Edwin Macharia

Co-Founder, Axum

Edwin is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Axum. He leads work with Heads of State, CEOs, Philanthropists, and Investors, supporting them on strategy, program design and capital deployment.

Prior to starting Axum, Edwin spent 16 years at Dalberg Advisors building the firm’s presence, teams and client work across the world. He left after being elected and serving as the Global Managing Partner of the firm. Before that, he was at the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) and McKinsey & Company.

Based in Nairobi, Edwin currently sits on a range of global boards that reflect his commitment to transforming lives in Africa and beyond: The Nature Conservancy, Mozilla Foundation, Nabo Capital, The End Fund, Prudential Kenya and The Wellbeing Project. He is a WEF Young Global Leader, Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellow and was listed by Forbes as one of the 10 Most Powerful Africans in 2015. He holds a degree in biology from Amherst College.

David Simas

Managing Director, Research and Impact, Emerson Collective

David Simas is the Managing Director of Research and Impact at Emerson Collective, where he works to develop in-depth research projects and distributes findings and analysis in service of Emerson’s priorities including democracy, immigration, education, and climate.

A native of Taunton, Massachusetts, David was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff to Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick in 2007. He then joined President Obama’s administration in 2009 as a Deputy Assistant to the President, working with senior advisors David Axelrod and David Plouffe. In 2012, he served as Director of Opinion Research for President Obama’s reelection campaign. Following the reelection, Mr. Simas returned to the White House as Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Political Strategy and Outreach. In 2016, President Obama selected Mr. Simas to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Obama Foundation. Mr. Simas holds a B.A. in political science from Stonehill College and a J.D. from Boston College Law School. He is the son of two Portuguese immigrants and lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Shauna, and their two daughters.

Learn more from David SimasLearn more from David Simas

Building Relationships Is the Key to Creating Wellbeing: Birima FallBuilding Relationships Is the Key to Creating Wellbeing: Birima Fall

Stories from the Hearth

Interview With:

Birima Fall

Senior Program Manager, Tostan
🌍 Dakar, Senegal

The first regional wellbeing summit for social change in Africa, hosted by Tostan in Thiès in 2023, was an opportunity to reflect on wellbeing from a perspective rooted in African values. The conception that one can have of wellbeing differs from one place to another, from one culture to another; it is therefore important to hear the African perspective on the different aspects that affect well-being.

According to Birima Fall, Senior Program Manager at Tostan, although the notion of wellbeing encompasses a holistic dimension, one of its main foundations according to Tostan’s approach lies in relationships. It is thanks to an approach based on the relationships that communities are able to discuss, work together and make important decisions in order to accomplish their vision of an ideal of wellbeing.

Watch the interview below.

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A Plastic-Free Future for Senegal: Modou FallA Plastic-Free Future for Senegal: Modou Fall

Stories from the Hearth

Interview With:

Modou Fall

L’Homme Plastique (The Plastic Man)
🌍 Dakar, Senegal

In this interview, meet L’Homme Plastique (Modou Fall), a former soldier as he shares his journey after his military service, and how he became aware of environmental issues in his country. He highlights the urgent need to raise awareness about reducing plastic waste and adopting more sustainable lifestyles. Modou’s campaign of wearing a dress made from collected plastic bags highlights the devastating impact of discarded plastic waste and the importance of environmental health for the wellbeing of all, which he shared at the first regional wellbeing summit in Thiès.

Watch the interview below.

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Investing in Youth Wellbeing, Investing in Africa’s Future: Carolyn KandusiInvesting in Youth Wellbeing, Investing in Africa’s Future: Carolyn Kandusi

Stories from the Hearth

Interview With:

Carolyn Kandusi

Regional Program Officer, Segal Family Foundation
🌍 Arusha, Tanzania

In this interview, meet Carolyn Kandusi, Regional Program Officer at the Segal Family Foundation, as she discusses the importance of empowering African leaders, addressing wellness and mental health, and fostering trust-based philanthropy to drive social change in Africa. As a member of our Funders + Wellbeing Group, Carolyn took the stage at Hearth Summit Nairobi to discuss new approaches to philanthropy to better enable the wellbeing of grantee changemakers.

The Segal Family Foundation is a social impact funder and advisor backing local African leaders with huge potential to transform society and help progressive donors do the same. The foundation invests in early-stage, local leaders with big visions, and its grantmaking team is 100% African, working with local experts to identify visionaries with the potential for great social impact—including those at the beginning of their journey.

Watch the interview below.

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Discover the Wellbeing Movement in PhilanthropyDiscover the Wellbeing Movement in Philanthropy

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Wellbeing is Community and Inclusion: Okong’o KinyanjuiWellbeing is Community and Inclusion: Okong’o Kinyanjui

Stories from the Hearth

Interview With:

Okong’o Kinyanjui

Founder and Executive Director, Queer African Network
🌍 Nairobi, Kenya

In this interview, meet Okong’o Kinyanjui, Founder and Executive Director of the Queer African Network, as he shares how wellbeing inspires welldoing in his work to support the queer Pan-African community. Okong’o joined the first regional Hearth Summit in Nairobi to discover intergenerational wellbeing, diversity, and inclusion.

The Queer African Network is the only social and professional mobile application currently in existence that is built by and for LGBT+ people of African heritage to safely form meaningful connections, access opportunities, fundraise, and find life-saving information. QAN currently serves 2000+ members from 18+ countries. Our goal is to be the most secure primary mobile application used for resource sharing and mobilization on LGBT + needs across the African continent.

Watch the interview below. Please be advised this interview features references to trauma, suicide, and self-harm.

