How to Change the World

Natasha Lopez-Rodriguez, Financial Education Program of YWCA Natasha Lopez-Rodriguez brings the cha-change by helping people escape debt, start businesses and become financially independent. She's the Financial Education Program Director for YWCA in Phoenix – and she rocks at it. Natasha talks with us about the importance of financial literacy, learning from the past and preparing for success in t...

Adam Callow, CEO and Founder of Expert Trades Adam Callow is the Founder and CEO of  ExpertTrades . An entrepreneur at heart, Adam has chased his dreams of starting his own company.  Adam sits down with us to talk shop, the entrepreneurial spirit and what it takes to forge your own path. Change-engineers will not want to miss out on Adam's tale of realizing his own strengths and leveraging those i...

AiVi Nguyen, Law Partner of Bowditch & Dewey AiVi Nguyen became a partner at Bowditch & Dewey at just 31 – a testament to how intelligent, dedicated, and driven she is. As the daughter of Vietnamese refugees she grew up in public housing and had limited resources. But despite the obstacles, she was driven to reach the Ivy League and pursue a successful law career. We sit down for an inspiring conv...

Jack Wight, CEO of Buyback Boss Carri Dougher, COO of Buyback Boss We have a special interview this week featuring  two  guests: CEO Jack Wight and COO Carrie Dougher of  Buyback Boss . They encourage folks who have old iPhones and Samsungs lying around to put them to good use by selling them back through their company, which offers cash payment. The story of Buyback Boss is a fascinating one. Jac...

Sherry Michaels, President and Director of Learning Solutions at Michaels & Associates Working from home is very fashionable. It wasn't always that way though. Sherry Michaels started working remotely 30 years ago – before it was a "thing" – and she has been running her own company of work-from-homers for 20 years. Change is coming to the modern workplace and working remotely is on the rise. Learn...

Noah Karvelis, Co-Founder of Arizona's Educators United If you've been in Arizona or on the internet lately, chances are you've heard of the #RedforEd movement for increased public education funding. Support has been posted in business windows, written on vehicles, discussed on national news, worn on shirts, and resulted in  a historic teacher walkout across the state . This week, we sit down with...

Gloria Feldt, Co-Founder and President of Take the Lead Not-so-fun-fact: Did you know that fewer than 20% of top leaders across all sectors are women? Thankfully there are extraordinary people like Gloria Feldt who are trailblazing the way and vigilantly fighting for gender parity. Gloria is the Co-Founder and President of Take the Lead, a nonprofit focused on preparing, developing, inspiring, and...

Mi-Ai Parrish, Professor at ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication Mi-Ai Parrish, former publisher of  The Arizona Republic and current professor at ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, joins us to discuss her path from intern to publisher, how she came to trust her instincts, and handling a barrage of death threats after taking a stand for...

  Ellis Palmer, Senior Broadcast Journalist of BBC News "Change doesn't always mean making something different. Sometimes it's about contending with the way things are." Ellis Palmer , Senior Broadcast Journalist at the  BBC , joins the podcast this week. Ellis was born super early, resulting in cerebral palsy. He opens up about growing up, living, and working with a disability. We chat about the...

Hanna Miller, CEO and Founder of Ringmaster Hanna is the CEO & Founder of Ringmaster , where she works with teams to understand their gifts and maximize their talents. We talk with Hanna about the importance of leaning into your strengths to create lasting and meaningful change – and we also chat about her time in the circus.

Sean Mendez, Director of Solidarity Sports On June 14, 2017, the Grenfell Tower fire in West London claimed seventy-one lives. It was one of the deadliest fires in Britain over the past century. Sean Mendez has close ties to the community devastated by the fire. He runs Solidarity Sports, a nonprofit that works with at-risk and disadvantaged youth. That night, Sean lost children he worked with and...

Rick McCartney, CEO and President of InMedia Rick McCartney came out as a gay man at the age of 47 and it changed his life. We talk about his incredible journey – from what it's like to come out when you have a family to navigating new relationships and the unknown. Rick is President and CEO of InMedia , a multimedia development company, so we talk a little business along the way too.

