, Automated and Electrification at the Michigan Department of Transportation
• Vanessa Chan, Ph.D, Chief Commercialization Officer of the Department of Energy on transforming our energy systems (and the Inflation Reduction Act funding)
• Joan Michelson on “Doing Sustainability” with Gary Baker, on the balancing act between carbon impact and business and social goals
• Katie McGInty, Chief Sustainability Officer of Johnson Controls, on how to reduce the carbon impact of buildings
• Heather Boushey, Member of the National Council of Economic Advisors in the White House and Chief Economist of the Invest in America Cabinet

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“The link for us with (the WHO) is about universal health coverage and the sustainable development goal number three, which obviously the WHO places in the middle of the wheel of all the sustainable development goals. But on top and behind and with each other is climate action. We cannot have one without the other. And our role is to remind a lot of people that when they're making policies, they're talking about human beings.”  Emma O’Brien on Electric Ladies Podcast

Climate change has a real impact on public health, from asthma and other respiratory illnesses due to CO2 and pollutants, to biodiversity-related risks like viruses, to heart disease, malnutrition and injuries and deaths from extreme weather events and extreme heat. Not to mention the stresses of displacement and trauma of these events.

Listen to Emma O’Brien, Ph.D., the founder of the Global Scrub Choir and Head of Music Therapy at the Royal Melbourne Hospital talk about music + public health + climate change in this truly inspiring interview on Electric Ladies podcast with host Joan Michelson.  

You’ll hear:

• The impact of music on the brain – and the impact of creativity on health.
• The connection between the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Scrub Choir and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals – and why the Choir was at the UN’s Climate Week 2023.
• Risks to public health from climate change
• Plus, insightful career advice ….

“if you're within a system, I think you need to spend a lot of time understanding that system, but also,  never being afraid to question it.… not be afraid to ask questions. Because I found across my career that often I'll ask a question in a meeting and everyone will go, oh, thank goodness someone asked that question.” Emma O’Brien on Electric Ladies podcast

You’ll also want to listen to:

• Sandra Bargman & Chantal Bilodeau, about their Climate Cabaret
• Jill Tidman, Executive Director of The Redford Center, on how we talk about the climate and documentaries
• Daniella Ortega, writer and director of “Carbon: The Unauthorized Biography.”
• Deborah Rutter, President of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on managing creative people and the Reach center’s sustainability features. (Note: This was recorded under the previous name of the show, Green Connections Radio.)

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“Corporate America has a very important role to play in this transition. They have the resources, they have the talent, and they are being nudged by their customers, their employees, even their suppliers, their investors, and obviously regulators to do this work. They know it's the right thing to do…Just as a quick thing to think about is it used to be that the people who were in sustainability were kind of on the sidelines…Now their talent is being tapped into the C-suite because it's like, wait a minute, we don't have a choice. We have to do this. And now we have the regulators and we have the SEC. And so that talent is actually has a more center stage.” Joan Michelson on “Doing Sustainability” podcast

How do we “do” sustainability? What role does the Corporate sector play in this fight against global warming? Where do the resources and strategies to do it come from?

Listen to Electric Ladies Podcast host Joan Michelson as a guest on “Doing Sustainability” with host Gary Baker, a branding expert also focused on the sustainability space. It was fun for Joan to be interviewed for a change, so have a listen and let us know what you think.

You’ll hear:

• Integrating sustainability into business strategy
• How to embrace the demand for transparency and accountability to build trust with the markets
• The magic of partnerships, internal ones and external ones
• Figuring out how your business can leverage the ESG economy to achieve its own goals.
• Plus, insightful career advice ….

“When I'm doing coaching with people for their own careers, it's about what parts of you do you want to give a voice to? And a company is the same thing. In branding it's a personality, right? And so it's what do you want to put forward first? …And what parts of that portfolio of what you do are most relevant today? What's the intersection between what you do well, where the marketplace is and the message you really want to get across? And it's in that Venn diagram is where the magic is.” Joan Michelson on “Doing Sustainability”

You’ll also want to listen to:

• Katie McGinty, Chief Sustainability Officer of Johnson Controls on the vital role of buildings in combatting climate change.
• Evelyne Saelens, ESG Advisory Lead at UL Solutions on “mobilize, measure and manage” ESG initiatives and outcomes.
• Mary Morrissey, famed author and coach, on the power of “Brave Thinking” and what it really is.
• Heather Grady, Vice President of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, on leveraging philanthropy to drive results.
• Heather Boushey, Member of the National Council of Economic Advisors in the White House and Chief Economist of the Invest in America Cabinet

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“The march that we have seen in businesses taking on climate commitments has been one of those forcing functions to bring the data related to buildings front and center (because buildings account for 40% of greenhouse gas emissions) ….There is a whole heck of a lot of inefficiency to cut out of those buildings. And so, as we think of the enormity of the climate challenge, buildings are that rare space that actually taking action cash flows is accretive to your bottom line because you're cutting out a whole lot of waste that otherwise there's just a burden on your bottom line.”  Katie McGinty on Electric Ladies Podcast

Buildings are 40% of greenhouse gas emissions, so they are paramount to addressing the climate challenge. But how? It’s complicated. Buildings are complex ecosystems with tons of regulations to meet because of how central they are to our well-being and safety.

Listen to Katie McGinty, Chief Sustainability Officer of Johnson Controls in this fascinating conversation with Electric Ladies podcast host Joan Michelson.  Johnson Controls has played a central role managing our workplace environments for over 140 years.

