When Samantha Derrick discovered that her grad school program lacked course content on #foodsystems #plantbasednutrition #veganism #nonhumanethics - she went right ahead and wrote a curriculum for it, and launched a course at University of California, Berkeley. Students from around the world wrote in and wanted to participate when the first Plant Futures Conference made its debut.

In this episode, our founder Nivi Jaswal speaks to Samantha and learns all about this plant-based mover and shaker's early childhood, her compassion for animals and her puppy named Oreo and her passion to ensure a plant-forward education and employment opportunities for an entire generation of students!

About Samantha's work: Founded by Samantha Derrick, Plant Futures Initiative (PFI) acts as a bridge to connecting the passionate, plant-forward leaders of tomorrow with companies who are seeking talent and innovation to solve key issues. PFI partner network spans multiple industries and a diverse set of organizations, from CPG companies and venture firms to farming and advocacy organizations.⁠

This is a very special JIVINITI conversation with Dr. Mythri Shankar, MD. One of our favorite stories where a physician's own #transformation alters not only her own nutritional and lifestyle values but inspires her to kickstart an entire #lifestylemedicine movement around her! Including writing a book - Ease: How to Lose Weight, Heal, Prevent and Reverse Disease.

Our Founder, Nivi Jaswal, talks to Dr. Shankar about her journey in nuclear medicine, her move from the U.S. back to India, what prompted her to turn to a #wholefoodplantbased approach to nutrition and to #veganism as a philosophy.

To get your copy of this book, reviewed by none other than Dr. Neal Barnard, President - Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, please click the link here: https://lnkd.in/eBeeBBuy

Also, towards the second half of the show we are joined by a very special guest. Nandita Srayoshi is a classical dancer (in the Indian tradition), vegan and an ardent activist. We reveal in the show the details of an exclusive event she organized in Boston in 2022. JIVINITI was invited and it was a pleasure for us to attend.

At JIVINITI, a platform of The Virsa Foundation, a 501c3 MA nonprofit, we connect the dots between #publichealth and #planetaryhealth, and bring you monthly features on amazing individuals serving their communities and our planet.

✨ We extend deep gratitude to our broadcasters UNCHAINEDTV & Jane Velez-Mitchell, Seeds To Inspire Foundation & Jacque Salomon, Black Veg Society & Naijha Wright-Brown, and to Madhavi and Julie at Jeeva Bhavana.

JIVINITI Connecting the Dots returns with another episode this January 2023, with the awesome story of Seb Alex, an animal rights intersectional activist and his multicultural journey to his Higher Self, as he challenged the norms and chose veganism for justice. In this episode, as we connect the dots between personal, public and planetary health - JIVINITI founder, Nivi Jaswal speaks to Seb Alex, about his work as an author, educator and activist, what inspired him to go plant-based and why, and which events in his life helped shape his philosophy. Having given talks to over 1200+ people across Europe and Australia, during 2019 and 2020, Seb has been offering his time to more than 50 universities and schools in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and Portugal, reaching more than 5000 students between the ages of 13 and 30. We hope you will enjoy watching this episode and be inspired to look into Seb's work around the world with a more personal lens, at the link here: https://www.sebalex.org/

🙌🏽 Founder – Born Vegan and Co-Founder – Vegan Climate March. 🌱 Sarina (IG: @bornvegan1) was raised 100% vegan in Midwestern United States. In this episode, she shares her journey as a Vegan activist, educator and speaker, and how she navigated the carnist world first as a student, then as a science teacher and how she’s addressing speciesism through science education. She helps us connect the dots between #ethics, #science, #education, and challenging norms in a world where #animalagriculture and its ‘corporate mindset’ is so deeply embedded in the world we live in today!

📖 Please check out her amazing Vegan education platform https://www.bornvegan.org/ today, her podcast “Science is Gray” https://www.bornvegan.org/podcasts/science-is-gray and learn more about the Vegan Climate March here: https://www.veganclimatemarch.org/.

Produced and directed by Nivi Jaswal, - JIVINITI “Connecting The Dots ⭕️” is a monthly show that brings together diverse voices across communities, specifically Communities of Color, who are experts in various fields such as Lifestyle Medicine, Planetary Health, Climate & Food Justice, Animal Rights, Women’s Empowerment, Civil Rights – from everywhere in the world including & especially the Global South.⁠

JIVINITI Connecting the Dots returns with another episode this November 2022, with two amazing and very strong women, literally. Sahyuri Lalim and Ramona Cadogan are both weightlifters - a powerlifter and an Olympic lifter, AND, they're both vegan. In this episode, as we connect the dots between personal, public and planetary health - JIVINITI founder, Nivi Jaswal speaks to Sahyuri and Ramona about their respective vegan journeys, what inspired them to go plant-based and why, and how has it impacted their lives - interpersonally and professionally in the weightlifting community around the world. We hope you will enjoy watching this episode and it will help bust myths not only around physical endurance and mental resilience whilst being vegan, but also offer insights into how these awesome women are challenging the patriarchal nexus between meat, masculinity and machismo-driven sport categories.

