Stanford Social Innovation Review Podcast

In this talk from our Frontiers of Social Innovation forum in May, Trabian Shorters offers perspective and perception tools that we all can use to update our narratives on race, communities, and America’s future. He demonstrates how far too often, we focus on negative statistics about groups such as Black men, rather than emphasizing their strengths, positive contributions, and future potential. And he shows how a technique called “asset-framing” can help us tell positive stories about people and encourage the understanding, empathy, and optimism that are necessary for meaningful social change. Shorters is founder and CEO of BMe Community, a network of all races and genders committed to building better communities across the United States and promoting and celebrating the contributions of Black men. Before starting BMe Community, Shorters served as vice president of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and worked as a tech entrepreneur. His work on “asset-framing” earned him an Aspen Institute Fellowship and an Ashoka fellowship, and he is the co-editor of the New York Times bestseller REACH: 40 Black Men Speak on Living, Leading and Succeeding. If desired, you can follow along with the slideshow that accompanied Shorters’s presentation here.https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/opportunities_for_a_fresh_start_on_race

In this recording from our recent Frontiers of Social Innovation conference, Angela Glover Blackwell talks about why, for United States to grow and prosper, policymakers must adopt new approaches to produce good jobs, ensure reinvestment in low-income communities, upgrade the education and skills of an increasingly diverse workforce, and create opportunities for everyone to apply their talents. She also shows how equity, inclusion, and fairness are no longer just moral issues but also economic imperatives: Equity is the superior growth model. Blackwell is founder, president, and CEO of PolicyLink, an organization working to advance economic and social equity. A lawyer by training, she previously served as senior vice president at the Rockefeller Foundation and founded Urban Strategies Council in Oakland, Calif.https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/the_role_of_public_policy_in_alleviating_poverty

In the opening keynote at SSIR‘s February 2016 Data on Purpose conference, Jake Porway shares best practices for data storytellers and shows why knowing what the data is or is not saying is critical to creating ethical and accurate visualizations. Among other things, he explains the pitfalls of pie charts, why you should be wary of word clouds, and why good data storytelling ultimately means good statistics. He also argues that the real power of data storytelling lies not just in reporting on past activity, but in making decisions that drive decision-making in the future. Porway is the founder and executive director of DataKind, a nonprofit that uses data science in the service of humanity. He previously worked at the New York Times R&D Lab, Google, and Bell Labs, and has spoken at IBM, Microsoft, and the White House. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Columbia University and a master’s degree and a doctorate in statistics from the University of California, Los Angeles. If desired, you can follow along with the slideshow that accompanied Porway’s presentation here.https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/podcast_practice_safe_stats_a_psa

In the closing keynote of SSIR‘s February 2016 Data on Purpose conference, which was themed around “Telling Great Stories With Data,” Andrew Means looks at the importance of using storytelling to raise funds and motivate teams—but also the risks of telling the wrong stories. He argues that in a world increasingly reliant on data, we need to be able to accurately quantify organizations’ impact, and be careful about when and how we turn to dramatic, unrepresentative stories. Andrew Means is the cofounder of The Impact Lab, a data science shop that works with nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies solving social problems. He has previously held leadership positions at the University of Chicago’s Center for Data Science and Public Policy, Groupon, and the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago. If desired, you can follow along with the slideshow for Means’ presentation here.https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/podcast_whose_story_are_we_telling

In the opening keynote of SSIR’s 2015 Data on Purpose conference, Nancy Lublin shares how she mobilized DoSomething.org around data. She discusses the mistakes she has made, the lessons she has learned, and how she believes that data can be a powerful force for social good. Lublin served as DoSomething.org’s CEO from 2003 to 2015. She is the founder of Crisis Text Line, where she currently serves as CEO, and the creator of Dress for Success.https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/using_data_to_create_social_change

Leveraging social media allows non-profits to reach a wide range of key stakeholders as well as promote awareness. At Social Media on Purpose 2014, Caroline Barlerin, Head of Twitter for Good, outlines what non-profits can do to maximize their effectiveness on Twitter. Barlerin is joined by HandUp director of business development Sammie Rayner, and the two discuss how non-profits can support their key initiatives by engaging audiences and disseminating content. At Twitter, Caroline Barlerin works with community outreach and corporate philanthropy, heading up Twitter for Good. In conversation with HandUp’s Sammie Rayner, Barlerin walks the Social Media on Purpose 2014 audience through how non-profits can focus on establishing brand, key partnerships, engaging content, amplification, and measurement. By focusing on these five areas, Barlerlin explains how by covering the basics and utilizing innovative ideas, non-profits can maximize the effectiveness of social media campaigns. Rayner shares how HandUp uses everything from design consistency to partnering with Twitter influencers to best leverage social media to promote HandUp’s mission. Caroline Barlerin heads Twitter for Good, which highlights Twitter’s social good initiatives around the world. Before coming to Twitter in 2014, Barlerin worked as the Director of Global Community Engagement & Communications, HP Sustainability and Social Innovation (SSI). At HP, Barlerin engaged more than 300,000 HP employees around the world in programs benefiting the community, employees, and the company. In 2012, Silicon Valley Business Journalism recognized Caroline as one of their “40 under 40.” Barlerin graduated from Vassar College and was a Sloan Fellow at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. Sammie Rayner leads business development at HandUp, a digital platform that allows people to donate directly to homeless people and neighbors in need. Before joining HandUp, Rayner founded and served as the Executive Director for Lumana, a microfinance organization in West Africa. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/leveraging_twitter_for_nonprofit_initiatives

After he witnessed the War on Terror, Jake was overcome with the initiative. He wanted to combat what he saw as the largest source of terrorism, insurgency, and global instability: extreme poverty. While deployed in Iraq as an Infantry and Special Operations Platoon Commander in the Marine Corps, Jake Harriman was troubled by the inability of many civilians to direct their lives, due to extremely oppressive governments. To address this, Jake returned to business school and took on the challenge to alleviate extreme poverty. From this effort, Nuru was launched in 2008, aiming to implement an innovative sustainable and scalable model for ending extreme poverty. This model’s most unique attribute is in addressing the “who” instead of the “what” - rather than pouring economic aid into a targeted nation, Jake’s vision is to find and train leaders who will be able to make community decisions and problem solve as the district evolves. With a dedication to empowering people, Jake Harriman and Nuru hope to eradicate extreme poverty within this lifetime. Jake Harriman, MBA ‘08, graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy and served seven and a half years as an Infantry and Special Operations Platoon Commander in the Marine Corps. He led four operational deployments and was awarded the Bronze Star for actions in combat. From his experiences, Jake came to believe that the “War on Terror” won’t be won on the battlefield alone: the contributing causes of terrorism – disenfranchisement, lack of education, and extreme poverty – must also be eradicated. Jake left his military career and enrolled at the Stanford Graduate School of Business to build an organization focused on tackling extreme poverty. He graduated with an MBA in June 2008 and led a team to launch Nuru International in Kenya in the same year.https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/from_the_marine_corps_to_kenya_ending_extreme_poverty

For nearly 60 years, donors have been partaking in a less-than-fantastic donation system. Traditionally, donors will give money to an international organization that manages money, which delivers economic relief to developing nations. However, this takes the relationship out of donating - donors can’t explicitly tell where their money is going or what their money is doing. For this reason, Paul Niehaus founded Give Directly - a nonprofit on a mission to simplify the donation process. At the core of Give Directly’s beliefs is that of the poor having an “enviable track record” of using capital to improve their lives. Paul describes studies in this podcast that have proved the poor are able to use donations extremely effectively - whether it be increasing nutrition, decreasing child labor, increasing education, or improving other sectors of life. Therefore, Give Directly offers a simpler, more personal route of donation - connecting donor to recipient. In this podcast, Paul discusses how technology, a commitment to efficiency, and dedication to improving the donation process on both ends, has made Give Directly a success. Paul Niehaus is a director and President of GiveDirectly. He is also Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of California, San Diego; a Junior Affiliate at the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD); an Affiliate of the Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL); and an Affiliate at the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA). His research examines the design of welfare programs in developing countries, and in particular how to control corruption. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University.https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/helping_donors_give_directly_to_recipients

In this podcast, Professor Sutton overviews his findings in studying methods for successfully scaling excellence. To sum up these conclusions, Robert Sutton describes a few main lessons. Among these, Professor Sutton further details importance of focusing on the mindset one is trying to scale, the significance of self-driven culture in scaling, the consequence of making teams too large in the process of scaling, and the need to dispel all the identifiably unwanted parts of an organization prior to scaling. Through his enthusiasm and real-world examples, Professor Sutton explains the importance of taking a logical and thought out approach to scaling, with the caveat that undergoing such a process could be immensely good or incredibly destructive. Robert Sutton is Professor of Management Science and Engineering and a Professor of Organizational Behavior (by courtesy) at Stanford. Sutton has been teaching classes on the psychology of business and management at Stanford since 1983. He is co-founder of the Center for Work, Technology and Organization, which he co-directed from 1996 to 2006. He is also co-founder of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (also known as the d.school).https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/scaling_excellence_successfully

ENOVA was recently recognized as the winner of Tech Awards 2013 in the Education category for its incredible social impact. In this interview with Co-Founder Jorge Camil Starr, we learn more about ENOVA’s journey as a nonprofit venture. Through this podcast, Jorge describes ENOVA’s beginnings and the success this social enterprise has had in closing education gaps of low-income Mexican communities. He discusses his logistical methods for measuring impact, his goals for the scaling and achievement of the nonprofit, and challenges ENOVA has faced in accomplishing its mission. Jorge also speaks about his personal experience as an entrepreneur, including lessons he has learned and advice he has for aspiring entrepreneurs. Jorge Camil Starr is in charge of the development of domestic and international strategic alliances in the public, private and civil society sectors. For 11 years Jorge worked extensively in developing Mexico’s technology sector, having founded PLC Networks an innovative BPL (Broadband Over Powerline) start-up pioneering data, voice and video transmissions and also co-created LT Solutions a company dedicated to selling Thin clients. He holds a double Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business Administration from Pepperdine University.https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/bringing_technology_based_learning_to_urban_mexico1

Nazava Water Filters was recently recognized as the winner of Tech Awards 2013 in the Health category for its innovative solution to lack of clean water accessibility in Indonesia. In this interview with co-founder Lieselotte Heederik, we learn more about Nazava’s success in combating the issues associated with limited access to clean water. Heederik talks about how Nazava’s filters are not only addressing the obvious health risks associated with unpurified water, but also making clean water more affordable, as well as reducing the toxic emissions from boiling water. The conversation covers Nazava’s logistical methods for measuring impact, her goals for the scaling and success of the company, and challenges Nazava has faced in its journey. Heederik also speaks about her personal experience as an entrepreneur, including lessons she has learned and advice she has for aspiring entrepreneurs.https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/a_clear_view_of_social_improvement_nazava_water_filters

Potential Energy was recently recognized as the winner of Tech Awards 2013 in the Economic Empowerment category for innovatively tackling a combination of social issues. In this interview with executive director Michelle Kreger, we learn more about Potential Energy’s journey as a nonprofit venture. Through this podcast, Michelle describes the lives of many inhabitants of IDP or Refugee Camps through the lens of cooking-related chores. Not only do these residents suffer the effects of toxic emissions from fire-related activities in their homes, but they often are burdened with physical and sexual violence associated with collecting firewood (women especially). Michelle discusses how her venture’s product – an energy and cost efficient cook stove – minimizes these issues. She also speaks to her goals for the scaling and impact of her nonprofit in the future, and the evolution of Potential Energy’s mission and focus. Finally, Michelle talks about her personal experience as an entrepreneur, including lessons she has learned and advice she has for aspiring entrepreneurs. Michelle Kreger became Potential Energy’s Executive Director after 7 years at Kiva, a nonprofit organization connecting people through lending to alleviate poverty. At Kiva, Michelle spent 5 years building their network of microfinance partners across Latin America, Africa and the Middle East, and 2 years as Senior Director of Kiva’s Strategic Initiatives group, where she was responsible for overseeing their expansion into new impact areas including clean energy, water and sanitation, innovative agriculture and higher education. In 2012, Michelle served as a Rainer Arnhold Fellow, a prestigious program for social entrepreneurs with particularly promising solutions to the big problems in health, poverty, and conservation in developing countries. Prior to joining Kiva, Michelle founded a nonprofit organization in Costa Rica, NatureKids, which focuses on English literacy and environmental sustainability in burgeoning tourist hubs. She also worked at various organizations dedicated to financial inclusion, including ACCION International. Michelle graduated magna cum laude from Boston University with a degree in International Relations and a minor in Economics.https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/stoves_of_empowerment_how_a_household_item_is_saving_lives

