Unleashing Social Change
by Becky Margiotta
Each episode we interview a badass social change leader and learn the ins and outs of what they're doing to make the world a better place. This podcast will help you feel optimistic that we can make a difference and give you practical tips about how to go about doing so in a big way.
Episodes
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Bonus Episode: High Tech High Unboxed- Improvement as a tool for our collective liberation, with Dr. Brandi Hinnant-Crawford
Unleashing Social Change Podcast has a featured episode for you this week! High Tech High Unboxed, hosted by Alec Patton. In this Episode, Stacey interviews Brandi. Stacey Caillier talks to Dr. Brandi Hinnant-Crawford about what Improvement Science looks like when equity and liberation are…
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Unpacking Mentorship; Humility, Authenticity, and Curiosity.
Nicki Roth and I met back in 2003 working on the 100,000 homes campaign. She is currently heading the executive leadership coaching offered to all MBA students at MIT Sloan School of Management. She has published two books on leadership and is the co-founder of The Messy Truth Leadership. I am...
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56: Sharon Kanis: A Profile in Interconnectedness of Communion
My last mentor of the season is one who has known me since before I was born, my Aunt and Godmother, Sharon Kanis of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Taking her vows at the age of 19, Sharon has since gotten a degree in chemistry, a masters in applying Jungian theory to biblical archetypes, and…
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55: Noah Winnick and Josue Barnes: A Profile in Fearless Community Activism
Description: A few years ago I received advice that every leader should have a mentor who is 20 years younger than them. In the reckoning of June 2020, I found mine in Noah Winnick and Josue Barnes. The duo founded Claremont Change and have been representing the voices of marginalized people in…
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54: Mark Lipton - A Profile in Vision, Genius, and Feeling Feelings
This week I sat down with Mark Lipton who I met when he was the Department Chair of my graduate program in Organizational Change Management at The New School. He has since moved on to Professor Emeritus status, which has freed him up to consult with Fortune 500 companies and write awesome books…
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53: Rosanne Haggerty: A Profile in Disruption and Active Listening
In this episode, you'll meet Rosanne Haggerty, winner of the 2001 MacArthur "Genius Award." Having worked for her for 11 years I can say with no doubt: she really is a genius, although she'd never tell you that herself. Super humble and one of the most relentless leaders I've ever known…
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52: Holly Craig Silkman: A Profile in Candor
Holly Craig Silkman, aka Adele Adler, aka my college roomie, joins us from her horse ranch in Montana to talk about her experience narrating the audio version of my book, Impact with Integrity, and her experience as a leader for more than three decades. Our time as roommates at West Point was…
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51: Howie Cohen - A Profile in Becoming a Leader's leader
Join me this episode as I sit down with my mentor and friend, retired Colonel Howie Cohen, to discuss leadership, community, standards, and perseverance. We reminisce on the unconventional methods Howie used to instill cohesion in every one of the dozens of organizations he led, from being one of...
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50: Jan Hicks: A Profile in Authenticity and Kindness
Today Jan Hicks is living her best life as a farmer, mother, and doting grandmother. When she retired as a two-star Major General in 2005, she was serving as the Commanding General of the United States Army Signal Corps. I had the tremendous good fortune of serving under Jan when she was the...
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49: Jane Holl Lute: A Profile in Never Moving Backwards
Thirty years ago I met Jane Hall Lute while she was my professor at West Point. Since our time together she has gone on to be the Assistant Secretary General for Peacebuilding Support at the United Nations, the former Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security for the United States, and is now the...
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48: Jay Parker: A Profile in Empathy and Unconditional Support
If you're a frequent listener of this podcast you've probably heard the name Jay Parker. Jay is currently the distinguished professor and Major General Fox Conner Chair of International Security Studies in the College of International Security Affairs at the National Defense University. We met…
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47: Mimi Finch: A Profile in Becoming the Leader You Never HadÂ
Join Becky as she interviews her Tactical Officer from West Point, Retired Army Officer and Defense Contractor Mimi Finch, and listen to their conversation about the seminal moments that molded Mimi into the leader and person she is today. A champion of the underdog in her decades-long career…
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46: Brenda Sue Fulton, A Profile of Personal Courage
Like many of Becky's mentors, Army Veteran Brenda Sue Fulton's list of accomplishments is longer than a CVS receipt and chock full of lasting impact. Weaving her activism with community building, she has been a key player in ending the military's discriminatory "don't ask, don't tell" policy and...