JIVINITI's guest this October is Sparsha Saha - a Harvard empirical political scientist, who is busy exploring this very important question on humanity's behalf through her research work. Our founder, Nivi Jaswal, speaks to Sparsha about how her vegan journey unfolded and what led to her decision to look into animal rights, food systems and politics so closely. We also discuss the launch of Harvard University’s first ever course on all these pertinent topics that Sparsha has spearheaded. It will be offered to students in the Spring of 2023. Learn more about Sparsha Saha on LinkedIn @https://lnkd.in/dJ8_DijR. In this interview, we were also joined by rising sophomores and co-founders of the Harvard Chapter of Plant Futures Initiative, Navin Durbhakula and Camille Freedman. We heard all about their plant-based transformation and how these young Harvard scholars are enthusiastically leading much needed student outreach and research efforts on their campus towards a plant-forward future! To learn more about Camille and Navin's efforts and outreach - watch: https://lnkd.in/dXpkhfPy and follow them on Instagram @harvardplantfutures. JIVINITI “Connecting The Dots ⭕️” is a monthly show that brings together diverse voices across communities, specifically Communities of Color, who are experts in various fields such as Lifestyle Medicine, Planetary Health, Climate & Food Justice, Animal Rights, Women’s Empowerment, Civil Rights – from everywhere in the world including & especially the Global South.⁠ We stream on #Facebook on UNCHAINED TV, all JIVINITI platforms, Seeds to Inspire Foundation, Jeeva Bhavana, Black Veg Society and more! ⁠Including here on SPOTIFY.

JIVINITI Connecting the Dots returns with another episode this September 2022, with Founder of Breathwork Connection and Co-Founder of Inheritance Project, Mallory Combemale. Mallory’s childhood experience growing up in several multicultural environments form the vital foundation of her insightful work at her various organizations today. These have also informed her practice of spirituality and Inner Work. In this episode, as we connect the dots between personal, public and planetary health - JIVINITI founder, Nivi Jaswal speaks to Mallory about her personal and professional journey, how “Breathwork” fits into all of it, helping her and her clients thrive and navigate the global pandemic and it’s lasting aftereffects on her lives. Also discussed are the philosophical and scientific underpinnings of Breathwork through the practice of Himalayan Kriya Yoga and Dr. Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory. We hope you will enjoy watching this episode and should you wish to set up a consultation with Mallory, here is a link: https://breathconnection.co/

JIVINITI Connecting the Dots returns with another episode this August 2022, with the heartwarming story of Mitali Deypurkayastha, an author, publisher and an intersectional advocate. Arguably the world's 1st wholly vegan publisher, Mitali experienced the impact of systemic racism growing up in a predominantly White-Caucasian part of the U.K. She gave up meat, investigated her relationship to dairy before entirely giving it up and chose veganism for justice - and kept it a private affair - until her vegan values begged to find an emergence in her work as an author and publisher. In this episode, as we connect the dots between personal, public and planetary health - JIVINITI founder, Nivi Jaswal speaks to Mitali about her journey, the importance of developing "authority" in one's fields and all her insights along the way! We hope you will enjoy watching this episode and, should you have a book in you, be inspired to discuss Mitali's amazing authorship and publishing programs at the link here: https://thefreedommasterplan.com/free-consultation/

JIVINITI Connecting the Dots returns with another episode this July 2022, with naturopathic physician, Mansi Vira, ND. Mansi experienced severe chronic illness while growing up in the United States and after years of suffering found respite in naturopathy and spirituality. This changed the course of her academic and professional life. In this episode, as we connect the dots between personal, public and planetary health - JIVINITI founder, Nivi Jaswal speaks to Mansi about naturopathy as it's practiced in the U.S. and the world, especially in India and how she's bringing this knowledge to her patients especially during a global pandemic. We hope you will enjoy watching this episode and maybe, want to book yourself a vegan Panchakarma appointment nearby! If you'd like to book a consultation with Mansi Vira, ND, here's the link to learn more:https://www.drmansivira.com/services-new