On Course: The Podcast from Echoing Green (Echoing Green)

 Yscaira Jimenez was on a path to success. She graduated from Columbia and landed a competitive private tutoring job with great pay. As a daughter of immigrants and an immigrant herself, she was living the dream and making her family proud. But when she reflected on how she got to where she was from the access and opportunities she secured, she decided to go down a different path. Tune in to hear how Yscaira leveraged her privilege to shatter systems and build new ones, identified hiring culture and the education-to-workforce pipeline as systems to change for the better, why we must change the entrepreneurship and startup narrative, and taking responsibility to serve your community and the world at large. 

Learn more about Echoing Green and the leaders we support at echoinggreen.org.

Learn more about Yscaira and LaborX's work bringing untapped talent to the forefront at laborx.co.

Tony Weaver, Jr. is an award-winning writer, educator, social entrepreneur, and the founder of Weird Enough Productions, an organization that partners with educators across the U.S. to harness the power of media and storytelling to improve social-emotional learning, media literacy, and digital citizenship. William Jackson is the founder and chief dreamer of Village of Wisdom, a nonprofit organization that organizes and mobilizes families, teachers, and students to eliminate racial injustice in schools.

Tune in to hear Tony and William’s dreams for the next-generation of Black leaders and how they’re transforming systems and utilizing storytelling to make those dreams a reality.

Eddie Gonzalez-Novoa is a serial social entrepreneur and leader who has crossed industries, sectors, and U.S. state lines in pursuit of positive social change. The son of Puerto Rican immigrants, Eddie’s multiple career shifts have included stints in the arts, education, and health care. Tune in to follow Eddie's quest through priesthood, dance and performing arts; creating community around rituals; and recognizing how people enter into a community or space. From Harvard Divinity School to Jump Start New York to Public Allies, find out how Eddie threaded the needle between divinity, education, and leadership development, and how that all led to working with his nephew on a startup video game nonprofit for cancer survivors. 

Learn more about Echoing Green and the leaders we support at echoinggreen.org. 

Learn more about Eddie, and continue following his journey at  about.me/eddiegn. 

Heejae Lim is the founder and CEO of Talking Points, an educational technology nonprofit unlocking the potential of families to fuel their children’s education through a multilingual tech platform. Daquan Oliver is the founder and CEO of WeThrive, an organization creating a culture where all young people feel trusted to contribute ideas, form student-run companies, and achieve economic prosperity.

Tune in to hear Heejae and Daquan reflect on the state of education in the U.S. after the pandemic, the importance of cultivating reliable earned revenue streams, and their dreams for moving towards a more personalized education system.

Maya Ajmera is the President and CEO of the Society for Science, which works to promote the understanding and appreciation of science, and the vital role it plays in human advancement. Felecia Hatcher is the CEO of Pharrell William’s Black Ambition Opportunity Fund, a set of prizes to fund bold ideas and companies led by Black and Latinx entrepreneurs.

Tune in to this episode to hear Maya and Felecia connect their vast experiences building inclusive opportunities for communities of color and share advice for leaders of color seeking to raise capital, build networks, and navigate between ventures.

Brittany Young is the founder and CEO of B-360. Based in Baltimore, Maryland, B-360 uses STEM education programming, community engagement, workforce development training, and dirt bike culture to end the cycle of poverty, disrupt the prison pipeline, and build bridges in communities. B-360 is equipping youth and adults with the skills to secure educational and career opportunities in STEM fields, motorsports, and beyond while changing the perception of dirt bike riders and engineers, and repairing and building relationships in the Baltimore community. Tune in to learn how Brittany’s holistic vision for community engagement and development in Baltimore is transforming institutions, narratives, and trajectories across the city.

Reyna Montoya is a DACAmented social entrepreneur, community organizer, educator, and the founder of Aliento, an organization transforming trauma into hope and action for undocumented and mixed immigration status families through healing initiatives and leadership development. Swapna Reddy is the co-founder and co-executive director of the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, a membership-based organization comprised of over 150,000 asylum seekers working to build a more humane asylum system in the U.S.

Tune in to learn how Reyna and Swapna are transforming systems, policies, and practices to support thriving immigrant and asylum-seeking communities.

