Unleashing Social Change

Latest Episodes:

40: Dr. Christine Ortiz, "Equity is a Verb, not a Noun." May 26, 2021

Show notes

40: Dr. Christine Ortiz, "Equity is a Verb, not a Noun."

Listen in on this episode for an insightful and deeply personal conversation about why equity is a verb with our friend, Dr. Christine Ortiz, Founder of Equity Meets Design. Christine invites us to get curious about the ways philanthropy and the nonprofit sector can be overly focused on spreading solutions at the expense of actually solving problems. We at the Billions Institute are proud to be partnering with her and Equity Meets Design on a new course called Solutions Worth Scaling.

Show Highlights:

Racism and equity are products of design and thus can be redesigned
The difference between Capital D Designers and lower case d designers and why the little d counts!
Why process is everything
Christine's adventures as a serial entrepreneur and how the most important thing she learned at Harvard was not in the classroom
The pros and cons of working with the philanthropic sector
The problem with jumping to solutions
What it means to embody equity

Resources:

equitymeetsdesign.com
The Problem with Problems Course: https://courses.equitymeetsdesign.com/p/the-problem-with-problems
Decolonizing Wealth by Edgar Villanueva

p.s. Becky's book is available for pre-order. Visit http://www.billionsinstitute.com/books/ for more info!

Episode 39: Dr. Julia Colwell, "Shifting from Reactive Brain to Creative Brain" Apr 27, 2021

Show notes

39: Dr. Julia Colwell, "Shifting from Reactive Brain to Creative Brain"

In this episode, we talk with our friend, the brilliant and insightful psychologist Dr. Julia Colwell, about the physiological experience of shame and why it's so important that we learn how to shift out of our reactive brains - and the hierarchy that comes with it - back into our creative brains where collaboration, connection, and creativity are possible. Join us for this fascinating conversation about how our brains work and how we can use our brains - and our bodies - to advance love and justice in our world. You'll want to download the handout you can find on our Unleashing Social Change website to follow along with the show.

Show Highlights:

The evolutionary purpose of shame is to dominate another person into submission
How, as Tema Okun says, "Shame is a place to visit but not to stay."
The difference between power versus force
How the energy of shame is close to death
How pride and contempt can lead to violence
The difference between blaming and non-blaming anger
The two problems with staying in reactive brain
The importance of realizing when you are in fear and a persona so you can minimize any harm you might do from that place
Reactivity is useful for survival, but not for thriving
Getting unstuck from the "I'm not bad, you're bad" narrative and shifting to appreciation
Moving from "It shouldn't be this way" to the neutrality of "this is what is"
Anchoring yourself in ways that generate energy
Repairing relationships by engaging above the line
Implications for scarcity versus abundance from your brain state
Connecting the dot with reparations and creating the world we want to live in
Fuel, rest, move - getting out of the stress mode and taking care of our bodies

Resources:

Evolutionarypower.org

https://juliacolwell.com/inner-map

Stephen Porges, Polyvagal Theory

Dr. David Hawkins, "Power vs. Force"

Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

Fear Melters - Gay and Katie Hendricks

john powell - Linked Fate

The Open Focus Brain by Les Fehmi and Jim Robbins

p.s. Becky's book is available for pre-order. Visit http://www.billionsinstitute.com/books/ for more info!

Episode 38: Nancy Stubbs, "Aligning Team Talent to Maximize Impact" Mar 30, 2021

Show notes

Episode 38: Nancy Stubbs, Kolbe Certified™ Consultant, Big Leap Coach and Founder of Hire Resonance - "Aligning Team Talent to Maximize Impact"

In this episode we interview Nancy Stubbs who helps the Billions Institute make fantastic hiring decisions and optimize our genius as a team. We love her so much that we also bring her in to work with all of our Fellows. Bottom line: we think Nancy is genius at helping teams optimize genius! While most companies look for experience and education for hiring decisions, Nancy emphasizes the importance of motivation, intrinsic interests and how people actually get things done. These are the factors that drive job satisfaction and these are the key ingredients for creating a team that thrives. Tune in to see how you can build a team that maximizes impact by aligning the talent.

Show Highlights:

Don't work on weaknesses; maximize joy and productivity instead
Why it is essential that everyone on your team knows not only their genius, but also their "not genius"
The gift underneath those aspects of yourself that you've been told are "too much" or "not enough"
Why we'll never hire again without the help of Nancy and the Kolbe A Assessment

The Billions Institute is partnering with Nancy to offer a new course called Unapologetic Genius. Enrollment is open and the course will include your very own Kolbe assessment, an individual coaching session with Nancy, and a six-week deep dive into uncovering and fully expressing your genius in the world.

You can learn more about Unapologetic Genius here:

https://billions-institute.mykajabi.com/unapologetic-genius

p.s. Becky's book is available for pre-order. Visit http://www.billionsinstitute.com/books/ for more info!

