Why It Matters

📍Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Connor Harbison is the founder of Atlas Urban Farms. Using his product, you can eat fresh Basil grown from a vertical farm that sits on your kitchen wall. Today, he shares his journey as a student founder and environmental innovator.

📍Monterey, California, U.S.A. Erin Duddy is the Director at the Center for Sustainable Finance and Private Wealth, where she is leading their expansion into North America. Today she shares her path to working in sustainable finance, while also breaking down how it works.

UN Sustainable Development Goal: 9 · Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

📍Zurich, Switzerland. Pascal Gally is the founder of Choc des Légendes, an event that gathers Presidents, ambassadors, CEOs, and students to trade wisdom about topics that don't have a space to be discussed in society.

UN Sustainable Development Goal: 17 · Partnerships

📍Washington D.C., U.S.A. Kerry Healey is the President of the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream, and she shares her approach to creating a society where anyone with a dream can achieve it.

UN Sustainable Development Goal: 10 · Reduced Inequalities

📍Bangalore, India. Sultan Ahmed is the founder of LXL Ideas, a company that uses film to teach young people about traditional academics as well as how to lead a good life.

UN Sustainable Development Goal: 4 · Education

📍Copenhagen, Denmark. Kenneth Mikkelsen is the founder of Futureshifts and the author of The Neo-Generalist: Where You Go is Who You Are. 

UN Sustainable Development Goal: 4 · Education

📍Bogotá, Colombia. Carolina Ruiz Cubides is the founder of Happy Thinkers, where she helps people design the life of their dreams.

UN Sustainable Development Goals: 4 · Education

📍Berlin, Germany. Robert Gierke grew up in the Eastern Bloc of communist Germany, attended university in capitalist America, and lived in the corporate world for most of his career. Something felt missing, so he went on a journey to discover what it was. It turned out to be Purenessity, the company he runs today to help other companies find their purpose. Robert shares his wisdom and a quote that is one of my favorites: “you’re not just a drop in the ocean, but the ocean is also in the drop."

UN Sustainable Development Goals: 17 · Partnerships

📍Tanzania. Frannie Léautier grew up in rural Tanzania, became the Chief of Staff of the World Bank, and is now the CEO of SouthBridge investments. Her experiences in childhood have influenced her approach to developing countries and what she views can be done through sustainable development. She believes under-developed countries, and specifically Africa as a continent, have a unique opportunity to position themselves for the future.

UN Sustainable Development Goals: 8 · Decent Work & Economic Growth, 9 · Industry, Innovation, Infrastructure

📍West Sussex, England. Nicola Peel spent the last 20 years studying & living in the Amazon rainforest. She has a deep understanding of how our habits as consumers affect the health of the planet, and how the health of the planet affects us as humans. While our relationship with the earth and its biodiversity has degraded, Nicola has several solutions to amend them.

UN Sustainable Development Goals: 13 · Climate Action, 14 · Life Below Water, 15 · Life on Land