Ecosystem Network member Archives - Page 2 of 2

Joana Breidenbach

betterplace.org

Berlin,
Germany

Joana holds a PhD in cultural anthropology, is a social entrepreneur and author of numerous books. She is co-founder of betterplace.org and founder of the betterplace lab. Over the last 8 years, she has experimented with distributed leadership and radical self-organisation and is deeply interested in the inner competencies needed for the current paradigm shift. As an advisor and investor, she supports many digital-social innovations, such as the ReDi School, DeepL or The Next We.

– What does inner wellbeing mean to you?

To balance my basic needs between belonging and becoming and to be able to hold the inevitable inner tensions that arise in life.

– How would you define wellbeing in one word?

Selfcontact

– Are there any rituals or practices you use to enhance your wellbeing?

Meditation, self-reflections, sharings

– Why is it important that we prioritise individual and collective wellbeing?

Because the deep crisis we find ourselves in – individually, as societies and nature – can only be transcended if we include more of reality, especially the subjective, inner side of the world.

– Do you have any favourite books, podcasts, or articles that you believe support, promote, or educate on wellbeing and related themes?

My own podcast , Iain McGilchrist: https://channelmcgilchrist.com/and free Wellbeing online courses by betterplace lab.

Connect with Joana Breidenbach on social media :

Personal Website

New Work needs Inner Work's Instagram

Michelle Arevalo-Carpenter

Betterfly / IMPAQTO

Quito,
Ecuador

Michelle is the Global VP of Purpose and Communities at Betterfly, the first social unicorn start-up, with operations across Latin America. Before her current role, Michelle was the CEO and co-founder of IMPAQTO, a B Corporation with a mission to support impact entrepreneurs reach their goals by building the ecosystem and network they need to thrive. IMPAQTO offers coworking spaces, a business accelerator, innovation consulting services and an impact investing fund to Latin American entrepreneurs building a better world. Before her career in business, Michelle was the founding Country Director of Asylum Access Ecuador, a legal clinic for refugees that later scaled to Asia, Africa and did direct advocacy at the United Nations in Geneva.

As a consultant, has focused on paths to scaling impact for grassroots organizations, including an association of families of disappeared children in El Salvador, and communities at risk of development-induced displacement in Thailand, Cambodia and India. Michelle counts a number of firsts throughout her career: with IMPAQTO, she opened the first private coworking space in Ecuador, also the first certified B Corporation in the country. She launched GreenCrowds, Ecuador’s first crowdfunding platform. She is also the first woman under 40 to be named in the top 100 reputation ranking business leaders in the Merco Ranking.

Michelle is a recent mother of twins, and is married to tech and climate entrepreneur and writer Matthew Carpenter-Arevalo. They live in Quito, the place they have chosen as their home. She holds an Mst in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford and a Master’s in Public Policy, UC Berkeley.

Connect with Michelle Arevalo-Carpenter on social media :

Personal Website

Jonas Dinger

Managing Director

Social Impact Award

Vienna,
Austria

Jonas Dinger is Managing Director of Social Impact Award, one of the world’s largest communities of early-stage social entrepreneurs under 30, mainly active in Europe, Africa and Asia. Jonas is committed to build capacity among early-stage entrepreneurs and foster cross-sector dialogues on the topic of social entrepreneurship.

Based in Vienna, Austria, he is leading a diverse team of 100+ SIA team members and is overseeing the community growth and strategic development.

Jonas joined Social Impact Award in 2018 and was amongst other roles in the team, responsible for SIA’s program in Austria and in Germany, as well as for SIA’s international partnerships and scaling efforts. He is also regularly giving university lectures on the topic of social entrepreneurship.

Before joining Social Impact Award, Jonas worked two years at the Social Entrepreneurship Center of the Vienna University of Economics and Business as a researcher. This followed several engagements for different initiatives in the social entrepreneurship ecosystem (e.g. at GIZ, SEED – Promoting Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development, and others). Jonas has a Master of Arts in political science having studied at University of Vienna, LMU Munich and University of Vilnius.