Episode 37: Mike Thompson, Billions Institute Faculty, "Finding Common Ground in Community" Feb 18, 2021

Show notes

Episode 37: Mike Thompson, Billions Institute Faculty, "Finding Common Ground in Community"

We kick off Season 4 with a candid discussion between Becky and her dear friend, Mike Thompson. Mike has been a nonprofit Executive Director several times over, and seven people who have worked for him have gone on to become exective directors themselves. In this candid conversation between two old friends, Mike shares his secrets for bringing out the best in each person he works with and each organization he leads. Mike is especially passionate about creating a context where people feel safe and supported to bring their whole selves to the work, and creating impeccably clear agreements with his colleagues, especially his board members! Anyone who serves on a board (or answers to a board) will want to listen to this one. Becky and Mike reflect on the importance of community because this work can be lonely and exhausting. Magic and inspiration naturally flow when leaders come together to form authentic community, something both Becky and Mike are passionate about doing.

Show Highlights:

The ways your identity and experiences of privilege and marginalization shape how you lead
Creating safe spaces so that your people can bring their authentically whole selves to the work
The importance of clear agreements between Executive Directors and their Boards
Why we need to slow down and make time for deeper relationships
The difference between consulting and coaching to support professional growth
The antidote to the loneliness that can come with leadership

p.s. Becky's book is available for pre-order. Visit http://www.billionsinstitute.com/books/ for more info!

Episode 36: Meredith Shockley-Smith and Elizabeth Kelly, "Reducing Infant Mortality by Following the Lead of Black Women" Oct 20, 2020

Show notes

36: Meredith Shockley-Smith and Elizabeth Kelly, "Reducing Infant Mortality by Following the Lead of Black Women"

Over the past several years, Hamilton County has moved from having one of the highest rates of infant mortality in the United States to being in the lower 25 percentile. While there is still so much work to be done, this staggering improvement deserves our attention. In this episode we check in with Dr. Meredith Shockley-Smith and Dr. Elizabeth Kelly with Cradle Cincinnati who attribute their stunning progress on this progress to deliberately following the lead of Black women in the community. In too many sectors, racial equity is given lip service. We can learn so much from these two powerful women who didn't just redistribute resources, they also redistributed power.

Dr. Meredith Shockley-Smith, Director of Community Strategies and Dr. Elizabeth Kelly, co- founder and Director of Systems Strategies, Cradle Cincinnati

Show Highlights:

Why humility is a "must-have" quality for any social change leader
The initiative to hear, see and celebrate Black women
How a recurring potluck dinner became the basis for powerful community organizing
The importance of building bridges and forging authentic relationships across difference
Leading large scale change is really about letting go, but letting go is easier said than done
What happened when Cradle Cincinnati recognized that it wasn't just a health care problem, it was a justice problem

Links: Cradle Cincinnati: http://www.cradlecincinnati.org/

Articles: SSIR Collective Impact model https://ssir.org/articles/entry/collective_impact

Start Strong Avondale https://www.cradlecincinnati.org/2018/04/12/the-neighborhood-of-avondale-develops-a-promising-model-to-save-lives-as-hamilton-county-infant-mortality-improvement-levels-out/

Get $100 off Impact with Integrity https://www.billionsinstitute.com/impactwithintegrity

35: Melissa Rodgers, "Community Always Trumps Cruelty: Inside the New Americans Campaign to help 500,000 Green Card holders become US citizens." Oct 13, 2020

Show notes

35: Melissa Rodgers, "Community Always Trumps Cruelty: Inside the New Americans Campaign to help 500,000 Green Card holders become US citizens."

The goal of the New Americans Campaign is to help 500,000 - out of the 9 million Green Card holders who are eligible - become citizens by 2021, the Campaign's 10th anniversary. There are many barriers and obstacles to meeting this ambitious aim, but Melissa Rodgers and her colleagues at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, together with the Campaign's non-profit partners across the country, are forging ahead with courage, empathy, and wicked smarts! Join us for a conversation about the current state of immigration in the US and why it's so important that we reform this broken system.

Melissa Rodgers, Director of Programs, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, and Director of the New Americans Campaign

Show Highlights:

How difficult it is to become a naturalized citizen of the US, even when you're eligible
The ways the Trump Administration is making it even more difficult
The systemic cruelty of our immigration system
How community is a protective factor when facing such cruelty
Law as a collaborative profession and co-creation
The New American Campaign's 5 principles for doing this difficult work
How the New Americans Campaign quadrupled their network of local non-profit partners across the country
The profound benefits of equality under the law
What can happen when we believe something is really doable
Why, for many people, immigration is literally a matter of life and death

Links:

New Americans Campaign https://www.newamericanscampaign.org/

https://www.newamericanscampaign.org/about/

Stories From New Americans: https://www.newamericanscampaign.org/from-new-americans/

Immigrant Legal Resource Center: https://www.ilrc.org/

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34: Peter Fitzgerald, "Honoring Our Elders: Providing Voice & Choice So People Can Grow Old at Home." Oct 06, 2020

Show notes

34: Peter Fitzgerald, "Honoring Our Elders: Providing Voice & Choice So People Can Grow Old at Home."

