To help us unpack the benefits of reforestation is Pieter Van Midwoud, the Chief Tree Planting Officer at Ecosia. After finishing his studies, Pieter developed a certification scheme for forest carbon projects and joined Ecosia as their first tree-planting officer, creating a varied portfolio of reforestation efforts. Ecosia, a search engine with millions of users, plants trees worldwide using its ad revenue. Over 150 million trees have been planted to date, helping promote landscape restoration, community nourishment, wildlife protection, and carbon neutrality.
MBA Series Ep. 21: Marketing | Approach & Messaging
Join Shawn Berry and LIFT Economy Marketing Lead Jeanette Morelan to find out what marketing looks like in the Next Economy, from iterative design grounded in reality to responsive audience research and user testing, factual and emotional messaging, authentic storytelling, and more. Although we use some of the same tools as business-as-usual marketing, Next Economy business principles inform a slower and more intentional approach to commerce.
Frederic Laloux: Shifting the Cultural Norm to Climate Action
Frederic Laloux is a renowned author, speaker, and organizational transformation expert who has made significant contributions to the field of management and leadership. He is best known for his groundbreaking book Reinventing Organizations, which provides readers with a revolutionary concept that challenges conventional management paradigms. More recently, his work focuses on combating climate change and motivating people to take action.
Nikishka Iyengar: The Invisible Hand of Real Estate
The real estate market is undoubtedly one of the most powerful and overlooked forces in shaping our cities and communities. Without truly addressing this area of the economy, it is hard to imagine real reform, especially toward a more equitable future. Nikishka Iyengar, the Founder and CEO of The Guild, based in Atlanta, Georgia, is on the show to talk about her work in this sphere.
Nia Evans: Building a Community-Based, Democratically-Instituted Economy
Poverty, gentrification, unemployment, homelessness, unequal access to food and healthcare, and other challenges facing our communities are all interconnected. Today’s guest believes that we need an equally complex solution. Meet Nia Evans, Executive Director of the Boston Ujima Project, a Black-led, democratic, member-run organization that was born from a shared desire to find real solutions to racial wealth inequality.
MBA Series Ep. 20: Operations II - Operation Projection and Financial Systems
This conversation with Shawn and Kevin explores understanding financial systems and what may change if universal financial literacy becomes the norm.
Esha Chhabra: Harnessing the Power of Regenerative Business To Heal the World
In today’s conversation with Esha Chhabra, author of Working To Restore, we discuss the power of storytelling and imagination and its power in helping to bring about The Next Economy.
MBA Series Ep. 19 Operations I: Organization Structure, Roles, and Tasks
In today’s episode of the Next Economy MBA Series, we take a look at part one of our session on operations, which includes organizational structure, roles, and tasks
Justin Wright: Collaborative Negotiation
Justin Wright is the CEO of Habitus, a certified B-corporation facilitating complex decision-making processes and coordinating collaboration between multiple stakeholders to empower collective action. He has recently authored what he refers to as “a negotiation book disguised as a career book”, Finding A Job That Loves You Back and is a member of White Men For Racial Justice.
Jacqueline Novogratz: Moving Beyond Ideology to Solve Real-World Problems
Joining us to share her insights is Jacqueline Novogratz, founder of the global nonprofit, Acumen, a forerunner in the fight against poverty.
MBA Series Ep 18. Strategy III - Partnerships and Governance
In today's conversation, we unpack the third strategy of our MBA Series and discuss how to leverage the power of governance. We discuss how meetings are a part of the decision-making process, the concept of authority, the different systems of governance, and why engaging more stakeholders is better. Learn about practicing good governance hygiene, tactics for forming strategic partnerships, the various facets of accountability, and more. To hear actionable steps and essential insights to ensure a culture of good governance for your company, tune in now.
Stu Landesberg: Using Business to Solve Environmental Problems
Today, we speak to Stu about the realities of creating a profitable brand that aligns more closely with consumer values and simultaneously delivers environmental impact, his experience of negotiating the public markets and shareholder expectations as a high-impact publicly traded company, and why he believes that the success of his business and the success of his mission are intrinsically linked.
MBA Series Ep.17 — Strategy II: Fundraising
Fundraising is possibly the most pressing issue facing new business owners looking to get a startup off the ground. In this part of our MBA series, we take a look at some of the alternatives to the common, yet flawed, models associated with venture capital and angel investment.