You’ll hear:

• The impact of covid on buildings and how that has affected carbon management programs.
• How buildings are managed and equipped to improve their performance and reduce costs, including by integrating various systems that were previously isolated.
• How the centrality of the workplace in retaining top talent has affected building infrastructures as much as climate commitments have.
• The impact of the Infrastructure Investment Act and Inflation Reduction Act
• Plus, insightful career advice ….

“At the end of the day, what matters is relationships. And if you have a choice to produce a good, even if not immaculate PowerPoint or presentation, whatever it is…take a risk of walking it around to a couple of people and say, ‘I'd really love your feedback on this.’ Take the time and maybe get out of your comfort zone to build those relationships. The other thing (is)… amplify… Make it a point of saying, ‘Sue just said X, Sue, I actually thought that was pretty interesting. Could you say a few more words about that?’… I think we can help our colleagues come into the game if we reinforce the foot they have put forward and we open the door for them to be able to express themselves more fully.” Katie McGinty on Electric Ladies podcast

You’ll also want to listen to:

• Lauren Salz, CEO of Sealed, on how heat pumps reduce energy costs and emissions of buildings.
• Pamela Conrad, CEO of Climate Positive Designs, landscape architect and professor at Harvard
• Sarah Golden, VP of Energy at Greenbiz, on geothermal energy as clean, renewable power.
• Heather Boushey, Member of the National Council of Economic Advisors in the White House and Chief Economist of the Invest in America Cabinet
• Elizabeth Thompson, VP of the U.S. Green Building Council on whether “green” buildings are safe. (Note: This was recorded under the previous name of the show, Green Connections Radio.)

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“We start to look at the advantages of the technology, and we start to really focus in on where can we go forward? What are the things we're doing and how do we get there collectively so that it is the industry, and the infrastructure side actually coming together and making those choices and implementing these safety features or implementing these (technologies)… There's no one right solution…It's collaboration and it will always have to be.” Michele Mueller on Electric Ladies Podcast

There’s a reason automakers are calling themselves “mobility” companies today, not just automakers. It’s because technology is such a dominant piece of the vehicle and transportation sector writ large. How do these technologies change our daily routines?

Listen to this fascinating interview on Electric Ladies Podcast with Michele Mueller, Manager of Connected, Automated and Electrification at the Michigan Department of Transportation, in the heart of the auto sector.

You’ll hear:

• How new technologies are transforming vehicles, not just electrifying them, and turning them into more than transportation.
• How the Michigan DOT is staying in touch with communities across the state, to ensure they meet their needs, including underserved populations.
• How the Michigan DOT is collaborating with the auto industry, including automakers, suppliers, entrepreneurs and regulators to balance all interests but putting the traveling public first.
• How the Michigan DOT is innovating and testing new technologies, including updating their infrastructure with the new federal funding (Infrastructure Investment Act, Inflation Reduction Act)
• Plus, insightful career advice

“One is, I would say do something you enjoy doing. Find your passion. I found my passion and even on a bad day, it's a good day, right? I get up in the morning, I get excited to do and to achieve what I've set forward. I think the other thing is, don't expect to change the world tomorrow, right? It takes time. It's taken me a very long time. It still takes me every day to look at things. Things aren't going to change overnight, and some things may require a little more energy and a little more pushing and challenging of yourself and others to actually get to achieve that.”

Michele Mueller on Electric Ladies podcast

You’ll also want to listen to: (some might be recorded under our previous name, Green Connections Radio)

• Tiya Gordon, Cofounder and COO, itsElectric urban EV charging systems
• Linda Zhang, Chief Engineer, Ford F160 Lightning EV
• Suzy Deering, Chief Marketing Officer of Ford – on bringing change to a legacy industry as an outsider.
• Genevieve Cullen, President, Electric Drive Transportation Assn. – on financial benefits for buying EVs in the new legislation, and EVs coming to market soon
• Kristen Siemen, Chief Sustainability Officer of General Motors
• Neha Palmer, Founder/CEO of TeraWatt Infrastructure on charging for EV trucks

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Mobilize, Measure, Manage ESG – Evelyn Saelens, ESG Advisory at UL Solutions

“These climate events, they're impacting our everyday lives. They're making the world unsafe…Sometimes it might feel that it's hard to get to solid, tangible information. It's hard to know that what you're doing is meaningful, that it really has an impact. So the, what made it extremely interesting at being able to develop these ESG programs at UL Solutions is that the science and the standards driven angle always flows through what we aim to do.”

 Evelyne Saelens on Electric Ladies Podcast

While global elites meet in Davos this week, many of them are wrestling with how to respond to the “new” 21^st century economy that requires focusing on their organization’s impact on the planet and people, as well as its ability to generate excellent profits. And now, they need to disclose it all in a range of new reporting requirements. How?

Listen to Evelyne Saelens, ESG Advisory at UL Solutions, part of the 100+ year-old scientific standards company discuss what they are measuring these days to help private and public entities manage and report their climate impact in this fascinating conversation with Electric Ladies podcast host Joan Michelson.  

You’ll hear:

• The three main challenges she says organizations face: mobilize, measure, and manage.
• How they decide what exactly is best to measure and how to manage it.
• Why and how companies are integrating ESG into their core business strategies.
• Keys to measuring carbon in one’s operations
• Plus, insightful career advice ….

“Try to be proactive. Get out there, find those people that you are comfortable with putting yourself first, being proactive, maybe even a little aggressive. Why not? We can be aggressive if we know what we want. Let's do it. So that is the advice that I would give is, is to not sit back, get out there and, do that with people around you that are supportive, that you feel comfortable with doing that.”