Connect with Jonas Dinger on social media :

Gary Shearer

The Saville Foundation

Bristol, Somerset
United Kingdom

Born and schooled in Johannesburg South Africa, having a rich full-spectrum business experience in the IT wave of the ‘70’s and ‘80’s, including being a founding management team member of the now global Datatec Group.

Co-founded award-winning New York based wine trading entity Cape Classics Inc. with my brother in 1991, with the experience of over almost two decades of tough but creative and stimulating challenges growing the business from the ground up informing much of my current journey.

In 2006 I sold my shares to participate in the realm of Social Change, and am privileged to be the CEO of The Saville Foundation working around the globe within education and enablement of individuals and communities.

I have two fabulous thirty-something children, and since 2018 have lived in the UK in Bristol with my incredible soul-partner Lara. We make trips back to South Africa as often as possible.

– What does inner wellbeing mean to you?

The feeling of contentment and happiness that bubbles inside the more I work on deprogramming myself….

– How would you define wellbeing in one word?

Self-love

– Are there any rituals or practices you use to enhance your wellbeing?

Chi-gong, Yoga, Meditation, breathwork.

– Why is it important that we prioritise individual and collective wellbeing?

Happy content people function more effectively and with repect for self and others.

Connect with Gary Shearer on social media :

Vanessa Stevens

Director of Innovation and Influencing

Global Fund for Children

Washington, D.C.,
United States

Vanessa Stevens is passionate about sparking collaborations that strengthen trust, learning, and equity in philanthropy, civil society, and communities. As the Director of Innovation and Influencing at Global Fund for Children (GFC), Vanessa enjoys creating influencing strategies and collaborative learning spaces with youth leaders, local partners, and sector peers. Prior to GFC, she designed capacity development initiatives with social entrepreneurs and NGOs with Impact Hub in Malaysia and CIVICUS in Argentina. Vanessa began her career with AmeriCorps VISTA at the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama, growing into roles focused on resource development, program management, and advocacy for immigrant rights. In Alabama, Vanessa realized the power of wellbeing at work and for social change, especially in an organization working with survivors of violence and with community members facing multiple sources of oppression. She organized a committee of team members to find affordable ways to strengthen wellbeing, from celebrating work anniversaries to a yoga class. She later nurtured this passion through a fellowship with Impact Hub Kuala Lumpur where she learned about The Wellbeing Project.

Vanessa is excited to continue to foster spaces for wellbeing with GFC’s team and community of global partners. Vanessa received her bachelor’s degree in International Studies and her master’s degree in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University. She enjoys life most when she can be in nature, feel like a kid on her bike, explore somewhere new (whether near or far from home), cook a delicious meal while listening to a podcast, and do special things that show her love for friends and family.

Connect with Vanessa Stevens on social media :

Global Fund for Children

Greta Rossi

Recipes for Wellbeing

Brisighella,
Italy.

Greta is a changemaker involved in multiple not-for-profit initiatives. She is the co-founder of Recipes for Wellbeing and ChangemakerXchange and the lead facilitator for the WISE Emerging Leaders Program. Greta holds a BA (Hons) in International Relations and is a qualified coach, facilitator, and fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). She has hosted workshops, events, and summits in over 20 countries collaborating with organisations such as Ashoka, Climate-KIC, and Google. Greta also enjoys sharing her ideas with the wider public and has written several blog posts as well as delivered talks at stages like TEDxBologna2016, TEDxPwCMilan2017, The Women Power Summit 2018, the Social Innovation Summit 2019, and the European Social Economy Summit 2020. What makes her heart truly sing is working with young people to guide them through a process of self-transformation to become effective changemakers.

Connect with Greta Rossi’s Recipes for Wellbeing on social media :

Related Posts Related Posts

Recipes for Wellbeing first emerged in 2016 as a spontaneous collaboration between changemakers interested in exploring practices to cultivate their wellbeing.

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NATALIE HOLMES. Every hour I make decisions, solve problems, move on. Then, at some point, comes the self-doubt. Did I do the right thing?

SELF-CARE: THE OPPOSITE OF SELFISHNESS

TWP NETWORK. I am a foodie, hands down. I do not eat out of hunger alone; rather, I take enormous pleasure in savouring all the flavours in the meal in front of me.