Eric Toensmeier: Perennial Sustainability
Eric Toensmeier is a thought leader in the role of perennial crops and agroforestry systems in climate change mitigation. Having penned and published three revolutionary books and acted as a senior fellow in both Project Drawdown and the Global Evergreening Alliance, his voice is pivotal to the conversation about climate change, biodiversity, and nutrition.
MBA Series Ep.16 - Teju Adisa-Farrar
In our conversation, we learn about Teju’s background, what motivates her, and her journey to becoming an independent consultant. We then delve into what she is currently working on, the importance of mission-driven finance, how she is shaking up the exploitative fashion supply chain, and how she uses her podcast to empower people.
Lindsay Baker: Rethinking the Built Environment through Living Buildings
We are so lucky to sit down with Lindsay today for an in-depth conversation about living buildings, her passion for structures and shelter, and what the built environment could look like in the future.
MBA Series Ep.15 – Strategy I: Positioning
In this episode of the MBA Series, Shawn Berry and Ryan Honeyman discuss business strategy, specifically how to position your offering in your chosen market.
MBA Series Ep. 14: Meg Erskine and Matt Simon: Multicultural Refugee Coalition
Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.
Today we have two wonderful guests on the show to talk about the Multicultural Refugee Coalition (MRC) in Austin, Texas. Meg Erskine and Matt Simon join us to explain the current work being done by the organization, the different components of their jobs, and how the projects function. Listeners can expect to get a great insight into the progress being made by MRC, as well as some inspiring examples of the way different initiatives can work together towards the common cause of a more equitable world.
MRC aims to provide livelihood opportunities for refugees through skills-based education and social entrepreneurship. Their work is divided between two separate, yet connected enterprises: New Leaf Agriculture, and Open Arms Studio. Their work is built on the foundation of providing fair-wage jobs that offer opportunities to advance careers, while utilizing the array of skills and expertise of their workers.
Meg Erskine is the Co-Founder of MRC, which she began with a small team in 2009. She has a background in conservation biology, and she is driven by her passions for sustainability, ethical fashion, regenerative agriculture, and social enterprise. Matt Simon is the Farm Director at New Leaf Agriculture, a role he began in January 2020, bringing a decade's worth of experience in the organic agriculture space in his native Austin, and holding a number of different roles relating to permaculture design and sustainable agriculture.
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Key Points From This Episode:
Some background on our guests and the Multicultural Refugee Coalition.
Expanding on the idea of food autonomy and the foundation it provides for the work at MRC.
The array of initiatives that are currently in the pipeline at MRC.
The important connection and exchange between the Open Arms project and the farm.
How the farm came to be and the work that went into finding the land.
The emphasis on flexibility that the farm offers its workers to accommodate other demands.
Benefits of fresh air and exercise for those working on the farm.
Healthful herbs and 'weeds' and using the varied knowledge of different cultures.
The certification program that MRC is offering and what the modules consist of.
How listeners can support and contribute to the amazing work being done by our guests!
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Tweetables:
“For me, the foundation of food justice and food access is food autonomy.” — Matt Simon
“There are so many things that we are working on that I am so excited about!” — Meg Erskine
“It was interesting to me to realize when I started working with folks out here, that none of them had ever worked in a greenhouse before, but they had been farming their whole lives.” — Matt Simon
“Every week is a consideration of what is going to happen six weeks from now.” — Matt Simon
“We are still looking for philanthropic support and we are looking to expand our network, and meet up with folks in other areas besides our own.” — Meg Erskine
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Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Meg Erskine — https://www.linkedin.com/in/meg-erskine-5657a95
Matt Simon — https://www.mrcaustin.org/latest-news/meet-matt-new-leafs-farm-director
Multicultural Refugee Coalition — https://www.mrcaustin.org/
Open Arms Studio — https://www.openarmsstudio.org/
New Leaf Agriculture — https://www.mrcaustin.org/new-leaf-agriculture
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LIFT Economy Newsletter
Join 7000+ subscribers and get our free 60 point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter
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Next Economy MBA
This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.
What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).
The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.
Join the growing network of 300+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.
Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.
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Show Notes + Other Links
For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast
If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts by visiting: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow
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Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/
Abigail Acheson & Nouhaila Oudija: Rethinking Economics USA
Rethinking Economics USA is a network of students and academics allying to rethink and change economics education in the United States. Joining us in conversation today are Abigail Acheson and Nouhaila Oudija, two leading members of the movement making waves across the globe.
MBA Series Ep. 13 - Culture Pt. 2 Communication
This episode tackles the topic of non-violent, collaborative communication and why it’s so important when it comes to making a genuine impact in the world.