Evelyne Saelens on Electric Ladies podcast

You’ll also want to listen to:

• Helle Bank Jorgensen, Founder/CEO of Competent Boards, training boards on ESG issues
• Karen Alonardo, VP of ESG at Navex, software systems
• Suzanne DiBianca, EVP Corporate Relations and Chief Impact Officer, Salesforce, on their Net Zero ESG systems
• Natalie Jaresko, former finance minister of Ukraine – on the hidden power of ESG

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What Is 'Brave Thinking'? - Mary Morrissey, Renowned Speaker & Advisor, Author of "Brave Thinking: The Art and Science Of Creating A Life You Love"

”Brave thinkers on the other hand, developed the courage to think and live from a vision…They're not going to let circumstances win. They don't deny the circumstances or situations, but they don't let them win. And they're pulling from something that's greater than the circumstance, situation, or condition. And there's a way to hold our thinking and mind when circumstances can seem so daunting, so difficult. So, impenetrable. Brave thinkers summon the courage to think and live from a vision, regardless of the circumstances, situations, and conditions.” Mary Morrissey on Electric Ladies Podcast

In this new year, we need all the “brave thinking” we can get – to accelerate the innovating and implementation of the ground-breaking technologies and services we need to both mitigate climate change and to improve our lives, have thriving businesses and create and serve in fulfilling careers.

For what “brave thinking “ means and how to do it, listen to this inspiring discussion between Electric Ladies Podcast host Joan Michelson and renowned speaker, advisor and author, Mary Morrissey, who literally wrote the book about it. She has addressed the United Nations repeatedly, collaborated with the Dalai Lama, and advised leaders across the world. She’s also the author of the best-selling book, “Brave Thinking: The Art and Science Of Creating A Life You Love,” as well as others. 

You’ll hear:

• What “brave thinking” is and is not.
• What transformation is and means and how to do it.
• How to get insights from what we feel as “struggle”
• How to lead with “brave thinking”
• Plus, insightful career advice, such as…

“Start with a vision…Fast forward in your mind, It’s three years from now or five years from now, and it all worked out. If it all worked out, what kind of income would you really be making that you would love? What, what difference are you making? What impact are you bringing? How many hours a week are you working?.. So you design a work life that answers what would I love? What would I bring? What would I create? What would I earn? What is my time off like? And get a really clear picture of that.”

Mary Morrissey on Electric Ladies Podcast

Read Joan’s Forbes articles here too.

You’ll also like (some may have been recorded under our previous name, Green Connections Radio):

• Career Collage Episode 5: Lucy Hargreaves, Pamela Conrad, Jessica Filante-Farrington, Sarah Golden, Rose-May Lucotte
• Climate Philanthropy, Heather Grady, Vice President, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
• Changing Your Leadership Style, Maggie Bieniaszewska, Auto Sector Entrepreneur in Poland
• Career Collage Episode 4: Jean Case, Melissa Lott, Heather Boushey, Daniella Ortega, Jill Tidman
• Michele Wucker, author of “You Are What You Risk: The New Art & Science to Navigating an Uncertain World.”

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“Really think about why are you doing what you're doing, what motivates you?…(and) be extremely opportunistic and don't be afraid to take risks….(M)ost of my opportunities that I've had have come from me putting my hand up, taking a chance, doing something that feels scary and terrifying, but that is aligned to my core goal and mission of working on climate and sustainability.” Lucy Hargreaves on Electric Ladies Podcast

To kick off 2024, here is powerful career advice for women who want to make a difference and make money and excel in their career. My talented guests and I give career advice in every episode of Electric Ladies Podcast (400+!) and listeners asked us to air collages of some of that advice now and then.

This episode includes advice from these five extraordinary women from government, the arts, science and business, using their unique talents to drive a clean, green economy in which women have economic parity (the Electric Ladies Podcast mission).

This episode brings you advice from:

·       Jessica Filante-Farrington, Director of Global Sustainability at AT&T

·       Rose-May Lucotte, CEO and Cofounder of ChangeNow Summit, massive climate summit in Paris, France

·       Sarah Golden, Vice President of Energy at Greenbiz, climate-focused media and events company

·       Lucy Hargreaves, Head of Climate Policy at Patch, carbon markets platform

·       Pamela Conrad, Landscape Architect, Founder and Executive Director of Climate Positive Design

Read Joan’s Forbes articles here too – which also include career advice, as well as ways to stay abreast of the clean, green economy.

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“Philanthropy generally, we consider, contributing private money for public good or community good. And climate philanthropy is simply, when we are making those private contributions in ways that are going to address the climate crisis that our country and that the world is facing today. I would expand that slightly by saying that one of the trends that I'm seeing is a real interlinking of climate and nature problems and climate and nature solutions.”

 Heather Grady on Electric Ladies Podcast

Philanthropy is being reinvented today, including what is now called “climate philanthropy.” It’s in part about considering the solutions nature can provide to the climate crisis, instead of just relying on new technologies.  They each have a singular purpose as well as a role in the bigger vision, and require accountability  

Listen to Heather Grady, Vice President and Practice Lead for Environment and Climate at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, explain how they are leveraging philanthropy to help avert climate catastrophes in this fascinating conversation with Electric Ladies podcast host Joan Michelson.  