As we grow older and our ability to live independently diminishes, we may find ourselves contemplating an assisted living facility or a nursing home. The thought of giving up your home, where all your memories live, can be heartbreaking. What if we could make it easier for people to grow old in their homes? Enter PACE (Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly). PACE currently helps almost 55,000 older Americans stay in their homes by bringing the care to them. They have ambitions to grow to 200,000 clients by 2028 and their services couldn't be more timely as during COVID their mortality rates are half those of nursing homes. Listen in on Becky's conversation with Peter Fitzgerald, Executive Vice President of Police and Strategy for PACE, as they discuss the challenges of expanding something that's already working pretty good.

Peter Fitzgerald, Executive Vice President of Policy and Strategy, National PACE Association

Show Highlights:

What's the "just right" amount of expansion so that you don't overwhelm people?
How PACE originated their program model with the Chinese community in San Francisco
How the UK's adult day care model also informed PACE's development
The importance of interdisciplinary teams in delivering care

Links:

https://www.npaonline.org/

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Episode 33: LaShawn Routé Chatmon and Kathleen Osta, "Rebel Leadership" Sep 29, 2020

Show notes

LaShawn Routé Chatmon and Kathleen Osta, Executive Director and Managing Director of the National Equity Project, are unapologetic about advancing equity from a place of love. Join us for this inspiring and thought-provoking conversation as they discuss a unique form of leadership that is called for in these times, what Francesca Gino calls "Rebel Leadership." This kind of leadership invites us to stand firmly in the midst of persistent injustice and racial reckoning without giving up on our collective humanity. This kind of leadership requires us to be courageous and humble at the same time. Becky has witnessed LaShawn and Kathleen demonstrate this kind of leadership many times over the years they've known one another, and we are so delighted to hear them speak about it here. We need more of this kind of leadership in the world.

LaShawn Routé Chatmon and Kathleen Osta, National Equity Project

Highlights:

What is the National Equity Project?
Three questions you should yourself before you say something you might regret
Why it takes training and preparation to not restrain your humanity as a leader
Why they say, "The soft stuff is the hard stuff."
Why we need to dissolve the boundaries between community and school
Standing in the "not knowing" instead of jumping to "we have this under control"
A glimpse into the 20 year and going strong friendship between LaShawn & Kathleen

Links:

National Equity Project Twitter: @equityproject
Nationalequityproject.org

Books:

Francesca Gino - Rebel Talent

Video:

Mo Cheeks video:

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Episode 32: Kas Guillozet, "The Complexity of Living in Right Relationship with People and the Earth" Sep 22, 2020

Show notes

Episode 32: Kas Guillozet, "The Complexity of Living in Right Relationship with People and the Earth"

The wildfires that are devastating the West Coast are all the evidence we need that we cannot continue as we have been. Ecosystems cannot recover on their own without human beings seriously changing course. Listen in as Kas Guillozet, Program Director of the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, shares her inner thoughts and her life's work with Becky and together they explore how complex it can be to strive to live in 'right relationship' with people and the earth.

Highlights:

The intersection of trauma and harm to the environment
The history of racism and sexism within the environmental field
Being in right relationship
When do you need to be willing to fight?
Beyond the Green New Deal, the many ways we can support initiatives
Avoiding overly simplistic solutions and virtue signaling by embracing complexity
How "Promise the Pod" just might save Southern Resident Orca Whales from extinction

Links:

www.promisethepod.org

http://www.b-e-f.org/

Documentary: The Biggest Little Farm

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Episode 31: Katie Hong, "Re-Thinking Philanthropy" Sep 15, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, we sit down with Katie Hong for a candid conversation about money, power and identity. Having worked in philanthropy for over 15 years, Katie knows the sector can be a significant catalyst for social change. She reflects on how essential it is for those working on the grant-making side of things to face into their own relationship to power and money. Katie and Becky also discuss what people working in philanthropy can do to be most helpful to non-profits in these times. Listen in to learn how those working to give away other people's money can more effectively show up and partner with others in advancing a more just and equitable world.

Katie Hong, Raikes Foundation, Director of Special Initiatives

Show Highlights:

Katie's honest reflections on what she's learned as a White House Fellow and working for the Gates and Raikes Foundations
What it's like to have a job that is about giving away other people's money
How being an immigrant and a woman of color has shaped her and her world-view
Challenging paternalistic assumptions that sometimes arise in her field
Philanthropy as risk capital that can either help or harm
Getting over solution-itis and looking at what happens after
"We don't have a knowledge problem, we have a power problem."
The difference between positional power and personal power