THE IDEALISTS.

In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Jenny Atout Ahlzen, one of the Managing Founders of Amam Ventures, an impact investment fund based in Jordan that provides risk capital to Small and Medium Sized enterprises that are committed to diversity and inclusion. In this episode, Jenny shares how her and her business partners are moving the needle on women’s economic participation in the Arab world.

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In the episode:

- Jenny begins the episode by describing why funding “Zebra” businesses makes the most sense in Jordan.

- She then describes the entrepreneurial ecosystem for women entrepreneurs in Jordan.

- Jenny shares the ways her and her business partners have designed their impact fund specifically for Jordanian women.

- At the end of the episode, Jenny shares her audacious vision for the world.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through. 

At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/
On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_
On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify
Order a copy of the*journal

In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Joy Harjo, who served three terms as the 23rd Poet Laureate from 2019 to 2022. She is the author of nine books of poetry, several plays and children's books, and two memoirs. Her many honors include the Ruth Lily Prize for Lifetime Achievement from the Poetry Foundation, the Academy of American Poets Wallace Stevens Award, two NEA fellowships, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. In this episode, Joy shares how she moves between the physical and mystical in order to make sense of the world around her.

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In the episode:

- Joy begins the episode by describing how her work as a writer is to see humanity’s beauty and atrocity.

- She then describes how she sees the world in both the physical and metaphysical sense.

- Joy shares the tensions she’s experienced trying to bring her indigenous wisdom traditions to academia.

- At the end of the episode, Joy shares her audacious vision for the world.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through. 

At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/
On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_
On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify
Order a copy of the*journal

In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Sonya Erickson who is a lawyer, partner, and member of the board of directors at Cooley Law Firm. The recognition for Sonya’s work is vast. She has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America Venture Capital Law category since 2004 and is listed as a leading attorney in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business since 2013. In this episode Sonya shares why she believes more women at the table means better resources for women as a whole.

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In the episode:

- Sonya begins the episode by describing how her Midwestern values informed a fear of talking about money.

- She then describes how she began investing (including in Yahoo) and mapping her own financial destiny outside of her cultural values.

- Sonya shares where she sees women dropping out of their careers before reaping financial upsides and how she is trying to mitigate this.

- At the end of the episode, Sonya shares her audacious vision for the world.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through. 

At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/
On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_
On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify
Order a copy of the*journal

In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews serial entrepreneur Chrissy Sayare. Chrissy is the co-founder of To Be Continued and Resale Revolution, luxury Resale stores across Arizona, California, and Texas. Chrissy bootstrapped her six stores to almost 8 figures in annual revenue and is only getting started.In this episode, Chrissy is full of stories filled with entrepreneurial gems. From not paying herself for 7 years while growing her company to taking out a loan against her bridal dowry to start her first company......In the episode:- Chrissy begins the episode by describing why she believes luxury handbags today are like mink coats in the 90’s.- She then describes the value of luxury reselling and how the show “Sex and the City” helped grow her passion for luxury.- Chrissy describes the businesses she founded before To Be Continued and the challenges she faced getting those off the ground.- At the end of the episode, Chrissy shares her audacious vision for the world.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through. 

At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/
On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_
On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify
Order a copy of the*journal

In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Minette Navarrete the President and Vice-Chairman of Kickstart Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Globe Telecom, the largest mobile network in the Philippines. Not only does Minette manage Kickstart Ventures $180 Million fund, she is also a member of Globe’s Innovation Advisory Board and the Board of Directors of AdSpark, Globe’s wholly owned digital advertising subsidiary. Minette has held a number of CEO/COO positions in various industries, ranging from scrappy Philippines startups to iconic global companies like Levi Strauss in Philippines.

In this episode, Minette shares what excites her about the innovation coming out of the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

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In the episode:

• Minette begins the episode by describing why she believes “fake it til’ you make it” hurts entrepreneurial ecosystems.
• She then describes her non-linear career path to Venture Capital, as well as, managing Kickstart Venture’s $180M fund.
• Minette then shares what excites her about the innovation coming out of the Philippines.
• At the end of the episode, Minette shares her audacious vision for the world.

In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Jillian Haslam, an internationally bestselling author, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and motivational speaker, who grew up in the slums of Calcutta where she faced a bruising childhood of extreme poverty, discrimination, abuse, and disease. Jillian’s gift of seeing beauty amongst the grit led her to rise to success as President of Charity at India’s Bank of America and launched her career as an internationally renowned motivational speaker. She has been honored with a growing list of awards, including the prestigious Mother Teresa Memorial International Award, The True Legend Award from The Telegraph, and the Asian Woman of the Year Award by The Independent.