You’ll hear:

• What climate philanthropy is and how it works – and how they view “risk.”
• How they are leveraging the new federal funding, including the Inflation Reduction Act.
• What they think of the oil companies, ESG (environment, social, governance) and other hot topics.
• Which areas Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors focuses on and why
• Plus, insightful career advice ….

“When women are clear that they do want to make a difference, that they want a job with purpose, that's a good thing to put in your cover letter and express on your cv. There are people who haven't worked on mission-driven organizations or companies yet. But if you've spent time, say, doing a lot of volunteer work in your community, whether it's climate or children's rights or whatever it may be, make sure that you're emphasizing that when you're applying for positions. We are really looking in my organization, and I see this increasingly, people are looking for new employees who are values-aligned and values aware.”

Heather Grady on Electric Ladies podcast

You’ll also want to listen to:

• Justin Winter, Cofounder, One Earth, on “philanthro-activism”.
• Zainab Salbi, Cofounder of Daughters for Earth, one of the partners in One Earth – and Founder of Women to Women International and its former CEO
• Rosemary Atieno, Women Climate Centers International – on how they are helping women in rural Kenya grow their economies and address climate change at the same time.
• Natalie Jaresko, former finance minister of Ukraine – on the hidden power of ESG

·       Sandrine Dixson, Co-president of the Club of Rome (global leaders) – on the need for a new economic model that puts people and planet ahead of profit.

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“The theme across all of this, this clean energy transition, it is private sector led, but government enabled. So, we as a government are trying to enable the private sector to move faster so we can meet our very ambitious goal, which includes a 50% reduction from 2005 levels of greenhouse gas pollution by 2030… There's a lot of clean energy technologies that are underpinning all of this and, includes things like, clean hydrogen, advanced nuclear, virtual power plants, carbon capture and sequestration and so forth.”  Vanessa Chan on Electric Ladies Podcast

While leaders across countries and sectors meet in Dubai this week for the UN climate conference known as COP28, engineers, scientists and business leaders across the country are transforming our energy system to be zero carbon emissions. They are powered in part by the billions of dollars in federal funding and incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Investment Act and the CHIPS & Science Act.

Where’s that money going? Listen to Vanessa Chan, Ph.D., Chief Commercialization Officer and Director of the Office of Technology Transfer at the U.S. Dept. of Energy, explain it in this fascinating discussion with Electric Ladies host Joan Michelson. 

You’ll hear about:

• The cool technologies transforming our energy system – and how innovating it works
• How they are spending the billions in the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Investment Act and the CHIPS and Science Act
• How you can track their investments and progress
• What it means for how you power your home, business or school
• Plus, insightful career advice, including what she learned by working in distinctly different jobs – corporate, academia, as an entrepreneur, and now in government:

“Always live below your means. I cannot say that enough. You know, my late husband and I, we, shared a house where the four of us, including two kids, shared a bathroom. And this was when I was a McKinsey partner, and he was in a senior executive…which meant that we could bank all our money, which gave us huge financial flexibility going forward, which means you can take more risks, right?... I think second is, really be willing to follow a north star that matters to you and no one else. And so, my North Star has always been, am I interested in what am I doing and am I learning?” Vanessa Chan on Electric Ladies Podcast

Read Joan’s Forbes articles here too.

You'll also like:

• Melissa Lott, Ph.D., Director of Research at the Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University – on what it will take to get to carbon zero.
• Lauren Salz, CEO & Cofounder, Sealed, heat pumps company  - on how heat pumps work, and how you can leverage the new federal funding to get one inexpensively.
• Halla Hrund Logadottir, Director-General, Iceland’s National Energy Authority, on how the country has become 85% renewable energy.
• Meredyth Crichton, Ph.D., Clemson University Energy Innovation Unit  - on wind power
• Jennifer Gerbi, Ph.D., Deputy Director and Acting Director, ARPA-E, the innovation arm of the Department of Energy

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“For me, the key to my career was being clear on what my mission is….I feel so enormously fortunate that I found a president to be able to work for who shares that goal….So I think the lesson in that is either be the leader that you want to believe in, or find that leader and attach yourself to them and see what amazing things you can do together. But, for me, it's been about being clear on what it is that I wanted to achieve.” Heather Boushey on Electric Ladies Podcast

In 2023 we’ve had dozens of extraordinary women at the top of their game on Electric Ladies Podcast (like all 400+ of our episodes!). From C-level corporate executives to top government officials, entrepreneurs, artists, journalists and scientists, they are all paving their own way – and new paths for women – to build a career by making a difference and making money. In each episode, I ask them for career advice for midcareer women who want to do the same. In this series, listeners requested we air episodes with just their advice.

In this episode in the series, listen to career gems from five extraordinary women from government, the arts, science and business, using their unique talents to drive a clean, green economy in which women have economic parity (the Electric Ladies Podcast mission).

This episode brings you advice from:

·       Heather Boushey, Ph.D., Member of the White House Council of Economic Advisors and Chief Economist of the Invest in America Cabinet at the White House

·       Daniella Ortega, award-winning documentary filmmaker and codirector, writer, and coproducer of “Carbon: The Unauthorized Biography” and Development and Investment Manager – Documentary at Screen Australia

·       Melissa Lott, Ph.D., Director of Research at the Center on Global Energy Policy, at Columbia University and the lead scientist on the ground-breaking PBS documentary “Chasing Carbon Zero.”

·       Jean Case, CEO Of the Case Foundation and former SVP of AOL, and ground-breaking philanthropist and investor focused on purpose-focused, diverse entities

·       Jill Tidman, Executive Director of The Redford Center (founded by actor/filmmaker Robert Redford and his late son James Redford), advancing environmental solutions through storytelling.