Inspired by the textile, farming, and forestry skills of Appalachians, and recognizing that the world of social entrepreneurship was expanding, Saraday Evans launched Accelerating Appalachia, the world’s first nature-based business accelerator. Accelerating Appalachia connects innovative businesses, investors, and mentors with the people, places, and prosperity found in Appalachia. Tune in to hear how Saraday’s lifelong love for nature and a career in environmental protection led her to supporting businesses working in unity with the land in southern and central Appalachia—one of the most biodiverse regions in the world. Learn how Accelerating Appalachia is inspiring other nature-based and sustainable businesses around the globe.

Priti Krishtel has been challenging pharmaceutical companies with I-MAK since 2006. By serving as “patent detectives,” I-MAK has been able to remove barriers to treatment for some of the world’s deadliest diseases such as hepatitis C and HIV. Tune in to hear Priti’s personal mission to open accessibility and stop corruption in “big pharma;” the risk of running a mission-driven organization; facing failure, burn out, and loneliness; continuing to create the world you want to live in; and raising up the next generation of movement builders.  

Learn more about Echoing Green and the leaders we support at echoinggreen.org. 

Learn more about Priti and I-MAK's work disrupting the pharmaceutical industry and advocating for patients: i-mak.org. 

Cory Greene is a community organizer, healing justice teacher, doctoral student, and social entrepreneur. With an intergenerational cycle of incarceration in his family, Cory has been impacted by the criminal justice (punishment) system and has faced the systemic causes of certain neighborhoods targeted by drugs, violence, and incarceration. Tune in to hear Cory’s experiences leveraging the power of organizing, engaging, and creating to heal communities; the process of owning and taking accountability of your own journey and experiences; how family stories and circumstances overlap and intertwine; and how feeding your spirit is another form of payment.

Learn more about Echoing Green and the leaders we support at echoinggreen.org.

Learn more about Cory and H.O.L.L.A!'s work creating safe and healthy pathways and spaces for youth of color at holla-inc.com.

Katie Orenstein started The Op-Ed Project after recognizing the pipeline problem in pitching op-eds: 97 percent of op-eds by scholars in the Wall Street Journal were written by men, according to a May 2008 Rutgers University study. To diversify cultural and media narratives, The Op-Ed Project is empowering and amplifying the voices the world most needs to hear. Tune in to learn how Katie is working to shift the gatekeepers of ideas and narratives, how stories reflect truth (including divergent versions of the truth), targeting the influencers of the influencers, and understanding power and voice—with empathy and respect—in a world where power and voice are unevenly distributed.

Learn more about Echoing Green and the leaders we support at echoinggreen.org.

Learn more about The Op-Ed Project's work increasing the range of voices and quality of ideas we hear in the world at theopedproject.org. 

Gemma Bulos is an award-winning social entrepreneur, educator, movement builder, co-founder of A Single Drop For Safe Water, and executive director of Global Women’s Water Initiative, two organizations that build the capacity of local communities to plan and implement sustainable water solutions.

Gayatri Datar is the co-founder of EarthEnable, a social enterprise in Rwanda that installs healthy and affordable floors for low-income families, and co-operator of The Creativity Fund.

Listen to learn how Gemma and Gayatri are disrupting the status quo in philanthropic funding and contributing to a system where communities closest to the problems – and the solutions – are in charge of creating impact.

Allen Woods is a designer, photographer, social change leader, and the co-founder of MORTAR—Cincinnati, Ohio’s entrepreneurship hub. MORTAR is working to create diverse communities by enabling Black, Brown, and women entrepreneurs to access the resources needed to start and run successful businesses. Their entrepreneurship academy provides culturally competent curriculum and materials, one-on-one mentorship, brand development strategies, and a cohort model for entrepreneurs to support each other. Tune in to learn how Allen’s background in photography and design-led him on a path to bolstering aspiring entrepreneurs, and how MORTAR’s vision has impacted the Cincinnati community and beyond.

Bessie Schwarz is a dedicated community organizer who has coupled her passion for climate justice with global data and analytics to bring voice and hope to communities most vulnerable to climate change. Tune in to learn about Bessie and Cloud to Street’s depth of impact through scaling global analytics and their work on the ground to create more power, fight unjust systems, and surface who is getting hit the hardest by climate change. Get motivated by Cloud to Street’s drive to expose who existing systems are not protecting, the emotional toll of systems-change work, and how to humanize data and keep the work person-centered.   

