The Classy Podcast

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Upworthy’s Creative Director Will Radically Change Your Perspective on Millennials Dec 30, 2016

Show notes

Erica Williams Simon grew up watching her father transform people’s lives through stories. It didn’t take long to realize that she had a similar calling.

Today, after a stint in politics, dozens of TV appearances, numerous conferences, advising the White House and several Fortune 500 companies, and serving as Creative Director for Upworthy.com, Erica has honed her voice and built a platform that uses storytelling to affect change across generations, with a particular focus on millennials.

In this episode of the Classy Podcast, Erica shares the work she is doing to create and share messages that help generation Y thrive and radically change the world. She revisits the experience of discovering her strengths, the moments and people that shaped who she is today, and how she approaches journalism and storytelling in very different ways.

In this episode, Erica discusses:

How to have a great personal and working relationship with millennials
Tactics to get outside your “filter bubble” and listen to news objectively
How to get “un-stuck” in your career path
Why it’s important to distinguish journalism from storytelling
Why it’s ok to not settle for just one professional title
The #1 challenge for anyone creating content today
Why her go-to power pose has more to do with her heart than her physical presence

How a Would-Be Medical Student Took on Nonprofit R&D | Renuka Kher, Tipping Point Nov 18, 2016

Show notes

Renuka Kher is the managing director of Tipping Point’s research and development engine, located in the heart of San Francisco.

On a path to medical school, Renuka’s life takes an interesting turn after participating in a design program. Her experience in science, design, and community-focused nonprofits inform her refreshing take on the social sector. Renuka is a passionate problem solver, and this conversation will ignite you to be one too.

A Data Scientist With a Heart for Impact | Jackie Roshan, Pencils of Promise Nov 11, 2016

Show notes

Each leader in the social sector has their own winding (and sometimes surprising) path to their present influence. For Jackie Roshan, the director of transparency and data innovation at Pencils of Promise (PoP), this journey has included childhood adversity; studies in South Africa, Peru, and Thailand; and a life-changing move to New York City. This path has brought Jackie to Pencils of Promise, where she now leads the vital effort to maximize impact and transparency at the high-profile organization.

Pioneers of peer-to-peer fundraising, Pencils of Promise partners with local governments and education ministries in Ghana, Guatemala, and Laos to change public education systems. They work within communities to build schools, train and support teachers, and implement water sanitation and health programs.

Jackie and PoP are also leading the way toward new heights of impact evaluation and transparency in the sector. Intent on identifying and optimizing programs that change lives, she and her team are using the power of data and accountability to unlock the potential of more than 33,000 students.

10+ Life Lessons From the COO of Movemeant Foundation | Charina Lumley, Movemeant Foundation Nov 04, 2016

Show notes

“I think ultimately my biggest takeaway from watching [the publishing industry] unfold over 15 years was really a lesson in understanding that we cannot sit still.”

Sitting still was never a hallmark of Charina Lumley’s career.

The first 15 years of her professional life, she worked in print and publication in the city that never sleeps, New York.

Then, she committed what many would call “career suicide.”

She left behind the stability and glam of the Big Apple and followed an itch. She became a parks ranger for the National Parks Service–a position that ultimately led her to the action sports industry and her active lifestyle. Ten years later, trusting the opportunities presented to her along this jagged journey, she now straddles the for-profit and nonprofit worlds: she serves as both the head of growth for a startup SaaS company and the COO of the Movemeant Foundation, an organization empowering women and girls to lead active lifestyles.

Forty minutes with Charina flew by thanks to a multitude of life lessons and advice peppered among stories of her own professional development.

Special Edition: The Future of Breast Cancer with Sarah Storey, Bright Pink Oct 27, 2016

Show notes

Sarah Storey decided to leave a 19-year career in the for-profit world because of her personal experiences as the daughter of a breast cancer survivor. In 2014, she officially signed on as the President of Bright Pink.

One of Sarah’s top priorities at Bright Pink is making bold, measurable changes in the world of breast and ovarian cancer. A big part of this goal is encouraging women to take proactive measures when they’re young and healthy. If you wait until you’re diagnosed, the fight gets that much harder.

“There are plenty of efforts that are put into treatment, advancing the cause for folks who are actually fighting the disease,” says Storey. “Those efforts are really meaningful, but we’re not satisfied to wait until that point.”

The more you know now, the better prepared you are to take action and reduce your risk of breast cancer. If Bright Pink didn’t attempt to reach these young women, they feel it would be a missed opportunity to save lives.

That sense of duty influenced the development of Bright Pink’s self-assessment tool, assessyourrisk.org. Launched in 2015, over 500,000 women have taken the comprehensive, 19-question risk assessment for both breast and ovarian cancer.

This Woman is Leading a New Era of Corporate Social Responsibility | Michele Sullivan, Caterpillar & Caterpillar Foundation Oct 21, 2016

Show notes

“I believe we all have a role to play, not only in our own successes, but in the successes of others, and I believe we must come together to make these changes.”