Read Joan’s Forbes articles here too – which also include career advice, as well as ways to stay abreast of the clean, green economy.

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“Companies are not just being more strategic about corporate social impact, but are taking on the role of activists themselves. Consumers and employees now expect companies to be vocal and to protect the rights of our people and our planet. CEOs are the voices of companies and can no longer remain neutral and silent as our world grapples with serious challenges.” Susan McPherson, McPherson Memo

 Company leaders are in a quandary. They want their organizations to be seen as good corporate citizens but they don’t know how to deal with the complicated, emotionally-charged and overlapping crises we are all facing today. The barbaric attack on innocent Israelis by Hamas on October 7^th and the massive military response by Israel on Gaza alone – on top of the war in Ukraine and attacks on democracy from American influentials and climate change – are paralyzing many private sector leaders. What should they do?

 Listen to Susan McPherson, CEO of McPherson Strategies and highly-regarded veteran communications leader, explain how leaders should/could manage this fraught time in this candid and powerful conversation with Electric Ladies Podcast host Joan Michelson.

You’ll hear:

• What a good corporate citizen really is.
• What “green hushing” is and where it’s coming from – and how it’s not anti-ESG.
• How to respond to complicated geopolitical crises
• How to be an authentic leader and who are some role models for that.
• Plus, insightful career advice, such as….

“it's doing an internal audit of yourself and learning what your superpowers are, and then being able to show up in the world, offering support to others. And I guarantee you, the support will come back. It may not be the next day, it may not be the next week, but over the arc of your career and connecting is hard….(and) Lead with kindness, lead with compassion, listen more than you speak.” Susan McPherson on Electric Ladies podcast

Read Joan’s Forbes articles here.

You’ll also want to listen to:

·       Isabelle Grosmaitre, Goodness & Co. – on the tipping point business is at today and how good corporate leaders and boards can deal with it.

·       Heather Boushey, Member of the White House Council of Economic Advisors, on the economy and leadership

·       Natalie Jaresko, former finance minister of Ukraine, on the power of ESG in geopolitics, good business and climate change

• Michele Wucker, thought leaders and author of “You Are What You Risk: The New Art & Science to Navigating an Uncertain World.”

·       Sandrine Dixson-Decléve, Co-president of the Club of Rome (global leaders) and Ambassador to the Climate

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“The first lesson was do not pretend somebody here know that that was the one when I was trying to dress up like a business woman. But the second one was, which was a really hard one for me, was to understand that we communicate, we have different communication styles, which is, it seems very easy and simple, like everybody communicates somehow, and we are different. But the thing was that if you understand that you have in your team, you have at least four different p four different styles of communication” Maggie Bienaiszewska on Women Automotive Network’s Breaking Barriers Podcast

Are you losing good talent? Are you having communication problems? Malgorzata (Maggie) Bienaiszewska, an auto sector entrepreneur in Poland, explained to me how she transformed her leadership style from, what she calls “Tyrant to Leader,” when I guest hosted the Women Automotive Network’s “Breaking Barriers” podcast recently. She shared some of the 14 leadership lessons she learned the hard way, lessons she wrote about as co-author of the book, "Leader (not) Ideal. 14 Lessons of Effective Leadership.” (English is not her first language.)

Listen to this candid interview with Maggie replayed here on Electric Ladies Podcast with permission from Women Automotive Network. I’ve had the privilege of hosting their podcast and their Summits before and always meet remarkable women transforming the economy.

You’ll hear:

• How Maggie discovered that her leadership style wasn’t working – even in a male-dominated industry.
• How Maggie learned to change her style and how to do it.
• What some of her 14 lessons are for “effective” leadership, and why she does not try for the “ideal.”
• Her keys to good communication with your team and/or clients.
• Plus, insightful career advice

“There are three values in my company...It's something that we believe in, we live according to it. And these are not just words. I'll just give you example in a sec, but ‘humankind,’ ‘respect’ and ‘good reputation.’ These are the three values they stem out from the fact who I was and how different it was in the past..” Maggie Bienaiszewska on Women Automotive Network’s Breaking Barriers Podcast

You’ll also want to listen to: 

• Kristen Siemen, Chief Sustainability Officer, General Motors
• Telva McGruder, Executive Director of Global Body Manufacturing Engineering, General Motors (then-Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer)
• Tiya Gordon, Cofounder and COO, itsElectric urban EV charging systems
• Linda Zhang, Chief Engineer, Ford F160 Lightning EV
• Suzy Deering, Chief Marketing Officer of Ford – on bringing change to a legacy industry as an outsider.
• Genevieve Cullen, President, Electric Drive Transportation Assn. – on financial benefits for buying EVs in the new legislation, and EVs coming to market soon

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“We are at a tipping point when businesses need to reinvent themselves for a better future. In fact, I believe that they need to reinvent the model and even demonstrate the contribution to society. I believe. in fact, that only companies with a positive impact will thrive. Why? Because they will be chosen by people, by employees, as you said, by investors, by partners, by clients. This is what is happening right now. And the question is not anymore about the why, the question has become about the how,” Isabelle Grosmaitre on Electric Ladies Podcast.

Businesses today across the globe are being pulled in many, many directions. Employees, suppliers, regulators, investors, communities, and customers are making demands that sometimes conflict and are speaking with their dollars and their time. Being perceived as a good corporate citizen and leader is more important and more complicated than ever, as is being a board member.