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Empowering Kenyans Through Justice: Chief Justice Martha Koome on Wellbeing in Kenya Empowering Kenyans Through Justice: Chief Justice Martha Koome on Wellbeing in Kenya

Stories from the Hearth

Reflections from:

Her Ladyship Chief Justice Martha Koome

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Kenya
🌍 Nairobi, Kenya

Her Ladyship Martha K. Koome assumed office as Chief Justice and the President of the Supreme Court of Kenya on May 21, 2021.

Prior to her appointment as the 15th Chief Justice of the Republic of Kenya, she was a Senior Judge of the Court of Appeal. During her stint as an Appellate Judge, she headed the Criminal Division of the Court and in addition, chaired Committees which developed the Court of Appeal Practice Directions in Civil and Criminal Appeals as well as the Registry Manual that standardized the registry experience at the Court.

At Hearth Summit Nairobi, the Chief Justice was chair of the pillar on restorative justice, providing deep insights on the role of formal and informal justice in societal wellbeing. She also spoke about the need to support the wellbeing of actors in the judicial system, like judges.

Read her reflections below, originally published on her blog, and watch her exclusive interview with The Star Kenya.

“I have the immense honour to co-host the Hearth Summit Nairobi, 2024 alongside Archbishop Anthony Muheria, Archbishop of Nyeri, Kenya, Wanjira Mathai, Managing Director, Africa and Global Partnerships, World Resources Institute and Edwin Macharia, Partner, Axum Kenya; The Wellbeing Project’s Advisory Board.

The Hearth Summit, hosted by local communities of changemakers, advances a hopeful vision of individual, collective and ecological wellbeing for all – catalyzing a culture of wellbeing for changemakers and in changemaking everywhere.

At this critical moment in our country and planet, wellbeing in all aspects remains core to our survival. At the Judiciary, we are focused on nurturing restorative justice which will heal the justice system by reshaping it through the lens of our innate, empowering age-old reconciliatory systems.

We are deliberately deploying green justice to ease remand and prison congestion and encouraging parliament to review our penal laws in alignment with the Constitution and post-independence state.

By investing in alternative justice systems, we acknowledge that justice is not only found in the formal court system but in homes, communities, places of worship and markets hence the need to have multiple ways of resolving disputes.

We will continue to nurture cohesion through justice and to find uplifting homegrown ways to ensure that the justice system holds safe and sacred the fabric of our society. As we protect the wellbeing of our nation, we also seek your support to nurture and protect the wellbeing of our exceptional judges, judicial officers and staff.

It is not the structure of the systems we build that guard our humanity, it is the humanness of those systems that make our lives dignified and worthy.”

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BMW Colombia Presents: Stories From the Hearth With Daniel Truran BMW Colombia Presents: Stories From the Hearth With Daniel Truran

Stories from the Hearth

Interview with:

Daniel Truran

Director General, ebbf (ethical business building for the future)
🌍 Madrid, Spain

Presented by BMW Colombia — partner of Hearth Summit Bogotá 2024

Daniel Truran is a renowned motivational speaker, impact strategist and innovator, with over two decades of experience dedicated to co-creating some of the most influential impact communities. His passion lies in inspiring and cultivating communities and movements capable of creating a more prosperous, sustainable and just future. He is the General Director of ebbf.org (ethical business building the future), a B Corp Ambassador in Europe, and a Partner at NOW.Partners.

At Hearth Summit Bogotá, Daniel was a keynote speaker, offering a closing session on conscious leadership in the age of modern business. Watch his reflections below (in English).

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BMW Colombia Presents: Stories From the Hearth With Gaby Arenas de Meneses BMW Colombia Presents: Stories From the Hearth With Gaby Arenas de Meneses

Stories from the Hearth

Interview with:

Gaby Arenas de Meneses

Founder, Fundación TAAP; Co-Chair, Catalyst 2030 Latam
🌍 Bogotá, Colombia

Presented by BMW Colombia — partner of Hearth Summit Bogotá 2024

As host of the Hearth Summit Bogotá, Gaby Arenas de Meneses, Founder, Fundación TAAP; Co-Chair, Catalyst 2030 Latam, gathered changemakers from across Latin America and Spanish-speaking North America to collectively discover the intersection of wellbeing and sustainable business. Over two days, she led participants on a journey to understand sustainability at every level of business: from work-life balance and employee wellbeing; to sustainable production and consumption; to positive social and environmental impact. Watch her reflections on the event below (in Spanish).

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BMW Colombia Presents: Stories From the Hearth With Luis Alberto Camargo BMW Colombia Presents: Stories From the Hearth With Luis Alberto Camargo

Stories from the Hearth

Interview with:

Luis Alberto Camargo

Founder and Director, OpEPA (Organización para la Educación y Protección Ambiental / Organization for the Education and Environmental Protection)
🌍 Bogotá, Colombia

Presented by BMW Colombia — partner of Hearth Summit Bogotá 2024

Luis Alberto Camargo, Founder and Director of OpEPA (Organización para la Educación y Protección Ambiental / Organization for the Education and Environmental Protection), joined the Hearth Summit Bogotá for a deep conversation on Ecological Belonging and how businesses can embrace humanity’s deep connection with nature. In an interview with BMW Colombia, Luis shares his reflections. Watch below (in Spanish).

OpEPA is a non-profit civil society organization established in Colombia and the United States whose work focuses on the development of projects and collaborative social entrepreneurship with the aim of reconnecting children and young people with the Earth so that they act in an environmentally responsible way.

As an Ashoka Fellow, Salzburg Fellow, Climate Reality Leader, Global Change Leader, Social Innovator, and Winner of the Wise Award 2023 for his work to promote regeneration, sustainability and environmental protection, Luis brought his wisdom on topics such as regeneration, socio-ecological transitions, nature-based education, entrepreneurship and social innovation, conservation, climate change, environmental education, environmental peace, medicine for wild areas and expeditions to the Hearth.

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