The Impact Agenda Evelyn Howe and Elise Kratzer

We are thrilled to welcome Carol Spahn, Director of the Peace Corps, as our Season 3 of The Impact Agenda finale! Carol has been a leader in both the public and private sectors for over 25 years and has worked globally on a wide range of issues including women’s empowerment and small business development. 

Carol’s journey with the Peace Corps started in Romania from 1994 to 1996. Carol has engaged in several leadership roles in the Peace Corps since her time as volunteer, including chief of operations in the Africa Region, Chief Executive Officer and now she serves as Director of the Peace Corps. Learn about how Director Spahn’s leadership at Peace Corps successfully strikes the balance between impact, sustainability, and feasibility and why she believes the immersive inter-cultural experiences like the one that Peace Corps provides is more important than ever in our interconnected world. We learn about the importance of the Peace Corps work to building and maintaining strong relationships between the United States and over 60 countries. 

Join us as we chat about how the Peace Corps continues to innovate and evolve in an ever-global landscape and why the mission of the Peace Corps is absolutely central to today! 

1:38 - What was the story behind Carol’s decision to join the Peace Corps in Romania and what drove her to this unique experience?

4:44 - Reflecting on her time as a volunteer, what are some of the big lessons and takeaways that influence Carol’s perspective and her leadership today?

8:14 - Carol has worn multiple hats and roles throughout her career. What were the motivations behind each transition, especially the pivotal decision to take on the role as Director of the Peace Corps?

11:41 - What mindset, skills or qualities does Carol believe enable people to thrive in challenging environments? 

17:09 - How does Carol approach balancing impact and feasibility while scaling the Peace Corps?

21:11 - Why does Carol think that immersive, service based, cultural learning experiences, like the one that the Peace Corps provides, are pivotal in today's interconnected world?

24:50 - How is Carol ensuring that innovation remains at the heart of the Peace Corps mission, particularly after taking that break during the pandemic? And how is the Peace Corps innovating to meet new challenges and realities? 

30:31 - What are some of the innovations or objectives Carol has set for the Peace Corps to achieve in the coming years? 

31:39 - For individuals who are considering joining the Peace Corps, what advice does Carol have for them, whether that be skills, qualities, what to expect to have a meaningful and impactful experience?

33:42 - For those who are exploring alternatives, could Carol recommend any other programs or experiences that offer benefits similar to what the Peace Corps provides?

35:39 - Are there one or two things that Carol would like us to take away as lessons from your journey, integrating your passion or impact into her career?

We are thrilled to welcome Anne Tumlinson onto Season 3 of the podcast! Anne is the Founder and CEO of ATI Advisory (ATI), a rapidly growing national research and consulting firm dedicated to making healthcare work better for everyone. 

Join us as we discuss how Anne guides public and private healthcare leaders in solving the most complex problems in healthcare through objective research, deep expertise and bringing new ideas into action. Anne shares her fascinating path through working on Capitol Hill after college to Avalere Health, then to a venture turned non-profit Daughterhood, and finally to ATI Advisory.

We chat about the importance of bridging policy with industry in healthcare, and historical trends to explore the future of healthcare technology and policy! 

1:40 - How did Anne get started in her career and what have been the highlights in her career path?

12:25 - What was Anne’s experience working in the White House Budget Office and how did it influence her career?

23:40 - How and why did Anne start ATI Advisory?

30:53 - What are the big projects and clients that Anne is proud of working with under ATI Advisory? 

39:17 - What advice does Anne have for young people who want to work in the worlds of business and policy?

Join us for a conversation centered around the power of synthetic biology with Dan Davidi, a synthetic biology specialist with a Ph.D. in systems biology. Dan explains what synthetic biology is and its dynamic applications to solving for the climate change crisis.  

Dan has an extensive research and entrepreneurial portfolio, including work as the Associate Director of Synthetic Biology at Harvard, creative work at Amazon's moonshot factory with a ginormous budget, and at Aleph, the leading venture capital firm in Israel. He brings a wealth of experience in metabolic modeling, enzyme evolution, and systems biology.

Let’s dive into how Dan is tackling some of the world’s largest problems using synthetic biology, academic research, and entrepreneurial ventures! 

1:26 - How did Dan get started in his career and what have been the highlights in his career path?

13:07 - For people who are interested in pursuing a similar career to Dan, what are topics or problems that Dan would recommend focusing on?

18:53 - What was Dan’s experience helping to create the Harvard Synthetic Biology Center and how did that differ from working at Amazon’s Moonshot Factory? 

30:21 - How does Dan approach bridging his scientific background and ability to build scalable business?

33:48 - What are startups that Dan is mentoring in Aleph that he’s excited about?

38:54 - Are there one or two things that Dan would like us to take away as lessons from your journey, integrating your passion or impact into her career?

Join us for an exciting conversation with Christine Keung! Christine has had varied experiences in local and federal government, in tech companies including Dropbox and Figma, and in investment roles at Bridgewater Associates, Atomic VC, and a single family office. 