Listen to Isabelle Grosmaitre, Founder/CEO of Goodness & Co. on Electric Ladies Podcast with host Joan Michelson explain how executives and boards can frame these issues successfully. Goodness & Co is a management consulting firm based in Paris, France. I had the privilege of having Isabelle on a panel of mine at the huge ChangeNow Summit in Paris a few months ago. (Note: This was recorded before the barbaric attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023 and the subsequent regional war involving Gaza.)

You’ll hear:

• Why she thinks this moment is a critical tipping point for businesses and leadership.
• How conscious leadership is becoming a movement at the top of global corporations.
• How business models need to change to include their impact on society writ large, as well as financial prosperity.
• What the “new era of governance” is that she sees we need, why and how to get there.
• Plus, insightful career advice, such as….

“One is, that you need to listen to your inner voice. Sometimes it may feel super scary, that's the reality a lot of times. But the reality is that the only way to thrive is to listen to your inner voice. The second thing is, that it's okay to be ambitious. I think it's one of the critical values that leadership needs is to be ambitious, because we need to really reinvent the way we do business. So, this will not happen without ambitious leaders. I believe that, in fact have the courage to…think big, to be a super bold and willing to change the world…the courage to act.” Isabelle Grosmaitre on Electric Ladies podcast

Read Joan’s Forbes articles here.

You’ll also want to listen to:

·       Sandrine Dixson-Decléve, Co-president of the Club of Rome (global leaders) and Ambassador to the Climate

·       Heather Boushey, Member of the White House Council of Economic Advisors

• Michele Wucker, thought leaders and author of “You Are What You Risk: The New Art & Science to Navigating an Uncertain World.”

·       Anne Kelly, VP of Government Relations at Ceres, on why businesses support the Inflation Reduction Act etc.

·       Birta Hegadottir, then head of Business Iceland, on how they are operationalizing the circular economy across the country.

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“What surprised me was actually how profound, how deep I managed to have this relationship with carbon. Like, because in the end, I found, through the writing and embodying carbon for so long, I found the connections, the  entanglement of carbon across so many aspects of all our lives so illuminating, so surprising. Sometimes I just felt so moved by the wonder of it all, and I still do. Just thinking about it now makes me think, God, it's so wondrous.” Daniella Ortega on Electric Ladies Podcast

If you were making a film about carbon, what would it be like? On Electric Ladies Podcast today you’ll hear from a woman who actually did that. She’s science filmmaker Daniella Ortega, who is co-director of a new, extraordinary documentary called “Carbon: An Unauthorized Biography.” They use a number of super-creative theatrical devices to tell the story, including personifying carbon and using 3D animation.

Listen to Daniella Ortega explain on Electric Ladies Podcast in this inspiring conversation with host Joan Michelson, how she came up with the idea and how she and her production team chose how to tell the story of the one element in the universe that is in everything, including us – yet that we are also trying to reduce.  

You’ll hear:

• Why they made carbon and woman and how they secured one of the top actresses of the moment to voice “her.”
• How Daniella came up with the idea and how that was filtered throughout the film.
• How to communicate climate messages in stories without being preachy or awkward.
• How she developed an emotional connection to carbon in the process of learning more about it making the film
• Plus, insightful career advice ….

“What I've come to learn about what it is to be a creative person with ambition and wanting to make an impact … I think finding the gaps of where you sit. You have some skills, that's great, but where are the gaps? What do you feel can empower you or make you feel or give you those skills that you need to fill those gaps? And then look to other people or ways in which ways to fill them… (Also) don't be isolated. Connect, connect, connect with those around you, and…don't give your power away, keep your power and try to build on it.” Daniella Ortega on Electric Ladies podcast

Read my articles in Forbes about how we talk about the weather, and about developing a new narrative for the climate effort.

You’ll also want to listen to (some may have been recorded under our previous name, Green Connections Radio):

• Jill Tidman, Executive Director, The Redford Center, founded by actor, filmmaker, producer, Robert Reford and his late son James, which produces and underwrites documentaries about the planet.
• Sandra Bargman & Chantal Bilodeau, “The Climate Cabaret” – using music and storytelling to talk about the climate crisis.
• Deborah Rutter, President, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts – on managing creative people.
• Ann Friedman, Creator and CEO, Planet Word Museum – on her new museum about the magic of language.
• Tracy Edwards, Executive Producer of the documentary “Maiden” about her experience developing and Captaining the first all-female crew to run the Whitbread Round the World Yachting Race.
• Dayna Reggero, Executive Producer of The Climate Listening Project, short films about community climate activists around the U.S.

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Follow us on Twitter @joanmichelson

War & The Hidden Power of ESG - Natalie Jaresko, fmr Finance Minister of Ukraine

“The global business community must understand that nurturing, upholding and protecting freedom and democracy is part of their ESG responsibility. It's not only in their best interest, but also in, in those of their increasingly noisy and numerous stakeholders…Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started, not all chief executives have had the courage to take actions which would be consistent with their ESG policies,” Natalie Jaresko in the Financial Times.

How might ESG systems support peace and prosperity and disincentivize the brutality we see in the news from the barbaric attack on civilians in Israel and the continuing atrocities in Ukraine by Russia’s unprovoked war? Natalie Jaresko, the former finance minister of Ukraine explained how to Electric Ladies Podcast host Joan Michelson in this riveting interview.

Natalie helps us step back a moment and think about how what’s at the core of ESG systems might help drive a lasting peace. It’s also vital that we continue to pressure lawmakers to approve aid to Ukraine immediately, as well as to Israel. 

