
Why It Matters
By Luke Martiros

Why It MattersAug 17, 2021

Connor Harbison: In 100 Years Our Cities Will Feed Us
📍Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Connor Harbison is the founder of Atlas Urban Farms. Using his product, you can eat fresh Basil grown from a vertical farm that sits on your kitchen wall. Today, he shares his journey as a student founder and environmental innovator.

Erin Duddy on the Transition of Wealth into Sustainable Finance
📍Monterey, California, U.S.A. Erin Duddy is the Director at the Center for Sustainable Finance and Private Wealth, where she is leading their expansion into North America. Today she shares her path to working in sustainable finance, while also breaking down how it works.
UN Sustainable Development Goal: 9 · Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

Pascal Gally, and the Clash of Legends
📍Zurich, Switzerland. Pascal Gally is the founder of Choc des Légendes, an event that gathers Presidents, ambassadors, CEOs, and students to trade wisdom about topics that don't have a space to be discussed in society.
UN Sustainable Development Goal: 17 · Partnerships

Kerry Healey on Building Bridges for the American Dream
📍Washington D.C., U.S.A. Kerry Healey is the President of the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream, and she shares her approach to creating a society where anyone with a dream can achieve it.
UN Sustainable Development Goal: 10 · Reduced Inequalities

Syed Sultan Ahmed on Film as a Form of Education
📍Bangalore, India. Sultan Ahmed is the founder of LXL Ideas, a company that uses film to teach young people about traditional academics as well as how to lead a good life.
UN Sustainable Development Goal: 4 · Education

Kenneth Mikkelsen on Leading an Examined Life
📍Copenhagen, Denmark. Kenneth Mikkelsen is the founder of Futureshifts and the author of The Neo-Generalist: Where You Go is Who You Are.
UN Sustainable Development Goal: 4 · Education

Carolina Ruiz Cubides on Forming Habits and Shaping the Perception of Yourself
📍Bogotá, Colombia. Carolina Ruiz Cubides is the founder of Happy Thinkers, where she helps people design the life of their dreams.
UN Sustainable Development Goals: 4 · Education

Robert Gierke on the Next Level of Consciousness and Finding Purpose As Humans
📍Berlin, Germany. Robert Gierke grew up in the Eastern Bloc of communist Germany, attended university in capitalist America, and lived in the corporate world for most of his career. Something felt missing, so he went on a journey to discover what it was. It turned out to be Purenessity, the company he runs today to help other companies find their purpose. Robert shares his wisdom and a quote that is one of my favorites: “you’re not just a drop in the ocean, but the ocean is also in the drop."
UN Sustainable Development Goals: 17 · Partnerships

Frannie Léautier on the Development of Countries and the Values Driving Sustainable Development
📍Tanzania. Frannie Léautier grew up in rural Tanzania, became the Chief of Staff of the World Bank, and is now the CEO of SouthBridge investments. Her experiences in childhood have influenced her approach to developing countries and what she views can be done through sustainable development. She believes under-developed countries, and specifically Africa as a continent, have a unique opportunity to position themselves for the future.
UN Sustainable Development Goals: 8 · Decent Work & Economic Growth, 9 · Industry, Innovation, Infrastructure

Nicola Peel on Consumption, Biodiversity, and Finding Solutions to Environmental Problems
📍West Sussex, England. Nicola Peel spent the last 20 years studying & living in the Amazon rainforest. She has a deep understanding of how our habits as consumers affect the health of the planet, and how the health of the planet affects us as humans. While our relationship with the earth and its biodiversity has degraded, Nicola has several solutions to amend them.
UN Sustainable Development Goals: 13 · Climate Action, 14 · Life Below Water, 15 · Life on Land

April Mendez: How Nature Can Protect, Replenish, and Revitalize our Communities
📍Minneapalis, Minnesota, USA. April Mendez is the CEO of Greenprint Partners and is scaling a concept called green infrastructure. The idea behind it is to supplement grey infrastructure, like pipes and sewers, with green infrastructure, like a garden. In this episode we talk about how green infrastructure is protecting communities, replenishing them with nature, and creating spaces for communities to gather.
UN Sustainable Development Goal: 9 · Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, 11 · Sustainable Cities & Communities

Tanya Khotin: Impact Investing and Why Its A Trend That Isn't Going Away

John-Paul Maxfield on Change, Decentralized Finance, and Climate
UN Sustainable Development Goals: 9 · Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, 13 · Climate Action

Gwen Dittmar: How We Can Use Our Breath to Live Better

Rastra Bhandari: Living in the Himalayas for 3 Months, and What It Taught Me About Climate Change

Jason Graham-Nye on the Circular Economy and Reinventing Diapers

Mandar Apte: The Formula for Creating Peace in Your Life
UN Sustainable Development Goal: 16 · Peace

Dr. David Vik: The Story of How Zappos Created a Company Culture
UN Sustainable Development Goal: 10 · Reduced Inequalities

Tim Leberecht: Making Business More Beautiful through Love and Romance
UN Sustainable Development Goals: 4 · Quality Education, 10 · Reduced Inequalities, 16 · Peace

Dr. Harriet Fesq: It's Not the '80's Anymore, Business Has a New Relationship
UN Sustainable Development Goal: 17 · Partnerships

Eric McNulty: Leadership for 2022 and Beyond
UN Sustainable Development Goal: 4 · Quality Education

Alisa Valderrama: The Price of Natural Disasters

Rhys Roth: How Our Infrastructure is Becoming Sustainable

Sarah Little: Amplifying a Generation of Girls’s Voices
UN Sustainable Development Goals: 5 · Gender Equality, 10 · Reduced Inequalities

Cheryl Heller: Preparing Us for The Intergalactic Design Competition
UN Sustainable Development Goal: 4 · Quality Education

Peter Stein: Conserving the Forest by Turning It Into an Investment

Dave Chen: Investing in Scale, the Missing Ingredient in Driving Systemic Change

Bidhi Mandal: Creating the World You Want to See Through Entrepreneurship
UN Sustainable Development Goal: 4 · Quality Education

Cheryl Kiser: The $12 Trillion Opportunity
UN Sustainable Development Goal: 17 · Partnerships

Tim Coffin: Raise Capital to Change the World

Arpit Bansal: Using Venture Capital to Provide for our Core Human Needs

Todd Finklestone on Responding to Disasters & Helping Orphaned Children
UN Sustainable Development Goals: 1 · No Poverty, 2 · Zero Hunger

Shola Olabode-Dada: Empowering Minds for Healthy Decisions

Aria Mustary: Preventing Child Marriages
UN Sustainable Development Goals: 1 · No Poverty, 5 · Gender Equality, 10 · Reduced Inequalities

Merlin Clarke: The Bright Side of Jewelry

Nicky Scott: Dirt Kills Off Great Civilizations

Robert Lewis Jr.: Invigorating Excellence in Urban America
UN Sustainable Development Goals: 4 · Quality Education, 10 · Reduced Inequalities

Minnie Baragwanath: Leading with Possibility
UN Sustainable Development Goals: 10 · Reduced Inequalities, 17 · Partnerships

Christel Scholten: International Exposure Opens your Mind
UN Sustainable Development Goals: 9 · Industry, Innovation, Infrastructure, 17 · Partnerships

Abram El-Sabagh: Designing for Impact
UN Sustainable Development Goals: 4 · Quality Education, 9 · Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

Daniel Tuitt: An Innovator of the Future
UN Sustainable Development Goals: 4 · Quality Education, 9 · Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure