The racial wealth gap is alarming in most industries and the food and farming industry is no exception. Today, we are joined by social entrepreneur and impact investor, Olivia Watkins, to discuss how her non-profit impact investing organization, Black Farmer Fund, is working to close the gap and create a financial institution that people can trust.

In this episode, we learn about the Black Farmer Fund’s six core values, and how they’re investing in Black farmers and food businesses to create sustainable and equitable food systems. Olivia shares her vision for the growth of the organization, its impactful ways to shift power continuously, and more! Tune in to find out how BFF is assisting the Black farming community, and what you can do to support them in doing so!

For our show notes, visit https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/olivia-watkins

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Join Next Economy Living, beginning October 2025! By joining a cohort, you’ll learn how to deepen personal security and resilience practices to thrive and flourish amidst ecological and economic collapse. The training is designed to support you to deepen your changmaking while also taking care of your material and financial needs. 

Learn more ➡️ bit.ly/NextEconomyLiving

Interested in designing a world that works for the benefit of all life? Join our fall cohort of The Next Economy MBA, beginning September 30th, and use discount code PODCASTMB@ to save 10% on tuition!

Learn more at  lifteconomy.com/mba. 

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How do you imagine the future? How do you intend to get there? What is the purpose of your actions? Asking these kinds of questions will help you better understand whether your vision and the vision of the people within your organization are aligned.

During this episode, we explore some of the most common points of divergence amongst members of an organization, and how having uncomfortable conversations early on can help prevent problems from occurring further down the road. We are all unique individuals, so some level of divergence is unavoidable, but before you embark on a mission of transformation, it’s important to ensure that those divergences are not going to cost you your cause.

For our show notes, visit https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/mba10

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Join Next Economy Living, beginning October 2025! By joining a cohort, you’ll learn how to deepen personal security and resilience practices to thrive and flourish amidst ecological and economic collapse. The training is designed to support you to deepen your changmaking while also taking care of your material and financial needs. 

Learn more ➡️ bit.ly/NextEconomyLiving

Interested in designing a world that works for the benefit of all life? Join our fall cohort of The Next Economy MBA, beginning September 30th, and use discount code PODCASTMB@ to save 10% on tuition!

Learn more at  lifteconomy.com/mba. 

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To challenge, to question, to provoke. To nurture, to care, to accept. Through her community and media organization, Denizen, Jenny Stefanotti holds these forces in tension and in doing so, is co-creating the idea of a Next society that has curiosity, generosity, diversity, integrity, humility, and accountability at its core.

During this episode, Jenny shares the founding story of Denizen (which now has a total reach on Clubhouse of over 85000 people,) how she makes the Denizen content widely accessible while still being valuable to seasoned experts, examples that highlight the cooperative nature of the organization, and what her role as a steward of the community entails. 

For our show notes, visit https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/jenny-stefanotti

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Join Next Economy Living, beginning October 2025! By joining a cohort, you’ll learn how to deepen personal security and resilience practices to thrive and flourish amidst ecological and economic collapse. The training is designed to support you to deepen your changmaking while also taking care of your material and financial needs. 

Learn more ➡️ bit.ly/NextEconomyLiving

Interested in designing a world that works for the benefit of all life? Join our fall cohort of The Next Economy MBA, beginning September 30th, and use discount code PODCASTMB@ to save 10% on tuition!

Learn more at  lifteconomy.com/mba. 

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Today on the show we welcome Mosa Tsay, a Taiwanese-American cellist, first-generation artist, and worker-owner at Groupmuse. Tuning in you’ll hear Mosa share how the Groupmuse Foundation was founded in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and how they helped musicians through job creation programs, fundraising, and by facilitating a direct link between audience members and musicians during lockdown restrictions. We talk with Mosa about how Groupmuse went from being a private company to being a worker-run co-op and the impact this has had on the organization as a whole. She also unpacks the role of the Musical Council, and how it has allowed musicians to express their views and have an impact on the decisions that directly affect them.

For our show notes, visit https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/mba9

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Join Next Economy Living, beginning October 2025! By joining a cohort, you’ll learn how to deepen personal security and resilience practices to thrive and flourish amidst ecological and economic collapse. The training is designed to support you to deepen your changmaking while also taking care of your material and financial needs. 

Learn more ➡️ bit.ly/NextEconomyLiving

Interested in designing a world that works for the benefit of all life? Join our fall cohort of The Next Economy MBA, beginning September 30th, and use discount code PODCASTMB@ to save 10% on tuition!

Learn more at  lifteconomy.com/mba. 

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How do the personal choices we make for our lives and daily habits impact the larger community and the future of a better world? This is a question that we don’t think is asked often enough. One of the founding principles of LIFT Economy and the Next Economy Podcast is the centering of collective needs instead of individual desires and today we are sharing some powerful strategies for how these can actually be brought into alignment.

For our show notes, visit https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/mba8

Send us a text

Join Next Economy Living, beginning October 2025! By joining a cohort, you’ll learn how to deepen personal security and resilience practices to thrive and flourish amidst ecological and economic collapse. The training is designed to support you to deepen your changmaking while also taking care of your material and financial needs. 