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45: Marie Connor-Glenfield, A Profile in the Healing Power of Presence
In this episode, I sat down with one of my first mentors, Marie Connor-Glenfield, who I met when I was sixteen. In our first encounter, she held space for me to process profound loss. She identified my pain and didn't try to push me through it, but rather sat with me as I sat with it. Since that...
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44: Susan Rivers Interviews Becky Margiotta
Mentorship is often thought of as unidirectional - flowing from the mentor to mentee. In this upcoming season, I interviewed a baker's dozen of my mentors - people who were there to guide me through some of my biggest leadership challenges - to find out about their biggest leadership challenges.…
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Episode 43: Elizabeth Cushing "Shift Aims to Scale Joy"
Anyone who has attended our workshops on how to design large-scale change is familiar with Playworks, a nonprofit organization based in Oakland, CA. With their permission, we present a case study of their plans to go to scale as a way to teach people how to set compelling aims for spread/scale.…
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Episode 42: Nicole Hockley "Mission Doesn't Happen Without People"
On this episode we welcome back Nicole Hockley, a dear friend and force of nature, for a conversation about how Sandy Hook Promise scaled their proven prevention programs through a pandemic. Nicole generously talks us through SHP's focus on scale, equity, and adaptating their programs and…
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Episode 41: Chris Lubbe - On Activism, Grief, and What He Learned from Nelson Mandela
We did something a little different this time. We're giving you an almost completely unedited podcast recording because you need to hear every single word Chris said, including those before and after the official "podcast" part of the podcast. This episode is everything to us. Chris has a…
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40: Dr. Christine Ortiz, "Equity is a Verb, not a Noun."
40: Dr. Christine Ortiz, "Equity is a Verb, not a Noun." Listen in on this episode for an insightful and deeply personal conversation about why equity is a verb with our friend, Dr. Christine Ortiz, Founder of Equity Meets Design. Christine invites us to get curious about the ways philanthropy…
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Episode 39: Dr. Julia Colwell, "Shifting from Reactive Brain to Creative Brain"
39: Dr. Julia Colwell, "Shifting from Reactive Brain to Creative Brain" In this episode, we talk with our friend, the brilliant and insightful psychologist Dr. Julia Colwell, about the physiological experience of shame and why it's so important that we learn how to shift out of our reactive…
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Episode 38: Nancy Stubbs, "Aligning Team Talent to Maximize Impact"
Episode 38: Nancy Stubbs, Kolbe Certified™ Consultant, Big Leap Coach and Founder of Hire Resonance - "Aligning Team Talent to Maximize Impact" In this episode we interview Nancy Stubbs who helps the Billions Institute make fantastic hiring decisions and optimize our genius as a team. We love her...
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Episode 37: Mike Thompson, Billions Institute Faculty, "Finding Common Ground in Community"
Episode 37: Mike Thompson, Billions Institute Faculty, "Finding Common Ground in Community" We kick off Season 4 with a candid discussion between Becky and her dear friend, Mike Thompson. Mike has been a nonprofit Executive Director several times over, and seven people who have worked for him…
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Episode 36: Meredith Shockley-Smith and Elizabeth Kelly, "Reducing Infant Mortality by Following the Lead of Black Women"
36: Meredith Shockley-Smith and Elizabeth Kelly, "Reducing Infant Mortality by Following the Lead of Black Women" Over the past several years, Hamilton County has moved from having one of the highest rates of infant mortality in the United States to being in the lower 25 percentile. While there…
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35: Melissa Rodgers, "Community Always Trumps Cruelty: Inside the New Americans Campaign to help 500,000 Green Card holders become US citizens."
35: Melissa Rodgers, "Community Always Trumps Cruelty: Inside the New Americans Campaign to help 500,000 Green Card holders become US citizens." The goal of the New Americans Campaign is to help 500,000 - out of the 9 million Green Card holders who are eligible - become citizens by 2021, the...
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34: Peter Fitzgerald, "Honoring Our Elders: Providing Voice & Choice So People Can Grow Old at Home."
