Episodes

Avinash Jhangiani (Avi) is a senior, award-winning digital transformation and innovations leader with more than 20 years of experience with large enterprises and consulting firms in the US and India, such as Deloitte, Reliance and Omnicom Group in India. Avi left his fast-growing, cushy corporate career at the age of 42 to find his true calling, which is to make our children and younger generation as future ready as possible. He founded Play2Transform, that uses principles of human-centric desig...

We know the next cyclone is coming, but what are we going to do about it? How we can design cities and communities to withhold, sustain, and thrive in uncertain climatic conditions? In this episode of the SDG Talks, Animesh Behera shines a light on the challenges and opportunities of Cyclones. This is such a big issue in India that the upcoming UNLEASH HACKS event will focus solely on this challenge of cyclones. If you have a great idea of want to learn more, make sure to visit the UNLEASH ha...

How can we change the story from the Tragedy of the Commons to the Happiness of the Commons? Praharsh Patel communicates how we can flip this switch by providing proper incentives to farmers. We hear a unique first-person story from Praharsh and how this can drive tangible change for the farmers in India; and the world. Praharsh Patel is a young enthusiast working in the field of Policy Research that graduated with a Masters in Mathematics from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics from...

Did you know it is the 75th Birthday of the United Nations this year? How do we know if there has been any progress in the past 75 years? In this SDG Talks, Vidyadhar Prabhudesai explores past and future issues around how the 17 SDGs intersect to drive a positive impact around people, the planet, peace, and prosperity. Throughout the chat, we explore the impacts of weather, migrations, how we can measure impact, and what we can do next! Vidyadhar Prabhudesai is a diversified professional. ...

Why should we consider climate and environmental risk in financial investments? Do investors care about these topics when allocating funds? In this SDG Talks, you will hear from Colin Banning who is the CEO of TGB Consulting Guatemala and national consultant for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in the country. He has an Innovation and New Ventures Leadership Certification from MIT and has over 15 years of experience working in corporate and sustainability reporting and proc...

Ombretta Androff is an Italian-born, Miami-based freelance curator and climate activist with more than twenty years of curatorial expertise with an international practice across non-profit institutions, commercial galleries, and art advisory pursuits with private clients. An avid swimmer, diver and kiteboarder, since moving to Miami in 2013, Ombretta's passion for the Florida waterways inspired ARTSail, a nomadic residency and research initiative that instigate creative and climate change inquir...

SDG Talks presents a mini-series collaborating with UNLEASH Hacks USA around homelessness. In this third episode with Steven Samra, we take a deep dive into the challenges people experiencing homelessness face on a daily basis. Steven breaks down the concept that we are not talking about homeless people but instead, people experiencing homelessness. Steven explains why these words matter and how we must rethink our approach. Our conversation invokes a lot of emotion and will give you insights ...

SDG Talks presents a mini-series collaborating with UNLEASH Hacks USA around homelessness. In this second episode, we discuss issues of homelessness with Shelby Fredrickson around topics such as climate change, lack of housing during COVID, and the pursuit of green economies. Shelby is a recent graduate of the Sustainable Environment Systems Master of Science program at Pratt Institute, where she had the opportunity to study sustainable design, urban planning, community development methodolog...

SDG Talks presents a mini-series collaborating with UNLEASH Hacks USA around homelessness. In this first episode, we discuss homelessness from a unique perspective; from the eyes of a man that was once homeless. Theo Parisi gives us a glimpse into what it means to be homeless and how society currently treats the homeless population. Especially during the Covid-19 Pandemic, this unsheltered population deals with an amplified level of risk due to a lack of access to clean water and sanitation. ...

Dr Nicolene du Preez and Peter Philips are on a joint venture to re-imagine education. With COVID-19 as the catalyst for change, in just 3 months a local Balinese community came together to build the Open Flow Learning Centre after many years of ideation and vision between these two educators. Located in the centre of Bali, Indonesia the local and global connections are undeniable with everyday bringing fresh experiences to the international and local children that attend. The Open Flow Learning...

Saying you innovate and actually innovating are two different things. So how does one foster a culture of innovation that creates success? Gregory Pepper gives a glimpse into his experiences as an innovation designer, who's core experience is in creating programs in innovation and sustainability for early-stage ventures, corporates, NGOs, and universities. He currently leads UNLEASH+, a 6-month pre-acceleration program for teams developing solutions to address the Sustainable Development Goals ...

In this episode, you will hear Kleber’s passion for infrastructure and education. We discuss the everlasting impacts of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics, the challenges of infrastructure, and technology development across Brazil. Kleber Santos works at the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) as an Innovation Analyst. His main role is to assist people to protect their technologies and transfer them to society via licensing or spin-off creation. At the Center, ...

