The ESP: Global Changemaker Stories

Flor is part of our ongoing storytelling, starting from when we met her last year when she worked with Bean Voyage. While still close with Bean Voyage and the community, Flor shares how she has gone full time as an entrepreneur who clearly cares for life on land, sustainable communities, and gender equality. Her farm, Finca Las Piedritas, is alive with so much of what Flor values: healthy soil, family, community, and amazing coffee.To learn more check out her instagram @laspiedritascr and our website eicstoryprojects.org! 

Caetana Verela-Hall is a holistic doctor whose unconventional approach provides healing through integrative medicine. With influence from ancient Chinese Medicinal practices and her time as an occupational doctor, Caetana helps people feel good and live well at her practice, Casa SanAndo in A Coruña, Spain. In this episode, Arthur chats with Caetana all about what it means to take care of your health and well-being, the systemic limitations keeping people from that care, and her journey as a medical practitioner.Learn more at eicstoryprojects.org!

Alessandro Carpentiero is from Milan, Italy and is the co-founder of Beyond Sapiens where they work to help leaders blend the latest science with holistic practices that help optimize the mind and body. Alessandro is all about human potential through creating synergy between mind and body and how we might elevate our collective consciousness... and he does it in the business world, communicating it in ways that that this fairly skeptical population can hear and embrace.  He shares his own journey from being a very successful photographer to his personal experiences with burnout and the founding of Beyond Sapiens as he took the learning from his own journey and now helps other leaders develop holistic wellbeing and flourishing.

Derreck Kayongo is likely most known for his brilliance related to the Global Soap Project which started with his first time staying in a US hotel where he observed something odd to him...something that many of us have observed...that the hotel gives guests multiple bars of soap and that the unused portions were just thrown away.  He found out that 800 million bars annually were thrown out in the US and he held that observation until he was able to act on it and provide an alternative to throwing all these bars away and fundamentally impacting the industry and even more importantly, communities around the world and the health of mother earth.  While this story is a big part of his journey, this conversation reveals so much more.  Derreck shares about his youth in Uganda including the real dangers they faced, about becoming a refugee and ultimately making his way to the US where he grew in his education and understanding of this vastly different culture. He speaks of the powerful influence of his parents, the connection to his family and the ups and downs of living a life of impact. Derreck is currently working in green chemistry with Clean Production Action and shares the importance of shifting to chemicals that are safe for people and the planet. Derreck shares powerful messages about finding out who you are in this world and building conviction around your role and your life’s purpose.  All impacting ones’ well-being and flourishing. Learn more at eicstoryprojects.org!

From Santa Fe, New Mexico, Sam Wolf shares his journey from a high-stakes litigation lawyer to becoming the COO and General Counsel of Falling Colors, one of the world’s top-ranked B Corps. After years of facing the physical and mental toll of "shareholder primacy" and professional burnout, Sam shifted his focus toward building a business model that legally protects social impact and prioritizes the "double bottom line." Sam explains the crucial differences between B Corp certification and Benefit Corporations, offering a deep dive into how companies can bake purpose into their legal DNA. He shares his unique thoughts on flourishing and well-being, highlighting practical ways his company supports employee health like their "four-hour" response rule and a commitment to local community sourcing. Sam’s story is a powerful look at how legal structures and intentional leadership can be used to create a more fair and sustainable world. Learn more at eicstoryprojects.org!

Veronica Carrera, 2015 Executive MBA winner, avid triathlete, and author, is the founder of Ater Tumti, a one-of-a-kind, Costa Rican holistic mountain retreat.In this episode, Arthur discusses Veronica’s journey as she stepped away from a successful career in Corporate America to pursue an exciting new holistic life in Costa Rica, attending to her newly acquired 21 hectares of mountain land. She discusses her struggles, passions, and a powerful transformation in her life, and how it led her to create Ater Tumti.Learn more at eicstoryprojects.org!

