Vital Voices Podcast

Secretary General and co-founder of the Council of Women World Leaders, Laura Liswood joined Vital Voices Podcast host Alyse Nelson to talk about her leadership journey, the lessons learned along the way and how she uses ethics and empathy in leadership to empower others. Tune in to hear how Laura’s theories on power and leadership that can exclude – and include – historically minority groups from...

VVEngage Fellow and current Interim President of Peru’s Council of Ministers, Violeta Bermudez spoke with host Alyse Nelsonabout building a career fueled by a passion for creating change. The staunch gender equality advocate discusses her goal for gender parity in politics, and the cascading impact of seeing women in leadership positions.   Tune in to hear how Violeta’s background as a constitutio...

Human rights advocate Ravi Kant joined the Vital Voices Podcast series: Power to Empower with host Alyse Nelson to talk on the importance of men’s allyship and his fight in breaking the silence around violence against women and children in India. In this episode, Ravi shares how his mother raised he and his brothers to be advocates in the fight for gender equality as an ally for women and girls in...

Author and Activist Chessy Prout  joined the new episode of the Vital Voices Podcast series: Power to Empower with host Alyse Nelson to talkabout her journey as a survivor of sexual assault and how critical the allies around her were as she and her family worked through the draining process of seeking justice. Chessy reflected on the importance of connecting with and encouraging other survivors to...

VV Woman Leader Kiran Bir Sethi joined the new episode of the Vital Voices Podcast series: Power to Empower with host Alyse Nelson to talk about the turning point for her leadership journey: becoming a mother. In this episode, Kiran shares how - through role as a mother - she learned the importance of empathy, ethics, excellence, elevation and evolution in shaping schools’ educational curriculum t...

Biologist, entrepreneur and founder of Wakami, Maria Pacheco, joined the Vital Voices Podcast new series: Power to Empower with host Alyse Nelson to talk about her work as a bridge between communities and the larger world. Maria spoke about her focus on channeling positive energy to make change happen for people and the environment, and how the 20-year Guatemalan Civil War inspired her work to bui...

Climate change and indigenous rights activist Hindou Oumaru Ibrahim joined the Power to Empower series to discuss the way she brings the unique perspective of the Mbororo community to the international stage to inform global climate change efforts with on-the-ground experience. With Host Alyse Nelson, Hindou shares her path to leadership, her connection to her community and its impacts on internat...

Managing Director of Sosai Renewable Energies, VV GROW Fellow, Global Ambassadors alumna, WE Empower Awardee and Global Leadership Awards Honoree Habiba Ali joined this episode of the Vital Voices Podcast new series: Power to Empower. Habiba joined host Alyse Nelson to talk about her work in the renewable energy space in Nigeria, how her past has been a stepping stone to what her future has become...

Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, joins this week’s episode of the Vital Voices Podcast new series: Power to Empower! President Lagarde joined host Alyse Nelson for a thoughtful and dynamic conversation about being the first woman in a role – and both the responsibility and motivation that comes with the title. She offered insight on how she’s leading the international bod...

Tunisian human rights activist, global technology entrepreneur and founder of Mos.com, Amira Yahyaoui joined the second episode of the Vital Voices Podcast new series: Power to Empower. Amira joined host Alyse Nelson to talk about her past, present, and future as an advocate for change and what it means to be a trailblazing human rights advocate, a woman leader, and immigrant. To learn more about...

Inaugural US Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman joined the debut episode of the Vital Voices Podcast new series: Power to Empower. Amanda joined host Alyse Nelson to talk about building her confidence as a poet and leader to overcome her speech impediment and raise her voice as an agent for change. Amanda talked about the lessons she’s learned as she works to bring about conversations around race a...

Street artist, human rights advocate and survivor Panmela Castro gave us a first-person update from Brazil on how the country is handling the pandemic - from concerns of inequitable healthcare and crowded housing, to increased domestic and gender-based violence. But despite it all, Panmela is energized by the artistic options still available and the community that advocacy can build. She spoke wit...

