The Social Change Leaders Podcast is back! Host Traci Warnberg-Lemm returns with fresh insights on the intersection of leadership, civic engagement, and coaching. In this episode, she explores how coaching skills can enhance civic dialogue, and what practical tools leaders can use to strengthen their impact. Plus, Traci shares reflections from listeners on how their passions contribute to social change and provides free resources to help leaders navigate complex times with resilience and clarity...
Mar 02, 2025•33 min
📢 “The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems.” – Gandhi Episode Summary: The Social Change Leaders Podcast is back! After a hiatus, host Traci Warnberg-Lemm returns with renewed purpose, fresh insights, and a deep commitment to supporting social impact leaders like you. In this episode, Traci shares personal and professional updates, reflects on the challenges shaping our world today, and offers a powerful coaching que...
Feb 01, 2025•20 min
You can't see the whole picture when you're stuck in the middle of it. - Anonymous More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net The Social Change Leaders Podcast is back after a 6 month break! In this episode, Stephanie and Traci share reflections, lessons and reminders during the ‘pauses’ in their lives. They discuss what has helped them sustain their efforts and expand their vision. In their conversation, they discuss: What Stephanie and Traci have been up to the last 6 months ...
Jul 31, 2023•32 min•Ep. 173
We are weaving the future on the loom of today - Grace Dawson Do you see and think about the different systems impacting your social change efforts? With the current challenges we face now as we emerge from a global pandemic, social change can feel even more out of reach. It is important to understand the integration of systems when addressing our biggest community challenges. Co-host Traci Warnberg-Lemm shares some observations about the emerging landscape of system change and how to maximize y...
Dec 29, 2022•16 min•Ep. 172
More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net As a social entrepreneur, do you find sales challenging? Does setting prices and then talking about them make you cringe? Take a listen to this episode where co-host, Stephanie Malon-Rufi, has a conversation with Kat Luckock, founder of Share Impact, about her work with social entrepreneurs specifically in the area of sales. Through the conversation with Kat you will: Learn about how Kat first started working in the social enterprise f...
Dec 22, 2022•35 min
“ What really draws me to this business is the power we have as women to change the world.” - Casey Gromer More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net As you continue to grow your business, do you struggle with how to grow your team? Do you know how to use team members the most effectively? How can you build an effective team even for a small business? We get into all of these topics and more on this episode with C-Suite Boutique Founder and CEO, Casey Gromer. Co-host, Stephanie...
Dec 15, 2022•33 min•Ep. 170
More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net Do you experience entrepreneurial burnout? Are you constantly running around wearing all the hats and putting out fires? This episode is a replay of a workshop that co-hosts Stephanie Malon-Rufi and Traci Warnberg-Lemm presented as part of Twin Cities Start-up Week. In this episode, they walk you through an assessment tool that will help you identify: areas in your business that need better systems in place the types of support you nee...
Dec 08, 2022•41 min•Ep. 169
“The number-one thing that you will have to sacrifice to be great, to achieve what you are capable of, and to execute your plans, is your comfort.” -Brian P. Moran & Michael Lenningston, 12 Week Year More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net Have you started to think about planning your 2023? Now is the time to decide when you will be doing this important part of getting ready for the new year. In this episode, co-host Stephanie Malon-Rufi goes solo and talks about the ann...
Dec 01, 2022•22 min•Ep. 168
“Start every morning with deliberate thinking and thanks giving!!!” -Invajy More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net Have you fallen out of practice with your gratitude routines and habits? This is the time of year when we take time to connect with loved ones, get ready for the holiday season, and reflect on the things we have gratitude for. Sometimes in life, we have to ‘dig a bit deeper to final gratitude. If you have traditionally had a gratitude practice you may have fall...
Nov 24, 2022•10 min•Ep. 167
More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net The Social Change Leaders Podcast is 3 years old! To celebrate, some of our former podcast guests are back giving social change leaders updates, lessons learned and some inspiration. In this episode, we will hear from Nancy Meyer, Elaine Rasmussen, Brenden Kumasari and Ann Price to share updates on their work in the social change landscape and ecosystem to effectively do social change, fund it, communicate the value, and evaluate commu...