Learn more about Echoing Green and the leaders we support at echoinggreen.org.

Learn more about Bessie and Cloud to Street's use of data to build resilience in communities and fight climate change at cloudtostreet.info.

Darius Ballinger is the founder of Chasing23, a nonprofit organization focused on building respect, unity, and a sense of empowerment among young people in Chicago by introducing them to a community of support, accountability, and hope. Following the loss of his mentor and period of incarceration, Darius launched Chasing23 to be a vehicle for positive change. By providing a comprehensive blend of mentoring, tutoring, and workforce development programming, Chasing23 supports youth of color in developing personal and professional skills, building pride and confidence, and developing goals for long-term success. Tune in to learn how Darius’ love for Chicago and his mission to create positive opportunities for youth is helping him and emerging leaders in the city “chase their 23.”

Antionette Carroll is a social entrepreneur, equity designer, facilitator, and international speaker. She launched Creative Reaction Labs, a nonprofit educating and deploying young people to challenge racial and health inequalities impacting their communities through Equity-Centered Community Design. Tune in to learn how this creative problem-solving process grounded in humility, history, and healing practices challenges existing power dynamics and reimagines community. Learn how Antionette’s journey led her to approaching design as a disruptor and how she’s flipping the supremacy of design by building a movement of justice designers across the U.S.

Toni Blackman is an award-winning hip hop artist, cypher specialist, poet, writer, and social entrepreneur. From a young age, Toni’s love for language and words, combined with her curiosity about injustices in the world, resulted in writing her first book of poetry at age 8 on social justice. From there, Toni’s work evolved to theater, activism, and cypher circles. Tune in to hear how Toni’s journey led to her choosing one area to master, destigmatizing rap music, creating a safe space for women to develop confidence to tell their own stories, the downfalls of overachieving and being rewarded for it, facing burnout, and learning to prioritize self-care and intentionality.  

Learn more about Echoing Green and the leaders we support at echoinggreen.org. 

Learn more about Toni and her on-going work at the intersection of social justice and performing arts at toniblackmanpresents.com 

Steph Speirs started her career working for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, which led her to policy work in the Middle East and solar product deployment and renewable energy investments in India and Pakistan. Her experiences and passion for economic mobility led her to launch Solstice, an organization making solar understandable, affordable, and accessible to every U.S. household. Tune in to hear Steph’s journey toward creating a just and equitable world for all. Steph discusses experiences as a first-generation American, entering spaces of privilege, using her privilege to create opportunities and access for those locked out, how being a CEO is like being a community organizer, and how Solstice is creating economic mobility and justice within the climate action movement.

To learn more about Echoing Green and the leaders we support, visit echoinggreen.org.

To learn more about Steph and Solstice's work democratizing solar energy, visit solstice.us.

Lori Robinson is a journalist, social entrepreneur, and the founder and executive director of VidaAfrolatina, an international women’s fund that mobilizes and connects resources with Black and Afro-descendant women's groups addressing sexual violence in Latin America. Rachel Johnson-Farias is a lawyer and the founder of Esq. Apprentice, a nonprofit seeking to change legal education in California and eventually the nation by providing legal training to nontraditional law students of color. Tune in to hear how Lori and Rachel are creating a world where Black women and girls are free to flourish, how they prioritize wellness and self-care as founders, and the ways the philanthropic sector can better support intersectional movements for social change.

Please note that this episode contains discussion of sexual assault (15:35-19:00). Listener discretion is advised.

Carlos Mark Vera is a labor entrepreneur, activist, and co-founder of Pay Our Interns, the only organization in the United States fighting to ensure all students—especially Black, Latinx, and Native American students—have equitable access to professional career paths through the implementation of paid internships countrywide. Carlos was raised in California, by way of Colombia, and moved to Washington, D.C., to attend American University. While there, he navigated feelings of isolation and frustration due to the lack of access afforded to him and others because of their background. Once he landed his first Congressional internship, he decided it was time to do something about it. That decision put him on the path to where he is today.