Inspiring Solutions for a Better World

46. A Nonprofit for Nonprofits: CARS

CARS works with over 10,000 nonprofits and raises over $60 million a year in fundraising through turn-key vehicle and real estate donation programs. Our speaker is Howard Pearl, the Chief Executive Officer of Charitable Adult Rides & Services (CARS), a national leader in vehicle donation programs for nonprofits. Howard Pearl has over three decades of executive experience and a Harvard Business School education, and has worked with organizations like Johnson & Johnson, Ford Motor Company, and Revlon to implement transformative strategies. To learn more, go to: https://careasy.org/home [https://careasy.org/home]

45. Guy Kawasaki: Conventional Business Wisdom That's Wrong

Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist of Canva, host of the Remarkable People podcast, author of Wiser Guy, Think Remarkable, and sixteen other books, and adjunct professor at UC Santa Cruz. Kawasaki was the chief evangelist of Apple, trustee of the Wikimedia Foundation, and brand ambassador of Mercedes-Benz. Kawasaki has a BA from Stanford University, an MBA from UCLA, and an honorary doctorate from Babson College. In this talk, Kawasaki takes aim at the so-called "rules" of business that sound wise but often mislead. From "fail fast" to "growth at all costs," he shows how these maxims can backfire. Instead of chasing clichés, Kawasaki urges leaders to think critically, weigh context, and focus on sustainable success. This talk reframes innovation and growth with nuance, clarity, and a dose of reality. To learn more about our speaker, go to: https://guykawasaki.com/ [https://guykawasaki.com/] https://guykawasaki.com/remarkable-people/ [https://guykawasaki.com/remarkable-people/]

44. Education, Inspiration and Innovation at Sweet Farms

Nate Salpeter, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Sweet Farm Foundation, shares concepts of interconnections between food, action, and investment. In his presentation, we learn how the team at Sweet Farm is pushing the boundaries of what it means to be a sanctuary and how impact can be made locally and globally through targeted efforts that leverage education, inspiration, and innovation. Passionate about giving voice to those without one, Nate Salpeter co-founded Sweet Farm just south of Half Moon Bay, CA with his wife Anna Sweet out of recognition that industrialized farming has had a profoundly negative impact on the lives of billions of animals as well as plant based agriculture. A Ph.D. engineer working in the nuclear industry, Nate brings his analytical mindset to the animal welfare space where he, his wife (Anna Sweet), and an incredible team have built Sweet Farm to be more than only a farm animal rescue, but also to be a place of education, inspiration, and innovation through animal rescue, plant based agriculture, and technology initiatives to scale change in the food system globally. Nate and Anna are active advisors and investors in the alternative protein, agriculture technology, and sustainability sectors. Their Goat 2 Meeting program is Sweet Farm’s pivot into the post-COVID world, helping put smiles on people’s faces while executing on Sweet Farm’s mission to educate and inspire change in the way people think about what’s on their plate and how it impacts the world. www.sweetfarm.org [https://www.sweetfarm.org/]

43. Period Poverty: Giving Girls Their Days Back

Every day, more than 500 million women and girls live without access to menstrual supplies. This often forces them to use unsafe materials that put their health at risk and cause them to miss school or work. With menstruation lasting about 3,000 days over a lifetime (more than 8 years), this challenge is not only a matter of health but also one of equity, dignity, and opportunity. Days for Girls (DfG) wants to change that. Since 2008, DfG has reached 3.5 million people in 145 countries with sustainable menstrual health solutions and education. Through holistic approaches such as their Period Positive Schools and Workplaces initiatives and women-led social enterprises, DfG is building scalable impact that transforms lives and strengthens communities. In this presentation, Days for Girls CEO Tiffany Larson will share powerful stories of change, highlight the connection between menstrual health and gender equality, and share how we can all work towards a world where periods are never a problem. Our speaker, Tiffany Larson, leads Days for Girls International as CEO focusing on dignity, equity, and opportunity for all. A passionate advocate for menstrual health and sustainable development, she has over two decades of experience blending business acumen with a heart for global impact. Her leadership is grounded in the belief that access to health and education is a human right, and that lasting change starts at the community level. Before becoming CEO, Tiffany held several executive roles at Days for Girls, including Chief Operating Officer and Chief Program Officer, each shaping her holistic and inclusive approach to global leadership. To learn more, go to: https://www.daysforgirls.org/ [https://www.daysforgirls.org/] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe5eEoSiW-M [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe5eEoSiW-M]

42. Telenovelas Empowering Women

Some of the world's most difficult problems – like poor reproductive health and violence against women – are now being addressed through the medium of prime-time serialized dramas also known as soap operas or Telenovelas. Population Media Center (PMC) [⁠https://www.populationmedia.org/] uses a special type of serialized melodrama for changing behavior on such issues as family planning, elevation of women's status, girls' education, stopping child marriage, protection of children, and protection of the environment. Characters in locally written and produced programs on radio, television, and social media evolve into positive role models for the audience and, in the process, lead to population-wide changes in behavior. Bill Ryerson is founder and president of Population Media Center (PMC). He has a 52-year history of working in the field of reproductive health, including four decades of experience adapting the Sabido methodology of entertainment-education for behavior change communications to various cultural settings worldwide. PMC has broadcast its programs in 57 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the U.S. Bill will speak about the importance and effectiveness of PMC's work, including that of the shows. Bill is Founder and President of Population Media Center (PMC) (www.populationmedia.org [(www.populationmedia.org]), an organization that strives to improve the health and wellbeing of people around the world through the use of entertainment-education strategies. He also serves as Chair of The Population Institute in Washington, DC (www.populationinstitute.org [www.populationinstitute.org]), which works in partnership with Population Media Center. PMC creates long-running serialized dramas on radio and television, in which characters evolve into role models for the audience resulting in positive behavior change. The emphasis of the organization's work is to educate people about the benefits of small families, encourage the use of effective family planning methods, elevate women's status, prevent exploitation of children, promote avoidance of HIV infection, and promote environmentally sustainable behaviors. He received a B.A. in Biology (Magna Cum Laude) from Amherst College and an M.Phil. in Biology from Yale University (with specialization in Ecology and Evolution). He served as Director of the Population Institute's Youth and Student Division, Development Director of Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania, Associate Director of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and Executive Vice President of Population Communications International before founding Population Media Center in 1998. To learn more, go to: https://www.populationmedia.org/ [https://www.populationmedia.org/] Bill's slides: https://tinyurl.com/2fp82fpd [https://tinyurl.com/2fp82fpd ]