Learn more ➡️ bit.ly/NextEconomyLiving

Interested in designing a world that works for the benefit of all life? Join our fall cohort of The Next Economy MBA, beginning September 30th, and use discount code PODCASTMB@ to save 10% on tuition!

Learn more at  lifteconomy.com/mba. 

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Whether aware of it or not, and no matter how liberal one’s belief system may be, all white people are culturally conditioned into racism. Undoing this cultural programming requires conscious work, and our guests today have dedicated their lives to undoing their own conditioning and facilitating the transformation of others.

In this episode, we discuss the far-reaching effects of cultural conditioning, white people's resistance to recognizing their racism, and the process of “UNtraining” racist programming. Ro and Swan share their personal transformation journeys, and what led them to this line of work. We learn about various UNtraining tools and benefits, the concept of multidimensional consciousness, and more. Tune in for inspiration to connect across differences, and protect our world and each other.

For our show notes, visit https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/ro-horton-swan-keyes

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Join Next Economy Living, beginning October 2025! By joining a cohort, you’ll learn how to deepen personal security and resilience practices to thrive and flourish amidst ecological and economic collapse. The training is designed to support you to deepen your changmaking while also taking care of your material and financial needs. 

Learn more ➡️ bit.ly/NextEconomyLiving

Interested in designing a world that works for the benefit of all life? Join our fall cohort of The Next Economy MBA, beginning September 30th, and use discount code PODCASTMB@ to save 10% on tuition!

Learn more at  lifteconomy.com/mba. 

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Consumers need more from the companies and brands they support. Aspects such as governance, social impact, and environment are what consumers demand, requiring business and business leaders to operate and think differently. What is needed is a way for consumers to ensure they support businesses and products that help drive change in the world.

Today’s guest is helping lead the charge to change the economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet. Jorge Fontanez is the Chief Executive Officer for B Lab, a leader in systems change, creating standards, policies, and tools for businesses and also certifying companies regarding their social and environmental responsibility.

For our show notes, visit https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/jorge-fontanez

Send us a text

Join Next Economy Living, beginning October 2025! By joining a cohort, you’ll learn how to deepen personal security and resilience practices to thrive and flourish amidst ecological and economic collapse. The training is designed to support you to deepen your changmaking while also taking care of your material and financial needs. 

Learn more ➡️ bit.ly/NextEconomyLiving

Interested in designing a world that works for the benefit of all life? Join our fall cohort of The Next Economy MBA, beginning September 30th, and use discount code PODCASTMB@ to save 10% on tuition!

Learn more at  lifteconomy.com/mba. 

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As we continue our MBA Series, we move on from the principles discussed in the previous episodes into the structures and frameworks that can take these principles into action and effect. While the foundational principles have a clear necessity, they are not enough to achieve the goals of the next economy and as we aim to change the systems that define our societies and world, we have to move beyond mere ideas.

For our show notes, visit https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/mba7

Send us a text

Join Next Economy Living, beginning October 2025! By joining a cohort, you’ll learn how to deepen personal security and resilience practices to thrive and flourish amidst ecological and economic collapse. The training is designed to support you to deepen your changmaking while also taking care of your material and financial needs. 

Learn more ➡️ bit.ly/NextEconomyLiving

Interested in designing a world that works for the benefit of all life? Join our fall cohort of The Next Economy MBA, beginning September 30th, and use discount code PODCASTMB@ to save 10% on tuition!

Learn more at  lifteconomy.com/mba. 

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Amrita Wassan from the Center for Economic Democracy (CED) joins us on the show today to talk about their philosophy and experiences working towards shifting power and finding real solutions to the problems we face. Amrita is the Director of Programs at CED and is an educator, organizer, and solidarity economy practitioner.

For our show notes, visit https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/amrita-wassan

Send us a text

Join Next Economy Living, beginning October 2025! By joining a cohort, you’ll learn how to deepen personal security and resilience practices to thrive and flourish amidst ecological and economic collapse. The training is designed to support you to deepen your changmaking while also taking care of your material and financial needs. 

Learn more ➡️ bit.ly/NextEconomyLiving

Interested in designing a world that works for the benefit of all life? Join our fall cohort of The Next Economy MBA, beginning September 30th, and use discount code PODCASTMB@ to save 10% on tuition!

Learn more at  lifteconomy.com/mba. 

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If you, like many others, think that cooperatives are just another way to do business, get ready to reframe that idea. Our guest today is Rachel Isreeli, and as she explains during this episode, cooperatives are a form of community organizing that have the ability to transform existing power structures.

For our show notes, visit https://www.lifteconomy.com/blog/mba6

Send us a text

Join Next Economy Living, beginning October 2025! By joining a cohort, you’ll learn how to deepen personal security and resilience practices to thrive and flourish amidst ecological and economic collapse. The training is designed to support you to deepen your changmaking while also taking care of your material and financial needs. 

Learn more ➡️ bit.ly/NextEconomyLiving

Interested in designing a world that works for the benefit of all life? Join our fall cohort of The Next Economy MBA, beginning September 30th, and use discount code PODCASTMB@ to save 10% on tuition!

Learn more at  lifteconomy.com/mba. 

Support the show