The Firestarter Podcast
Willa Kammerer
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The Firestarter Podcast, with Willa Kammerer, is about people, ideas, and conversations that move us forward. We’ll talk to mission-driven entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and investors; thought leaders, researchers, and experts on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues about designing and thriving in careers — and lives — of impact.
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Apr 22, 2022
Alissa Peterson on the Key Role of the Ocean in Climate Change, and the Evolution and Explosion of Bluetech and the Blue Economy
Welcome to The Firestarter Podcast—people, ideas and conversations that move us forward. It’s your host Willa Kammerer’s business and passion to make the world a better place through storytelling, which is why we’re here today. We’ll talk to mission-driven entrepreneurs, philanthropists, investors, thought leaders, and experts on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues about designing and thriving careers—and lives—of impact.
It’s your host Willa Kammerer’s business and passion to make the world a better place through storytelling, which is why we’re here today. We’ll talk to mission-driven entrepreneurs, philanthropists, investors, thought leaders, and experts on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues about designing and thriving careers—and lives—of impact. In this episode, Willa speaks with guest Alissa Peterson, co-founder and executive director of SeaAhead, a bluetech startup platform helping build ocean-based companies.
As the conversation gets underway, Alissa shares how she developed an interest in oceans and got into her current line of work. SeaAhead arose when she and her co-founder met and aligned on their mutual interest in working with overlooked entrepreneurs in the blue economy space. Since the 2018 launch of SeaAhead, Alissa has seen more and more how intertwined the ocean and people are, as well as the value of taking a solution-oriented approach to the ocean. She and her colleagues intend for SeaAhead to represent a third leg of the stool of ocean-related work; while there are many scientific and philanthropic efforts underway, SeaAhead takes a venture innovation approach.
Later in the conversation, Alissa shares about some particularly interesting projects that SeaAhead has been working with, such as Beta Hatch and FuelTrust, and explains how factors like low regulatory development and questions of control have led to a relative lag in ocean-oriented venture projects. Getting into more details about SeaAhead, Alissa shares about the organization's think tank, the SeaAhead Ventures program, the BlueSwell startup incubator, and SeaAhead’s support of a bluetech cluster growing in the northeastern US. She comments on the evolution of the bluetech space in recent years, details the current challenge of pilot projects, and explains why the space requires a collective approach. As the episode wraps up, Alissa speaks to the social impact of work in the bluetech space, and how bluetech improves lives from a coastal community development standpoint. She addresses SeaAhead's current inflection point and what is to come, and invites interested listeners to get involved in bluetech work, too!
Timestmaps:
0:46 – Host Willa Kammerer welcomes today's guest, Alissa Peterson.
4:20 - How did she get interested in the ocean and into this work, and how are the oceans doing?
12:11 - Willa asks about particularly interesting projects SeaAhead has been working with.
16:32 - Alissa comments on a lag in ocean ventures, as well as the work of SeaAhead.
22:59 - She then shares about the recent evolution of bluetech and a current roadblock.
28:19 - Why does SeaAhead take a collective, ecosystem approach?
32:54 - Bluetech work improves lives by fueling community development.
39:58 - Conversation shifts to SeaAhead's current inflection point and future.
43:15 - Willa asks if Alissa has any final call to action for listeners.
Links:
Learn more about SeaAhead and connect at info@sea-ahead.com.
Connect with Willa on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Subscribe to the podcast, find show notes and the video of today’s show here.
Keywords:
Bluetech, startup platform, ocean, ocean-based companies, blue economy, green tech, entrepreneurs, impact, environment, working waterfront, New England, Boston. intersection, solution-oriented approach, venture innovation, maritime, regulatory...
