Do One Better with Alberto Lidji in Philanthropy, Sustainability and Social Entrepreneurship

CEO of World Child Cancer, Jon Rosser, and paediatric oncologist Prof Lorna Renner in Ghana, join Alberto Lidji to talk about their UK Aid Match campaign and work in the developing world.   World Child Cancer supports and helps children with cancer in low and middle-income countries.  Jon Rosser notes there’s a large disparity in childhood cancer survival rates in the developed world – where it’s...

CEO of Aga Khan Foundation UK, Matt Reed, joins Alberto Lidji to talk about the Aga Khan Development Network, its $5.5bn of annual operations, relationships with 40,000 civil society organisations and much more.   The Aga Khan Foundation is one of 10 development agencies that together form the Aga Khan Development Network, founded by His Highness the Aga Khan.  They work across all 17 UN Sustainab...

CEO of Giving Compass, Stephanie Gillis, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss how combining philanthropy and technology can help a broad audience learn, connect and take action.   Giving Compass is a philanthropy knowledge hub.  Its origins were driven to a great extent by Jeff and Tricia Raikes – two early Microsoft employees who were fortunate to accumulate considerable wealth.  As Jeff and Tricia wer...

Founder & CEO of Co-Impact, Olivia Leland, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss the global collaborative she launched and how it aims to achieve impact at scale in education, health and economic opportunity.   Co-Impact’s core partners include Bill & Melinda Gates, the Rockefeller Foundation, Rohini and Nandan Nilekani, Jeff Skoll, the ELMA Foundation and Richard Chandler.   Olivia explains that Co-Impa...

President and CEO of CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) joins Alberto Lidji to discuss their support of 3,600 academic institutions and 92,000 advancement professionals globally.   CASE was founded in 1974 and has its origins in alumni relations and public affairs. Today, it supports schools, colleges and universities across their external engagement work advancing education t...

Executive Director of Compassionate Atlanta, Leanne Rubenstein, joins Alberto Lidji to talk about the Charter for Compassion and what it means to be a compassionate city, business and individual.     Leanne’s professional experience has a strong footing in the refugee resettlement space and she notes that she’s in her comfort zone when working with people who came from all over the word.   The Cha...

The Clerk (CEO) of the Worshipful Company of Coopers, Stephen White, joins Alberto Lidji to shed light on the world of livery companies, the history of the Coopers’ since 1298 and their philanthropic work.   The Coopers’ livery company has a long history, first mentioned in a public record back in 1298.  Today, they have approximately 350 members and are very much open to everyone. They have a str...

CEO of United World Schools (UWS), Tim Howarth, joins Alberto Lidji to shed light on their 200 schools in Cambodia, Myanmar and Nepal and to celebrate their 2019 WISE Award for educational innovation.   UWS is one of 2019’s WISE Award Winners (World Innovation Summit for Education). They were presented a WISE Award for their innovative approach and scalable model; they have had 30,000 schoolchildr...

Executive Director at Innovation Edge, Sonja Giese, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss their impact investment platform and innovative strategies in support of Early Childhood Development in South Africa.   Sonja joined the podcast from Cape Town, South Africa.  Innovation Edge is focused on early childhood development (ECD) investments in South Africa. They’re a platform designed to promote innovatio...

CEO of Özyegin Social Investments, Ayla Goksel, sheds light on challenges and opportunities in driving philanthropic operations in Turkey, and dynamics between international and local organisations.   Özyegin Social Investments is a group of different organisations started or supported by the Özyegin family. These include: ACEV (the Mother Child Education Foundation); the Özyegin Foundation; Özyeg...

President of J.B. & M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation, Janet Froetscher, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss investing $1 Billion to achieve dramatic change; and why no one is interested in marginal change.   The J.B. & M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation was founded by J.B. Pritzker, who’s the current Governor of the State of Illinois, and his wife M.K.   The Foundation aims to invest $1 billion in the comi...

President of the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, Jessie Rasmussen, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss their investments in support of children's Early Years.   Approximately 20 years ago, Warren Buffett decided to give a substantial amount of his Berkshire Hathaway stock to his three children, as well as to the Gates Foundation, to be used for philanthropy.    His Daughter, Susie, subsequently launched...

British Ambassador Designate to South Sudan, Chris Trott, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss conflict resolution, power sharing agreements, Ebola and working in the frontlines.   Chris talks about his career trajectory and the rewarding challenges of being posted to South Sudan, Afghanistan and other precarious settings. He explains why this is important to him and provides advice to others who may be...

Founding Executive Director of the Center for High Impact Philanthropy, Kat Rosqueta, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss social impact, strengthening democracy through philanthropy and knowledge sharing in philanthropy.   Kat speaks passionately about the power of philanthropy and notes that high impact philanthropy is not about how much you give but, rather, it’s about how you give.    She sheds ligh...

General Manager of PBS America in the UK, Richard Kingsbury, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss educational TV, impartial reporting and the value of public media. PBS America (Public Broadcasting Service) was founded in 1969. There are more than 300 PBS channels in the US and 85% of their income comes direct from philanthropic donations; 15% comes from the government.   In the US, PBS has been voted t...

Chief Executive of the Scouts UK, Matt Hyde, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss inclusivity, growth and why Scouting transforms lives in 193 countries.  Matt Hyde introduces listeners to the global Scout movement and to the Scouts in the UK.  Scouting was set up in 1907 and today has approximately 50 million Scouts in 193 countries.  The organisation aims to prepare young people, aged 6 to 25 (exact a...

Grant Gordon, philanthropist and Founder of the Reekimlane Foundation, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss high-net-worth (HNW) family philanthropy and responsible stewardship of wealth. Grant encourages global listeners who are interested in philanthropy to take the first step and connect with likeminded individuals who are attracted by philanthropy. Grant founded the Reekimlane Foundation, which gran...

Club Director at Wimbledon's All England Lawn Tennis Club, Martin Guntrip, joins Alberto Lidji to talk about the Wimbledon Foundation and the inner workings of the world's most prestigious Grand Slam tennis tournament. The Wimbledon Foundation was founded in 2013, and the All England Lawn Tennis Club has been involved in charitable work for many years prior.  One could say the Foundation was a way...

CEO of the Smollan Group, David Smollan, joins Alberto Lidji to share his thoughts on managing a global workforce of 80,000 in a caring and sustainable manner. Being a mindful employer is important. David wants large-scale employers to think about “how mindful are we about the sustainability of human capital, and how we treat people, and how we develop them?”  The Smollan Group employs 80,000 peop...

Chairman of the Varkey Foundation, Vikas Pota, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss the Global Teacher Prize, Ed-Tech and universal access to quality education. Vikas is passionate about quality education, advocacy, education technology (Ed-Tech) and political engagement. The Varkey Foundation is the driving force behind the Global Teacher Prize, which awards $1 million every year to an outstanding teac...

Executive Director of the Bernard van Leer Foundation, Michael Feigelson, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss political engagement, diversity of leadership and support for Early Childhood Development. Michael speaks passionately about engaging with global policymakers and diverse stakeholders in support of Early Childhood Development. We hear of Michael's early days as a consultant at McKinsey & Co, hi...

Founder and CEO of Ethical Angel, Alex Fahie, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss social entrepreneurship and his platform connecting corporates and employees to good causes around the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Alex is a social entrepreneur and regular listener of The Do One Better! Podcast.  He explains how Ethical Angel aims to create valuable experiences for individuals, and to mobilis...

Secretary General of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation, John May, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss international growth, non-formal education and their 1.3 million global participants. John May became a head teacher in the UK at the age of 28 and he is passionate about the value of non-formal education.  He’s quick to note that what happens in the classroom is only half the stor...

Director at Galileo Watermark, Kenny Harmel, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss sustainability in the airline industry, ocean plastics, the Waste Hierarchy and more. Galileo Watermark is a sustainability-focused firm that supplies British Airways, Cathay Pacific, United Airlines, Air New Zealand and other leading airlines with ‘aviation product’ – all the items one finds in an airplane cabin that are...

CEO of the UBS Optimus Foundation, Phyllis Costanza, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss social finance, philanthropy, blockchain, innovation, the SDGs and more. UBS Optimus was founded 19 years ago in Switzerland, and today it is overseeing about 175 projects in approximately 20 countries. The Foundation started off supporting children and now has broadened its portfolio to include a range of thematic...