The Social Change Career Podcast

We open Season 5 with an amazing stubborn optimist. Marcela Fernández and Fito (her companion dog who also joined in) not only dropped out of college and fought family and societal pressures to find what made sense to her. And what worked for her may not work for you but still, its worth a listen how she has so far founded 5 companies, speaks several languages, has travelled to 67 countries (with...

This week's guest is Juliana Gutierrez. She has focused her career in international cooperation for the development and sustainability, working, volunteering and leading different social and environmental causes in public, private and academic sector in organizations like UN-Habitat, UNDP, Amnesty International, AIESEC, La Ciudad Verde, among others. In Episode 9 of Season 4  hear about Juliana's...

Growing up in a civil war is –unfortunately- no that uncommon for many of us.  But raising someone to break the cycle of vengeance and hate in the midst of war is remarkable.  This was the childhood of today's guest. Born and raised in the midst of Beirut's 15-year cruel civil war, Hanadi Mehdi, learned from her parents the value of education and on-the-ground peace and reconciliation.  In Episode...

A kid from the 1980's who rode his bicycle without a helmet and benefited from an outdoor childhood grew up to develop a very successful career on sustainability as it intersects with business.  In Episode 7 of Season 4  you will learn how Kevin grew to become one of the world's pre-eminent business consultants and teachers in the field of sustainability. He is the CEO of Sustainable Business Cons...

While originally from Medellin, Colombia, Federico has worked all over the world developing partnerships and is an organizational management expert focused on youth and leadership development.  As a child, de wasn't learning Chinese and practicing for standardized tests, in fact he played a LOT of video games growing up, traded college for adventures with pink dolphins and now co-directs the newly...

You made it in life when it is impossible  to fit your accomplishments in one go.  But when you remain a good human, it's even better.  It is a tremendous honor to have as a guest Dr. Mary Fitzduff who is one of the leading academics of contemporary conflict resolution and coexistence policy. Irish-born activist, educator, writer and academic, and more importantly, a very good human being.  In Epi...

Like the series Friends, the days of having "Northern Experts" working in the Global South are so 1990s.  Now, not only do we have Netflix but also it is possible to find a Congolese peace activist and researcher that live and work in Bogotá, Colombia.  Yes. This episode is dedicated to exploring the life and career of Christian Cito Cirhigiri. With eight years experience supporting youth particip...

PCDN contributor and career advisory council member as well as PCDN friend, Bri Reggio, is an NCDA certified Career Advisor with years of experience advising hundreds of students from top universities in social change careers.  In Episode 3 of Season 4  you will learn why certifications work great; the in and out of Fellowships and tips for winning resumes.  No social change professional can't mis...

After spending 10 years in refugee camps in Central Africa, Christopher Zambakari and his family arrived to the U.S. No war or any other obstacle -like not getting a job immediately after graduation- stopped him to becoming a successful academic, practitioner and business owner with degrees in Law, MBA and a PhD. Learn about "The Lit Review Method" for changing the world and becoming a successful...

A women engineer from the global south revolutionizing housing and poverty crisis in her native Egypt. Radwa Rostom , is also an Ashoka Fellow, a Climate Fellow from Echoingreen; nominated most influential Arab women under 40 among other distinctions. Episode 1 of Season 4 will tell the story of Radwa's creation of her award-winning social enterprise Hand Over that utilizes sustainable constructio...

The "Jackie Chan" of Peace. The extraordinary life and career of Dr. Tatsushi Arai   From selling his car in order to purchase a plane ticket to Rwanda to teach to post-genocide survivors; to suffering malaria many times to working for peace in Nigeria (and half the planet). Dr. Tatsushi Arai has built an extraordinary career as a seasoned U.N. adviser; peacebuilding academic and practitioner. Dr....

Head of Program Development at Luminary , Surabhi Lal talked to me about her decade of experience coaching careers of change. Surabhi sits at the intersection of conversations with job seekers and employers in the public service space. Listen to Surabhi's career trajectory as she also share careers tips, dos and don'ts, based on her decade of working with students and professionals in the social g...

