What if honing the skill of self-compassion was an entry point to better communicate with, understand, and connect with others? Today, Haitian-American artist, activist, and educator Phoenix Soleil joins us to explore the concept of nonviolent communication and its impact on relationships.
Kat Taylor: Banking to Benefit the Future
Kat Taylor works in service of restoring social justice to environmental well-being, to build a more equitable and inclusive world. She is a co-founder of Beneficial State Bank and Radicle Impact Partners venture fund and Founding Director of TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation. She joins us today to explore the scientific and business cases for regenerative agriculture and its role in restoring our world.
Clay Brown: Transforming the Global Economy to Benefit All People, Communities, and the Planet
Today, we’re joined by Clay Brown from B Lab Global to discuss how we can transform the global economy from a system that profits a few to one that benefits all people, communities, and the planet.
Ed Mitzen: Rebuilding Left-Behind Communities
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What is the best way to help rebuild communities that have been left behind and forgotten? And is it necessary to throw out the manual and rather bring new ideas and fresh perspectives? To help answer these questions, we are joined today by the Founder and CEO of The Fingerpaint Group, Ed Mitzen.
The Fingerpaint Group is a full-service healthcare marketing firm aimed at improving the lives of those who need it most, and it has a new little sister which was also founded by Ed and his wife Lisa: Business for Good – on a mission to invest in people to build better businesses, stronger communities, and a more equitable world.
In today’s conversation, we learn about Ed’s unique ecosystem approach to philanthropy, how to identify and prioritize the help that is needed most, what you need to know and understand before seeking to help previously disadvantaged communities, the value of building relationships, the importance of teaching people how to problem-solve, and so much more!
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Key Points From This Episode:
• Introducing Philanthropist, Executive Author, Entrepreneur, and Founder and CEO of The Fingerpaint Group, Ed Mitzen. [00:31]
• Ed's professional background, and how he got involved in the work he does today. [01:06]
• Insight into Ed's unique approach to philanthropy. [02:43]
• Business for Good: the business side of philanthropy. [05:05]
• What Ed has learned so far from his ecosystem approach to helping others. [07:44]
• How to identify and prioritize the work that needs to be done in a neglected ecosystem. [10:25]
• The inroads that Ed and his team have made in improving healthcare for others. [14:45]
• Other requirements and considerations for rebuilding left-behind communities. [16:20]
• The story behind Wealthy and White, and what Ed hopes readers will gain from it. [17:56]
• How he navigates failure as an entrepreneur and mentor. [21:30]
• The value of building strong relationships, and how to go about it. [24:25]
• Unpacking the reciprocity of gifting. [26:01]
• How Ed teaches problem-solving, and the importance of learning this skill. [27:13]
• The biggest challenges he faces at work today and how he overcomes them. [28:41]
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Quotations:
“We're not going to solve hunger with more food pantries; we need to get people up the income curve – good paying jobs, good healthcare – and that will help eradicate a lot of the challenges that societies face.” — Ed Mitzen [0:02:16]
“Nowadays, people want to come and work for companies that they know are trying to make the world a better place.” — Ed Mitzen [0:03:04]
“[We're] trying to use our entrepreneurial skills to help people in left-behind communities start or grow their companies.” — Ed Mitzen [0:05:38]
“I'm trying to show other white business owners that there's other ways to help besides just writing a cheque.” — Ed Mitzen [0:13:37]
“Healthcare is a tough one. We've tried to do what we can, but the whole system is a bit of a mess.” — Ed Mitzen [0:15:51]
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Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Ed Mitzen: https://www.edmitzen.com/
Lisa Mitzen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-mitzen-81445412
The Fingerpaint Group: https://www.fingerpaint.com/
Business for Good: https://bfg.org/
Wealthy and White: https://www.powells.com/book/wealthy-and-white-9781544540979
Caste: https://www.powells.com/book/caste-9780593230251
Albany Black Chamber of Commerce: https://albanyblackchamber.org/
Goldman Sachs: https://www.goldmansachs.com/
Albany Medical Center: https://www.albanymed.org/
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Join the growing global network of 500+ alumni who are catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life. Learn more and sign up for news about upcoming cohorts: https://lifteconomy.com/mba.
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Show Notes + Other Links
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Vivek George: Building Sustainability With Co-Ops
Vivek George is a founding member and chief catalyst at Yuti Co-op, a sustainable marketplace that is owned by its workers and community. As a company, its mission is to help consumers by giving them a sustainable alternative that they can access and afford. In our conversation, Vivek breaks down the principles that Yuti Co-op was founded on and gives a detailed account of how multi-stakeholder companies like Yuti Co-op can address issues around sustainability, democracy, and inequality.
Joshua Prieto: Impact Entrepreneurs Building Regenerative Economies
Imagine a world where global economies are no longer extractive or exploitative, where economies are tied to local bioregions, and enterprises are designed around regenerative business systems. Today, we are joined by Joshua Prieto, Co-Founder and Director of Seeds of Tao, to find out how to make this world a reality.