From Chiapas, Mexico, Frida Ibarra shares her story revealing an inspiring young changemaker in the making.  In addition to her desire to pursue completion of a Masters degree in data science to help further empower women in STEM fields, Frida has already impacted many lives of women and girls in Latin America through teaching coding... and she has loved being part of it all.  Frida shares her thoughts on flourishing and well-being emphasizing the importance of community and the challenges of dealing with social injustices in the world.  Building on a family tradition of impact, she shares her future plans of returning to be part of positive change for women in the region where she was raised.Learn more at eicstoryprojects.org!

In this podcast, we learn more about Geronimo and Paula's journey from textiles and non-profits to cleaning and preserving beaches, while also supporting the local community.MareBlu is an environmental conservation organization based in Costa Rica. Founded by Geronimo Ciuti, it focuses on reducing plastic pollution primarily through coastal cleanup expeditions. MareBlu also runs regenerative programs supported by an international volunteer program, attracting volunteers from over 25 countries. They operate out of a volunteer camp located in Punta Leona Resort, near several beaches affected by pollution from urban and fishing activities.To learn more about MareBlu go to mareblucr.orgFor more about this story, and the rest of the Entreprenuer-Innovator-Changemaker's' Projects , go to ⁠⁠⁠eicstoryprojects.org

In this podcast we sit down with Majo to hear how Bean Voyage has grown since our first interview with her in 2024. Majo tells us about the exciting developments of Farmer's School and a three day gathering that facilitated connections between producers. Check out our podcast with her and Fernanda to hear how Majo’s personal journey and values led her to this work.  You can find out more about this network of changemakers and the coffee producers they work with at their website ⁠⁠beanvoyage.org ⁠⁠For more about this story, and the rest of the Entreprenuer-Innovator-Changemaker's' Projects , go to ⁠⁠eicstoryprojects.org

In this episode, recorded back in 2024, we were able to sit down Fernanda Carrillo Chacón and Maria Jose Monge in Barrio Escalante in San Jose, Costa Rica, a country known for delicious coffee. These two incredible women embody a lifelong care for the communities around them and share how their stories connect to a unique and inspiring coffee-oriented non-profit, and very entrepreneurial organization called Bean Voyage. Their work and personal journeys are rooted in values of feminism, accessible education, and bringing communities together.   You can find out more about this network of changemakers and the coffee producers they work with at their website ⁠⁠⁠beanvoyage.org ⁠⁠⁠For more about this story, and the rest of the Entreprenuer-Innovator-Changemaker's' Projects , go to ⁠⁠⁠eicstoryprojects.org

During her time managing the supply chain and quality control at Bean Voyage, Flor Coghi worked to connect women smallholder coffee farmers to the global market and to the information they need to improve the quality of their coffee.  This podcast details her journey from being a little girl in Costa Rica playing in the rain to studying taekwondo and economics in South Korea for 10 years. Her coffee interest was sparked in Seoul and upon returning to Costa Rica, Flor got involved with Bean Voyage after seeing how their values of empowering women and providing access to education aligned with her own. This journey also led her to start her own family coffee farm.You can find out more about this network of changemakers and the coffee producers they work with at their website ⁠beanvoyage.org ⁠For more about this story, and the rest of the Entreprenuer-Innovator-Changemaker's' Projects , go to ⁠eicstoryprojects.org

Having been born in Korea with 5 youthful years in India, and going on to attend university in the US and ultimately founding a social enterprise focused on Costa Rica, Sunghee Tark is a bridge between cultures. What began as an inquiry into gender inequality and ethical consumption became a calling to reimagine global trade through feminist values and human connection.Bean Voyage, a nonprofit enterprise working to support dignified livelihoods for smallholder women coffee producers, is the accumulation of her and her co-founder, Abhi Khanal’s work which is guided by insights gained through the extensive and deep relationships they have built with coffee producers in Costa Rica and throughout Latin America. You can find out more about this network of changemakers and the coffee producers they work with at their website beanvoyage.org For more about this story, and the rest of the Entreprenuer-Innovator-Changemaker's' Projects , go to eicstoryprojects.org