Social Enterprise Alliance Podcast

Dez Stephens is the founder of Radiant Coaches Academy, a prominent international coach training school certifying holistic coaches. She is a certified and credentialed coach, published author and expert trainer who is known for her great insight and compassion. Dez is a humanitarian coach, social entrepreneur, people’s advocate, and planetary activist. She has coached professionally since 2005 an...

Mike Curtin, Jr. joined DC Central Kitchen (DCCK) in 2004, taking over as Chief Executive Officer of the country’s first community kitchen from founder Robert Egger in 2007. He came to the organization after a 20-year career in the hospitality sector that included owning and operating his own restaurant, The Broad Street Grill, in Falls Church, Virginia. Drawing on that industry expertise, Mike ha...

Gregg Keesling has been a leader in workforce development in Indianapolis for the past 25 years. He is the founder of the nonprofit electronic recycling social enterprise RecycleForce and the alternative staffing firm Keys to Work. Both organizations support returning citizens, providing employment and skill acquisition while assisting the client with managing criminal justice mandates placed on t...

Rebecca Dray has been working in social enterprise and social procurement since 2005. She originally began her career in the U.K and moved to the United States 10 years ago. Her organization, Purchasing with Purpose was co-created as a network of networks to provide support and services that make it easier for everyone to purchase from businesses that put People and Planet First. ***** https://www...

Anne Oudersluys is the founder of Core Impact, a company focused on building purpose-driven brands. With a background in marketing and corporate sustainability, Anne has a deep passion for using business to solve the world’s social and environmental challenges. Anne works with a diverse range of clients—from startups to large corporations—to develop marketing and sustainability strategies that ali...

Diane Fleet is a 30 year veteran of domestic violence advocacy and is currently serving as the Assistant Director of GreenHouse17, a domestic violence program in Central Kentucky. In partnership with GreenHouse17 leadership and staff, Diane has implemented a trauma informed, therapeutic horticulture program which has received numerous awards and recognitions. Diane also contributed to Preventing i...

Kristin Carmichael is a dynamic professional with a Certificate of Completion from the Institute for Non-Profit Practice, currently excelling as the Director of Business Operations at More Than Words in Boston. With over a decade of experience, Kristin has spearheaded strategic initiatives, directed successful online business operations, and played a vital role in the development of a transformati...

Despite being diagnosed with a learning disability at the age of five. Walter accomplished his lifelong dream of making it to the NFL, playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills, and Cincinnati Bengals, Mendehall’s desire to educate young minority males prompted him to walk away from football to pursue his passion for teaching the next generation of leaders. Mendenhall...

Greg is the founder of SocialEntrepreneurU. He is a former Ashoka Leadership Group Member, a two-time Ashoka Globalizer Fellow, and a World Economic Forum "Social Entrepreneur of the Year for 2012 (Latin America)." Greg is the principal designer of the award-winning MicroConsignment Model, now being applied globally. Over 20 years, he’s founded, led, and/or consulted for dozens of organiza...

Dr. Gina Merritt, MBA is founder of Northern Real Estate Urban Ventures (NREUV), LLC, and has over 26 years of hands-on real estate development, finance, construction, and asset management experience. She has participated in the development of over 8,200 units of housing and has underwritten approximately $4.5B in real estate development transactions. Merritt is an experienced owner, developer and...

Sarah-Jayne Ashenhurst is proud to serve as the Social Enterprise Director at Bright Endeavors, a social enterprise of New Moms, where she provides strategic leadership and business management to a growing workforce development social enterprise and home fragrance brand. Informed by a background in the arts and a deep commitment to racial, social, and economic justice, Sarah-Jayne is a community w...

Kristen Powers serves as the Executive Director of Benevolence Farm. In her role, she is proud to work alongside formerly incarcerated women by providing and creating opportunities for housing, employment, and community across the rural South.  ***** www.benevolencefarm.org

Helping social enterprises manage the headache of fulfillment with HHPLift’s 3PL services (Warehousing and Fulfillment). With over 10 years experience, state-of-the-art technology, and an opportunity to provide job training in the growing logistics field, HHPLift will take the headache off your plate so you can do what you do best - create impact. ***** Dena is President & CEO of HHPLift, a Ch...

