Listen to Restorative Leadership in Action
On Leading by Dr. Seana Lowe Steffen explores the 21st Century’s big question: How do we bring out the best of our diverse humanity to ensure a sustainable future? Discover restorative leadership in action through interviews with high impact global citizens.
During the podcasts, we invite you to listen for your wisdom being echoed and for your leadership being called to new levels of inspired engagement.
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Credited by many for building the green jobs movement in America, Green For All is driven by a mission to build an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty. An organization within Dream Corps, which was founded by Van Jones to support campaigns and initiatives that empower the most vulnerable, Green For All is led by a powerful trio of women. Vien Truong - one of the country’s foremost policy innovators and strategists at the intersection of equity, economic development, and climate justice - is the Director of Green For All and the deputy CEO of Dream Corps. She is joined by talented organizer and advocate Michelle Romero as the Deputy Director of Green for All, and seasoned coalition-builder Kim Noble as the Director of National Partnerships. Together, Vien, Michelle, and Kim reveal what is possible when we unleash and uplift the genius that is unheard and often overlooked within society’s systemically silenced populations. They demonstrate restorative leadership by empowering and advocating for the transformative impact that each of us can have within our own communities.
Greensburg, Kansas is in the middle of nowhere or everywhere, depending on whom you ask. It’s a red town in a red state that became the greenest town in America as a result of rural residents like Ruth Wedel engaging in restorative leadership following a natural disaster. On the evening of May 4, 2007, the town of nearly 1,400 was hit by what was at the time the largest tornado in recorded history. The community of Greensburg chose to transform the devastation to opportunity with a vision that turned the town into a model for the nation and the world. Ruth Ann Wedel, a longtime resident called by some the “unofficial mayor” of Greensburg, was at ground zero of the town’s renewal. Playing a grassroots leadership role with Greensburg GreenTown, the not-for-profit founded to help facilitate the rebuilding, Ruth Ann assisted community organizing and developing a chain of eco-homes to demonstrate sustainable designs. In this interview, a decade since the disaster, Ruth Ann reflects on the community’s sustainability journey of doing the right thing for the future. With grounded insight, humble fortitude, and lighthearted determination, she helps us understand what it takes to engage in restorative leadership to be of highest benefit during the most challenging of times.
Christine Ahn is a passionate voice for peace who has focused her life’s work on ending the Korean War, reuniting Korean families, and ensuring the leadership of women in the peace-building process. Inspired by a vision of women uniting across diverse boundaries, Christine led thirty women peacemakers from 15 countries on a walk for peace across the two-mile wide Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) from North to South Korea in 2015. Because international forces separated this ancient country over 70 years ago, the walk for peace sought to help stitch it back together by connecting with Korean women in both north and south and crossing the heavily fortified border that keeps them and their families separated. A lifelong learner well versed in history, Christine advocates for citizen diplomacy in response to the threat of nuclear war and reminds us that heart-based engagement is one of the most powerful tools we have for shaping the course of history. With unwavering belief in possibility, she illustrates how to bridge divides through deep understanding and faith in the potential for change.
Blake Jones is the visionary co-founder and recent President/CEO of Namasté Solar, a Colorado-based renewable energy company that has been the recipient of numerous national awards. A top-rated certified B Corp recognized for their innovative businesses practices, Namasté Solar made headlines in 2011 when they officially converted to a worker-owned cooperative, which means that each worker owns an equal voting share in the company. For his work with Namasté Solar, Blake was named Entrepreneur of the Year for the Rocky Mountain Region by Ernst & Young and one of Denver’s 50 Most Influential People. In this podcast, Blake reflects on his experience in the oil and gas industry and the role of empathy in bridging divides for a sustainable future of clean energy. He also explains how Namasté Solar practices restorative leadership to advance prosperity for all.
Janine Benyus is the natural sciences writer and innovation consultant best known as the author of Biomimicry. For the positive impact of her sustainable design work - and her role teaching others how to do the same - Time Magazine named her Hero for the Planet and BusinessWeek named her one of the World’s Most Influential Designers. Janine transports us with her sense of wonder about the genius and magic of the natural world and what’s possible when we relate to nature as our mentor. In this interview, she offers an evolutionary definition of success and inspires a shift in how we view and value nature to get there. She also models how to listen deeply to the oldest organisms on Earth. With invigorating insight, Janine guides us in the restorative leadership practice of being highly intentional with our life choices as designers of the future of Life itself.
A visionary voice of possibility, Van Jones has been at the forefront of grassroots to national initiatives equalizing the field of opportunity for all. As founder and President of The Dream Corps, he works to create 21st century jobs through initiatives such as Green For All and Yes We Code. A CNN political contributor and former White House Special Advisor, Van wrote the New York Times bestsellers The Green Collar Economy and Rebuild The Dream. Whether advocating for our country’s founding vision of justice as a human rights lawyer or invoking civility during news coverage, Van Jones champions the highest good. In this interview, Van reveals restorative leadership in action as he makes choices for collective benefit and bridges divides to bring out the best of our diverse humanity. He offers meaningful insight on how to live and lead in soulful and solution-oriented ways.
Darcy Winslow is a high-powered, heart-centered woman who understands big business and the impact it has on the world. As former Director for Advanced Research and Development at Nike, she launched the company’s 2020 goals for sustainable growth and consumption which committed Nike to zero waste, zero toxics, and 100% closed loop systems. Darcy is a wildly intelligent presence with a big heart who shows us how to work on a scale that matters in a timeframe that matters. A master at collaborating across networks, her voice inspires us to stand at the edge and claim our restorative leadership role making the difference that we uniquely have the responsibility and opportunity to make. In this interview, Darcy reveals how to inject possibility into a large system to leverage visionary progress for a sustainable future.