Debi Chess Mabie, Executive Director for The Dunbar Pavilion: An African American Center for Art and Culture 100 years ago, the Dunbar School in Tucson, Arizona opened its doors as a segregated school. It was the only school in the city that served African-American children up until 1951. As you can imagine, it's a place with a complex history. We dive into that history with Debi Chess Mabie and d...

Drena Kusari, General Manager of Southwest Region for Lyft Drena discusses her experience living through the war in Kosovo as a teenager, leaving for the United States for her last year of school, and how it shaped her as a person. Today, she is the General Manager of the Southwest Region for Lyft and she dives into how she got there, what she loves about her job, the change happening in rideshari...

Grace Gamez, Program Coordinator of American Friends Service Committee One of the biggest life changes anyone can experience is becoming justice system-involved.  Going through the system means enduring a broken, confusing process that turns lives upside down and changes people forever. Grace Gámez shares with us her personal story of involvement with the criminal justice system, the changes that...

Carlos Terrazas, Access Consultant of Disability Resource Center at U of A Change is not always for the better. Change is often thought of as a good thing, new human rights protections or funding for education, but what happens when change is forced upon us that we didn't ask for? Not all change is welcomed. This week on the podcast, Carlos Terrazas talks with us about living with uninvited change...

Tracey Beal, Executive Director of School Connect Jill Hicks, Director of Business Partnerships at School Connect Every community needs connectors. They have superhero-like abilities that allow them to spot and amplify opportunities by connecting the right people at the right times . So this week we're featuring two amazing connectors to pick their brains on how and why they do it. Tracey Beal and...

Andrei Cherny, CEO and Co-Founder of Aspiration Andrei Cherny has seen, experienced, and been a force for change throughout his life. He joins us this week to share his remarkable story as a son born to immigrants to working in the White House to starting his own socially-conscious banking and investing company, Aspiration.

Nate Rhoton, Executive Director of One N Ten Nate talks about growing up LGBTQ in a Mormon family and coming out in his twenties. He also shares his story about shifting from a corporate background to leading a nonprofit, what he's learned from volunteerism, and how he's gathered mentors to help him in his new leadership role.

Alex Macpherson, International Academy Partnership Executive of Celtic Football Club Alex Macpherson, brother of Catherine Alonzo, joins us to talk about the twists, turns and changes he's encountered from college to his current career. The two siblings also open up about growing up in a grieving family after the tragic loss of their older brother.

Janey Pearl Starks, Associate Director of Marketing & Engagement, Mountain Park Health Center Janey Pearl Starks discusses change moments in her life that have inspired her to make a positive impact in the world. From her grandfather's influence, to her immigration at a young age, to the moment she discovered she had a brain tumor - Janey shares the pivotal points in her life that have made her th...

Shane Greer, Co-Owner of Campaigns and Elections   Ever wondered what role businesses play in social change and how society benefits from innovation? Shane Greer, Co-Owner of Campaigns and Elections shares his thoughts with us. He also discusses the #MeToo movement and how lasting political change might come about.

Tomas Robles, Co-Executive Director of Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) In 2016, Arizonans overwhelmingly voted to increase the minimum wage and provide earned sick time for workers. This week's episode gives you a behind-the-curtain peek into the story of this historic change. It's a much more complicated tale than you might expect, and it starts with one man: Tomas Robles, Co-Executiv...

Paul Penzone, Maricopa County Sherriff The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office has a long history of drawing national attention and coverage for all the wrong reasons. But in 2016, all that changed. Voters brought in a new sheriff - Paul Penzone. Sheriff Penzone believes in being the change you want to see, so he ran for office to bring change to an office he believed could do better for the communit...

Tanya Alvarez, CEO and Co-Founder of OwnersUp Starting and growing a business is tough work. 90% of companies fail within their first five years. But Tanya Alvarez is working to change that. She's the CEO and Co-Founder of OwnersUp , a place for solopreneurs to team-up, problem solve and supercharge their growth. Hear about the importance of building the right team, connecting to others, and how T...