Women INVESTING in Women and GIRLS

In this episode, we had the opportunity to speak with Jalak Jobanputra of the New York City-located FuturePerfect Ventures. Jalak tells us about how she got her start in the investment industry, as well as how she perceives her role as one of a small fraction of female investors. Jalak explains what features she looks for in business ventures, and in those who create them, that are seeking funding. We also discuss the importance of globalization and the benefits of immigration in order to diversify the entrepreneur and investor environment. Jalak shares how FuturePerfect Ventures aids entrepreneurs by providing early stage funding and valuable mentorship, providing an example of one of the ventures she is excited about working with. We wrap up the conversation with Jalak’s definition of what it means to invest both in women and girls around the world.

In this episode, we featured Kimberly Hosey, the editor of Women INVESTING in Women's World Women Report. Kimberly shares with us how she came to recognize her passion for journalism. She also explains how she successfully combined her passion for writing and for exploring and finding solutions for women's issues by joining the Women INVESTING in Women team. Kimberly highlights some of the topics covered in the groundbreaking World Women Report and clarifies why such a report should be read by people of any age or gender. Kimberly hopes to inspire others to pursue their passion in any career they may choose. She finishes off our discussion by providing motivating advice for both boys and girls to succeed.

In this episode, we featured Dr. Alicia Robb of the Kauffman Foundation. Dr. Alicia talked to us about how she developed her passion for entrepreneurship, especially when it came to the participation in entrepreneurship of women and minorities. She then described the mission of the grassroots development organization that she created, the Sustainable Development. Dr. Robb also tells us about her senior fellowship at the Kauffman Foundation, which aims to generate more awareness and interest in entrepreneurship through a number of successful programs. Lastly, Dr. Robb explains the problem of inequality in the funding area, as well as her hope to see more female investors and high-growth entrepreneurs. She tells us about her various books that focus on these issues as well: Race and Entrepreneurial Success and A Rising Tide: Financing Strategies for Women-Owned Firms.

In this episode, we spoke to UNICEF USA End Trafficking Fellow Malea Otranto about how she is helping to end human trafficking in the United States. She shared with us how her passion for putting a stop to human trafficking grew from a young age. Malea also tells us about the importance of education and awareness of human trafficking as the first steps towards creating a solution for this issue. She explains how she has been able to create momentum for this cause through her involvement with Polaris and now as a part of UNICEF USA's Fellowship Program and the U.S. Fund for UNICEF's End Trafficking Project. Malea describes her experience in having The Trafficking Victims Projection and Justice Act passed unanimously in the New York state assembly. We talk about how Malea has created great strides towards ending human trafficking, signs that everyone should look for as evidence of trafficking, and how anyone can be the part of the solution.

In this episode, we had the honor of speaking to Sheikha Al-Thani. Sheikha shared how her upbringing within the royal family of Qatar motivated her to engage in humanitarian efforts to help children in need. She tells us about her experiences working with children in areas of conflict to find hope and bring happiness to their lives. At just fifteen years old, Sheikha has already visited numerous hospitals, villages, and cities affected by some of the world's most serious challenges. She shares how she has been able to achieve her mission to raise awareness and bring smiles to the children living in such conditions. Sheikha also informed us about her organization, Sheikha Al-Thani for Uniting Children SATUC. She tells us about the many aspects of the organization that work to help children around the world, including Fun Days for children from civil associations and orphanages, visits to hospitals and other institutions, as well as an international soccer cup for underprivileged children. Sheikha proves that age is just a number as she continues to serve as a role model, not only for the world's youth, but as a role model for everyone across the globe.

In this episode, we featured Veronica Guzman, Founder of WAMVentures. Veronica tells us about how she experienced gender inequality in the workplace nearly from the beginning of her career, and how these experiences led her to recognize the need for more female-led business accelerators. She shares with us her motivation for creating WAMVentures, and how this platform not only helps women and diverse business leaders raise capital, but also provides resources to help their businesses achieve success in many other aspects. Veronica explains the importance of creating partnerships and having role models to help provide advice and experience. Veronica expresses her passion for helping other women with their businesses. She offers inspiring advice to entrepreneurs looking to make a difference and follow their dreams, as well as explains how these innovators and dreamers should measure their success. Veronica also talks to us about her work within the G8 Youth Summit to help promote STEM careers to more girls in the world.

