Women INVESTING in Women and GIRLS

In this episode, we had the opportunity to speak with Jalak Jobanputra of the New York City-located FuturePerfect Ventures. Jalak tells us about how she got her start in the investment industry, as well as how she perceives her role as one of a small fraction of female investors. Jalak explains what features she looks for in business ventures, and in those who create them, that are seeking funding. We also discuss the importance of globalization and the benefits of immigration in order to diversify the entrepreneur and investor environment. Jalak shares how FuturePerfect Ventures aids entrepreneurs by providing early stage funding and valuable mentorship, providing an example of one of the ventures she is excited about working with. We wrap up the conversation with Jalak’s definition of what it means to invest both in women and girls around the world.

In this episode, we featured Kimberly Hosey, the editor of Women INVESTING in Women's World Women Report. Kimberly shares with us how she came to recognize her passion for journalism. She also explains how she successfully combined her passion for writing and for exploring and finding solutions for women's issues by joining the Women INVESTING in Women team. Kimberly highlights some of the topics covered in the groundbreaking World Women Report and clarifies why such a report should be read by people of any age or gender. Kimberly hopes to inspire others to pursue their passion in any career they may choose. She finishes off our discussion by providing motivating advice for both boys and girls to succeed.

In this episode, we featured Dr. Alicia Robb of the Kauffman Foundation. Dr. Alicia talked to us about how she developed her passion for entrepreneurship, especially when it came to the participation in entrepreneurship of women and minorities. She then described the mission of the grassroots development organization that she created, the Sustainable Development. Dr. Robb also tells us about her senior fellowship at the Kauffman Foundation, which aims to generate more awareness and interest in entrepreneurship through a number of successful programs. Lastly, Dr. Robb explains the problem of inequality in the funding area, as well as her hope to see more female investors and high-growth entrepreneurs. She tells us about her various books that focus on these issues as well: Race and Entrepreneurial Success and A Rising Tide: Financing Strategies for Women-Owned Firms.

In this episode, we spoke to UNICEF USA End Trafficking Fellow Malea Otranto about how she is helping to end human trafficking in the United States. She shared with us how her passion for putting a stop to human trafficking grew from a young age. Malea also tells us about the importance of education and awareness of human trafficking as the first steps towards creating a solution for this issue. She explains how she has been able to create momentum for this cause through her involvement with Polaris and now as a part of UNICEF USA's Fellowship Program and the U.S. Fund for UNICEF's End Trafficking Project. Malea describes her experience in having The Trafficking Victims Projection and Justice Act passed unanimously in the New York state assembly. We talk about how Malea has created great strides towards ending human trafficking, signs that everyone should look for as evidence of trafficking, and how anyone can be the part of the solution.

In this episode, we had the honor of speaking to Sheikha Al-Thani. Sheikha shared how her upbringing within the royal family of Qatar motivated her to engage in humanitarian efforts to help children in need. She tells us about her experiences working with children in areas of conflict to find hope and bring happiness to their lives. At just fifteen years old, Sheikha has already visited numerous hospitals, villages, and cities affected by some of the world's most serious challenges. She shares how she has been able to achieve her mission to raise awareness and bring smiles to the children living in such conditions. Sheikha also informed us about her organization, Sheikha Al-Thani for Uniting Children SATUC. She tells us about the many aspects of the organization that work to help children around the world, including Fun Days for children from civil associations and orphanages, visits to hospitals and other institutions, as well as an international soccer cup for underprivileged children. Sheikha proves that age is just a number as she continues to serve as a role model, not only for the world's youth, but as a role model for everyone across the globe.

In this episode, we featured Veronica Guzman, Founder of WAMVentures. Veronica tells us about how she experienced gender inequality in the workplace nearly from the beginning of her career, and how these experiences led her to recognize the need for more female-led business accelerators. She shares with us her motivation for creating WAMVentures, and how this platform not only helps women and diverse business leaders raise capital, but also provides resources to help their businesses achieve success in many other aspects. Veronica explains the importance of creating partnerships and having role models to help provide advice and experience. Veronica expresses her passion for helping other women with their businesses. She offers inspiring advice to entrepreneurs looking to make a difference and follow their dreams, as well as explains how these innovators and dreamers should measure their success. Veronica also talks to us about her work within the G8 Youth Summit to help promote STEM careers to more girls in the world.

In this interview, we featured Tania Rodriguez, the Founder and President of Green Habitat Co. Tania told us how her Mexican upbringing cultivated her passion for architecture and nature, and how she then took these interests to start her own businesses. Tania shared her motivation to create her first entrepreneurial pursuit, an exclusive gym with environmentally friendly elements, to then establishing an architecture firm in Florida. Tania then talked to us about how she began her latest project, Green Habitat, with the desire to combine her interest in architecture with her dedication to making the world a better place through responsible construction. She explained how the environmentally-conscious houses built through the project impact the communities that they are located in, as well as why eco-friendly construction should be available to people from all backgrounds. Tania next told us about a related project that she started, School-out-of-a-Box, through which environmentally-responsible schools are being constructed within indigenous regions in her native Mexico. Tania then finished off the discussion by offering advice to young women and girls on how to succeed and to all of our listeners on how they can help make the world a better place to live in.

In this episode, we featured Sarah-Jane Murray, who has made her life around the art of storytelling. She tells us about how her passion for stories evolved, from listening to them as a young girl, to making the creation of them her career. Sarah-Jane has had the role of screenwriter, producer, and story designer for numerous films, which especially focus on creating social impact. Sarah-Jane explains to us her motivation for pursuing these causes and how she hopes that films like the ones she is creating will change the world. She also talks about the gender inequality in books and films, and how young women and girls can help to tackle this issue. Sarah-Jane doesn't only wish to be successful in her own career, however. With her book "Three Act What? Great Story Structure," she helps other aspiring filmmakers and storytellers understand what sets apart a "good" story from a "great" story. We wrap up our discussion with Sarah-Jane's advice to our listeners.

In this episode, we featured Savannah Sanders, who shared with us how she has made it her mission to find a solution to end sex trafficking. A survivor of sex trafficking herself, Savannah tells us about the need for adequate help centers for victims and survivors. She works with organizations such as Well-founded Hope, Mending the Soul, and O'Connor House to not only provide aid to those who have been affected by sex trafficking, but also to provide education for the public and businesses to help prevent the continuation of trafficking. We also talk about the book that Savannah wrote, "Sex Trafficking Prevention: A Trauma-Informed Approach for Parents and Professionals," and how she hopes that by putting her story out on paper, she is able to inspire others to fight to end sex trafficking. We finish up the discussion by talking about the importance of educating boys and men about this issue. Finally, Savannah offers inspiring advice to our listeners.