FEEDING THE MIND, BODY, HEART AND SOUL

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TWP NETWORK. Mindfulness is about being present in the here and the now, observing all that is happening within and around us with an attitude of curiosity which is neither critical nor judgmental.

An Introduction to Mindfulness: How to Practice Mindful Eating

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Anthony Williams

EVP, Chief Human Resources Officer at Akamai Technologies (USA)

Anthony Williams is Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Akamai. Mr. Williams leads global HR strategy including workplace management, employee development, talent acquisition, inclusion and diversity and compensation and benefits across Akamai’s more than 40 offices around the world. Mr. Williams assumed the role effective January 1, 2020 after five years with Akamai. He began his Akamai career with the task of developing a world-class global recruiting function and was The company’s first diversity and inclusion leader. He led the human resources function for Akamai’s growing populations outside of the U.S., reflecting the company’s expanded footprint. Mr. Williams played an essential role in the Akamai Foundation’s transition from private funding to an official corporate philanthropic entity. He serves as its president and hired its first executive
director. Further, Mr. Williams launched the company’s employee resource groups (“ERG”), voluntary associations that represent the needs of Akamai’s global employee population.

He also launched the Akamai Technical Academy, a training program designed for people who have an interest and aptitude for technology but may not come from a traditional technical background. The unique program empowers diverse talent with technical work-ready skills while offering opportunities for prepared graduates to become full-time employees of Akamai. Prior to Akamai, Mr. Williams held a wide range of global human resource positions at First Data Corporation, Newell Rubbermaid and Time Warner – Turner Broadcasting System. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Norfolk State University and a Master of Business Administration from University of Georgia, Terry College of Business.

Connect with Anthony Williams on social media:

Bruno Vercken

Health, Safety and Working Conditions Director, Danone (France)

Bruno Vercken is the global head of Safety, Health, and Working Conditions of DANONE In a nutshell he is directly or indirectly in charge of “the man at Work” in the Company. Bruno was previously HR Operations Director of DANONE, in charge of the Industrial, Supply-chain, Purchasing, and Quality functions across the company. Bruno serves as an expert and advisor on organizational Wellbeing within several international initiatives aiming at fostering people’s WellBeing at work. He represents Danone in the Coalition for Healthier Life of the Consumer Goods Forum, is a member of the Learning Partner Group of the WellBeing project, and is a member of the Inner work for social change advisory group.

Connect with Bruno Vercken on social media:

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Ditri Zandstra,

Chief People Officer and COO Cofra Group (Holland)

Ditri has subsequently worked in Banking, Fast Moving Consumer Goods and Healthcare before moving into the family office (Anthos) of the Brenninkmeijer Family where she spends the last two years as CEO. Since April 2020, Ditri is working for the broader Cofra Group.

Ditri’s passion for people and system change can be leveraged in her current role as a catalyst and Chief People Officer (and COO). Ditri is dedicated to contributed to Cofra’s mission to ensure business is a Force for Good, driving key systems change in Cities, Food, Energy, Capital Solutions and Consumption. Cofra is committed to the Flourishing of the Whole person for the Whole world.

Ditri is an MBA graduate at Nyenrode-Kellogg-Stellenbosch Business Universities and enjoyed the INSEAD Advanced Management Program.

If you had to summarise Ditri’s qualities, you would probably conclude that she is an authentic leader of transformations; she serves and leads through consistency and focus with a balanced focus on strategy, continuous learning and exploration, people development, and bottom-line results; She is passionate, engaged and committed and wants to contribute to society. As Ditri believes learning takes place through encounters, she is intrigued by philosophy, sociology, and psychology and enjoys traveling tremendously. This also included spending longer periods in some countries, like working for Mother Theresa in Calcutta. Sports
include yoga, hiking, kayaking, and horseback riding. Ditri tries to remain balanced through hard work and emotional and spiritual development.

Ditri is married to August and is the mother of Sabijn (15 years) and Annemoon (13 years). They live in Maarssen, a small town in the Netherlands, near Utrecht.