As the President of the Caterpillar Foundation and Director of Corporate Social Innovation for Caterpillar, this sense of responsibility motivates and inspires Michele Sullivan on a daily basis.

Caterpillar was founded in 1925, the Caterpillar Foundation opening years later in 1952. Over time however, these two parts of Caterpillar have been united as a strategic, influential company that gives back to society in order to improve our world.

In this episode, Michele discusses: • Societal and human infrastructure working together as one • Caterpillar’s evolution as a company • Solving problems as a business and as a nonprofit • The future of corporate philanthropy

How GE Defines Corporate Responsibility | Deborah Elam, GE & GE Foundation Oct 14, 2016

Show notes

“How do we leverage the knowledge and expertise we have and couple it with philanthropic dollars?”

As the president of the GE Foundation and the Chief Diversity Officer of GE, Deborah Elam is responsible for answering this question for one of the largest companies in the world. In her 30 years of work at GE, she identified an overlap between her efforts to provide employees with equal opportunity and the foundation’s philanthropic areas of focus.

One of the oldest philanthropic organizations today, the GE Foundation has developed a longstanding reputation for its programs in health, education, developing skills, and public policy. Deborah’s dual role works to empower both GE employees and the beneficiaries of the foundation to contribute to society and achieve their dreams. Under her direction, corporate responsibility goes far beyond the contribution of dollars and becomes an effective strategy other organizations can mirror to engage their employees in meaningful work.

Previously a Leadership Council member of the 2016 Collaborative + Classy Awards, Deborah recently joined us again to discuss corporate responsibility, her unique role at GE, and her personal leadership experience.

How the Wilderness Inspired This Veteran to Become a Nonprofit Director | Stacy Bare, Director, Sierra Club Outdoors Sep 30, 2016

Show notes

Post traumatic stress, a lack of purpose, feeling overwhelmed—these are just some of the challenges that veterans face as they transition into civilian life. Stacy Bare was no exception.

Before he became the director of Sierra Club Outdoors, Stacy served in Iraq. His transition out of the army was marked by drug and alcohol addictions and depression. But the more he got outside, the more his experiences in the wilderness helped him to see the healing power of the outdoors.

In this episode, Stacy shares:

How lessons learned in the wilderness influence his time in the office
The role veterans play in our country’s conservation efforts
How being a new parent has changed his perspective of the world around him
The many mentors who empowered him

This CEO Represents the Next Generation of Nonprofits | Brett Hagler, ‎CEO & Co-Founder, New Story Sep 23, 2016

Show notes

Brett Hagler is not your typical Silicon Valley CEO. While he is a CEO based in San Francisco, Brett is focused on growing a different type of business—his nonprofit, New Story. New Story uses crowdfunding to raise money to build homes for those who’ve lost theirs due to a natural disaster, first in Haiti and now El Salvador in Central America and Bolivia in South America.

Under Brett’s leadership, New Story is changing how traditional nonprofits do business. From their programs to their internal culture and core values, Brett approaches his organization with the same mentality of his startup, for-profit peers: with a laser focus on transparency, efficiency, and bottom line revenue. The only difference is that the revenue he generates goes to programs and impacting the families they serve.

Despite his young age, Brett’s experience in moving from the for-profit to the nonprofit world, growing a team, and raising capital make him a powerful mentor for other up-and-coming social entrepreneurs.

In this episode, Brett shares advice for attracting a high-profile board of advisors—and why this is critical for your success, how he and his team nailed their 10-minute pitch to Y Combinator and beat out 300 other companies, why Scott Harrison of charity: water is among his top three most influential mentors, and how he remains a lifelong learner through podcasts and books.

The Visionary Who’s Redefining Philanthropy | Jacob Lief, CEO, Ubuntu Sep 16, 2016

Show notes

Jacob Lief was only 21-years-old when he first visited the townships of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. It was 1998 and the country was transitioning out of apartheid. With a college degree in his back pocket, Jacob cultivated a team of other inspired individuals and together they founded Ubuntu Education Fund with the hope of giving Port Elizabeth’s youth a more promising future.

Jacob’s founding story is one of grit, perseverance, and personal development. His journey of growing Ubuntu into a world-renowned leader in education is marked with many monumental challenges and milestones—including a pivot that completely changed the organization’s funding model, seven years into its operations.

Today, Jacob is a celebrated thought leader with a contagious vision for a better philanthropic sector—one that allows nonprofits to dream big and execute beyond the traditional walls of restricted funding and antiquated benchmarks of success.

In this episode, Jacob shares:

What it was like to turn down seven-figure funding from USAID
Key facets of the Ubuntu internal culture and how that culture has kept his core executive team together for 13 years
His personal growth as a CEO
Why he thinks culture is the most dangerous word in English dictionary
The mentor who pushed him to take care of himself first

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