Money Tales

In this episode of Money Tales, our guests are Lynne Twist and Sara Vetter. Lynne and Sara call themselves “work wives” who run the Soul of Money Institute and the Pachamama Alliance. They observe that society perpetuates the myth of scarcity—insisting there’s never enough time, money, love, or fulfillment. Lynne and Sara work each day to challenge that automatic and unconscious assumption. In our conversation, they unpack the implications of living in a society where the economy often takes precedence over ecology.

Lynne Twist is the founder of the Soul of Money Institute and author of the best-selling, award winning book “The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Life”, and her newest book, “Living a Committed Life: Finding Freedom and Fulfillment in a Purpose Larger Than Yourself”.

Over the past 40 years Lynne has worked with over 100,000 people in 50 countries in the arenas of fundraising with integrity, conscious philanthropy, strategic visioning and having a healthy relationship with money. Her clients include Microsoft, Proctor & Gamble, the International Unity Church, Charles Schwab, United Way, The National Black theater of Harlem, Harvard University and others. A sought-after speaker, she has presented for the United Nations Beijing Women’s Conference, State of the World Forum, Synthesis Dialogues with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Governor’s Conference on California Women, among others.

A recognized global visionary, Lynne has been an advisor to the Desmond Tutu Foundation, and The Nobel Women’s Initiative. Lynne is the recipient of numerous prestigious honors, including the “Woman of Distinction” award from the United Nations.

Lynne is a co-founder of The Pachamama Alliance — a nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest to preserve their lands and culture. In addition, Lynne serves on a number of nonprofit boards including the Fetzer Institute, The Institute of Noetic Sciences, Bioneers, Conscious Capitalism and Women’s Earth Alliance.

From working with Mother Teresa in Calcutta to the refugee camps in Ethiopia and the threatened rainforests of the Amazon, Lynne’s on-the-ground work has brought her a deep understanding of the social tapestry of the world and the historical landscape of the times we are living in.

Sara Vetter is the Business Development Director of the Soul of Money Institute and is a coach, consultant, workshop leader, keynote speaker and strategist. She is also the Major Gift Fundraiser for the Pachamama Alliance. Sara has had experience in advertising, marketing and sales with several magazines including LA Magazine and the Disney Channel.

Sara has been coaching, consulting and leading workshops with SOMI Author and Founder Lynne Twist since 2001. She has become a key player in all the initiatives of the institute. Her leadership doubled business revenues in recent years and also significantly expanded revenue for Pachamama Alliance. Sara is an experienced SOMI facilitator of workshops, fundraisers, journeys and retreats. She also leads several of the Pachamama Alliance Transformational Educational programs.

Sara has played a leadership role with the Nobel Women’s Initiative, she has co-led delegations to Dharamsala, India, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Liberia. As the major gift fundraiser for the Pachamama Alliance, Sara has led and participated in more than 19 delegations and immersion trips to the Amazon Rainforest. She has raised millions of dollars for the Pachamama Alliance and the Nobel Women’s Initiative and is a consummate fundraiser.

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Celeste Villalobos Tahamont. Celeste is navigating the intricate tapestry of both motherhood and daughterhood. She shares how she’s juggling her responsibilities that range from managing a bustling household with her own young family, building out her business as a solopreneur and helping her aging parents. As she grapples with decisions that shape her present and also impact her future, Celeste leans on the strength of family bonds, especially her confidante and partner-in-crime, her sister.

With an eye toward social justice, Celeste started her career as a public-school educator working with at-risk youth to help them be the first in their families to attend college. From 2006-2016, she designed, facilitated and managed various leadership programs for executives and their teams at Google.

In 2016, Celeste launched Little Owl Consulting and continues to help clients around the globe and in a variety of environments ranging from nonprofit to corporate. She is an expert at holding space for fear, pain and complexity, so that courage and clarity can emerge, and folks can get back to working productively.

Celeste received her B.A. in Gender & Multicultural Studies from University of California, Santa Cruz and her Ed.M. in Gender & Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She now lives in San Francisco, where she enjoys adventuring around the city with her two sons and husband.

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Nancy Colier. Growing up, Nancy’s love for equestrian sports clashed with her father’s belief that it was reserved for the privileged. But Nancy’s determination prevailed; she became a top-level equestrian and rode on the national circuit. She tells us that when she finally won, she realized the success wasn’t about the winning; it was about the strength and resilience it revealed within her. No matter what obstacles Nancy would face in life, she now knew she could conquer the most challenging paths.

A longtime practitioner of mindfulness and eastern spirituality, Nancy Colier is a psychotherapist, interfaith minister, and author of “The Emotionally Exhausted Woman: Why You’re Feeling Depleted and How to Get What You Need” (New Harbinger, 2022), “Can’t Stop Thinking” (New Harbinger 2021), as well as numerous other books. She is a thought leader and national speaker on mindfulness, women’s empowerment, wellbeing and ethical technology, and has been featured on Good Morning America, The New York Times and countless other media. She is also a regular blogger for Psychology Today. She teaches workshops at Kripalu, Omega Institute, and 92Y (and many other venues). In addition, Nancy spent 25 years as a nationally top-ranked equestrian and serves as a performance consultant to professional athletes and artists.