Social Entrepreneur

For a full transcript and extended show notes, see https://tonyloyd.com/shubham-issar.

Shubham Issar and Amanat Anand go from the UNICEF Wearables for Good Challenge to Shark Tank and beyond.

Shubham Issar and Amanat Anand grew up in New Delhi but met at Parsons School of Design in New York. They loved working together on hands-on design projects that made a difference. In 2015, they entered the UNICEF Wearables for Good C...

Is it possible for the company formerly known as Facebook to be a force for good? There are some bright spots. 

NOTE: For a full transcript of the conversation, go to https://tonyloyd.com/emily-dalton-smith

If you want to hear bad news about Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, you don’t have to look far. And, there’s plenty of bad news to find. If you’re interested in reading more about that, just Google the phr...

For extended show notes, see: https://tonyloyd.com/dan-miller

Steward is a community of borrowers and lenders who support regenerative farming.

Can a farm make the earth healthier? Regenerative farming is a set of practices that rebuild soil health by restoring carbon and nutrient content. This improves productivity and the health of the planet.

But there’s a problem. The agricultural capital system wasn’t built for sma...

For complete show notes, see: https://tonyloyd.com/kate-glantz

Luma Legacy: A Fairer, Kinder World

“Luma Legacy is a segment within Luma Pictures,” Kate explains. “It’s a magical creative studio that's been in the world for about 20 years. The bread and butter of the business is making movie magic - so visual effects. Luma Pictures makes superheroes fly, creates new worlds and realities, and all of the really fun stuff tha...

For extended show notes and a full transcript, see https:://tonyloyd.com/shamiri-institute

Half of the young people in Kenya have elevated depression and anxiety. 45% of the disease burden comes from anxiety and depression. The Shamiri Institute has an answer.

Kenya has been described as a young hustle culture. But that hustle takes a toll.

According to Tom Osborn of the Shamiri Institute, “Mental health and wellbeing a...

I’ve been thinking about you.

You want to live a life of significance

You feel compelled to serve a cause greater than yourself.

You see a need in the world that you can’t unsee. There’s a cause that burns in your heart.

To make a difference, you have to overcome the status quo.

The status quo whispers in your ear, “That’s just the way things are.”

The status quo is that you get up every day and act as if nothing is wron...

NOTE: For extended show notes, see https://tonyloyd.com/aziz-abu-sarah

MEJDI Tours sees tourism as an opportunity to transform lives through dual narratives and by strengthening local communities.

Aziz Abu Sarah is a peace-builder, social entrepreneur, cultural educator, and author of Crossing Boundaries: A Traveler’s Guide To World Peace.

But Aziz wasn’t always a peacemaker. 

“I grew up very angry,” Aziz says. “I did...

NOTE: For full show notes, see https://tonyloyd.com/isabella-he.

High school students work on behalf of those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).  

In the United States, 1 in 54 children has autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Unemployment rates for individuals with ASD are approximately 85%. More than half a million individuals with ASD will enter the workforce in the next decade. The need for specialized vocational trainin...

What would you do if you were 1% more courageous?

Judith Martinez is a leader at the intersection of social justice and the future of human capital. She is the CEO of InHerShoes, the modern woman’s community for courage.

When Judith was in the fifth grade, she witnessed a scene that changed her life direction. “I’m a first-generation Filipino-American,” Judith explains. “I grew up with Filipino as my first language. My gra...

Helping bamboo farmers and women in impoverished regions become self-reliant while eliminating plastic waste.

If Kathy Ku’s name is familiar to you, you might have heard about her previous social venture in Uganda, Spouts of Water. I interviewed Kathy in December 2016. Kathy and her co-founder John Kye left Spouts of Water, but it continues to thrive.

Around the same time that Kathy and John were in Uganda working on clean...

Offering paid job training for youth.

Sara Hart Weihmann is the Director of Social Enterprise at New Avenues for Youth in Portland. She oversees a portfolio of workforce development social enterprises that offer goods and services to the local community. This provides paid work experiences and job training for youth experiencing housing instability. These enterprises include a Ben & Jerry’s scoop shop and a screen-printi...

People who were involved in the criminal justice system are more than their labels.

Karen Lee is the Chief Executive Officer of Pioneer Human Services.

She was born during the 1960s civil rights era. “During my lifetime, I’ve seen quite a bit of discrimination. I’ve always wanted to do something about that in a way that was true to me.”

Karen graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point. She served our...

What Sandra Goldmark learned from a seven-year experiment fixing stuff.

Sandra Goldmark is the Director of Sustainability and Climate Action at Barnard College. For seven years, she ran Fixup, a popup repair shop for household items of all kinds. It was staffed by theatre artists. “We use our backstage skills to fix people's broken stuff,” Sandra explains. “and to create an alternative to use and discard.”

Sandra has gather...

NOTE: For a full transcript of the conversation, see: https://tonyloyd.com/karim-abouelnaga.

Close the Opportunity Gap through high-impact programs before, during, and outside of school hours.

Karim Abouelnaga is CEO of Practice Makes Perfect, a company he founded when he was 18 years old. Practice Makes Perfect partners with K-12 schools to help narrow the opportunity gap.

Karim is a TED Fellow and Echoing Green Fello...

If you want a better future, you need a better story.

“Leading change has never been tougher,” Denise Withers says. “Fear, apathy, and uncertainty have paralyzed most of the world, making it almost impossible to engage people in even the most straightforward initiative.

“But it doesn’t have to be like that. Story Design can help. It’s a practical way for leaders to take the risk out of change and create a better future.”

...

YardHomes Minnesota uses a prefabrication approach and an innovative financing model to create affordable housing.

YardHomes Minnesota is creating housing affordability by building and maintaining accessory dwelling units (ADUs).

“We are a startup that focuses on delivering ADUs in Minnesota as a method of housing,” Nichol Beckstrand explains. “ADUs are tiny houses designed to be permanent living spaces. The problem we set o...

For every planner and course sold, #ThisIsMyEra helps a child with an education.

#ThisIsMyEra produces a 90-day planner that helps you set goals that align with your values. They also provide online courses to help you get clear on your life’s purpose.

For every planner that is purchased, #ThisIsMyEra donates school supplies to kids in need in Africa. So far, they’ve provided more than 10,000 school supplies.

And for eve...

For extended show notes, see https://tonyloyd.com/zoe-levin

Trees Should Capture Carbon, Not Crap

We know the problems with carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions: Climate change, rising sea levels, flooding, droughts, wildfires, ocean acidification, climate refugees, political instability, and a lot more.

We know that it’s important to reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and the oceans. We can do that by reducing the pr...

For extended show notes, go here: https://tonyloyd.com/karima-ladhani/

80% of maternal and infant deaths are preventable.

Dr. Karima Ladhani is the daughter of immigrants. Her parents moved from India to Uganda. In 1972, Ugandan president Idi Amin expelled Asian minorities. He gave 90 days to leave the country.

Karima’s mother made her way to Canada. Her father was in a refugee camp in Malta before immigrating to Canada....