In my attempts to connect with people on some of our most important issues like climate change, I have been missing a huge pathway - faith. These issues need hard conversations, and hard conversations need us to tap into more than facts and fears. My conversation with Dekila opens the door to bringing the sacred back into science.

THE IMPACT. Dekila Chungyalpa:

- is the founder and director of the Loka Initiative, an interdisciplinary capacity building and outreach platform at the University of Wisconsin - Madison for faith leaders and culture keepers of Indigenous traditions who work on environmental and climate issues. Its mission is to support faith-led environmental and climate action efforts, locally and around the world, through collaborations on project design and management, capacity building, training, media and public outreach. Their vision: that inner, community, and planetary resilience are interdependent and that we cannot achieve any one of these goals without working on the other two. To sign up for their quarterly newsletter: https://go.wisc.edu/lokanewsletter

- founded and led Sacred Earth, a faith-based conservation program at the World Wildlife Fund; at WWF-US she was also Director for the Greater Mekong Program

- serves as the environmental adviser for His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, head of the Karma Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism.

- received the prestigious Yale McCluskey Award in 2014 for conservation innovation

- recently published in Psychology Today on how to cope with eco-anxiety

THE JOURNEY. In our conversation, we explore:

- Her path to wholeness: bridging her spiritual heritage growing up in Sikkim in a Tibetan Buddhist community and her environmental conservation background, after being “an environmentalist by day and a person of faith by night”

- Eco-anxiety amidst success: her own path through the urgency and panic while being externally “successful” at the World Wildlife Fund

- People and planet: why faith leaders are uniquely positioned to lead us in spiritual truth-seeking on some of our toughest issues

THE IMPACT. Dr. Rita Sambruna:

- Is an astrophysicist working on black holes in galaxies, and the Deputy Director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. She was awarded the NASA Extraordinary Achievement Medal in 2019 for her work at NASA and service to the profession.

- At Goddard, she Leads the DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility) activities of her Division to improve diversity in astrophysics, connected to a broader new NASA program called Mission Equity

- Previously was a professor of Physics and Astronomy at George Mason University, in Fairfax, Virginia

- Is a certified yoga teacher, with specialization in Yoga for Cancer

- Is trained in Applied Behavior Analysis and its applications to non-human animals, and lives with 5 parrots

THE JOURNEY. In our conversation, we explore:

- Two merging inspirations from childhood: discovering the universe, and a humanitarian focus

- A take on billionaires going into space when we have other problems on Earth

- Planning in decades vs. bridging near-term needs

- The biggest challenge: changing culture, not only policies and numbers

- We are all made of star stuff: that is social justice

From the Brundtland Report in the 1980s to the Super Bowl in 2021, Norway has led on sustainability. How does this small country have such a big impact? Hege Barnes takes us behind the scenes at Innovation Norway and one country’s sustainable focus.

THE IMPACT. Hege Barnes:

- Is Regional Director Americas for Innovation Norway, the Norwegian government's entity for trade and industry, where she assists Norwegian companies and entrepreneurs enter and grow successfully in the Americas, and promotes Norway as a travel destination.

THE JOURNEY. In our conversation, we explore:

- Growing up in Norway: wanting to leave yet wanting to take the pride and values

In sustainability, we’re trying to make the world better... but a better world by whom and for whom? Heather Mak asks these uncomfortable yet instrumental questions with co-founding Diversity in Sustainability.

THE IMPACT. Heather Mak:

- Is co-founder of Diversity in Sustainability, a membership organization aimed at increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion within the field of sustainability.

- Has spent almost 15 years consulting on sustainability issues and previously held sustainability roles at Deloitte, Tim Hortons, Retail Council of Canada, SustainAbility, and Canadian Business for Social Responsibility.

- Has lectured at the MBA level at the Schulich School of Business, York University, and regularly mentors students and new immigrants who are interested in the field.

- Holds a B.Com with Distinction in Marketing from McGill University, and an MBA with Honours in Sustainability from Schulich School of Business, York University.

- Is a mom, wife, sister, and daughter to two Chinese immigrants to Canada.

THE JOURNEY. In our conversation, we explore:

- Early influences: following environmental crises in school

- Early barriers: not seeing people like herself in the field

- The many needs for diversity in sustainability: supporting career paths, addressing historical social issues, gathering data and stories, creating better outcomes

- Challenges and learnings in the last year: creating a network of networks, creating a tent across cultural and country differences

From teen magazines to fashion to sustainability, Jessica Marati Radparvar brings her diverse background to make the emotional case to sustainability.

THE IMPACT. Jessica:

THE JOURNEY. In our conversation, we explore:

We often hear about tradeoffs in impact investing - impact or profit, people or planet. Cecile’s journey to lead impact at Israel's largest VC shows that it’s not either or. It's interconnected.

THE IMPACT. Cecile:

THE JOURNEY. In our conversation, we explore:

In business, how much is beauty in your life? What about art, music, science, activism? Tim Leberecht co-founded the House of Beautiful Business as a space for this unexpected mix, to challenge us to be more human.

THE IMPACT. Tim Leberecht:

THE JOURNEY. In our conversation, we explore:

From being a changemaker at a very early age, through 17 years at Greenpeace, Femke walks through the modern day tensions of leadership, and makes the case for this new type of leadership - a creative, complex, and collective leadership.

THE IMPACT. Femke Bartels:

THE JOURNEY. In our conversation, we explore:

In this second episode in a Synergos series, Tarlin Saye takes us from Liberia to the US, from traveler and writer to event organizer, as she creates spaces and shares stories with a long term view on uncomfortable topics like racial equity.

THE IMPACT. Tarlin:

THE JOURNEY. In our conversation, we explore:

In a beautiful personal story, Swati Chaudhary of Synergos shares insights on the power of listening, from her ancestors in Bihar India to fighting injustice today.

THE IMPACT. Swati:

THE JOURNEY. In our conversation, we explore: