With a long history of health inequities in the U.S. is it possible to bring real change and health justice to our communities? Can social entrepreneurship be part of this solution? In this episode we have an inspiring conversation with Dr. Omolara Thomas Uwemedimo where we dive into the way she is guiding indigenous women and women of color to lead and create health justice, health impact, health equity, and build a health justice movement. And how she is using the social enterprise model to do this.

When was the last time you thought about how a big system change is needed? Are you expanding your focus from isolated symptomatic issues and leading with a broader systems view? When was the last time you did some reflecting on your ability to lead system change? With the challenges of the pandemic, distrust in leaders and political polarization, social change can often feel out of reach. Leading system change is going to challenge you in ways you may not be aware of.

How does your purchase of vegan food, beauty and fashion products support changing our world? Did you know that vegan products in all of these industries are growing rapidly, especially in food? In this episode, we have an inspiring conversation with Jenny Stojkovic, founder of the Vegan Women's Summit. We talk about veganism as a fast growing segment in the food industry because of its environmental benefit (compared to meat based food production) and because of advances in food technology. We also address women founders of businesses in food tech who receive less than 3% of venture capital funding; Jenny is seeking to change that. Lastly, we discuss the need to empower sustainability-minded women founders in the food tech industry.

Are you using your evenings to prepare yourself for restorative nights and productive days? Your evening routines can help you sleep better, stay true to your intentions and make the most of your days. In this episode, Stephanie and Traci talk about the common elements of their own evening routines, rituals and habits you may want to incorporate into the end of your day.

How can real change be made to move us to more equitable and inclusive workplaces? What does knowledge of self have to do with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) work? Listen to our inspiring conversation with Jesse Ross, CEO of Mr. Jesse Ross. Jesse is a DEI consultant, executive coach, and international speaker. He is also a community activist living and doing the work in Minneapolis.

Can you really have a business that creates social change? Yes, you can! Are there some elements to this type of business that are different? Yes, there are! Creating a business AND having social impact may sound challenging but it is possible. In this third of a three-part series, Stephanie Malon-Rufi (owner of Spark Good) reviews the 5 key areas (or the 5 C’s) that all social entrepreneurs need to know and pay attention to as they develop and grow their market-based business. Stephanie expands on the fourth and fifth C’s; Change and Care.

Can you really have a business that creates social change? Yes, you can! Are there some elements to this type of business that are different? Yes, there are! Creating a business AND having social impact may sound challenging but it is possible. In the second of a three-part series, Stephanie Malon-Rufi (owner of Spark Good) reviews the 5 key areas (or the 5 C’s) that all social entrepreneurs need to know and pay attention to as they develop and grow their market-based business. Stephanie expands on the second and third C’s; Cha-ching and Community.

Can you really have a business that creates social change? Yes, you can! Are there some elements to this type of business that are different? Yes, there are! Creating a business AND having social impact may sound challenging but it is possible. On today’s episode, Stephanie Malon-Rufi (owner of Spark Good) highlights 5 key areas that all social entrepreneurs need to know and pay attention to as they develop and grow their market-based business. Stephanie dives into the first one, competition.

Do you see and think about the different systems impacting your social change work? With the challenges of the pandemic, distrust in leaders and political polarization, social change can often feel out of reach. However, it is vital to understand and change systems when addressing our biggest community challenges. Today, Traci discusses the topic of system change as a new paradigm and tool for social change leaders.

Are you starting your day off right to make the most out of your day? Are you spending the day working in alignment with your goals and greater visions? Learn about how your morning routine can help you make the most of your day and benefit your overall health and mindset.

How can communities collectively heal together during traumatic events? In our conversation with Carl Young, we hear about his work on Community Healing Teams in the city of Minneapolis during the Derek Chauvin trial for the murder of George Floyd.

Welcome to 2022! In this episode Traci and Stephanie dive into what is on the horizon for our world, for their own businesses and for the Social Change Leaders podcast.

Have you started planning your 2022? Maybe you have thought about it but haven’t quite finalized some of your big goals. As we enter 2022, Stephanie and Traci discuss how to create a powerful vision statement and how to get started setting goals & action steps for 2022 with ease and calm.

Do you work within an organization and feel that making change is nearly impossible? Are there usually a lot of great ideas for making change but none of them stick? In this episode we talk with Nancy Murphy Founder & President of CSR Communications about intrapreneurship as a framework for creating change within an organization. Nancy shares some concrete examples of how this is done. It IS possible to disrupt and innovate from within! This conversation is especially inspiring for those who are in large organizations or work within government where they want to bring about lasting social change both within and outside of these places.

Today we have an inspiring conversation with Karen Lee, CEO of Pioneer Human Services, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit social-enterprise organizations in the United States. Pioneer partners with communities to transform society by honoring the humanity of people, reducing the impact of discriminatory mass incarceration and empowering people to live safe, healthy, productive lives. Pioneer operates several revenue-generating businesses that provide living wage jobs as well as serve over 10,000 people a year through its diversion, treatment, housing and job training programs.

Are you planning for how you will make the most out of the time in the new year? How are you figuring out how the important work gets done that is going to move you and your social initiative forward?

Can we create social change with others who do not share the same beliefs or perspectives? In our conversation today with Nisha Anand, she talks about how we can do this and why we should. Nisha is an Indian-American activist and the CEO of Dream Corps, a nonprofit that works to bring people together across racial, social, and partisan lines to create a future with freedom and dignity for all.

What is evaluation? Why is it important for social change leaders to incorporate evaluation into their work? We dive into these questions and more in this episode where we talk with Ann Price, President of Community Evaluation Solutions, an evaluation consulting firm. Much of Ann’s work involves supporting community coalitions and nonprofits to measure and evaluate projects with a focus on systems change.

It is that time of year when we take time to connect with loved ones, get ready for the holiday season, reflect on the past year and often talk about gratitude. The reality is that as we are finishing out 2021, we are still in the midst of a global pandemic and still experiencing the challenges that it brings. These days it might feel like you really need to ‘dig deep’ to find all you are grateful for right now. If you have traditionally had a gratitude practice you may have fallen out of practice with it. These days can be hard.

For the final 2021 encore episode, we want to replay another one of our popular episodes with Anna Tsanir. We recently attended a Women Biz event in Twin Cities and Anna Tsanir won the Social Enterprise award of the year. We were so excited for her and were reminded again about what an incredible biz model this is. Two Bettys Cleaning Company translates values into meaningful actions through a business model that goes beyond profit. Two Bettys uses non-toxic and eco-friendly cleansers, strives to take great care of their employees, builds great relationships with customers and advocates fair labor practices. Anna’s is an amazing entrepreneur and we know you will be inspired by this episode that illustrates the true meaning of a triple bottom line.