John McDonald has over twenty-five years of experience as an entrepreneur, most recently as the Managing Entrepreneur of NEXT Studios, Indiana’s first Benefit (B) Corporation Innovation Studio. He was the founder and CEO of ClearObject, the fastest-growing technology company in Indiana for 5 years in a row, which successfully exited to private equity in 2019. Prior to that, John served as CEO of C...

Lauren Edwards is the Executive Director of SEA Change, the Principal/Owner of Next Step Business Consulting , Co-owner of the social enterprise Apex Leadership Co of Central Ohio, and a Lecturer in the City and Regional Planning and Non-Profit Management departments at the Ohio State University. Her passion lies in helping organizations and individuals alleviate poverty through program and busine...

In 2014, Jordan stepped away from a corporate job to find a way to change outcomes for people aging out of foster care. That journey lead to co-founding Doing Good Works in 2014. As Doing Good Works has grown over the last 9 years, we built an amazing community of people impacted by foster care that we served through job opportunities, training, resources and mentoring support. This experience has...

Liv Roskos is a creative, entreprenuer, and events producer with OAD Productions. Her passion is to create artistic environments and experiences where artists feel known, valued, and loved. Her music is birthed out of the everyday human experience. Through an eclectic mix of jazz/soul/pop fusion, Liv shares stories of hope, love, & inspiration. ***** instagram.com/oadproductions/ instagram.com...

Driven to serve the often-overlooked people management needs for the social impact sector, Lisa Brown Alexander set out to build a market where one didn’t exist. She founded Nonprofit HR, the leading talent management firm in the country that works exclusively with the nonprofit sector. Today, fueled by the passion of 100-plus employees and consultants nationwide, her thriving company is helping m...

Ilyssa Manspeizer, Ph. D. is an Anthropologist with over 30 years of experience creating opportunities for people and planet to thrive together. Throughout her time as a conservationist, Ilyssa had a recurring question about how people and conservation could go hand in hand. Landforce, formed in November 2015, has hired more than 140 people to learn environmental stewardship skills, be employed in...

Dan Adam, founder and owner of Adam & Son Auto Repair a Social Impact business with two locations, Founder of the Stranded Motorist Fund a 501(c)3 non-profit, co-founder of the Automotive Impact Network. Dan is a pioneer in the Social Impact arena for the Automotive industry. He is the recipient of the National Institute for Social Impact’s 2022 Social Impact Business of the year, Synchrony Pi...

After owning and operating a retail coffee brand for fourteen years, Janice Townsend recently sold her business and has become fascinated with sustainable living. She is currently studying for a Masters of Sustainability at the Harvard Extension School, with a particular focus on the Circular Economy. Janice lives in the Near Southside of Fort Worth, Texas with her partner. She loves to write, tra...

An advocate of the circular economy for the past 15 years, Elaine Birks-Mitchell is the CEO and Founder of The Bra Recyclers, a social enterprise dedicated to recycling and reusing preloved bras, prostheses, and underwear. In partnership with other environmentally and socially conscious individuals and companies, Elaine has donated over four million bras to over 130 nonprofits in 29 States and 8 c...

Katherine Berg is the founder of Will & Atlas. Katherine holds a lifelong appreciation for craftsmanship and one-of-a-kind treasures – a love honed over decades of travel and running a French antiques import business with her late husband, William. Together, the Bergs built what is now known as Will & Atlas, a home decor and accessories line partnering directly with fair trade artisans in...

Dr. Eric W. Miller is the founder and CEO of Marsh Creek Social Works, an organizational and management consulting firm for the nonprofit and social sector, offering advising services, bookkeeping and accounting services, and an impact investment fund. Eric’s doctoral and post-doctoral studies examined scaling social impact within social enterprises and non-profit organizations, and in 2022, Eric...

Antonio Blazevic is the autistic owner of Neurodiversity Advisors, a certified Disabled-Owned Business Enterprise. Antonio has Master’s degrees in Business and Geography. Neurodiversity Advisors offers consulting services to businesses on how to increase the hiring of persons with disabilities. ********** neurodiversityadvisors.com LinkedIn