Nov 17, 2022•35 min•Ep. 166
More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net The Social Change Leaders Podcast is 3 years old! To celebrate, some of our former podcast guests are back giving social change leaders updates, lessons learned and some inspiration. In this episode, we will hear from Carl Young, Bukata Hayes and Stacy Wells who all share updates on the work they are doing in the community around racial equity and how the equity leadership space has evolved. In this episode we referenced: Episode #5: A...
Nov 10, 2022•33 min•Ep. 165
The Social Change Leaders Podcast is 3 years old! To celebrate, some of our former podcast guests are back giving social change leaders updates, lessons learned and some inspiration. In this episode, we will hear from Felicia Boone, Sarah Turino and Jory Mickelson who all shared updates on how they are integrating wellness, self improvement and continuous learning while doing social impact work. In this episode we referenced: Episode #30: Wellness + Self Care Series: Finding your Body-Mind-Spiri...
Nov 03, 2022•29 min•Ep. 164
More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net Awaken your spirit to adventure; Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk; Soon you will be home in a new rhythm, For your soul senses the world that awaits you. John O’Donahue How do you renew yourself and your life? How do you deal with new rhythms in your personal & professional life? Co-host Traci Warnberg-Lemm shares some of her thoughts about an article she stumbled across about self-renewal and shares some important que...
Oct 28, 2022•10 min•Ep. 163
More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry.” Bill Drayton Is your business impacting social change? Did you know that it can? In this episode, co-host Stephanie Malon-Rufi talks about how a social impact business is a growing model becoming more widely used. However, not all know how to integrate this model into their own business...
Oct 20, 2022•20 min•Ep. 162
“The gap between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems.” -Gandhi More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net The Social Change Leaders Podcast is three years old! We look back at some of our lessons learned, and share our reflections on what are some practices and things that have helped us sustain this effort. In our conversation, we discuss: How we met and determined to launch a podcast over 3 years ago Some of the stat...
Oct 13, 2022•27 min•Ep. 161
Note to self: Don’t measure your progress using someone else’s ruler. -Anonymous More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net Are you feeling the end-of-the-year crunch? Do you have some goals that you haven’t finished yet or maybe haven't even started working on? It is the last quarter of the calendar year and for many this is a time when we start to push to get our goals accomplished. In this episode, Stephanie and Traci talk about how to approach this last stretch of the year ...
Oct 06, 2022•17 min
More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net "The big aha for me, having studied populations of the long-lived for nearly a decade, is how the factors that encourage longevity reinforce one another over the long term. For people to adopt a healthful lifestyle, I have become convinced, they need to live in an ecosystem, so to speak, that makes it possible. ... The power of such an environment lies in the mutually reinforcing relationships among lots of small nudges and default cho...
Sep 29, 2022•17 min•Ep. 159
Everybody wants what it looks like, not everybody wants what it feels like. - Jesse Ross Jr. More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net How can real change be made to move us to more equitable and inclusive workplaces? What does knowledge of self have to do with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) work? Listen to our inspiring conversation with Jesse Ross, CEO of Mr. Jesse Ross. Jesse is a DEI consultant, executive coach, and international speaker. He is also a community acti...
Sep 22, 2022•27 min•Ep. 158
Radical simply means grasping at the roots. -Angela Davis More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net Is the social impact of your business more of something that makes you feel good or is it integral to your work? How integrated are your social change efforts into your business operations? In this episode, co-host, Stephanie Malon-Rufi, addresses how you can go deeper with your social change work and how you can more closely align it with your business vision. In this episode, ...
Sep 15, 2022•20 min•Ep. 157
If you don’t build a social business model that includes paying yourself (the leader), then you are not building a sustainable business model. - Stephanie Malon-Rufi More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net Do you bring home a regular paycheck from your social business? Do you have a plan to be paid regularly from your social business? Do you want to have a sustainable business that lasts and can grow? Many social entrepreneurs do not pay themself or do not pay themself enoug...