Frances Moore Lappé is the author and co-author of 18 books including the breakthrough Diet for a Small Planet, which sold millions and is considered by the Associate Press as “the blueprint for eating with a small carbon footprint since long before the term was coined.” A prolific voice of possibility, Frankie is a recipient of the Right Livelihood Award for her vanguard leadership on ending world hunger and living democracy. With her rare ability to connect global to local dots, she demonstrates restorative leadership by inspiring us to reclaim our best selves and reframe circumstances for aligned progress. In this interview, Frankie talks about her perspective on ending hunger by 2030 and her participation in the historic civil disobedience of Democracy Spring, urging us to leverage the power of our own participation in the interconnected web of life.
Sister Simone Campbell is a tireless champion for democracy as she advocates for the wellbeing of all citizens in public policy. Her work promoting the welfare of the poor, both nationally and internationally, earned her the “Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award” and "Defender of Democracy Award," among others. Sister Simone’s path has led to some big surprises for a nun like being a guest on 60 Minutes, The Colbert Report, The Daily Show, and the O’Reilly Factor. With disarming humor and a rebellious twinkle in her eyes, Sister Simone has become a woman of remarkable influence. Known for her Nuns On The Bus tours inspiring citizen engagement and hope, Sister Simone bridges divides by giving voice to a vision that serves “the 100%.” In this interview, she offers new insight into the restorative leadership practice of valuing and empowering community.
The B Corp movement may be the most important movement of the 21st century given the widespread impacts of business on the planet and the vast potential for business to be a force for good. Jay Gilbert is a co-founder of B Lab, the social enterprise behind the B Corp movement. “B” is for “benefit,” and together with B Lab’s other founders, Jay is a recipient of the prestigious Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. As founder of AND1, Jay left his role as CEO of the $250 million company to pursue his vision of a shared and durable prosperity for all. He is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute and a Board member of Investors' Circle. In this interview we discover how the B Corp movement has scaled across countries and continents by embodying restorative leadership and learn what it takes to be the best for the world.
With radical compassion and strategic savvy, Atossa Soltani does the seemingly impossible by leading international campaigns to protect the world’s tropical rainforests from extractive industries and large-scale energy projects. As the founder of Amazon Watch, Atossa has been advocating for indigenous rights and rainforest preservation for decades. Her successes earned Atossa the prestigious Hillary Laureate Award for Leadership in Climate Equity. In this interview, Atossa reveals the power of restorative leadership in action by listening deeply to herself and to the lived expertise and collective wisdom of community. Discover what Atossa heard in her dreams and how that translated to one of the world’s foremost advocacy organizations that is safeguarding life’s biodiversity on behalf of all.
Yola Carlough is a radiant voice for sustainability through her work activating the power of business for positive change. As senior leadership with the Benefit Corporation movement, and former sustainability leadership at Burt’s Bees and Ben & Jerry's, Yola has been a pioneer of possibility working to redefine business as a force for good. In this interview Yola explains how business is the missing link to address the root causes of our greatest social and environmental problems. With inspired clarity, Yola articulates the restorative leadership principle of scaling across shared values as she invites us to consider how the government, not-for-profit and business sectors can create meaningful collaboration around the world, sparking global celebration and a sustainable future.
Dr. Sylvia Earle is a literal “living legend,” according to the Library of Congress. She is a woman of firsts, including the first female chief scientist of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the first Time Magazine Hero for the Planet, and the first - and still only - human being to dive solo to a depth of over half a mile. In this interview, Sylvia teaches us about the restorative leadership principle of taking the long view by encouraging us to realize that we have the power to do what no other creature on Earth can: look far into the past and anticipate the future with what we now know. Surprisingly, she offers what may be the most important accounting lesson of our time as she inspires us to leverage our collective intelligence to protect the real world bank and ensure that life on Earth goes on.
As one of the world’s leading climate scientists and a star expert in the Emmy Award winning series Years Of Living Dangerously, Katharine Hayhoe understands why the choices we make today have a defining impact on the options available to us in the future. Recognized as one of Time Magazine’s most influential people for her restorative leadership that bridges the conservative climate divide, Katharine teaches us how scaling across shared values by having faith in people - and in faith itself - can help us look to the future with hope.
Barrister Polly Higgins was in court when she had an epiphany that the Earth was in need of a good lawyer. Following that insight led to her life’s work and recognition for being one of the World’s Top 10 Visionary Thinkers by The Ecologist. In this interview, we learn how Polly is changing the rules of the global game to tip the balance in favor of a thriving future for life on Earth through International Ecocide Law. We also witness restorative leadership in action as she translates the circumstance of our global ecological emergency to aligned momentum for addressing the climate crisis at its source.
Jensine Larsen, founder and CEO of World Pulse, turned her vision of blue lights traversing the globe into a digital media network capable of crowd sourcing the feminine intelligence of the planet. In this interview, we learn how Jensine is amplifying women’s grassroots voices from every continent, and hear her perspective on the restorative leadership principle of scaling across shared values for resonant impact.
As the pioneering CEO of the Skoll Foundation and Founder of the Skoll World Forum, Sally Osberg works together with Jeff Skoll and their teams to foster a sustainable world of peace and prosperity. Investing nearly $400M in social entrepreneurs and innovators for scaling impact, Sally is a master at catalyzing positive systemic change. Co-author of Getting Beyond Better: How Social Entrepreneurship Works, Sally offers genius insight on what it really takes to solve the world’s most pressing problems on the ground. In this interview, Sally speaks to the restorative leadership practice of deep understanding for transformative results, and sheds light on the power of proximity.