You’ll hear:

• How ESG can be a tool for democracy, as well as climate and social goals.
• How globalization allows Russia’s dark money to be a hidden influence on Western policies and institutions.
• What you can do to support Ukraine, today.
• Plus, insightful career advice.

And much more!

“I think today there are more ways to make a difference while making money than there ever have been before you don't need to remain or stay in public policy in the traditional kind of government think tank, uh, world. Now companies are establishing entire branches, departments, foundations to make a difference.” Natalie Jaresko on Electric Ladies podcast

Read Joan’s Forbes articles here.

You’ll also want to listen to:

·       Sandrine Dixson-Decléve, Co-president of the Club of Rome (global leaders) and Ambassador to the Climate

·       Heather Boushey, Member of the White House Council of Economic Advisors

• Michele Wucker, thought leaders and author of “You Are What You Risk: The New Art & Science to Navigating an Uncertain World.”

·       Gillian Tett, Financial Times, from COP26, about what the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) and its $130 trillion in commitments means for a net zero economy.

·       Kathryn Pavlovsky, Deloitte Energy, Resources & Industrials, on the energy transformation and ESG

·       Kristen Sullivan, Deloitte Sustainability & Supply Chain practice, on companies “doing” ESG, and the supply chain.

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“When we're searching for projects to invest in and support, we're really trying to make sure that it's a story that has kind of a balanced narrative. It's not about just talking about what we can do and how we're, how we're winning. It's really making sure that we understand what's at stake and what the impacts are and who the impacts are hitting, and also seeing people in action addressing and dealing with the situation at hand. And I think that's where it’s very hard, increasingly hard.” Jill Tidman on Electric Ladies Podcast

How do we talk about the climate? The public is experiencing the effects of a warming – boiling – planet more each day with massive wildfires, massive floods and extreme heat, as well as destructive hurricanes and the like. But how do we tell the story of how those events reflect the actions we need to take to avert worse?

This is the challenge of today for those of us seeking to save humanity’s ability to live on a warming planet. As I wrote in Forbes recently, how we talk about the weather matters. Listen to Jill Tidman, Executive Director of The Redford Center (founded by actor, producer, Robert Redford and his late son James Redford) on Electric Ladies Podcast in this inspiring conversation with host Joan Michelson.  

You’ll hear:

• Why stories are vital to massive social, political and economic change.
• How The Redford Center chooses its projects to motivate action.
• How to communicate climate messages in stories without being preachy or awkward.
• How culture can reach people who are disinclined toward the climate change message.
• Plus, insightful career advice ….

“Any time you can find work that aligns with your, your personal values and goals, you're going to excel, you're going to feel better, you're going to be happier, you're going to have more value, you're going to succeed in the ways that I think are probably most meaningful for women. And, and then, I also think, don't be shy. I think that we have a tendency to not ask for what we need or put in an idea forward, um, or, go out on a limb. We don't need to play small. We're in the room, and if you're in the room, be in the room.”

Jill Tidman on Electric Ladies podcast

Read my articles in Forbes about how we talk about the weather, and about developing a new narrative for the climate effort.

You’ll also want to listen to (some may have been recorded under our previous name, Green Connections Radio):

• Sandra Bargman & Chantal Bilodeau, “The Climate Cabaret” – using music and storytelling to talk about the climate crisis.
• Aimee Christensen, CEO, Christensen Global & the Sun Valley Forum & Sun Valley Institute For Resilience
• Deborah Rutter, President, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts – on managing creative people.
• Ann Friedman, Creator and CEO, Planet Word Museum – on her new museum about the magic of language.
• Tracy Edwards, Executive Producer of the documentary “Maiden” about her experience developing and Captaining the first all-female crew to run the Whitbread Round the World Yachting Race.
• Dayna Reggero, Executive Producer of The Climate Listening Project, short films about community climate activists around the U.S.

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“Much of our infrastructure isn't built to withstand certain kinds of flooding or certain levels of heat. And yet, as the climate changes, so many of the things… that we did know in a world with a stable climate, those are now being upended. And all of that affects costs fundamentally… So, we need to transition to net zero…The three pieces of (federal) legislation are all about investing in America and making sure that from the innovation to commercialization pipeline, we are helping those goods get to market at scale, at prices consumers can afford.” Heather Boushey on Electric Ladies Podcast

Climate change affects the entire economy, especially our infrastructure, like transportation, energy and electric power systems, buildings, manufacturing, etc. and every one of us, from consumers to businesses to investors, to education etc. Every sector, every community, every income bracket. NOAA calculated it’s already caused almost $3 trillion in damages. The Biden administration signed three massive bills into law with Congress’s help that address this pivot to a net zero economy and upgrading our infrastructure.

Listen to Heather Boushey, Member of the White House Council of Economic Advisors and Chief Economist of the Invest in America Cabinet, in this exclusive and rare interview by Joan Michelson on Electric Ladies Podcast explain how we can economically do this transition and how this federal funding reduces our risks and costs to do, while also expediting this transition to help avert even far worse effects of climate change. 