Sep 08, 2022•17 min•Ep. 156
More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net "If I had more time I would have written a shorter letter." - Mark Twain Are you confident when talking about the social impact you are trying to make? Do you struggle with making a clear and concise statement about the work you are doing? Putting a persuasive pitch together that is short and interesting can be a challenging task, but we make it simple for you. We have created a template called the Social Impact Pitch to help you creat...
Sep 01, 2022•14 min•Ep. 155
It is necessary to do a systems analysis of your life. Look at where you gain power and where you lose power. - Frederick Lenz More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net Do you struggle to get it all done? Do you find that some of the important work is ignored because you are reacting to the urgent matter of the day? What are some of your favorite systems? If you have some good systems for yourself or if you are looking for some new ideas to refresh them, this is an episode for...
Aug 25, 2022•20 min•Ep. 154
In ordinary life, we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich . - Dietrich Bonhoeffer More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net Hello and Welcome to SCL podcast. The summer is quickly winding down and we wanted to pause this week to remind all of us to make sure we are all enjoying and appreciating these last few weeks of the summer. So here is an encore episode for you with some tips and ideas abo...
Aug 18, 2022•8 min•Ep. 153
Get in the Game - By building civic engagement and advocacy into your life and work, we can collectively close the gap between where we are and where we want to be. More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net Would you like to gain confidence in your advocacy skills so you can have more impact on the issues you care about? Are you concerned about the state of public life? Policy and civic engagement and advocacy enables all types of organizations to address the root causes of so...
Aug 11, 2022•19 min•Ep. 152
I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept Angela Davis More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net Would you like to gain confidence in your advocacy skills so you can have more impact on the issues you care about? Are you concerned about the state of public life? Policy and civic engagement and advocacy enables all types of organizations to address the root causes of social problems and to create lasting, systemic change. Advo...
Aug 04, 2022•16 min•Ep. 151
“You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.” -Angela Davis More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net Would you like to gain confidence in your advocacy skills so you can have more impact on the issues you care about? Are you concerned about the state of public life? Is your voice as a social change leader being heard in the public and civic arena? Are you taking aligned actions to create system change? Advocacy ...
Jul 28, 2022•27 min•Ep. 150
“The more clarity and focus you have around what you are offering the world, the easier it will be to authentically sell and have a positive social impact.” - Stephanie Malon-Rufi More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net Do you use your business as a vehicle for social change? Have you clearly defined your target audience(s)? Are you crystal clear on what exactly you are selling and the social impact you are seeking? It can be tempting to create and customize offers so that *...
Jul 21, 2022•19 min•Ep. 149
More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net In this second part of the two-part series, listen to more interviews from the Midtown Global Market, a multicultural food destination in south Minneapolis. Inspired by national, well-known public markets like Seattle’s Pike’s Place, the Midtown Global Market also serves as a community business incubator. Currently, the Midtown Global Market houses over 40 businesses with over 22 cultures represented. In this second part of the series,...
Jul 14, 2022•34 min•Ep. 148
The Midtown Global Market has an authenticity that we want to maintain and we hope is the ultimate draw. - Mike Temali, Founder Neighborhood Development Center More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net In this 2- part series, you will hear several interviews highlighting the story and the impact of Midtown Global Market, a multicultural food destination in south Minneapolis. Inspired by national, well-known public markets like Seattle’s Pike Place, Midtown Global Market is sim...
Jul 07, 2022•21 min•Ep. 147
“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing. ” — Arundhati Roy More information can be found at www.socialchangeleaders.net Given the events of the recent weeks, we wanted to replay an episode we both found great encouragement from - about how social change can happen when there does not seem to be shared beliefs or perspectives. In this encore episode, Nisha Anand shares what she has learned about finding common ground and creating shared sol...
Jun 30, 2022•34 min•Ep. 146