One of the main leaders behind Resolution 1325 and other groundbreaking U.N. Resolutions that changed the way women and gender issues are integrated in the global architecture for peace making. Equal parts scholar and activist and a thought leader who is responsible in part for the huge advancement of women, peace and negotiations in the last decade. Listen to Episode 4 of Season 3 to learn about...

A pioneer on the intersection of mindfulness and social impact business. Bridging the worlds of mindfulness and marketing, Paul is a thought leader, an entrepreneur, providing connection, advice and coaching to hundreds of conscious business leaders. Listen to Episode 3 of Season 3 to learn how Paul is changing the work with his mindfu l marketing approach.   In this episode we discuss:   Growing...

While Craig and I were lost in a social innovation lab a young an amazing women helped us find our way and very very soon we knew she needed to be a guest at The Social Change Career Podcast.  Recently graduated from the Wagner's School in NYC, she returns to her native Colombia to develop Kalpatta, her social entrepreneurship bringing opportunities to underserved women through a gourmet restauran...

Julio grew up in an area of high conflict in rural Colombia and through lots of smarts and lucky breaks Julio managed to end up in Bogota –the capital- and later in the U.S. where he completed his Masters in Divinity. Julio works in the intersection of faith,  peace, reconciliation and poverty alleviation and unlike many who leave their humble origins and and never get back, Julio manages to devel...

"Everyone can participate in cultivating the good in our world. This fact is both terrifyingly large and absolutely actionable – and Kristine loves a good action item.  Kristine is the Interim CEO of StartingBloc, an organization and global Fellowship community that believes that the world needs better leadership" . Learn in Episode 7 of the Season 2 of The Social Change Career Podcast how to make...

Muyatwa Sitali On How to Open the Door to Your First Job   Growing up on his family's farm in Lusaka, Zambia, Muyatwa Sitali understood the power of water in his own life. His father grew corn, cabbage, and other crops, all of which depended on rainfall and irrigation. A Rotary Peace Fellow, Muyatwa is a professional in water and sanitation working for a global partnership hosted by the United Nat...

Some people don't know who they want to be; some people stumble into social change and fall in love; some, Ilaina Rabat are just social change agents since birth, or really really early.  Ilaina Rabbat, is co-founder and executive director of the Amani Institute . Listen this episode and find out Ilaina's early involvement in social change issues; her tenure with Ashoka in El Salvador and how she...

Tammy Lynn Gilmore is an event producer, grant maker, grant program creator and social impact expert. She currently runs the SXSW Community Service Awards, the Social Impact track of programming and oversees grant-making at SXSW. If you (it happened to me) don't know or have never heard of SXSW this is the podcast to learn about Tammy and South by South West (SXSW). Check out Episode 4 of the Seas...

Giselle Huamani: What a Changemaker is Made Of Growing up in a difficult period of Peruvian history, Giselle, like many of her generation, was deeply influenced by the country's civil war. An energetic young lawyer she grew committed to changing and improving people's lives. Giselle found her home learning and doing Conflict Resolution in the United States. She then became a well-known professiona...

Born in the geographical center of the U.S. and quickly relocated in the suburbs of Washington D.C. Aaron's grew influenced by all things political. From TV shows to political editorials, Aaron's passion soon took expression in the form of political cartoons. But this bright young mind ended up traveling the world and working as an International Development officer. Learn how Aaron built a success...

Born in an affluent household during Apartheid South Africa; Robi was always a free spirit who loved and rescued animals from an early age. Robi moved to Israel, raised her children and had a successful career in Public Relations. In 2002, a Palestinian sniper killed her son David. Robi soon joined The Parents Circle where she travels the world alongside Palestinian and Israeli bereaved families s...

Identify Your Cause Born in Mombay, India from working class parents who never forced her to follow on Indias' societal expectations of womenhood, Elsa Marie D'Silva literally grew wings and for two decades became a successful employee in the aviation industry. But she had to follow her passion and commitment to solving the epidemic of sexual violence against women and girls in public spaces. She...

Anne carries a Danish passport but considers herself a citizen of the world. Her father's family escaped from Germany as the Nazis persecuted them for their pacifist's beliefs. Her family moved to Norway to the countryside when she was 11. For college she attended an alternative three-year innovation management school that started her great journey combining entrepreneurship, technology solving co...