34: Peter Fitzgerald, "Honoring Our Elders: Providing Voice & Choice So People Can Grow Old at Home." As we grow older and our ability to live independently diminishes, we may find ourselves contemplating an assisted living facility or a nursing home. The thought of giving up your home, where all...
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Episode 33: LaShawn Routé Chatmon and Kathleen Osta, "Rebel Leadership"
LaShawn Routé Chatmon and Kathleen Osta, Executive Director and Managing Director of the National Equity Project, are unapologetic about advancing equity from a place of love. Join us for this inspiring and thought-provoking conversation as they discuss a unique form of leadership that is called...
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Episode 32: Kas Guillozet, "The Complexity of Living in Right Relationship with People and the Earth"
Episode 32: Kas Guillozet, "The Complexity of Living in Right Relationship with People and the Earth" The wildfires that are devastating the West Coast are all the evidence we need that we cannot continue as we have been. Ecosystems cannot recover on their own without human beings seriously...
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Episode 31: Katie Hong, "Re-Thinking Philanthropy"
In this episode, we sit down with Katie Hong for a candid conversation about money, power and identity. Having worked in philanthropy for over 15 years, Katie knows the sector can be a significant catalyst for social change. She reflects on how essential it is for those working on the…
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Episode 30: Kevin Keenan, "Dismantling Mass Incarceration"
Join us for an important and eye-opening conversation with Vera Institute Executive Vice President and Special Counsel, Kevin Keenan, as we peel the onion of mass incarceration - and learn what Vera is doing about it. Highlights: The extraordinary harm caused by our system of mass incarceration...
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Episode 29: Michelle Molitor, "Facing into our Collective Grief"
Recorded shortly after the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, Michelle Molitor, Founder of the Equity Lab, joins Becky for a vulnerable and raw conversation about the double whammy of racism and the COVID-19 pandemic. Little did we know that soon after we recorded this interview, Breonna Taylor and George...
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Episode 28: Eunice Lin Nichols, "The Power of Intergenerational Connections"�
If you are fortunate enough to live a long life, it is all too likely that you will experience ageism. Sadly, older adults are sometimes viewed as a liability versus the tremendous asset they are. In this episode, Eunice and Becky discuss the importance and power of intergenerational work and...
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Episode 27: Joe McCannon, "Building a Fear Free Army"
In this episode, listen in on an intimate conversation between Billions Institute Co-founders Becky Margiotta and Joe McCannon as they talk about the adventures along the way of their 11 year friendship. Joe will discuss his perspective on large-scale change and the power of inviting people to be...
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Episode 26: Susan X Jane, "During These Pandemic Times, What Wants to be Unveiled?"
Episode 26: Susan X Jane, "During These Pandemic Times, What Wants to be Unveiled?" Susan X Jane, Principal of Navigators Consulting In this fascinating episode, DEI expert and Billions Institute Coach Susan X. Jane shares her insights with Becky about the pandemics given her background in media,...
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Episode 25: Christine Margiotta, SVP Los Angeles, "Shifting from Charity to Justice."�
In this episode, Becky interviews her favorite person, her amazing wife Christine! They'll discuss everything from how they met 10 years ago (working on homelessness) to learning more about Christine's current work funding grassroots social justice efforts in Los Angeles. You'll hear how...
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Episode 24: Dimitry Anselme, Facing History, "Teaching Kids in the Midst of the Fragility of our Democracy"
How do we help balance the desire for our kids to know the truth and yet also wanting to shield them from the pain and horrors embedded in history? Dimitry Anselme from Facing History opens this episode's conversation with an interesting provocation that youth enter the conversation about history...
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Episode 23: Jason Marsh, Greater Good Science Center, "Advancing Well-Being and Happiness through Research"
Episode 23: Jason Marsh, Greater Good Science Center, "Advancing Well-Being and Happiness through Research" How do we advance and spread something that is so essential yet seemingly difficult to grasp as "happiness" and "well-being"? Jason Marsh joins us today for an engaging discussion about how...