Isha Sharma has recently finished her masters degree in economic policy and international development at the London School of Economics. She is also currently the only student and the first and youngest South Asian Woman to be on the LSE Council - the highest governing body of the university. She is also one of the Company Director and Charity Trustee of the school. Isha is also a UN Local Pathways Fellow, advisor to the World Bank’s Youth to Youth Community and a World Economic Forum Global Sha...

We often hear about the energy-water-food nexus, but what does it actually mean? In this episode of the SDG Talks Podcast, Femeena Valappil breaks down the myths around this concept and sheds light around the most recent science around this field. Femenna recently joined Penn State University as a Postdoctoral scholar where her research focuses on developing sustainable solutions at the water-food-energy nexus. Currently, she studies growing duckweeds as a potential medium for nutrient recovery ...

In this episode of SDGTalks I invite on Alison Lomax, the director of the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, to discuss marine mammal conservation in the west coast of Scotland (https://hwdt.org/). Alison outlines the trust’s approach to conservation through citizen science and the engagement of the wider public in the support of sighting and tracking. The conversation is close to me, as I plan to set out on an adventure race to fundraise for the charity in August of next year. (https://www.yout...

Camila Olmedo Mendez is passionate about how humans can activate their personal capabilities to alter the status quo and drive sustainable change. Camila is the co-founder of START, a volunteer organization that seeks to equip youth to create impact projects and collaborate with volunteering. Camila has been very active on different platforms such as Unleash, the Unschool School of Disruptive Design, Resolution Project, and One Young World. In this SDG Talks, we will learn about her work with fa...

What does innovation in the water sector mean? How do you "actually" innovate? In this SDG Talks podcast, we are honored to have Barry Liner discuss the different obstacles and opportunities around innovation in the water sector. We will cover some of his biggest successes, failures, and messages to fellow Water-Prenuers out there! Barry Liner is the Chief Technical Officer of the Water Environment Federation. Barry's passion for sustainable development was truly ignited when he spent 2003 worki...

Why is proper nutrition so important? How can we spread this education to those across Kenya and the world? In this episode of the SDG Talks Podcast, you will hear from Maureen Muketha who is a nutritionist that is passionate about Sustainable Development Goal 2 - Zero Hunger. Maureen is the founder of Tule Vyema - Swahili word for ‘Let’s Eat Right’. Tule Vyema is an organization that raises awareness of proper feeding practices in communities so as to eliminate malnutrition incidences which are...

Voted as a top Indian purpose-driven leader, Pratik Gauri is a serial social entrepreneur, investor, public speaker, and writer committed to making the world a better place by creating the 5th Industrial Revolution through servant-driven leadership. Pratik works for the 5th element group who is helping to facilitate this 5th industrial Revolution. They work with brands to amplify brands their brand warmth by unlocking millions of dollars for social causes using shared languages of the United ...

What does renewable energy actually mean and what are the different types? How can individuals, businesses, and governments play a role to adopt more renewable energy sources? In this episode, you will hear from Assmaa Almaairgy (also known as Sam). Sam is a 27-year-old environmentalist and blogger from Egypt who founded her company 6 years ago. Her company, Earthava, strives to inform people about environmental concerns and to guide them to a greener living lifestyle. To learn more about Sam’s ...

Thiago Jesus is a senior project manager at People’s Palace Projects, an arts organisation based at Queen Mary University of London, working on cross-cultural initiatives between Brazil and the UK. One of his current projects is an ongoing programme of artistic residencies for cultural preservation at the Kuikuro indigenous territory in the Xingu, Amazon region. Since its start, Thiago has produced 3 expeditions to the region, a BBC World Service radio documentary and various exhibitions includi...

The youth can change the world! Since a very young age, Yasmin has been involved in social impact and worked along other young people in issues ranging from homelessness and human trafficking to the refugee crisis and human rights education. She deeply believes in the power of youth to create change and believes with the right tools; the youth can play a significant role in changing the world. In this podcast we will discuss different tools that people can leverage, especially the Global Change ...

In this episode of SDGTalks, Simran Nanwani talks about her own experimentation with fad diets and the need for understanding the needs of your body on a deeper level to ensure you are giving it what it needs. Understanding your body includes being selective with what you eat, mindful about how that food affects you and then following up with a good look at your poop to make sure nothing is wrong! You can check out her food blog here: https://www.instagram.com/thehealthynutr/ Linkedin: https://w...

PFAS in the water is a common news headline that we see today. But what does PFAS in the water actually mean? In this SDG Talks, you will hear from Chris Olivares who is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California Berkeley working on chemical treatment of PFAS and their impact on microorganisms for pollutant clean up. His research surround how microbes and pollutants interact with climate changes impacts and what it means for guaranteeing equitable access to safe water. Chris Lin...