Issam Kaisse is a first-generation immigrant to the United States from Morocco, and he speaks five languages. Since he’d grown up living all over the world, he thought he would adapt to life here easily. “I quickly realized when I came to the U.S. that it was different being an Arab immigrant. It was difficult to adapt at first…I could not relate to any ethnic group.” His first shock in college was being asked to fill out his ethnicity on a form. He didn’t fit into any of the categories. He also...
Aug 16, 2022•33 min•Season 1Ep. 29
Claire Randall is CEO of Grand Central Bakery, a B-Corp certified artisan bakery in Oregon and Washington with a community-centered mission and sustainable business practices. Claire’s been working at Grand Central for 29 years. “My friend Piper Davis and her brother were opening the Portland branch...There was really nothing like it in Portland at the time. So I hounded Ben and his mom, Gwen Bassetti, the founder...to hire me.” “I love to call Gwen a food pioneer. She was creating beautiful foo...
Jun 25, 2022•35 min•Season 1Ep. 28
You can watch the video of this interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdv1Tijyl9o “None of us knows as much as all of us. There is combined wisdom and insights and knowledge when we bring people together.” --Joel Makower, founder of GreenBiz Joel Makower is chairman and co-founder of GreenBiz Group, a media and events company focusing at the intersection of business, technology, and sustainability. For more than 30 years, through his writing, speaking, and leadership, he has helped com...
May 26, 2022•37 min•Season 1Ep. 27
“We work predominantly on community-based projects where we're much more interested in some ways in what a building does…rather than how the building looks…how can this building help this organization deliver better services? How can it bring people together? How can it free up space? How can a space enable teachers to teach in a different way?” --Elisa Engel, cofounder of Citizen Architects based in London, UK Elisa and her partner Richard Hadley believe that architecture has an important part ...
Apr 13, 2022•34 min•Season 1Ep. 26
You can also watch this interview by video on YouTube! Kim Malek is CEO and visionary behind Salt & Straw and cofounder with her cousin Tyler. We talked about how she has created an amazing, people-driven company with community at its core. She teamed up with her cousin Tyler to start Salt & Straw , which has become known for small-batch, chef-driven ice cream, handmade using local ingredients. Did I mention that every flavor is delicious? Salt & Straw is not just an ice cream store,...
Mar 23, 2022•43 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Watch on Youtube Imagine how much better the world would be with just 1% more love. That’s what the co-founders of Our.Love envision for the world. More and better love, delivered in a FUN way! Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of that opportunity? The Companies that Care podcast highlights business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Tal Zlotnitsky and Tonya Coppin-Fox, co-founders of Our.Love Company . Our.Love is a love and relationship wellness technology company dedicat...
Mar 01, 2022•35 min•Season 1Ep. 24
The Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Kim Sundy, senior director of sustainability at the Kellogg Company . Driven by the legacy of its founder, W.K. Kellogg, the Kellogg Company is the world’s leading producer of cereal and snacks. But did you know Kellogg’s vision is a good and just world, where people are not just fed but fulfilled? This cereal and snack company is serious about living out its mission and has s...
Feb 08, 2022•49 min•Season 1Ep. 23
The Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Jon Roesser, general manager of Weavers Way Cooperative Association . Founded in the early 1970s, Weavers Way is a consumer-owned food co-op in Philadelphia with three stores, two farms, a non-profit, and community newspaper. They have more than 10,500 member households representing over 25,000 individual member-owners. Weavers Way is a critical link in the Philadelphia food s...
Jan 19, 2022•36 min•Season 1Ep. 22
The Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Aaliyah Nitoto, the visionary founder of Free Range Flower Winery , an award-winning, winemaker-owned and -operated boutique winery in Oakland, California. Aaliya handcrafts premium wine in small batches from locally sourced, organically grown flowers…not grapes. She has been hailed as an "innovative producer" (Wine Enthusiast) who is "revolutionizing the world of wine" (Kourt...