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Mar 17, 2022
Hans Manzke on the Power of Curiosity, Networks, and Radical Self-Honesty Applied to our Professional and Personal Lives
Tune in to this episode of the FireStarter Podcast where host Willa Kammerer guides a discussion on people, ideas, and topics that move us forward. Building both professional business and personal passion on making the world a better place through storytelling, Willa talks to mission-driven entrepreneurs, philanthropists, investors, thought leaders and experts on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues about designing and thriving careers in impact. In today’s conversation, guest Hans Manzke is welcomed on to chat about the power of curiosity, networks, and radical self honesty in relation to professional and personal lives. Hans has over 15 years of experience in this field across public, private, and non-profit sectors. In speaking to all types of leaders, Hans expresses his core belief that humans are strongest in their inner selves. He presses in to this in order to unlock higher levels of performance.
Willa introduces Hans as the Principle at the Clearing and the author of, For All: Democratizing Big Ideas. After recounting how they first met, Willa jumps right in and asks Hans to reflect on how curiosity played a role in his journey. Learn about the “why” questions he once asked to his parents as a young child that are still part of his daily work routine today. Hans walks through his career pathway post-college, and how he got to where he is today. After working in other fields including journalism and publishing, Hans learned by contrast to gain clarity and conviction for the current line of work he’s in. Once he got into his current field, what stood out to him was how fortunate and lucky he had been with being in the right place at the right time, and knowing the right people. In becoming an author, Hans wanted to work to give back to people that may not be as fortunate. They take a moment to dive into the idea of democratizing, reflecting on this in both life and career. Working in the equity and inclusion space, Hans decided he wanted to contribute to helping to level the playing field.
Shifting topics, Willa asks Hans about the affect the pandemic has had on him and how he has worked to navigate the circumstances. With uncertainty still on the horizon, the timeless human questions and frameworks offered in Hans’ book help people navigate these circumstances. Hans chats about the shared experiences of hardship and negativity, that are simultaneously met with a lot of goodness and positivity. Learn about the unique opportunities that COVID has brought to both Willa and Hans.
Taking a few minutes to dive more into the substance of For All: Democratizing Big Ideas, Hans speaks to the big ideas that he outlines throughout. While there are 10 big ideas, Hans just names a few here, particularly those that are personally standing out to him now. Listen as he discusses Imposter Syndrome and ikigai. Learn more about how to think and be radically attuned to your personal purpose. Willa asks Hans to share about an activity that could help to express one’s interests in compelling ways to find their ikigai—what this looks like in times and places. Furthermore, Hans shares about preconceived notions that he originally brought to the book, but did not hold up by the end. With the unique writing, editing, and publishing process through The Creators Institute, Hans addressed these notions head on.
After a brief break, Willa and Hans discuss his emphasis on radical self-honesty and condor. Hans shares what he thinks and how he practices it big picture—he argues that one has to be honest with themselves before they are able to be honest with others. Listen as he discusses the Leadership Circle Tool and how creative competencies and reactive tendencies can be measured to help reveal differences between an aspirational-self and the real-self. Learn how we create limits where they may or may not need to exist. “Talent is equally...
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Feb 23, 2022
Michael Hennessy on the Power of Lighting, Unexpected Pathways to Entrepreneurship, and Challenges and Opportunities of Running a Business
Welcome to the FireStarter Podcast where we discuss people, ideas and conversations that move us forward. Your host, Willa Kammerer, has built both her business and her passion to make the world a better place through storytelling, which is why we’re here today. We’ll talk to mission-driven entrepreneurs, philanthropists, investors, thought leaders and experts on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues about designing and thriving careers in impact. In this episode, Willa is joined by guest Michael Hennessy, founder and CEO of Wavelength Lighting
Wavelength Lighting develops and implements energy efficient lighting in New York City. His company both works with industries that want to reduce their carbon footprint and companies building their first office or space who have conservation in mind. Michael didn’t come to this industry immediately, in fact, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do out of college, but very quickly realized clean energy and conservation were passions of his. He worked in banks, and with hedge funds before he discovered the lighting industry.
In the shift to energy efficient solutions, lighting has a unique set of challenges because unlike wind and solar energy, it was already a developed field. Michael explains that one of the core challenges was educating people to believe there is a better way to handle lighting and understand how much of a carbon footprint our lighting choices take up. Michael explains that filament lighting is a byproduct of heat, which is not a good use of energy. Industries then switched to fluorescent lighting which is slightly better in terms of energy converted to light; roughly 10% of the energy used in fluorescent lighting is making the light. LEDs however use 25% of the electricity run into them to create light. They last longer than traditional light bulbs and they’re better understood now than they used to be.
His company has never had investors, so he’s been bootstrapping it from the beginning. In a lot of ways it was more of a small business than a startup in that way. For the first 18 months or so, Michael was on the streets of Brooklyn, visiting businesses and discussing the benefits of switching to the LED. If he was able to convince them to change their lighting to LEDs, he was the one installing those solutions in the early days. In recent years, there has been a shift for industries to turn toward solutions to reduce their carbon footprint. These systems not only are more energy efficient, but they are also cost effective and tend to pay for themselves within 3 years. Businesses have a huge responsibility to take control over sustainability and responsibility.
There are risks to starting a company, and Michael says that he is naturally a fairly risk averse person. Through the years, he’s been able to persevere and build a business that helps people and makes positive changes. He’s also learned to love the physical aspects of their business. Before, he thought of work in terms of sitting at a desk for eight hours, and while he does less installation now than he used to, he enjoys that his job isn’t being stuck at a desk, When he thinks about his early career, he says it was about staying true to himself and admitting he didn’t know how things would go. For those just starting their career, he recommends reflecting on your why and identifying your purpose in the broadest possible terms so you can give yourself flexibility.
Michael is very hopeful for the future, expanding their business in New York, and making the Wavelength model even more effective. He is also hopeful for the climate in the future, he says things are starting to change and trend for the better.
Timestmaps:
0:01 – Host Willa Kammerer introduces the podcast and today’s guest
2:52 - Michael give an elevator pitch for Wavelength Lighting
8:47 - The challenges and opportunities of energy...
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Feb 2, 2022
Katie McDonald on Turning Points, the Foundational Role of Self Care, and Strategies to Thrive
Welcome to The Firestarter Podcast—people, ideas and conversations that move us forward. It’s your host Willa Kammerer’s business and passion to make the world a better place through storytelling, which is why we’re here today. We’ll talk to mission-driven entrepreneurs, philanthropists, investors, thought leaders, and experts on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues about designing and thriving careers — and lives — of impact.
In this episode, Willa is joined by guest Katie McDonald, Founder and CEO of b.nourished, a business helping its clients discover the path of self care and self realization. Driven by her own desire and need for deep self care after burnout from corporate work and motherhood, Katie evolved into a self-care strategist with the mission of creating positive transformations in the lives of others. Listen as they delve more deeply into Katie’s story and work, share thoughts on the new year, self care strategies, cultivating respect for body and mind, and — last but not least — accountability.
To begin, Katie offers insight for listeners on how she got to the place she is today. Her work began for Time Magazine selling advertising for 45 national publications. She became exhausted, depleted, and felt she was trading her health for sales. When we don’t feel we are good enough, Katie shares, we often overwork ourselves. However, self care is a valid and legitimate pursuit and the way to sustainable success. After ignoring her body’s warning signs of burnout and exhaustion, it was when Katie missed one meeting that she finally had a wake up call that things needed to change. On one of her darkest days, she chose to leave corporate America for good. Within months of leaving her corporate identity behind, Katie and her husband became parents. She applied her same obsessive approach to business to motherhood, but with even higher stakes. It took another sickness for Katie to realize, again, that things had gotten out of hand.
Even during her time in the corporate world, Katie held interest in mindfulness and alternative medicine. However, she now knows that if your interests are only intellectual and not implemented into your life, they’re nothing more than useless mind candy. No resource you can buy will ever be as effective as self compassion, which is a habit to cultivate over time. Self care is knowing ourselves and being curious about ourselves, then having enough discipline to do for yourself what you know you need.
