Larger Than Yourself

Ericka Alston-Buck is a divine force whose life work has been to amplify the voices of change agents and magnify the work being done by others to positively impact the world. In our conversation we discuss her being tested as a genius at eight years old, the weight of having her first child at 15, her recovery from being addicted to crack cocaine, her creating the Kids Safe Zone in response to the...

Nnadagi Isa is the co-founder of Lor Tush, an incredible company that is reimagining toilet paper as we know it. In this episode, we discussed the influence of growing up in America with Nigerian parents, her experience being homeless, the music album she helped go platinum, and the creativity that brought Lor Tush to life.

Daniel O'Connor is the founder and chief storyteller behind Panacea, an amazing organization that is healing communities, one complicated conversation at a time. Dan saw a lack of positive narratives in the media around themes of love, empathy, and forgiveness and decided to do something about it, which launched him on a journey that may just unite the world.

Fagan Harris is the co-founder and CEO of Baltimore Corps. He's also one of my heroes and one of the most thoughtful people I know. In the episode we talked about hustle, the Rhodes Scholarship, death, life, purpose over profit, nonprofit vs. for profit, Baltimore Corps, Lexington Market, and the fight for racial equity.

Joe Mechlinski is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and social entrepreneur who believes that an engaged workforce is the key to unlocking human potential. More importantly, he's one of my best friends. In this episode, the two of us covered love, plant medicine, parenting, trauma, equality, complicated conversations and his exciting new book.

Bree Jones watched her hometown of New Rochelle, NY become gentrified so fast that by the time she tried to do something, it was already too late. Vowing to find a solution, Bree moved to Baltimore and founded a community led real estate company called Parity, whose mission is to renovate abandoned buildings to create affordable home ownership and prove that you can do development without displace...

Delali Dzirasa is the future. His story about the hustle and hard work that led him to create Fearless, a tech company whose mission is to build software with a soul, was so inspiring. Delali shows us all how much more successful we can be when we chase purpose over profit.

Simon Cataldo shares his fascinating life journey that led him to reimagine the game of lacrosse. The story of how Harlem Lacrosse came to be has very little to do with the actual game, it's all about how the sport itself, looked at differently, can change the life trajectory of our most forgotten and disenfranchised youth. 

Shelley Halstead's burning desire to know why things are how they are, led her around the world, and eventually to Baltimore where she launched Black Women Build, a homeownership and wealth building initiative that trains Black women in carpentry, electrical, and plumbing by restoring vacant and deteriorated houses in West Baltimore. 

Sports enthusiast and three-time All-American athlete, David Slomkowski, combined his love and appreciation for the athletic spirit with his entrepreneurial prowess to create Athletes Serving Athletes. The organization is committed to helping athletes with disabilities find opportunities to participate in mainstream sports while ensuring they and their families feel loved and included.

Jonathan Rose is a socially conscious innovator and leader in the real estate world and beyond. Since founding Jonathan Rose Companies in 1989, he's been on a mission to repair the fabric of cities, towns, and communities by delivering visionary projects that are affordable, environmentally responsible, and socially conscious.

Sean Smeeton didn't just want to re-imagine the ice cream industry, he wanted to empower others along the way. Beginning as a local non-profit and later transitioning to become a worker-owned-purpose-driven cooperative, Taharka Brothers is now a majority black owned business that has built its reputation as one of Baltimore's favorite ice cream vendors. 

David Sullivan is a huge believer that Entrepreneurship is a mindset that can be applied anywhere. His ability to listen deeply and see the gaps led him to found Till, a company that empowers renters to thrive in their homes by radically transforming rent into a positive and personalized financial experience.

Donald Manekin defines the servant leader role. From serving as the Chief Operating Officer of Baltimore City Schools to helping reimagine real estate with Seawall, Donald has distilled the powerful lessons learned from his father––to lead humbly, with love, by listening deeply––and decades of community-minded work experience into his forthcoming book: The Inside Out Company.

After coming face to face with the human cost of food apartheid, Eric Jackson founded the Black Yield Institute in 2015. A Baltimore-based, black-led action network and think tank, Black Yield is determined to generate solutions for the systemic problems plaguing black and brown communities from within those communities themselves.

After her daughter was diagnosed with autism, Ami Taubenfeld found herself searching for programs offering adequate support for autistic individuals and their families. As the search wore on, Ami took matters into her own hands, launching Itineris–an agency that would give her, her daughter, and others the help they need.

Sent to prison at age 18, Alex Smith discovered a love and a talent for gardening while incarcerated. After graduating from the STRIVE program at Baltimore's famed Center for Urban Families upon his release 15 years later, he went on to found Division Street Landscaping, a social enterprise that creates pipeline partnerships for fellow formerly incarcerated individuals.

After suffering extreme physical and emotional pain throughout his life, Fernando Reis created an innovative treatment protocol that has helped thousands around the world heal their imbalances. His Bioenergetic Medicine school in Brazil helps people understand the power they have to change their own destiny.

By investing in places and people, Philadelphia-based Shift Capital and its founder, Brian Murray, connect the economic and social dots to create opportunity for all. Employing what they call the Whole Neighborhood approach, Shift is on a mission to create inclusive, equitable communities that do more than survive — they thrive.

After encountering the challenges teachers face firsthand, Danna Thomas realized that the educators who support school children need a support system of their own. She created Happy Teacher Revolution, an international movement with the mission to support the mental health and wellness of teachers everywhere. 

At age 12, Freeman A. Hrabowski was arrested during Martin Luther King Jr.'s Children's Crusade in 1963. Decades later, that same activist spirit led Hrabowski to become President of The University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Through his work as an author, advocate, educator, and mathematician, he has reimagined public higher education in Baltimore and beyond.

After his own experiences on the Obama campaign showed him the power of movements, Alex Lofton wanted to find a pathway to stronger schools and safer communities. He co-founded Landed in 2015 to help educators, healthcare workers, and first responders finance and purchase homes in tricky markets like San Francisco, Seattle, Hawai'i, & Boston.

After nearly two decades in investment banking, Jamie McDonald turned her attention and entrepreneurial interests toward the generosity economy. Before founding Generosity Consulting, where she advises socially motivated CEO's and visionaries to drive change, Jamie founded GiveCrops, a community-building and online-giving software platform connecting nonprofits and educational institutions to digi...

In the quest to bring the world's game to the world's city, Los Angeles Football Club reimagined what a sports team could be. LAFC's Executive Vice President of Brand & Community, Rich Orosco, helped pioneer a supporter-first approach that made space for a vibrant community unlike any other LA has seen. Instead of a sports team with a great fan base, LAFC has become an unstoppable community first...

With chapters in Birmingham, Durham, Houston, Miami and Philadelphia, Black Girl Ventures has raised over $1 million for Black and Brown women entrepreneurs. Founder Shelly Bell is a venture catalyst, tech entrepreneur and international speaker who exemplifies the creative spirit and tenacity of her organization.