Dec 15, 2021•35 min•Season 1Ep. 21
The Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Veronica Arreola, a professional feminist, mom, and writer who has been working to diversify the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) field for over 20 years. She has a particular passion for working with Latinx/Latina youth. Veronica is director of Hispanic Serving Institution Initiatives for the University of Illinois-Chicago and most recently was program direct...
Dec 01, 2021•37 min•Season 1Ep. 20
The Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Heather R. Younger , a best-selling author, international speaker, consultant, adjunct organizational leadership professor, and facilitator. Born to a white, Jewish mom and a Black dad, Heather was deliberately excluded from her mom’s family, thanks to racism. She grew up feeling like an outsider, which has made her especially determined to create caring environments wherever ...
Nov 16, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 19
The Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Ross Ching, founder of Mama & Hapa’s Zero Waste Shop in Portland, Oregon. Ross moved to Portland with his family in 2019 after working as a TV commercial director. He was inspired to start a zero waste shop after watching the news and hearing terrible things about climate change. “In the past three or four or five years, there's been more and more reporting about how recyc...
Nov 02, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 18
The Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Mallorie Dunn, founder of Smart Glamour in New York City. Mallorie has been interested in clothing her whole life. She attended the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Pratt Institute. She found that corporate fashion was not her cup of tea. Mallorie also began noticing how badly women and femme people feel about themselves in their bodies…and how difficult it can be for p...
Oct 19, 2021•45 min•Season 1Ep. 17
The Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Dr. Erica Gamble, known as the Wig Dr . The Wig Doctor, headquartered in Marietta, GA, specializes in high-quality wigs and hair pieces for people suffering from hair loss because of chemotherapy, alopecia, and other auto-immune disorders. It all started when Erica wore her mom’s wig to her private high school one day. The nuns were not pleased, because they associated wigs wi...
Oct 06, 2021•46 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Companies that Care highlights business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Taylor Loewen, Portland general manager of Ridwell , a sustainability startup that makes wasting less easy for its members. Ridwell picks up stuff from your front door and makes sure it gets sustainably reused or recycled. Taylor’s background is mostly in nonprofit and political campaigns and environmental organizations. She was drawn to Ridwell because it’s a small business trying to have a positive, ...
Sep 21, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 15
The Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like David Brackett, founder and CEO of Linguava. Linguava is a full-service language interpretation and translation company that provides health care and medical equity through language access. David shared how he first became interested in languages, when his grandma gave him cassettes to learn Spanish when he was just four years old. After living in Spain for several years, Davi...
Sep 14, 2021•42 min•Season 1Ep. 14
If you like what you hear or read, visit my website to find out more about my work. The Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Lara Smith, former managing director of Dad’s Garage , a theatre company in Atlanta, Georgia. Since we recorded this interview, Lara now works as a consultant for Purpose Possible , and Dad’s Garage’s new managing director is Stacey Sharer. The transition happened just in the last month. During...
Sep 01, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 13
The Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Amber Taggard, founder and CEO of The Organizer Chicks and host of The Organizer Chicks podcast . The average American wastes 17 minutes each day looking for lost items. When Amber read this statistic, she decided to use her M.S. in clinical mental health to help people reclaim their homes and spaces. Since 2011, Amber and her flock of Organizer Chicks have helped people fight...
Aug 18, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 12
The Companies that Care podcast highlights companies and business leaders who are making a difference in the world, like Acting Global Head of the Macquarie Group Foundation Erin Shakespeare. Erin leads a team that directs Macquarie’s efforts on philanthropic grantmaking and employee volunteering, working closely with the company’s people around the world. Macquarie Group is an Australian-headquartered multinational financial services company. My sister-in-law Shemara has worked there for 34 yea...
Aug 04, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 11
As a podcaster for justice, I stand with my sisters from the Women of Color Podcasters Community. We are podcasters united to condemn the tragic murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and many others at the hands of police. This is a continuation of the systemic racism pervasive in our country since its inception and we are committed to standing against racism in all its forms. If you like what you hear or read, visit my Fertile Ground Communications page on Patreon and find out how you can ...