Next, Katie shares her methods for advising clients and how listeners can apply these principles in their own lives. First, remember to slow down and choose a reflective, rather than a reactive, approach to life. It’s in the quiet and sensory moments that we really get to know ourselves. Then, observe the habits you currently have. The way we think we are living is often not the way we’re actually living. It’s essential to have strategies in place so that we don’t continue falling into the same habitual traps. Katie doesn't believe in balance, but sees life more as an orchestra containing many different phases and intensities. She offers a planner which contains assessments for different areas in your life to measure accountability from a place of kindness.
We all have our own non-negotiable things we need in order to be at our best, regardless if we feel in the mood or have time to do them. These things must be the foundation of everything else we do. After fulfilling our responsibility to ourselves, we can then begin other things. Katie’s own non-negotiables include her morning routine, time in nature, exercise, planning time and tea time. She clarifies that non-negotiables are the things we do that make us like ourselves. Katie’s job isn’t to superimpose her own plan on someone else, but to help them reunite with
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Dec 20, 2021
Dr. Dennis Rebelo on the Importance of Personalized Stories, his Peak Storytelling Method, and How to Story Like You Mean It
Welcome to The Firestarter Podcast—people, ideas and conversations that move us forward. It’s your host Willa Kammerer’s business and passion to make the world a better place through storytelling, which is why we’re here today. We’ll talk to mission-driven entrepreneurs, philanthropists, investors, thought leaders, and experts on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues about designing and thriving careers of impact.
In this episode, Willa is joined by guest Dr. Dennis Rebelo, a speaker, professor, career coach, and recent author of the book Story Like You Mean It. His passion is to utilize storytelling to help individuals craft the narrative of who they are and what uniquely drives us. Listen as they discuss this method of storytelling and the importance of our own personal stories in connecting more deeply and authentically with people in our professional spheres.
The episode begins with Willa and Dennis sharing their love for storytelling as well as Dennis giving a preview of his book, Story Like You Mean It. This book is all about how storytelling can help answer the question of who we are and guides you on how to tell your own self-story in an authentic and meaningful way, known as the Peak Storytelling model. Dennis also goes on to discuss how this type of storytelling is like a muscle: it is something everyone can learn and teach through practice and motivation. He explains the process of the Peak Storytelling model as a methodology of showing you the dots in your life and using storytelling to connect them and exemplify your purpose and passions. Willa adds to this by discussing how this approach can help you be more conscious of the present and empower you to be the author of your life.
Dennis then dives into the concept of how to hone in on your storytelling and use it in real life experiences, such as in interviews or to better connect with others in an authentic way. He demonstrates this through having Willa identify different influential moments or “dots” in her life and modeling how to use storytelling to connect these to show her passion for what she does. When someone asks you to share your story, there can be pressure to make it short and to the point, but Dennis shares how the Peak Storytelling model can help you communicate your purpose and passions to others in a more authentic and meaningful way.
Willa then asks Dennis to share about his own interest in storytelling. For Dennis, this started at an early age when he began to be genuinely interested in others’ stories and asked questions to help him better understand who they were. From this flowed a new passion for helping people find their stories and learn how to tell them in authentic ways. Through this passion, he has been able to help many people find their passions through their narrative identity which has been used to create organizations and businesses. When passions are uncovered through storytelling, it allows people to become advocates for what they are passionate about and set lasting goals for how to influence the world for good.
As the episode comes to a close, Willa asks Dennis some rapid-fire questions about what he has learned over the years and tips for listeners on how they can learn to tell their own stories. He points out the importance of connecting with your story and your purpose and using this to help answer your “why” questions in life. This can be done by looking at your story over time and seeing your why not as a one-time enlightenment, but as something discovered through the journey of life
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Dec 1, 2021
Navyn Salem on a Mission to End Hunger and Malnutrition, and Leading by Example
Welcome to The Firestarter Podcast—people, ideas and conversations that move us forward. It’s your host Willa Kammerer’s business and passion to make the world a better place through storytelling, which is why we’re here today. We’ll talk to mission-driven entrepreneurs, philanthropists, investors, thought leaders, and experts on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues about designing and thriving careers of impact.