Maryam Ahmed: DEI in Food and Wine
Diverse perspectives enable decision-makers to better serve all the people within their orbit. Maryam Ahmed is an entrepreneur, speaker, writer, and activist immersed in the world of food and wine and during this conversation, we discuss how her lived experience informs her incredible work to improve diversity and equality in the industry.
Jakada Imani: Management in a Changing World
Conflict resolution is a sensitive topic containing many nuances, and, should you need some help on the matter, look no further than today’s conversation as Jakada graciously delivers a lesson on how to handle conflict and toxic behavior in the workplace.
Bernard Harcourt: Coöperism: A Positive Vision for Addressing Urgent Challenges
Contemporary critical theorist, legal advocate, and author Bernard Harcourt has developed a transformative theory and practice that builds on global models of successful cooperation. His new book, Cooperation: A Political, Economic, and Social Theory, provides a positive vision for addressing some of the world’s most urgent challenges. In it, Bernard shows that by drawing on “the power of people working together,” a new world of cooperation democracy is within our grasp, one that promotes the equitable distribution of wealth, replaces the punitive punishment paradigm with a cooperation paradigm, and ensures the future of our planet.
Paul Zelizer: Opportunity and Impact
In today’s episode, we host Paul Zelizer, a social entrepreneur and executive coach for impact leaders. His wealth of experience also extends to hosting the Awarepreneurs Podcast, directing social media for Wisdom 2.0, and pioneering a men’s center in New Mexico.
Aseem Das and Janae Lloyd: How World Centric Serves People and Planet
What if you didn’t have to choose between generating profits and facilitating change? World Centric is on a dual mission to support sustainable practices and empower communities experiencing poverty. CEO Aseem Das and Director of Impact Janae Lloyd join us in conversation to discuss World Centric’s unique model and ongoing evolution.
Ron Carucci: White Men for Racial Justice
Today, we chat with the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Navalent, Ron Carucci. Navalent is a consulting firm that offers executive coaching and consulting for senior leaders to solve organizational problems at the source. Ron’s 30-plus years of experience in helping executives with transformational change at their organizations has seen him become a juggernaut in the field, and a prolific author as well!
Garrett Neiman: Rich White Men and the Path to Equity
In this compelling and thought-provoking episode, we have the privilege of sitting down with Garrett Neiman, a Nonprofit Entrepreneur & Social Justice Writer, to delve deep into the themes of his latest book, Rich White Men, and the role that white men can play in constructing an equitable society. As a prominent voice in the realm of social justice, Garrett has dedicated his life to shedding light on the issues of privilege, power, and inequality. His book challenges conventional notions and provides valuable insights into the role that white men can play as allies in dismantling systemic barriers and creating a more inclusive world.
Charles Conn: Unleashing The Imperfectionist Mindset
In this enlightening episode of Next Economy Now, we sit down with Charles Conn, a cross-sector leader, life sciences investor, environmentalist, and best-selling author. Charles is not only a co-founder and partner at Monograph Capital, but also a board member and chair at Patagonia.
Vincent Stanley: Rethinking Business When Traditional Capitalism No Longer Works for People or Planet
Today we are joined by a returning guest and one of Patagonia’s original employees, Vincent Stanley, who currently serves as the company’s in-house philosopher (and, more informally, their chief storyteller). Vincent also co-authored The Responsible Company: What We’ve Learned From Patagonia’s First 50 Years with Yvon Chouinard. The book draws on 50 years of experience at Patagonia to challenge business owners and leaders to reevaluate their businesses in a time of cultural and climate chaos.
Daniel Kurzrock: Addressing the Food Waste Crisis Through Upcycling
The idea of upcycling, which Daniel Kurzrock happened upon as he was looking for better things to do with the “brewers spent grain” (BSG) from his home-brewed beer business than throw it away, is what forms the foundation of his company, Upcycled Foods, Inc. By turning it into consumables like energy bars and loaves of bread, Daniel and his team are chipping away at the 20 billion pounds of BSG that ends up as animal feed or in landfills around the US every year.
Lisa Kleissner: Reverse-Engineering Economic Resilience
Social impact trailblazer Lisa Kleissner co-founded KL Felicitas Foundation, Toniic, and Hawaii Investment Ready, all key players in the movement to bring down the barriers to impact investing. Lisa also brings her two decades of experience in impact investing and philanthropy to her work as a board member at Aqua-Spark and Real Good Fish.
Next Economy Living: Katy Bowman on Finding Ways to Move More
The links between movement and wellness are not easily disputed, and yet we find ourselves in an extremely sedentary society, where people are either unable to move enough or choose not to. On the show today to talk about her work on the subject is Katy Bowman. Her numerous books are helping to change the way we look at and think about movement and its role in contemporary life.
Next Economy Living: Christine Platt and The "Less Is Liberation" Movement
Today, we discuss the role that the psychology of ownership plays in our attachment to things, why Christine felt the need to highlight BIPOC experiences in her book, and how scarcity, race, and cultural expectations inform our choices.
Next Economy Living Cheryl Whilby on Soul Fire Farm and Creating Regenerative Food Systems
In today’s episode, we are joined by Cheryl Whilby, Communications Director at Soul Fire Farm, who is here to share some of the inspirational work that they are doing.