Jul 20, 2021•41 min•Season 1Ep. 10
The Companies that Care podcast highlights business leaders who are making a difference in the world. I have a passion for companies that care and give back to their communities, like Phioneers based in London, UK, and The Gambia. My guest, Ousman Touray, is an ecopreneur with a mission to improve the quality of life in developing parts of the globe through sustainable and eco-friendly architecture, engineering, and technology. Ousman was born in London to two parents from The Gambia in West Afr...
Jul 07, 2021•36 min•Season 1Ep. 9
View photos and read more here . The Companies that Care podcast highlights business leaders who are making a difference in the world. This week I interview Wendy Horng Brawer, co-founder and chief of learning and innovation for Intune Collective . Wendy is an executive coach, consultant, experience designer, somatic awareness coach, parent, and rock drummer. Wendy is putting into practice what she teaches. “How do we build a company that walks the talk every day? How can we lead from the inside...
Jun 24, 2021•36 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Read more and view photos on my website . Lisa Schroeder is executive chef and owner of Mother’s Bistro & Bar. She is a mother, grandmother, chef, restaurateur and author devoted to providing better-than-authentic renditions of traditional home-cooked dishes at her popular, award-winning restaurant. Mother’s has grown over the years from a charming 90-seat restaurant on Stark Street to a gorgeous 200-seat Portland institution in the Embassy Suites by Hilton Hotel. Chosen Restaurant of the Ye...
Jun 16, 2021•51 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Read more and view photos on my website . The Companies that Care podcast highlights business leaders who are making a difference in the world. I have a passion for companies that care and give back to their communities, like Mary Rose Boutique NW. Julie Allen founded Mary Rose Boutique NW and the sister Mary Rose Foundation , a 501C3 nonprofit. Julie has a mission of helping ALL people feel beautiful and confident. With every purchase, Mary Rose donates a portion of the sales to the Mary Rose F...
Jun 02, 2021•48 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Read more about this episode . This week I speak to Ozzie Gonzalez, a former CH2M colleague. Ozzie founded P3 Consulting , dedicated to helping businesses grow while improving their environmental and social footprint. Ozzie calls himself an urban ecologist and has dedicated his career to designing and building solutions that bridge environmental health with community prosperity. Ozzie was Portland’s first Latino candidate for mayor. Ozzie started P3 Consulting to bring people-, planet-, profit-c...
May 19, 2021•47 min•Season 1Ep. 5
View more details and photos in this blog post . Danielle Meadows-Stinnett owns Octane Design Studios and is also a podcaster, mentor, wife, mom of four, and lover of cosplay. A grassroots developer & curator from Kentucky, Danielle has helped brand and launch 100 businesses across America. She has always had a love for telling stories. Octane Design Studios is a digital marketing firm, woman led and Black owned. “We'd like to think forward and we like to act forward. Our mission is providin...
May 04, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Read more details and view photos in this blog post . If you like what you hear or read, visit my Fertile Ground Communications page on Patreon and find out how you can support my work. I interview two of my CSR mentors. Elisa Speranza chaired the CH2M Foundation board, and Ellen Sandberg was executive director. We spoke about how CH2M rebooted its foundation and invested in sustainable development around the world. CH2M was an engineering firm founded in 1946. By 2016 it had become a $6 billion...
Apr 20, 2021•47 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Read more details and see photos on this blog post . I interview Narendra Varma, cofounder of Our Table Cooperative in Sherwood, Oregon, a cooperative model for community food systems. Our Table grows organic products and offers education and supports food security through their nonprofit. Narendra and his wife Machelle started Our Table in 2013 after working in the tech industry and moving to Portland from the Seattle area. Narendra grew up in a very strong household culture of cooking, since h...
Apr 20, 2021•47 min•Season 1Ep. 2
This blog post has more details and photos. If you like what you hear or read, visit my Fertile Ground Communications page on Patreon and find out how you can support my work. Aroa Fernandez Alvarez is cofounder of the Trace Collective from London, UK. Trace is a group of two organizations—a fashion brand and a nonprofit--on a mission to make fashion regenerative. They are reimagining what it means to be sustainable in today's world by producing fully traceable clothes that drive environmental r...
Apr 18, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 1