Our guest today is Navyn Salem, the Founder and CEO of Edesia, a nonprofit social enterprise with a mission to treat and prevent malnutrition in the world’s most vulnerable populations. Their factory in Rhode Island produces a wide range of fortified peanut-based products for humanitarian agencies like UNICEF, World Food Programme and more. Since 2010, Edesia has reached more than 12 million children in over 57 countries. In 2019, Navyn developed MeWe, a commercial line of nut butters addressing nutritional challenges in the USA. She is a 2014 Henry Crown Fellow and member of the Aspen Global Leadership network. She is also the mother of four daughters. Stay tuned to hear Navyn’s pathway to founding Edesia, her mission to tackle malnutrition on a global scale and advice for connecting with your own purpose.
As the conversation begins, Navyn shares about her own background and the inspiration behind her work today. Her father and grandparents are from Tanzania, a country she couldn’t visit until after her college graduation. She was finally able to see first hand the challenges faced by the developing world, an image which remained with her for some time. Having children of her own reminded her of the experience she had on that trip many years ago and the true hardships mothers in those places face. Edisia was born out of her business background, experience of motherhood and knowledge about Tanzania.
When Navyn’s youngest daughter turned one, she decided to return to Tanzania with the intention of finding out how to address the area’s most pressing needs. At the time, nobody seemed to be talking about the issue of malnutrition despite the fact that 5 million children were dying as a result of something completely preventable. Navyn was inspired to address this issue right away. She partnered with a French companywho manufactured a peanut butter which had the ability to rehabilitate a child within 7 weeks and opened a factory in Tanzania.
Next, Navyn shares a few of the ways being an outsider in the industry granted her a leg up. While it was initially discouraging, coming into the space with a completely fresh perspective actually worked to her advantage. Navyn’s advice to anyone interested in doing something is to just start, right now, and to not overthink it.
One of the major nutritional challenges we face here in the U.S. is widespread peanut allergies among children. In an effort to relieve some of the fear of parents of children with these allergies, Navyn began questioning what could be done to help. It was determined by the AAP that introducing peanuts to children as early as possible relieves some of the likelihood for allergies developing by up to 82%. Navyn and her colleagues developed a safe peanut butter for children over 6 months and a product for kids who are challenging their diet diversity. To address growing food bank lines during the pandemic, they developed a peanut butter called MeWe. She recalls the excitement and motivation of her team to be able to help out at home.
In closing, Navyn discusses her many roles, including mother and CEO. She shares her value of leading by example and inspiring her daughters to do something great. Finally, she offers her best advice to young people hoping to connect with their own purpose. She shares that she didn't find her own until she was 35 years old, so don’t worry about a certain deadline or timeframe. When you find the thing that clicks with you, there is
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Nov 17, 2021
Steve Bradley on Cleantech and Meeting the Needs of a Growing Population
Welcome to The Firestarter Podcast—people, ideas and conversations that move us forward. It’s your host Willa Kammerer’s business and passion to make the world a better place through storytelling, which is why we’re here today. We’ll talk to mission-driven entrepreneurs, philanthropists, investors, thought leaders, and experts on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues about designing and thriving careers of impact.
In this episode, Willa is joined by Steve Bradley, Vice President of Cleantech Strategy and Investments at Cox Enterprises. The business is focused on tackling sustainability challenges to drive profitability, topline growth, and diversification. It does this through investing in solutions to transform agriculture, energy, and waste to sustainably meet the needs of a rapidly growing population. Steve’s role is to cultivate positive environmental change within the company. Listen as they talk about Steve’s leadership in sustainability, the evolution of his role over time, and how sustainability benefits both business and the environment.
The episode begins with Steve sharing more about the structure of the company Cleantech. He first defines Cleantech as having the goal of resource efficiency, resiliency, and adaptation. Steve shares how he originally started out his career on the path of mechanical engineering, and slowly began to have a desire to address environmental changes. When Cox began to focus more on sustainability, he then began to work in the field of tackling environmental challenges and helping the company grow its sustainability.
Willa then moves on to ask Steve about some of the company’s current sustainability goals. One of the biggest goals this company has for the future is to become waste neutral by 2024 and carbon water neutral by 2034. The end goal of these strategies is to help Cox eliminate its footprint on the environment. He also talks about some of the challenges he has faced in tackling sustainability issues, the biggest of these being figuring out where to start. The amount of environmental issues that need to be tackled can feel overwhelming at times, and Steve encourages listeners to take it one choice and one step at a time, and that this steady approach can make an impact.
A big part of what Steve does is connecting profitability with sustainability, and Willa asks Steve to speak about this. In his work at Cleantech, Steve has the goal of proving that businesses can do good things for the planet while also bringing profit to the company. Thinking sustainably allows you to build a better company in the long run, and Steve shares how it has boosted some of the company’s greatest returns. Businesses have a lot of power and responsibility to address environmental issues, and Steve encourages businesses to take the lead and inspire others to do the same.
Next, Steve dives into his own passion for helping the environment and how it’s the driving force behind what he does. He shares how thinking about future generations and the effects of our choices on them and the environment they live in is what inspires him in his work. Rather than leaving future generations with environmental problems, he wants to leave them a healthy natural environment with resources. Additionally, he goes on to encourage young people to follow their own passions through daring to be curious, take risks, and find jobs that suit their passion and calling.
With all the changes brought by the pandemic, Willa asks Steve to share how it impacted Cleantech. The results of the pandemic brought lots of accelerated change due to the hyper-focus and time for reflection. He shares how this time of reflection...
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Nov 17, 2021
John Trybus on Storytelling, Impact, and Charting One's Path
Welcome to The Firestarter Podcast—people, ideas and conversations that move us forward. It’s your host Willa Kammerer’s business and passion to make the world a better place through storytelling, which is why we’re here today. We’ll talk to mission-driven entrepreneurs, philanthropists, investors, thought leaders, and experts on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues about designing and thriving careers of impact.
Our guest today is Dr. John D. Trybus, a Social Strategist on a mission to help impact organizations and embrace the blur between sectors, functions, departments and human strengths for good. John leads and manages Georgetown University’s Center for Social Impact Communications. His career journey has spanned multiple sectors in pursuit of making an impact, serving as Personal Advisor to Dr. Jane Goodall and Strategist at the British Embassy in Washington D.C. Within WE Communications, he advised clients such as Tiffany & Co, L'Oreal, Microsoft and more on social responsibility. Additionally, he is an Adjunct Professor of Social Impact and Nonprofit Management at Georgetown University and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from Concordia University Chicago.
To begin, John takes us back to his childhood in Oak Park, Illinois, which he considers ‘the Hollywood of the midwest’. He describes it as a progressive community, welcoming to all different backgrounds. John believes storytelling is his true calling, though his skills developed over time. He believes himself to be the perfect combination of his mother, a teacher and his father, working for a nonprofit. To John, storytelling is the link to what it means to be human.
John recalls his experience working with Jane Goodall, a person who really walks the talk and represents the story she tells. It was the opportunity of a lifetime for John and set the path for his future. Then, he discusses the blur between different sectors in the impact space. While being involved with a nonprofit is a great catalyst for change, there are so many other routes as well. John stresses that it’s okay to take a different path than the one you originally set out on, to which he is proof of.
Amongst his students, John has observed that social values are often embedded in who they are. There is beneficial added pressure for corporations to hold themselves and advocate for these similar values. A unique aspect of storytelling is its ability to, at once, make space for how we're different and how we’re similar as humans. John offers advice for mission-driven entrepreneurs and businesses interested in communicating their own stories. He urges organizations to create ecosystems of stories within themselves. Even as technology advances, there is no replacement for true human connection.
