Episode 50 | Teresa Smith, Founder and CEO, Dreams For Change

In this excellent episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in the studio by Dr. Teresa Smith, the CEO and Founder of Dreams for Change. Since her childhood, Teresa has always been interested in human behavior. She knew she was not interested in becoming a counselor or therapist so naturally, she began working in nonprofits.Dreams For Change is a local nonprofit that works to fill gaps in the community wherever they arise. Teresa and Dreams For Change's approach to problem-solving have always been hands-on, working to fix problems as they appear and innovate solutions to help others. One of their most prominent efforts is with homelessness. During the recession, Teresa recognized a new group of people was now losing their homes; those who had lost their jobs and sources of income. As many of these people found that shelters were not the right environment for them, they turned to living in their cars. This is where the idea of the Safe Parking program was born. Since then, the efforts to help those in poverty have expanded to mobile soup kitchens and food trucks as well as free help in filing taxes.An excellent episode on change-making with Teresa Siles. Here are some other takeaways from the interview:The gap-filling efforts of Dreams For ChangeThe history of the Safe Parking projects and how they have evolvedWhat "health physics" isTeresa's work in providing free tax helpWhat has changed in terms of the homelessness problemThe answers to the Rapid Fire questions!An excellent interview from a hard-working and innovative gap minder. Thank you, Teresa, for your contributions in San Diego, and for joining us on The Gap Minders.Enjoy this episode and be sure to subscribe to the show.If you have any questions or want to contact Nancy or Jose, please send an email to [email protected]. Thank you for listening.To learn more about the two social impact organizations making The Gap Minders possible, please visit www.TheGapMinders.org.