In this interview, we featured Tania Rodriguez, the Founder and President of Green Habitat Co. Tania told us how her Mexican upbringing cultivated her passion for architecture and nature, and how she then took these interests to start her own businesses. Tania shared her motivation to create her first entrepreneurial pursuit, an exclusive gym with environmentally friendly elements, to then establishing an architecture firm in Florida. Tania then talked to us about how she began her latest project, Green Habitat, with the desire to combine her interest in architecture with her dedication to making the world a better place through responsible construction. She explained how the environmentally-conscious houses built through the project impact the communities that they are located in, as well as why eco-friendly construction should be available to people from all backgrounds. Tania next told us about a related project that she started, School-out-of-a-Box, through which environmentally-responsible schools are being constructed within indigenous regions in her native Mexico. Tania then finished off the discussion by offering advice to young women and girls on how to succeed and to all of our listeners on how they can help make the world a better place to live in.

In this episode, we featured Sarah-Jane Murray, who has made her life around the art of storytelling. She tells us about how her passion for stories evolved, from listening to them as a young girl, to making the creation of them her career. Sarah-Jane has had the role of screenwriter, producer, and story designer for numerous films, which especially focus on creating social impact. Sarah-Jane explains to us her motivation for pursuing these causes and how she hopes that films like the ones she is creating will change the world. She also talks about the gender inequality in books and films, and how young women and girls can help to tackle this issue. Sarah-Jane doesn't only wish to be successful in her own career, however. With her book Three Act What? Great Story Structure, she helps other aspiring filmmakers and storytellers understand what sets apart a good story from a great story. We wrap up our discussion with Sarah-Jane's advice to our listeners.

In this episode, we featured Savannah Sanders, who shared with us how she has made it her mission to find a solution to end sex trafficking. A survivor of sex trafficking herself, Savannah tells us about the need for adequate help centers for victims and survivors. She works with organizations such as Well-founded Hope, Mending the Soul, and O'Connor House to not only provide aid to those who have been affected by sex trafficking, but also to provide education for the public and businesses to help prevent the continuation of trafficking. We also talk about the book that Savannah wrote, Sex Trafficking Prevention: A Trauma-Informed Approach for Parents and Professionals, and how she hopes that by putting her story out on paper, she is able to inspire others to fight to end sex trafficking. We finish up the discussion by talking about the importance of educating boys and men about this issue. Finally, Savannah offers inspiring advice to our listeners.

In this episode, we featured Douglas Ragan, Chief of the UN-Habitat Youth and Livelihoods Unit. Doug tells us about his work to understand the needs of the demographic comprised of 19-to-25-year-olds through the Global Youth-led Development Series research, of which he co-authored. Doug also shares with us the various initiatives UN-Habitat is leading to help youth-led organizations succeed in developing countries around the world. Through the Urban Youth Fund, he describes a few stories about youth-led organizations that received funds from this initiative and are improving the lives of women in India and Pakistan. Doug also talks about his work with the Secretary General and about the #YouthNow Campaign, which has the goal of mobilizing the youth to bring awareness and action for development issues. He encourages all of the world's youth and beyond to participate in spreading awareness about and take action to tackle the problems that both developed and developing countries face. We finish our conversation with Doug's inspiring message to the youth, encouraging them to change the world around them.

In this episode, we featured CEO of Arizona Foundation for Women Sara Presler. Sara tells us about her experiences as the first female Mayor of Flagstaff, Arizona, serving two terms within this role and initiating progress to make her city a model for change. Sara also outlines the goal of Arizona Foundation for Women to “create a better life for Arizona’s women and children.” She talks to us about the necessity for safety, health, and economic empowerment because SHE Counts!® In our discussion we address issues like domestic violence, unequal pay, and human trafficking, that not only affect the state of Arizona, but the rest of the world. Sara shares how Arizona Foundation for Women is helping to create solutions for these issues and more.

In this episode, we featured Tamar Donikyan, a member of the New York City law firm Ellenoff Grossman & Schole. Tamar talked to us about her role in helping small business owners and entrepreneurs attain the financial means they need to be successful in their businesses. Tamar also shares how her firm is working with the JOBS Act and crowdfunding platforms to help make funding more accessible to small business owners and entrepreneurs, especially those who are female. She then defines what she calls the “don’t culture” that has and continues to hold females back from unleashing their true potential. We wrap up the conversation with Tamar’s advice to our listeners and offers solutions to help break down the “don’t culture” we live in into a “do culture.”

