The Social Change Career Podcast

The haves versus the have nots.  Can you do good using the market? Can you produce structural, long -term positive social change using investing and private capital? "How do I even dare to ask such questions and heck yeah" are Howard Fischer's answers to my capitalist-skeptical questions.  And watch me sweat as do an honest effort to understanding how you can change the world through impact invest...

In Episode 15 of Season 6 , Saji shares his "behind the scenes" account on the passing of the historic UN Security Council Resolutions 2250 and 2419 on Youth, Peace and Security. Don't  miss this intimate, honest and very powerful conversation with one of the most outspoken and recognized voices in the youth, peace and security space.  From his early years in Sri Lanka, to challenging times in LA,...

Janet Murdock has 20 years of experience as an accomplished trilingual peacebuilding/conflict resolution practitioner with broad government and international experience. In Episode 14 of Season 6 , Janet shares how she grew up in rural Brazil, raised a daughter by herself, worked and studied full-time to be one of Latin American's most recognized professionals in the conflict resolution space and...

From school dropout to PhD.  Meet one of the worlds tops experts in Peace Education : Phill Gittins. Phill has received multiple awards for his contributions to peace and social change, including the Rotary Peace Fellowship. In Episode 13 of Season 6 , Phill shares how he has lived, worked, and travelled in over 50 countries across 6 continents and taught in schools, colleges and universities in 8...

If issues like structural inequality, race, class and gender deeply interest you, Erin William's career in feminist issues as a radical listener, trust-based grant-maker and change manager is exactly what you have been looking for. Erin Williams has over 15 years of experience fighting for social justice.   In Episode 12 of Season 6 , Erin talks about how she informs her trust-based grantmaking pr...

The heart wants what the heart wants.  Even if you graduate from MIT as an electrical engineer. Nancy Chan found her way into the mission-driven field of social good.   In Episode 11 of Season 6 , Nancy shares her interesting career trajectory. From working for a while in the tech world to ultimately discovering her passion for good and starting a super comprehensive a search for her graduate degr...

How do you change the world through digital story-telling? While story-telling is as old as humanity itself, the job title Digital Story-teller wasn't even invented until a few years ago. Is digital storytelling just a fancy word for marking, or is it a more authentic form of engagement and how can use the process to advance positive social change? What are the key skills and careers paths for tho...

Building a successful career as an anti-corruption expert can be seen as the enormous challenge of creating sustainable systems for accountability at a global level. Transforming the widespread and often accepted practice of corruption at many levels to systems based on transparency and accountability that foster increased participation and trust between citizens and public actors is an ambitious...

Who is the best person to write about the intersection of Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights and Ethics? It is Flynn Coleman, one of the world's leading experts who is a writer, international human rights attorney, public speaker, professor, and social innovator. She recently released her groundbreaking cutting edge book: A Human Algorithm. In Episode 8 of Season 6 , Coleman shares with us what...

Andrew Russell has over three decades working at the UN in conflict-affected and transitional societies on peacebuilding, civil society development, crisis prevention, policy reform and strategic organizational change management. This is a very special edition of the podcast as many of the questions were audience-generated in the PCDN Social Change Career Helping Line . In Episode 7 of Season 6 ,...

What happens when the worlds of design and social change merge?  How do you become a socially conscious designer? To answer these and many other questions I sit with social impact designer Marlyn Martínez.   In Episode 6 of Season 6 , you hear the career journey of Marlyn, from getting a BA in Industrial Designer to then working as a designer for  corporate America; to becoming a graduate of the M...

When your father is from the Check Republic, your mum is from Panama and you are raised in Germany, you truly get a global lens through which to navigate life (and work). In Episode 5 of Season 6 , you hear from Larissa Demel-Anguizola who is currently an MA candidate in Public Policy at LSE.  With an impressive work trajectory that started at AISEC as country director and ended up Global Head of...

If you think that engineers and STEM students overlook the social, cultural and environmental impact at their work, let me prove you wrong.  I bring you to Dr. Mira Olson, remarkable on all accounts.  An engineering professor, talented researcher, teacher and advisor, mother of 3, musician and also co-founder of the newly established and super cutting-edge Peace Engineer Program at Drexel Universi...