You’ll hear:

• How climate change affects the economy, and key sectors specifically.
• Resources in the Inflation Reduction  Act, Infrastructure Investment Act & CHIPS & Science Act to help homeowners, businesses and investors make these changes at reduced risks and lower costs.
• Where the opportunities – and jobs – are in this transition, including for women.
• The impact on women specifically and resources available
• Plus, insightful career advice, such as…

“For me, the key to my career was being clear on what my mission is….I feel so enormously fortunate that I found a president to be able to work for who shares that goal….So I think the lesson in that is either be the leader that you want to believe in, or find that leader and attach yourself to them and see what amazing things you can do together. But, for me, it's been about being clear on what it is that I wanted to achieve.” Heather Boushey on Electric Ladies Podcast

Read Joan’s Forbes articles here too.

You’ll also like (some may have been recorded under our previous name, Green Connections Radio):

• Kristina Wyatt, Chief Sustainability Officer & Deputy General Counsel, Persefoni and former leader of the SEC task force developing the Climate Risk Disclosure rules.
• Aimee Christensen, Christensen Global, Former Clinton Administration Official, Founder/CEO Sun Valley Forum & Sun Valley institute For Resilience
• Sandrine Dixson-Decléve, Co-President of Club of Rome, on transitioning to a people-planet first economy.
• Melissa Lott, Ph.D., Director of Research, Global Energy Policy, Columbia University, on how exactly to get to carbon zero
• Jean Case, CEO, the Case Foundation and Chair, National Geographic Society, on ESG and impact investing.
• Anne Kelly, VP of Government Relations, Ceres, on business supporting the Inflation Reduction Act

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This is our next in the series – requested by our loyal Electric Ladies Podcast listeners – for a collection of career advice from a handful of our various guests. The last question I ask in every interview is for career advice for midcareer women who want to make a difference.  Is that you?

If you want to make a difference with your career, and especially if you work in energy, climate, sustainability corporate responsibility or ESG (environment, social governance), or want to work in these fields, this advice will be especially relevant to you. 

This week, you’ll hear career advice from:

·       Meredith Shields, Managing Director, Head of Citi Impact Fund

·       Aimee Christensen, CEO/Founder of Christensen Global, of the Sun Valley Forum, and of the Sun Valley Center Institute

·       Jane Poynter, CEO/Cofounder of Space Perspective

·       Jacqui Patterson, Founder/Executive Director of the Chisholm Legacy Project, A Resource Hub

·       Sarah Cumbers, Ph.D., Director of Evidence & Insight at Lloyd’s Register Foundation

Here’s a hint:

“People are looking for community, so even if you think you might be the only one who's raising this issue,…you will find your people. And if you don't speak your truth, if you don't ask the hard question, you won't find the people who are looking to align with that aggressive leadership and trust your gut on that. So trust your gut, whether it's about a new job, about a direction we need to be going in, even if it feels a little bit lonely, because… You'll be proven. People will find you and want to collaborate with you.” Aimee Christensen on Electric Ladies Podcast

 Read Joan’s Forbes articles here.

You’ll also want to listen to (some of these are under the name Green Connections Radio):

·       Erica Wollam-Nichols

·       Genevieve Cullen

·       Trisa Thompson

·       Kristen Siemen

·       Karen Alonardo

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on #ElectricLadiesPodcast #podcast @AimeeGlobal @Citi @SpacePerspectiv #careers #ESG #women @LloydsRegister #sustaomanility #SarahCumbers @Chisholmlegacy #JacquiPatterson

“People who have been to space really do speak about it with great reverence. And it is for that reason that we want to take people to space in our car. Neutral zero emission spaceship, spaceship vacuum, which as you saw is not a rocket. Enormous balloons. It's a very gentle flight. We want to take leaders to space. We want to take artists to space. We want to have teachers go to space.” Jane Poynter at Earth Day Network’s Climate Leadership Gala

As Virgin Galactic takes another set of civilians into space, think about all the emissions they are adding to the very airspace they are celebrating.  Space Perspective says they are doing similar space travel but without hurting the planet. Imagine how much energy those trips use. And, though they are also doing climate research up there, the capsules and rockets are not generally carbon neutral. Can they be?

Listen to veteran space executive and former Biosphere 2 leader Jane Poynter, CEO and cofounder of Space Perspective describe how they are doing carbon neutral space travel in this extraordinary conversation with Electric Ladies host Joan Michelson conducted at the Earth Day Network Climate Leadership Gala (so there will be a lot of background sound). 

You’ll hear:

• How Space Perspective is making space travel carbon neutral (from fuel to materials).
• Who is paying for it (and what it will cost you to take ride with them)
• The general carbon footprint of today’s space shuttles and private companies’ space travel.
• How her experience in Biosphere 2 led to Space Perspectives.
• Plus, insightful career advice, such as…

“There are so many ways to make a difference, right?... I think at the end of the day, you have to be true to yourself and what is it that fires you up. And, and what is it that that does light that fire within you that you have to pursue, that you're driven to pursue, and then go pursue it. And, you know, sometimes it takes going in at a level that maybe you don't feel is your level. Maybe it's beneath you, but if you are trying to move into a slightly adjacent career, you have to do that. Cuz you have to work your way up sometimes. And it's also the best way to learn.” Jane Poynter on Electric Ladies Podcast

Read Joan’s Forbes articles here too.

You'll also like:

•         Kristen Siemen, Chief Sustainability Officer of General Motors
•         Suzy Deering, Chief Marketing Officer of Ford – on bringing change to a legacy industry as an outsider.
•        Neha Palmer, Founder/CEO of TeraWatt Infrastructure on charging for EV trucks
•        Jackie Birdsall, Toyota, Senior Engineer, Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles

• Jennifer Gerbi, Ph.D., Deputy Director and Acting Director, ARPA-E, the innovation arm of the Department of Energy

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