In this episode, Jillian uses her story to show how to derive meaning from hardships and how to find grace in adversity. She shares how she integrated her darkest moments in order to find her light.

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In the episode:

- Jillian begins the episode by describing her childhood and the adversity those living in third world poverty experience.

- She then describes how she was able to become the Executive Assistant to the CEO of Bank of America and later the President of Charity at Bank of America.

- Jillian then shares her take on the canon of female leaders like Mother Theresa, Florence Nightingale, etc.

- At the end of the episode, Jillian shares her audacious vision for the world.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through. 

At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/
On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_
On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify
Order a copy of the*journal

In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Dr. Sian Proctor, who was launched into Earth orbit, on September 15, 2021, as the pilot of the Crew Dragon with SpaceX. A geoscientist, artist, poet, and astronaut, not only was she was on the cover of Times Magazine but she was also in “The Colony” on The Discovery Channel, “Genius by Stephen Hawking” on PBS,  “Strange Evidence*”* on the Science Channel, and “Countdown” on Netflix.

During the show, Sian takes us into space with her. It is quite a marvel.

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In the episode:

- Dr. Proctor begins the episode by explaining the history of space travel.

- She then describes her emotional and physical preparation to launch to orbit (which included a phone conversation with Michelle Obama).

- Dr. Proctor shares details about her experience in space and recites a poem she wrote while in the space craft.

- At the end of the episode, Dr. Proctor shares why she believes innovations made for space will better humanity as a whole.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through. 

At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/
On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_
On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify
Order a copy of the*journal

In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Shellye Archambeau who has over 30 years of experience in technology ranging from her role as the former President of Blockbuster.com, as well as, the former CEO of MetricStream, a Silicon Valley-based software company. She currently serves on the boards of Verizon, Nordstrom, Roper Technologies, and Okta.

During the show, Shellye shares the sacrifices she made to get ahead, as well as, how she tackles goal-setting when confronted with complicated, high risk crises.

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In the episode:

- Shellye begins the episode sharing why she left her high-ranking position at IBM to become CEO of a MetricStream, a struggling startup. 

- She goes on to describe her personal decision-making matrix and how it helps her during moments of crisis.

- Shellye then shares the personal and financial decisions she made in order to become MetricStream's CEO.

- Shellye shares the process of being invited to apply for Verizon's board.

- At the end of the episode, Shellye shares why she believes women should be unapologetically ambitious.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through. 

At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/
On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_
On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify
Order a copy of the*journal

In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa talks to Dr. Anna Pechenkina about Russia’s recent military invasion of Ukraine. Dr. Pechenkina received her PhD in Political Science at Penn State University and works as an assistant professor at the Political Science Department at Utah State University. Her research seeks to understand how peace emerges out of war and why it succeeds or fails.

During the show, Dr. Pechenkina provides insights into what is currently happening in Ukraine and the context for Ukraine’s relationship with Russia prior to the invasion.

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In the episode:

- Dr. Pechenkina begins the episode by describing the relationship between Ukraine and Russia after Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity in 2014.

- She then explains alternative political strategies Vladimir Putin could have employed instead of military invasion.

- Dr. Pechenkina goes on to describes the various “alternate realities” that may happen if the invasion lasts longer than expected.

- At the end of the episode, Dr. Pechenkina explains how people around the world can support the people of Ukraine during this time.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through. 

At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/
On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_
On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify
Order a copy of the*journal

In this episode of The Idealists. (formerly Grit & Grace), host and entrepreneur Melissa Kiguwa interviews Alicia Dara, a nationally recognized speech and presentation coach who has helped thousands of people including CEO’s, Global VPs, Executive Directors and Presidential candidates find their Power Voice and put it to work. Her corporate clients include Microsoft, Amazon, and Planned Parenthood. Her private clients include the National Women's Political Caucus, the Female Founders Alliance, and members of Facebook, Merrill Lynch, and Twitter.

During the show, Alicia explains the importance of a power voice and why her clients sometimes need to overhaul their entire way of communicating to reach the next level of their career.

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In the episode:

- Alicia begins the episode by describing the 4 pillars of public speaking and why these pillars are necessary for finding one’s power.

- She then explains the common mistakes women make when communicating due to social conditioning.

- Alicia shares different techniques women can do practice to better their voice and communication styles.

- At the end of the episode, Alicia describes her audacious vision for the future.

Join the conversation about THE IDEALISTS. and break*through. 

At our website: https://www.theidealistspodcast.co/
On Instagram: @theidealistspodcast_
On Twitter: @theidealistspod
Help us grow! Leave a review of the show on Apple or Spotify
Order a copy of the*journal