Skeptics of the market place, those that never scored high on math, curious about financial topics but afraid to ask, social entrepreneurs and troublemakers in general please listen to this super insightful episode that will walk you through how impact investing can be used as a tool to create social good.     In Episode 3 of Season 6 , you hear from finance expert Diana Narváez, who left a 10-yea...

Let's face it.  Getting a job at the UN is not easy.  More so, if you belong to a non-donor country.  But even when your hard work rewards you with a UN field position, there are epidemics, active armed conflict and much more. In Episode 2 of Season 6 , you will hear an honest, real and very insightful account of UN field work done mostly in Africa and Latin American posts.  Santiago Quiñones shar...

Over the better part of the past decade, Wylie Belasik has worked in the fields of ending homelessness and battling substance abuse while using physical fitness as a cornerstone of a successful recovery.   Opening Season 6 , we hear how through the work of his non-profit ULIFTU, Wiley is closing the gap between fitness and unemployment.     A five times ironman finisher, twice qualified for the Wo...

Dream of working in the field applying development, humanitarian and conflict resolution skills in the field?  Stop dreaming and listen how Caterina Becorpi has been doing this type of work for almost a decade. Episode 8 of Season 5 is brought to you by  The Rotary Peace Fellowship . In this episode you will learn how Caterina was able to gain field experience in Haiti, Venezuela to Iraq working i...

His grandfather worked closely with Mahatma Gandhi, so from an earlier age Vikas was committed to social change and community development.  In this episode he talks about his education, his experience as Rotary Peace Fellow and what are the key trends and skills in the International Development, Disaster Management fields. Episode 7 of Season 5 is brought to you by  The Rotary Peace Fellowship . A...

If you think that fashion is a shallow thing and it has nothing to do you or the state of the world, think again. NOT thinking about the quality of your clothes could be problematic, as well as what you buy and where you buy.  So let's talk fashion & sustainability with  Garik Himebaugh.  Garik is the Chief Stylist and founder at Eco-Stylist. Eco-stylist, envisions a world where all clothing is su...

Do you wonder what's the difference between a scholarship from a fellowship? Do you see everyone getting fellowships and you ask yourself if you can ever be a recipient of one? I sat down with one of the world's premier Fellowship expert Dr. Vicki Johnson to tell you everything you wanted to know and to inspire you to go ahead and look for YOUR fellowship opportunity.     Episode 5 of Season 5 is...

How can one tackle poverty, disease and climate change with a finance career and become a social good champion?   Devin Thorp who left the world of financing (in this case a whole career in the world of finance (as an investment banker, CFO, treasurer and mortgage broker) and turned it around to become an author, educator and speaker and ultimately a social good champion.  Episode 4 of Season 5 is...

How can one tackle poverty, disease and climate change with a finance career and become a social good champion?   Devin Thorp who left the world of financing (in this case a whole career in the world of finance (as an investment banker, CFO, treasurer and mortgage broker) and turned it around to become an author, educator and speaker and ultimately a social good champion.  Episode 4 of Season 5 is...

How can one tackle poverty, disease and climate change with a finance career and become a social good champion?   Devin Thorp who left the world of financing (in this case a whole career in the world of finance (as an investment banker, CFO, treasurer and mortgage broker) and turned it around to become an author, educator and speaker and ultimately a social good champion.  Episode 4 of Season 5 is...

It's time we get real and talk about unemployment in the social change sector. You do everything right, you send the applications, you write the letters, you apply to a multitude of places. This was the case of Matthew Johnson. Master's educated, published author, activist, educator Mat couldn't land a job in social change.   Episode 3 of Season 5  is brought to you by  The Rotary Peace Fellowship...

Lets talk about privilege. How do you succeed in life when you are born female, black and belong to one of the poorest most acutely affected areas by the armed conflict in Colombia? Yineth Rentería´s life and career will tell you how.  She is no ordinary changemaker.  With only 22 years old, she is a professional accountant and recepient of many national and international awards, like a full schol...