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We sit down with Jacob Kirchner, senior strategic advisor for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Washington, DC, to unpack what neutral humanitarian work really looks like in modern wars. We connect the ICRC’s principles and legal mandate to overlooked crises like Sudan and to the human need for dignity, closure, and peace.
• Jacob’s path from Rotary World Peace Fellow to the ICRC
• What the ICRC does that most people never see, including forensics and support for dignified burials
• How the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is structured across national societies, the federation, and the ICRC
• Why neutrality, impartiality, and independence shape every decision
• How the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law guide the work
• Sudan’s conflict, mass displacement, and the real meaning of the cost of inaction
• Other urgent crises that rarely stay in the headlines
• How the ICRC works around sensitive perceptions while staying transparent
• Visiting prisoners of war and helping resolve missing-person cases over decades
• How helpers keep going, finding purpose and solidarity in difficult work
If you have somebody that you think would be an absolute amazing guest, please let me know. Rotarianpod at gmail.com. Of course, tell all your friends and neighbors to get the podcast wherever you get your podcast.

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APRIL ENCORE SHOW: Can we find Peace though music? Can we find understanding? Can music be a bridge to understanding the world we live in...why not. This week meet Rotarian Peace Fellow Diego Carneiro,as we ask some of these questions and more.

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Soccer becomes a practical pathway to peace when we pair skills training with family-focused lessons on respect, safety, and belonging. Ron and Marcos share how a “Soccer Plus” model that began in 1994 now scales through Rotary to serve kids from Cabo San Lucas to communities across Africa.

• defining Harmony Through Soccer as peace building through football
• tracing the origin story from Boy Scouts outreach in 1994
• using soccer as a universal entryway into families and communities
• combining a skills clinic with social emotional learning and parent engagement
• focusing on anti-bullying, gang prevention, good citizenship, and healthy families
• connecting the program to Rotary’s Four-Way Test and areas of focus
• designing a model that is inclusive, local, measurable, and easy to replicate
• planning partnerships, funding paths, and safe delivery with youth protection

You can head over to YouTube and you can go to the Action to Impact Podcast Videocast.
If you're interested in helping the keep the shows strong, do check out uh my buzz route.
And last, if you have somebody that would be great on the show from anywhere in the world who is turning their actions into impact, let me know. RotarianPod at gmail.com.

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We meet four first-time district governors stepping into leadership across the Northeast and hear what they want clubs to feel when the year is done. Then we check back in with the outgoing “delinquents” to learn what their big swing for change actually looked like after twelve exhausting months.

• introducing the incoming district governors and what they represent for 2026-2027
• what “doing it right” means as a district governor and why availability matters
• how to follow a high-energy leadership year without copying it
• making Rotary fun in a way that feels inclusive to non-Rotarians
• peacebuilding and conflict resolution as a district focus including a global grant
• youth programs that teach peace skills and create real cross-cultural contact
• leadership development and succession planning to widen the bench
• belonging and membership as the foundation for lasting community impact
• what the delinquents learned about authenticity, resistance, and showing up
• why strong team culture becomes the real safety net during hard weeks
• smile moments from the year including PolioPlus energy and large-scale service

If you're interested in having the show come to your block, your event, your club, your district conference, your assembly, or even your convention, let me know. Rotarianpod at gmail.com.
Check out the fabulous footage of this drop in the same day as this podcast, our YouTube channel has the Action to Impact Videocast on it.

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We hit the road to Northeast PELS and hand the mic to presidents-elect, district leaders, and longtime Rotarians who are stepping into big roles. The stories range from hilarious name-tag moments to serious talk on membership, global service, and leading from peace instead of chaos.
• Live voices from President-Elect Training and why it matters for Rotary leadership
• What assistant governors do and how districts keep tabs on club health
• Preparing for district leadership and building a team mentality
• A Haitian physician’s path into Rotary and what it means to have both received and given service
• Vocation, faith, and service above self as one integrated life
• Membership challenges, attendance culture, and why flexibility can strengthen engagement
• Balancing club traditions with needed change in long-established Rotary clubs
• Partnering with Kiwanis, Toastmasters, and other service organizations
• Global grants and international service projects including El Salvador and Ukraine support
• The leadership lesson that lands hardest: human beings, not human doings
Most importantly, I want you to remember that this whole thing is on YouTube. The Action to Impact YouTube channel. Check it out.
If you want me to hit your Pels next year, let me know. Rotarianpod at gmail.com.

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We get honest about why the arts feel easier to ignore than roads or schools and why that choice costs us empathy, creativity, and shared community life. Brian Rodolfo, president and CEO of The Cabot, explains how a historic theater stays open by blending commercial shows with mission-driven arts education, outreach, and affordable access.
• the arts as a tool for empathy, creativity, and collaboration across every field
• why arts funding gets politicized and how art “shines a light” on society
• when shocking art works and when it feels empty
• a practical definition of art as something that moves you and makes you think
• Brian’s career path from lighting design to programming to CEO
• The Cabot’s roots as a 1920 movie palace and vaudeville house
• curated movie nights and the power of a shared audience experience
• the economics of running a nonprofit community arts venue
• access programs including Vet Tix and Massachusetts EBT Card to Culture
• why big-name patronage looks quieter today and how smaller gifts add up
• arts and science connections including dementia, autism, and music therapy research
Check out the website. We’ve started a sponsorship program. It starts as easy as $3 a month, and it helps me get this show out there. If you’re interested in having the Action to Impact podcast and video cast come to your neck of the woods, be it your club, your assembly, your zone event, anything, Rotarianpod at gmail.com, message me. If you have somebody that you feel is turning their actions into impact, let me know. That same address, Rotarianpod at gmail.com.

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Encore Presentation — March

Join us for a special encore: an intimate conversation with Past RI President Gordon McInally, recorded before his term. Hear his vision to spotlight mental health and inspire global hope. Listen to Gordon McInally today on the podcast.

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We talk with Eduardo Tavar Lopez from the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project in Beverly about how new farmers get trained and why sustainable farming depends on real systems like land access, education, and distribution. We also connect the dots between organic standards, food literacy, and food security through New Entry’s incubator farm and Food Hub.

• New Entry’s origins through Tufts University and its evolution beyond refugee and immigrant farmer support
• Scholarships and training designed for new and beginning farmers
• How an incubator farm works and why a three-year runway matters
• What growers raise on the incubator plots and why vegetables dominate
• Hydroponics learning options through self-paced online courses
• What a food chemist does and how food science connects to farming
• Practical definitions of sustainable farming that include environmental and financial reality
• What organic certification means and why the transition period is costly
• How the Food Hub aggregates local produce for schools, senior centers, hospitals, and food pantries
• Mobile markets as a tool for food access and community reach
• Why farming is “surviving” and how land access limits the next generation
• Food literacy as a pathway to less waste and more respect for growers

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If you have a guest that I should know about rotarian.pod at gmail.com.

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Join me as I talk to those "amazing people turning their Actions 2 Impact all over the world. #BE THE CHANGE