It is February 2021 in the U.S. which is Black history month. With humility and respect we do recognize Black history is actually American history. This month serves as a reminder of that history and the contributions Black Americans have made; many of these contributions under challenging and impossible circumstances, and many of them unacknowledged and unappreciated at the time and still today. We present an encore episode with Resmaa Menakem, a healer, author, trauma specialist and podcaster.

Are you curious about how you can better engage and support clean energy efforts in our communities? What is the democratization of energy and what does that mean for everyday citizens? What innovations are having an impact on the energy industry? Today, our guest is Nina Axelson, the vice president of sustainability and outreach for Ever-Green Energy overseeing sustainability objectives and performance, government affairs, community relations, and communications.

Do you want to support good governance and good government? What can you do as a social change leader to effectively partner with government agencies on shared community goals? Join us and hear 7 strategies to partner with the government and create change.

Are you communicating effectively to best scale your ideas and have more impact? Communication is a critical skill of social change leaders. Today we are talking with Brenden Kumarasami, the founder of MasterTalk. Brenden helps purpose-driven entrepreneurs and changemakers improve their communication skills to have more impact. Join us as Brenden discusses the work he does and shares some key skills that social change leaders can begin doing TODAY to start having more impact.

Have you started planning your 2021? Today Stephanie and Traci continue the conversation about transitioning from 2020 to 2021. In this episode, we discuss how to create a powerful vision statement and how to get started setting goals & action steps for 2021.

Have you taken time to reflect on 2020? The new year is a time many reflect on the year that has passed and begin planning for the one ahead. Listen as Stephanie & Traci share some year-end rituals and activities to consider as 2020 comes to an end. This episode also walks through 12 year-end reflection questions for social innovators, social entrepreneurs and social change leaders.

Did you know that the term “Holidays” actually refers to “Holy Days?” So, when we wish someone Happy Holidays we are acknowledging and respecting their preferred holy days - in an inclusive manner. It is the time of year when many holy days are celebrated around the world. Listen to what some of these are and learn the common themes: darkness into light, truth, goodness, reflection, dancing, singing, prayer/meditation, and wisdom.

“Defund the Police” has become a popular phrase used this past year and elicits strong reactions. We move beyond this phrase to talk about what abolitionism and transformative justice truly means in a powerful conversation with Jason Sole, co-founder of the movement Humanzie My Hoodie, a criminal justice professor, author, activist and abolitionist.

Trafficking of women for sexual exploitation is an international human rights crisis. How do girls and women that have been exploited overcome the trauma and create a livelihood? Today we talk with Sarah Symons, Founder and Executive Director of Her Future Coalition, an international non-profit and social enterprise fighting human trafficking and other severe gender violence with shelter, education and employment.

There has been a growing ecosystem to support social entrepreneurs and social businesses in the U.S and beyond. What does this support system look like? What resources are available for those who are wanting to launch or scale their social enterprise? Today we talk with Connie Rutledge, CEO of FINNOVATION Lab. FINNOVATION lab launched in 2017 to empower and support professionals and entrepreneurs who use business to address environmental, economic, and social issues.

This episode is being released on the third Thursday in November of 2020 which is Thanksgiving in the U.S. Many of us will be preparing large meals with fewer people around the table due to the increased social distancing practices brought on by the increase in COVID cases. As with many things that have happened in 2020, this holiday is a good time to reconsider and revamp how we understand our history, how we understand our current challenges and how we look at the Thanksgiving holiday.

Has it felt hard to be grateful in 2020? As you end the year are you thinking about all the things that did not happen because of 2020? Today we want to challenge you to think about 2020 differently. Gratitude is important! We want to share experiences and things in 2020 that we are grateful for - not just despite the pandemic but sometimes BECAUSE of the pandemic.

As social change leaders work to be more inclusive and address structures and systems of racism and oppression in our communities, we take a look at one of the important ones to tackle - health care. This week we discuss bias, leadership and health equity with Dr. Veronica Svetaz. Dr. Svetaz is a physician at Hennepin County Medical Center (where she also works in the Center for Health Equity Leadership) and an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota.

How does the U.S. Healthcare System compare to other countries? Can we really improve care and cut costs at the same time? Who is the best advocate for our own healthcare? In part 3 of our civic series, we discuss health care policy, health costs and care, leadership and generational social change with Dan Pelino. Dan will walk us through our role as health care consumers, the role of ‘trusted healers’ and elements of the US healthcare system.

Election season always brings to light important civic topics and this year, big questions. Is voter fraud a real threat? Is the voting system still reliable? Will we know the election results on election night? How do we know what information to trust? And, perhaps even more importantly, how can we better improve citizen engagement and expand civic education? This week we tackle these questions in a conversation with Political Science and Law Professor David Schultz.

As we approach the U.S. 2020 elections, where many big elections are occurring in all levels of government, it is important to think about the role and responsibilities we have to American democracy. We are not born being good citizens or participants in democracy. Being an effective member of a democracy must be learned, cultivated and practiced. On today’s episode, Traci shares her work in government and civic education and share some key questions to reflect on in the coming weeks and months.

We talk with Junita Flowers, Founder & CEO of Junita's Jar. Hear about Junita’s early fascination with entrepreneurship, her passion for baking and her experience being in an abusive relationship all led her to find her purpose in founding Junita’s Jar in 2015. Learn about the social impact the company seeks to create by ) removing stigma and shame around relationship violence, 2) educating college students about domestic and relationship violence, 3) inspiring college students to take action

The Social Change Leaders Podcast is one year old! We look back at some of our episodes, share our reflections and what we have learned.

Are you running out of gas? Do you feel like you are losing steam and need to recharge? Over the past month, we have noticed ourselves and others expressing the feeling of ‘hitting a wall.’ Having a loss of energy and feeling constantly fatigued. We talk about why we all seem to feel depleted, tired and have a sense of loss. We also discuss what we can do about it.

The pandemic has further exposed the systemic inequalities of our global economic system. Citizen and community action is increasing as our complex problems require cooperation and collective action. Have you thought about a way that you can contribute and have a social impact right now? We discuss trends and areas of growth in social change and why NOW is the perfect time to start that social enterprise, launch that nonprofit or social impact business that makes a contribution to the collective.