Former Marine and Congressional Candidate Claire Russo joined Vital Voices' Alyse Nelson to share her harrowing story of sexual assault, and discuss the deeply difficult journey she had to undertake to fight for justice within the armed forces. Claire's courage didn't stop there - she not only shared her story to get justice, but also as a part of her Congressional campaign, bravely discussing her...

In this conversation, Data2X's Emily Courey Pryor outlines the crucial points as to why gender data matters in building a more equal world. Biased data leads to biased policies, which widen economic and opportunity gaps and leave women behind when pushing for progress. From the way data is gathered to how questions are structured to how it's analyzed, gender bias can creep in throughout the data c...

For Women's Equality Day and the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage in the United States, we're joining RepresentWomen's Cynthia Richie Terrell to discuss voting access and best practices for election systems to bring better gender balance and representation into politics.  Find out more about RepresentWomen: https://www.representwomen.org/ See the letter Alyse and Cynthia discuss here: https:/...

VVEngage Fellow Joelle Abou Farhat spoke with VV President and CEO Alyse Nelson about the devastating impact of not only the explosion in Beirut, but the lack of formal response in the country. She offered perspective on the government's response, and shed light on why Lebanese women - at the center of recovery efforts today - are always ready to serve their community at a moment's notice.  And wh...

Business leader and philanthropist Mona Sinha joined Vital Voices President and CEO Alyse Nelson for a passionate conversation about women's role investing in causes that matter and why authentic representation will make the world a better place for more people. Mona discussed her journey and drive to prioritize issues that advance equality, and what her career has shown her about the importance o...

Last week, the world lost an unparalleled human rights activist, Dr. Hawa Abdi. Hawa gained international attention when she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2012, but spent a life long before that committed to overcoming obstacles so that she could care for those around her. After losing her mother at a young age to maternal mortality, Hawa became Somalia's first female gynecologist.  She...

Entrepreneur and restauranteur Aline Kamakian was hosting a staff meeting in her restaurant near the port when the explosion in Beirut went off. The restaurant she worked to create for 20 years was immediately destroyed, and the 25 members of her team in the space were all injured. She joined the podcast to update us on the disaster, the quick work she and her team have done to start serving their...

Renée Brinkerhoff is breaking records as a rally racecar driver with a mission. She shared her journey from homeschool teacher and stay at home mom to racing around the world on all 7 continents. Renée is on a global tour to bring awareness and raise funds to fight child trafficking, and scheduled to race on her 7th and final continent – Antarctica – in January 2021.   To learn more about Vital Vo...

Anna Phearman from Mobility4All joined Vital Voices President and CEO Alyse Nelson to discuss the ways that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the disabled community. The additional considerations that people with disabilities range from difficulties wearing masks to issues masks pose to reading lips and gathering facial expressions for deaf people to medical discrimination and medical rationing w...

Three Vital Voices women leaders have come together in South Africa to join their artisanal forces to create masks and other goods to sustain artisans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hear directly from Eswatini Founder Kerry James and Signhild Brosvik on their work to sustain business throughout closures in South Africa, how they’ve seen strengths in collaboration emerge and why this poses an opport...

Cameroonian activist and former Presidential candidate Kah Walla joined the podcast for an insightful conversation on anti-Blackness and racism in the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and so many more. Kah reflects on the legacy of colonial control and its design for power held by few and oppression of the masses - and how that's defined Africa's leadership structures today. Tun...

VVEngage Fellow and Venezuelan Member of Parliament Tamara Adrian joined Vital Voices President and CEO Alyse Nelson to talk about why her career as a politician is centered on her activism. As the country continues to face multiple crises, from oil to economy to COVID and more, Tamara continues to fight for her community. Tune in to hear her perspective as a leader and one of the first transgende...

Vital Voices Board Member Sherrie Westin, President of Social Impact at Sesame Workshop – the nonprofit behind Sesame Street – works to transform early childhood education and ensure kids around the world are equally prepared to learn and grow. Tune in to hear her discuss Sesame Street’s work in ensuring kids identify with the characters they see on screen, how they’re reframing humanitarian respo...