Social enterprise is scaling up through innovative digital design of everything from robots to LEDs. The result has been a positive impact on clean water, sanitation, climate change and energy consumption. In this audio lecture, Carl Bass, President and CEO of Autodesk, discusses at Social Innovation Summit 2013 the application of design to solve social problems. Bass describes how the availability of infinite computing capacity combined with people’s willingness to share their knowledge of how to make things advances social entrepreneurship for everyone’s betterment. Inexpensive access to information and tools empowers more people to innovate through the principles of design that Bass explains. In this Social Innovation Conversations, Stanford University podcast, Bass shares examples of creative small businesses that advance social enterprise through innovation. Carl Bass is president, chief executive officer and interim chief financial officer of Autodesk, a leader in 3D design, engineering, and entertainment software. Bass co-founded Ithaca Software, which was acquired by Autodesk in 1993. Since joining the company, he has held several executive positions including chief technology officer and chief operations officer. Bass serves on the boards of directors of Autodesk, Quirky and E2open; on the board of trustees of the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum; and on the advisory boards of Cornell Computing and Information Science, UC Berkeley School of Information and UC Berkeley College of Engineering. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Cornell University. Bass is a maker and spends his spare time building things—from chairs and tables to boats, and most recently, an electric go-kart.https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/social_enterprise_through_digital_design

This podcast, given by Chris Librie - the Senior Director of Strategy and Corporate Affairs at HP, describes the corporation’s commitment to social responsibility. Since its inception, Hewlett-Packard has embraced the goals of both innovating great new technologies, and applying those technologies in ways that improve the lives and livelihoods of the larger world. In order to do this, HP has developed a holistic approach to social problem solving. This method looks at three main components of sustainability: human impact, environmental impact, and economic impact. After analyzing these sectors of influence, HP aims to address all three legs with its solutions. Throughout the podcast, Chris Librie gives examples of the impact HP has had on the global social sector - from combating HIV/AIDS in Africa, to targeting more efficient methods of meeting exponentially rising data demands. Chris portrays his excitement for the future of social innovation and inspires listeners to be a part of the larger social movements around them. As Senior Director – Sustainability Programs, Chris Librie is responsible for leveraging and aligning HP’s capabilities in environmental sustainability and health care into a focused set of global programs that contributes to HP’s top-line growth, brand and reputation. Chris leads a global team to articulate the HP sustainability strategy with a single voice, implement HP-led initiatives that have a positive impact on the environment and manage the development of company-wide environmental goals. With the support of recognized leaders in global health as partners, Chris and his team collaborate to drive transformational programs which strengthen the quality of health systems and accelerate access to health care. Chris’ background includes branding, marketing, general management and environmental experience. Prior to joining HP, Chris worked at S.C. Johnson & Son, where he served as Director, Global Sustainability. There Chris led a team to drive the company’s global sustainability strategy, establish company targets and drive key projects. In addition to S.C. Johnson, he has held senior positions at Diageo Brands and Unilever. Chris graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts in History. He then earned his Master of Business Administration in International Business at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/social_problem_solving_through_innovation

Robert Swan, an inspirational speaker who founded 2041 and the first man to walk to both global poles, addresses his audience about the relationship between passion and reaching goals. With humor and words of experience, he relays his feelings about the importance of positivity and commitment in pursuing a target. Robert Swan discusses his journey, how it influenced him to dedicate himself to saving the environment, and how he plans to do this by engaging a young audience. Through this podcast, Robert encourages readers to get the word out about the awesome things they are doing, because nothing inspires individuals more than passion and a positive mindset. He also inspires readers to chase their goals now, and that the boldness required to do that will inspire genius, power, and magic. Robert Swan is a polar explorer, environmentalist and the first man ever to walk unsupported to both the North and South Poles. He is an exceptionally gifted communicator and is regarded as one of the world’s top motivational speakers. He compares his icy experiences to boardroom maneuvers and his inspirational addresses have received the acclaim of discerning audiences worldwide. His contribution to education and the environment have been recognized through his appointment as UN Goodwill Ambassador for Youth, a Visiting Professorship of the School of Environment at Leeds University and in 1994 he became Special Envoy to the Director General of UNESCO. He was awarded the OBE in 1995. In 2003 and 2004, Robert and his company, 2041, delivered the first ever corporate Antarctic Expeditions on teamwork and leadership. Through positive participation and real missions, the unique insights and lessons he has learned, have enabled Robert Swan to educate and stimulate his audiences.https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/lessons_learned_from_walking_to_the_north_and_south_poles