In this episode, we featured Dr. Karen Jacobson, a chiropractor, bestselling author, wellness expert, and motivational speaker. Dr. Jacobson shares with us how growing up in America and Israel, as well as being part of the Israeli Army helped to shape her outlook on life. She also talks to us about the books she has written: Ready, Aim, Inspire!, Change Your World, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miracles Happen, and Success in Beauty: The Secrets to Effortless Fulfillment and Happiness. Dr. Jacobson tells us about her journey in self-healing and self-discovery that helped her tackle Systemic Lupus. We finish up the conversation by talking about Dr. Jacobson’s involvement in Women INVESTING in Women and how collaboration between women within the summit series will change the way women unlock their true potential and live a life without limits.

In this episode, we featured Ana Bermudez of TAGit™, a “social wish list” for products found in some of America’s most popular shows! Now, anyone can find where to buy clothes and accessories from Scandal, Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, Pretty Little Liars, the Vampire Diaries, and more! Ana tells us how she was inspired to start TAGit™, as well as how she is becoming part of the new trend in television buying, “t-commerce”. Ana also shares about her experiences living in the supportive startup community of San Diego and how she hopes to expand her brand into movies and more. TAGit™ is available in the Apple App Store, and will be available for Android soon!

In this episode, we interviewed Saudi Arabian Princess Reema Bint Bandar Al Saud. Princess Reema shared with us what it was like to be the daughter of a diplomat and to grow up in America with the influence of her Saudi Arabian background. She also talked to us about her efforts to spread breast cancer awareness in Saudi Arabia among both men and women through the Zahra Breast Cancer Association. Our discussion then shifted to the topic of the position of females in the Saudi Arabian workforce. Princess Reema has and continues to introduce substantial advancements to create a more equalized workforce in retail. With her development of a training academy, women have the skills necessary to attain and keep a job in her country, increasing the level of empowerment that women have. Princess Reema wraps up the conversation by offering profound advice to young women and girls around the world. Stay tuned for a follow-up interview in the next coming months to learn more about the Princess’s work!

In this episode, we feature Aurore Belfrage of Your Middle East, a global media platform focusing on improving the world we live in. Aurore discusses how she became passionate about the environment of female entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa from her entrepreneurial background in Sweden. We also delve into the topic of media coverage in the Middle East and North Africa through Your Middle East and how information is being presented within this groundbreaking, collaborative company. Aurore tells us about how this generation’s thinkers and innovators are creating solutions to global issues in the Your Middle East Start-ups. We finish off the conversation with Aurore’s incredible advice to young women and girls around the world on how to be successful.

In this episode, we featured Ursula Wynhoven of the United Nations Global Compact Initiative. Ursula shares with us the responsibility that corporations around the world have to promote equality and ensure that everyone is entitled to their human rights. She also talks about the Women’s Empowerment Principles and the Children’s Rights and Business Principles that have become the focus of the UN Global Compact Initiative. Ursula provides staggering statistics and describes the effect that the work of the UN Global Compact will have in businesses and societies around the world. We also discuss the topic of unconscious bias and how anyone can find out whether or not they hold stereotypes about women and men without realizing it.

In this episode, we featured Sanna Nilsson of Codarica, a Swedish-based startup whose goal is to teach young boys and girls how to code while having fun. Sanna and her team of entrepreneurs/tech experts set out to create an app, CodeQuest, as well as a book, My First Website, featuring the kid-friendly characters of Cody Coder and Holly Hacker. Sanna talks about the importance of teaching young children how to code in an increasingly technology-dependent society. She also presents the question to parents who may be unsure of whether or not they should have their children learn how to code: Would you rather have your child play a game, or create a game? Sanna shares with us her experiences working as a Disney Techstar team in the Disney Accelerator, and how she hopes her work in Codarica will continue to develop and spread, with more boys and girls learning the language of code.

In this episode, we featured the Former Prime Deputy Minister of Sweden, Maud Olofsson. Maud shares with us her experience as a woman in politics and how the political opinion of females has changed over the years. She tells us about the importance of increasing diversity in leadership positions by increasing the number of women in executive roles through her work with Hillary Clinton in Women Up Sweden. Maud also talks to us about the Golden Rules of Leadership how these rules can be applied in the workplace and beyond. We finish up the conversation by discussing the kind of world that Maud hopes to see in the future and what work still needs to be done to create change.