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Episode 22: Kate Hilton, Institute for Health Care Improvement, "Getting Out of Your Own Way as a Leader"
What could we all accomplish if we could put relationships first and primacy in shared purpose? In this episode, Kate Hilton shares how her view of leadership has shifted over the years starting with her own experience of being told to get out of her own way. From discussing the shift from "power...
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Episode 21: Helen Smith, Forensic Psychiatrist (NHS) – "Creative Solutions that Arise When You Take the Fear Out of the System"
As co-founder of the Billions Institute, Joe McCannon says, when you invoke the John Cusack rule of taking the fear off the set, that's when amazing things happen. In this episode, Helen Smith, a forensic psychiatrist, tells stories of some of the creative solutions that have arisen in her sector...
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Episode 20: Gerry Balcazar and Hugo Ramirez, Vision y Compromiso, "The Movement is Built from the Community of Friends and Neighbors"
In California, only about 30% of children are being taken care of by formal licensed daycare centers while their parents go to work. This means as many as 70% are being taken care of by informal options such as family, friends and neighbors. These FFNs as they are called are going above and…
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Episode 19: Sasha Rabkin, Equal Opportunity Schools, "Working the Muscle to Change: Bringing Equity to AP/IB Classes"
Episode 19: Sasha Rabkin, Equal Opportunity Schools, "Working the Muscle to Change: Bringing Equity to AP/IB Classes" All across the country, there has been a long history of students being overlooked due to race or economic factors for the classes that will get them into college, the AP and IB...
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Episode 18: Tema Okun, Duke University, "Facing Into Your Own Racism with Courage and Love"
For over 30 years, Tema Okun has devoted her life to dismantling racism and oppression of all forms. In this episode, Tema discusses her own evolution as an anti-racist white person and some of the hard-earned lessons she's learned along the way. As she mentions in the episode, racism is not...
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Episode 17: Parvathi Santhosh-Kumar, StriveTogether – "From Proof Points to Systems Transformation"
Episode 17: Parvathi Santhosh-Kumar, StriveTogether – "From Proof Points to Systems Transformation" The myth is that systems are broken but every system is in fact perfectly designed to get the results it gets. So in order to get different results, and true equity, you've got to change the…
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Episode 16: Dr. Arfon Williams, General Practitioner in Rural Wales, "When Crisis is the Mother of Invention"
Episode 16: Arfon Williams, General Practitioner in Rural Wales – "When Crisis is the Mother of Invention" Around the world there has been a crisis shortage of rural doctors. How did Arfon completely transform his practice when he became the "last man standing" in his community of 4500 patients?…
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EPISODE 15: Peter O'Driscoll, Equitable Food Initiative – "Getting a Win-Win-Win-Win-Win by Aligning Your Interests"
In this episode, Peter O'Driscoll discusses the transformational change that can happen when the whole system is in the room. When you change one part of a system, it has a ripple effect on the whole, but if you if want it to be sustainable, you need everyone in the room. For centuries, getting...
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Episode 14: Bruce Nilles, Rocky Mountain Institute – "Climate Change as a Profound Equity Issue"
Bruce Nilles, Rocky Mountain Institute – "Climate Change as a Profound Equity Issue" Shortly after meeting Bruce through the Climate Breakthrough Project, the Margiottas were convinced and began making changes to their home to go all electric. In this episode, Bruce and Becky talk about the…
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Episode 13: Chris Chatmon from Kingmakers of Oakland - "When it is Time to Throw the Textbook Out the Window"
In this episode, Christopher Chatmon, Founder and CEO of Kingmakers of Oakland shares his personal experiences growing up in the education system, having his desk relegated to the coat closet, to finally being acknowledged and apologized to by a coach and teacher in 11th grade. Inspired to become…
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Episode 12: Jake Maguire from Community Solutions - "From 100K Homes to Built for Zero"
12: Jake Maguire, Community Solutions – "From 100K Homes to Built for Zero" What happened after the 100K Homes Campaign? Becky reunites with Jake who was on the Community Solutions team to talk about what came after. Instead of counting up, it was time for some cities to count down. Now the...
About this show
Each episode we interview a badass social change leader and learn the ins and outs of what they're doing to make the world a better place. This podcast will help you feel optimistic that we can make a difference and give you practical tips about how to go about doing so in a big way.
Hosted by
Becky Margiotta
Categories