Willa then asks John to share the mindsets and philosophies which have propelled him through life. First, he always makes an effort to have fun and savor the lighthearted moments to prevent burnouts. Additionally, he has found listening to others to be the most important thing he can do. Finally, he has experimented with working in many different contexts within the impact sector and urges listeners not to be afraid to make mistakes. In fact, many times adversities can only make you stronger in the long run.
In closing, John offers advice for anyone listening who is searching for meaning within their own work. First, he urges you to take advantage of various opportunities, as there are endless ways to make an impact. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people you admire and make mistakes. Think about what you’re passionate about and what specific areas you have hope for. Be encouraged to not only tell your own story, but listen to other people’s as well.
Timestamps:
0:01 - Host Willa Kammerer introduces the podcast.
0:46 - Willa introduces...
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Nov 17, 2021
Kate Williams on Environmental Giving, Connecting with Purpose, and Collective Impact
Welcome to The Firestarter Podcast—people, ideas and conversations that move us forward. It’s your host Willa Kammerer’s business and passion to make the world a better place through storytelling, which is why we’re here today. We’ll talk to mission-driven entrepreneurs, philanthropists, investors, thought leaders, and experts on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues about designing and thriving careers of impact.
In this episode, Willa is joined by guest Kate Williams, CEO of 1% for the Planet, a nonprofit organization that connects dollars with doers. Kate has also previously served as a board member for both the National Outdoor Leadership School and Shelburne Farms. Listen as Kate and Willa talk about the impact of 1% for the Planet, the importance of growing philanthropic giving in the environment, and what energizes and engages Kate in her work.
Kate begins by sharing her story of becoming the CEO of 1% for the Planet. From a young age, she had a passion for the environment which led her to working in the field of nonprofits for the environment. Her work in this field gave her the skills and experience needed to become Director of Partnerships at 1% for the Planet, and later, the organization’s CEO. 1% for the Planet is a global network of members committed to giving one percent of their sales and revenue back to the environment. The team at 1% for the Planet supports these businesses through connecting them with environmental nonprofits and advising on strategic giving. Kate shares how one percent may not seem like a lot at first, but every dollar adds up and demonstrates the power of committing to giving back.
Next, Willa asks Kate to talk about her perspective on philanthropic giving to environmental causes.
First, she expresses her desire to see an increase in this area of giving. 1% for the Planet aims to do this by helping businesses see that they can make an impact on the environment through their giving. It has become a steppingstone for businesses, helping connect them to giving opportunities. She also points out how government, businesses, and nonprofits all need to work together for this end goal to be accomplished.
Kate goes on to share about her own calling to work on behalf of the environment, and encourages others with similar a passion to do the same. There are so many ways to put this passion to work, especially in helping businesses embed an environmental ethos into their operations. One approach is engaging the larger community of a business, sharing ways to give back to the environment and promoting a mindset of giving. Through this, businesses can begin to see that success lies in what you are able to give rather than get.
1% for the Planet has grown exponentially over the years, and Kate shares how much of this recent growth has been international, as well as an increase in both the number and variety of business members, and an expansion of staff. She also points out how the pandemic helped them grow specifically through the way it opened people’s eyes to the fact that global change can happen suddenly and the importance of not waiting to help the environment when you can make a difference in the present. Additionally, she shares some of the changes they are working toward, such as growing awareness of and emphasis on giving to environmental justice.
Moving on to a new topic, Willa asks Kate about what drives her to do what she does. Kate points out how she is fueled by her passion and purpose more than her paycheck. This is what helps her through the hard parts of her job and gives meaning to what she does. She uses this to then...
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Nov 3, 2021
The Firestarter Podcast Trailer Episode
The Firestarter Podcast, with Willa Kammerer, is about people, ideas, and conversations that move us forward. We’ll talk to mission-driven entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and investors; thought leaders, researchers, and experts on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues about designing and thriving in careers of impact.
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