Doniece Sandoval is CEO and Founder of Lava Mae, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that converts public buses into showers on wheels to deliver hygiene and rekindle dignity for the homeless. On this episode, we discuss the experiences that opened her eyes, how to ask for what you want, how she made showers feel more like home and less like the DMV, why she meditates for productivity, the biggest myths about homelessness, and simple things the average person can do to break down barriers and connect.

Sarah Dawson McClean is a dreamer, traveler, and professional photographer…and good friend of Emily! In this episode, Emily and Sarah discuss how she built an international photography business, how to define your values and find your identity, thriving after divorce, her best advice for solo travel, dealing with perfectionism, how she stays inspired as a full-time creative, and how her philanthropic work in India changed her life.

This is Emily’s first solo episode and a totally impromptu voice note from the bed of her hotel room in Madrid. She shares a diary from the week speaking in Madrid with Hewlett Packard Enterprise, thoughts on the recent Washington Post article on sex trafficking post-Backpage, what it was like speaking in front of 6,000 people, how to talk to people who intimidate you and get to know the person behind the job title, and meeting five-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton.

The daughter of Cuban immigrants, Maxeme is CEO and Founder of Caribu, an ed tech company tackling the issue of early childhood literacy. In this episode, we talk with Maxeme Tuchman about why education is a tool for social justice, how she found an opportunity to make a social impact from the for-profit sector, how Cardi B inspires her, how martial arts like Krav Maga instill mental confidence, the 3 mentors you need in your life, and why—in her words—it’s the “millennium of the woman.”

We discuss living with dyslexia, mental health and how she coped with the aftermath of a violent assault, how to identify your stress triggers so they don’t control you, how to stay grounded and inspired when your passion becomes your job, her current work saving animals from wildlife trafficking, how black market items are sold in plain sight on Facebook, and her upcoming work taking down the “FedEx of the underworld.”

Heather is Co-Founder and CEO of girltank, as well as Director of Investor Relations at Mission Driven Finance. She is a champion for female social entrepreneurs. In this episode we talk about social innovation, how to use your hobbies to tackle your fears, how to decide whether to go back and get your master’s, how voice notes can save your life, turning roadblocks into accelerators, starting your own movement, and her best tips for how to know when seeking funding is right for your startup.

Brianna is a 24 year old child sex trafficking survivor, entrepreneur, and owner of multiple businesses that employ survivors. In this episode, Brianna tells her story of how she became trafficked, how “entrepreneurship got her out of it”, how she stays motivated and inspired to do her work, her best tips for someone just getting started in a business, and what she finds most rewarding about entrepreneurship.

We discuss how dyslexia taught her to be comfortable with failure, how she became an intelligence analyst in Afghanistan tracking the money flows of the Taliban, and how to get the most out of your Humanities degree especially for a job in the intelligence community,

On this episode, we talk with Sarah Evans, CEO and Founder of the non-profit Well Aware, which is building sustainable water systems in Africa. We discuss how she went from a lawyer to a non-profit founder, why clean water is the beginning of everything for a community, and what it's like being a lady boss.

Get a taste of what's coming up for the EMpower Podcast, with your host Emily Kennedy!