Christine is also a U.S. Department of State Fulbright Scholar, Tech Policy fellow at the Aspen Institute, and a member of Schmidt Futures’ International Strategy Forum. She just recently raised her first fund as a General Partner at J2 Ventures with the goal of bringing better tech into government!

Join us to hear about Christine’s takeaways from working at the intersection of tech and policy, her focus on following your curiosity, and how individuals of any age can make a difference in the vast and ever changing tech industry! 

1:34 - How was Christine thinking about careers as she was exiting college and how did she decide to work for startups like Dropbox? 

4:41 - What advice does Christine have for people who are navigating careers straight out of undergrad?

9:31 - What is the impact one can make at technology companies  and how does Christine look at tech as a lens for impact in general?

16:44 - How did Christine go into a public sector role (COVID 19 task force within the U. S. Small Business Administration) and why is this role is significant for her?

25:54 -  What impact did Christine make in her role as Chief Data Officer of the city of San Jose, and what was the impact that this role had on her career trajectory?

30:17 - How does Christine navigate switching between working in the public and private sectors? 

31:56 - What does Christine do as a partner of J2 Ventures and what tech investments is she excited about?

39:34 - What advice does Christine have for people wanting to work at the intersection of tech and government?

42:56 - Are there one or two things that Christine would like us to take away as lessons from your journey, integrating your passion or impact into her career?

Tune into another episode of The Impact Agenda with two special guests, Rob Romero and Kristin Hansen, the forces behind Civic Health Project (CHP). CHP is dedicated to accelerating the efforts of academics and practitioners who seek to reduce polarization and improve civil discourse. Rob and Kristin co-founded CHP following the 2016 presidential election and they are passionate advocates for research, insights, and tools that help human behavior. Rob is also an investor in emerging growth companies through leading as the CEO of Connective Capital and Kristin teaches at the Stanford Graduate School of Business among many other side projects for both of them. 

Their work grapples with biases, social media, and democracy with the end goal of getting all three to “play better” together, reducing the corrosive forces of polarization. We chat about CHP’s theory of change, the academic research on political polarization, and why polarization has risen to its current levels.

Join us for this incredibly timely and important conversation surrounding Civic Health Project’s initiatives and grants to combat political polarization in the United States, especially ahead of the 2024 elections!

2:18 - How did Rob and Kristin meet and how did the Civic Health Project come about?

9:04 - What are these factors that have made polarization such a huge issue in the U. S. And how are these factors kind of evolving post the 2016 election? 

12:10 - What exactly is the mission of Civic Health Project, and what are the different types of work that they are doing?

16:56 - Given that Rob and Kristin both have worked in the private & public sphere, what do they believe the differences are in the roles that these stakeholders play in solving political polarization?

21:30 - What are the unique strategies that Civic Health Project grantees are taking to creatively combat political polarization?

34:13 - How does the Civic Health Project evaluate the impact they are making?

37:38 - How is the Civic Health Project working and adapting to the upcoming 2024 elections?41:20 - What skills and qualities would they encourage students who are interested in pursuing similar career paths to cultivate if they want to go into this work of strengthening democracies in the U. S. or abroad?

Today we have the pleasure of hosting Heidi Patel, a Managing Partner at Rethink Impact, the largest U.S.-based venture capital firm investing in female and non-binary leaders using tech to solve the world’s biggest problems. Heidi also teaches and co-created a course on impact investing at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and she serves on the Investment Committee for the Stanford GSB Student Impact Fund.

During our conversation, Heidi unveils Rethink Impact's unique approach to impact investing. Rather than viewing it as just another piece of a diversified portfolio, she presents a compelling case for making it the very essence of investment decisions. She passionately advocates for the importance of backing diverse founders who are not only striving for financial success but also driving meaningful change in society. We delve into the intricacies of impact investing, dissecting its distinctions from ESG and other buzzworthy investment strategies.

Join us as we chat about Heidi’s work in the classroom and at her fund creating investments in health, economic empowerment, environmental sustainability and so much more, with an impact lens at the forefront of it all!  



1:36 - What are the major milestones of Heidi’s career?

5:10 - How does Rethink Impact look at impact in investments and how do they measure it? 

7:12 - What was Heidi’s experience being an Acumen Fund Global Fellow in India?

11:03 - What skills and experience would Heidi recommend to people who are interested in impact investing to cultivate?

14:53 - What are Heidi’s favorite or most important recent investments?

22:03 - What were the big lessons Heidi learned from founding her venture Rethink Impact?

26:02 - What are the main takeaways from the course that Heidi co created and teaches on impact investing at the Stanford GSB?

30:18 - What are the different paths that students have pursued after taking Heidi’s course?

33:30 - Why does Heidi think that people should consider business school and how to go about making the most of their time there?

36:12 - What advice does Heidi have people who want to follow a similar career path to hers? 

40:27 - Are there one or two things that Heidi would like us to take away as lessons from your journey, integrating your passion or impact into her career?