In this moving conversation, we explore what happens when a childhood spent surviving the streets becomes the blueprint for a life's work. Wycliffe Barasa, CEO and co-founder of Kosi Africa, joins us to discuss how loss, a grandmother's wisdom, and the pain of being overlooked shaped a youth-led organization dedicated to empowering communities through education, mentorship, and the environment.

From being labeled a "curse" after losing his parents, to living on the streets of Uganda from age five to twelve, where street children weren't even counted in the national census, Wycliffe shares how reuniting with his grandmother changed everything. She taught him about resilience, impact, and inspired the name for Kosi Africa. Kosi means "go."

We dig into Kosi Africa's approach of working with communities rather than for them, from resource auditing in schools to EduGreen, a project where students raise and sell indigenous tree seedlings to fund scholarships. Wycliffe also reflects on failure as fuel for creativity, and the extraordinary act of forgiving the man who shot his father, then putting that man's children through school. Whether you're drawn to stories of resilience or the future of education, this episode shows why a candle loses nothing by lighting another.

Topics covered: youth education in Africa, prevention over cure in social impact, community-led design, mentorship and leadership, failure and creativity, forgiveness and healing, and sustainable models for nonprofit funding.

More about Wycliffe:
Kosi Africa Website: https://www.kosiafrica.org/
Wycliffe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wycliffe-barasa/

Learn more about the show: https://www.cjfpodcast.com/

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In this candid conversation, we explore what happens when a design professor decides real change requires stepping outside the university. Jiwon Park, founder and CEO of SAIB & Co., joins us to discuss how a classroom experience forced a re-evaluation of her cultural bias and sparked a product idea to empower women, and dismantle sexual stigma in South Korea.

From growing up in a conservative, patriarchal society in South Korea, where sexual naivety was taught as a virtue for a "good girl," to becoming a design professor at the University of Texas at Austin, Jiwon shares how a student's condom-based art installation became the unexpected spark for SAIB, and why she believes the real solution to women's sexual health isn't just information, but empowerment.

We dig into what it took to launch a condom brand in a country with one of the lowest female condom-purchase rates in the world, the misogyny and online harassment she faced as a controversial founder thrust into the public eye, and how SAIB had to build an entirely new customer by educating women before it could sell them anything. Whether you're drawn to stories of reinvention or the future of women's health, this episode challenges you to rethink who gets to talk about sex.

Topics covered: femtech and sexual wellness, cultural taboo and stigma, entrepreneurship under conservative social norms, online harassment and resilience, design as a tool for social change, and building a market from scratch.

More about Jiwon:
SAIB & Co. Website: https://www.saib.co/
Jiwon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parkjiwon/

Learn more about the show: https://www.cjfpodcast.com/

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Creativity is the Job of the Future on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/creativity-is-the-job-of-the-future/
Doreen Lorenzo LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doreenlorenzo/
Michael Baker LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mlchaelbaker/

In this eye-opening discussion, we explore what happens when access to opportunity is treated as a birthright instead of a privilege. Umaimah Mendhro, founder and president of One League, joins us to discuss how a childhood spent in exile led her to rebuild access to elite education from the ground up.

From fleeing a military coup in Pakistan as a toddler, to growing up in a village that doesn't appear on any map, to Cornell and Harvard Business School, Umaimah shares how nearly failing out of Harvard sent her back to build a school in her father's village first, and why she believes education, not talent, is the real bottleneck to opportunity.

We dig into what it took to convince Harvard's outgoing dean to hand over the entire MBA curriculum, the risk of reinforcing the very privilege the institution was built to break, and what changes when the people solving the world's hardest problems have actually lived them. Whether you're drawn to stories of reinvention or the future of higher education, this episode challenges you to rethink who gets a seat at the table.

Topics covered: exile and displacement, access to elite education, entrepreneurship, building institutions from scratch, generative AI in the Global South, community-rooted leadership, and redefining who gets to be a change-maker.

More about Umaimah:
One League Website: https://one-league.org/
Umaimah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/umaimah/

Learn more about the show: https://www.cjfpodcast.com/

Follow us:
Creativity is the Job of the Future on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/creativity-is-the-job-of-the-future/
Doreen Lorenzo LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doreenlorenzo/
Michael Baker LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mlchaelbaker/