Evelyn Acham asks: “Who’s willing to stand in the gap?”

In this season 3 episode 12 of Katy Hansell: The Impact Whisperer® podcast, Host Katy Hansell speaks with Guest Evelyn Acham, a climate justice and climate finance activist from Kampala, Uganda, about how communities on the front lines of climate change are responding with practical solutions and political pressure.

Evelyn Acham is the Founder of the Plus One Tree Project, Co-Founder of the Agape Earth Coalition, and a national leader of the Rise Up Movement. Her work focuses on climate education, grassroots organizing, food security, environmental restoration, youth leadership, and climate adaptation finance for communities in Africa and the Global South.

We discuss how climate justice, local knowledge, and accountability to promised climate finance all connect—especially for African and Global South communities that contribute least to emissions but face the greatest harm.

Evelyn Acham explains how Climate finance includes: adaptation finance to promote climate resilience; reparations from the Global North; loss and damage finance. She also shares a valuable blueprint for how to create a local movement and transform it to become a national and then international movement, giving voice to the cause at COP globally.

Climate justice requires more than promises from international institutions. It requires education, accountability, investment in adaptation, and meaningful leadership from the communities most affected by the crisis. Evelyn’s work demonstrates how one local idea can grow into a broader movement for environmental restoration, food security, and global equity.

Creator/ Host Katy Hansell, aka The Impact Whisperer®, is a globally recognized (Top 10), award-winning expert impact coach, strategic advisor to founders, and Board Director, known for guiding 500+ clients across 3 continents to make the impact they care about.

Our podcast, Katy Hansell, aka The Impact Whisperer® podcast, features top global voices, established and emerging Gen-Z leaders, who share how they advocate and activate for the people, causes, and communities that have captured their hearts. Please subscribe and check out Evelyn Acham's full episode! Thank you. Chapters:(00:00) Introduction to Evelyn Acham(02:39) Evelyn’s Moment of Impact(05:28) How Fruit Trees Can Create Jobs, Food Security and Climate Resilience(09:12) Why Climate Change Is a Justice Issue for Africa(13:09) Climate Disinformation and the Fight Over Fossil Fuels(14:54) What Indigenous Communities Can Teach Us About Climate Adaptation(18:02) From Her Grandfather’s Trees to the One Tree Project(21:54) Why Africa Needs Adaptation Finance, Not Just Mitigation(23:39) Is the Green Transition Creating a New Era of Colonialism?(30:48) What Effective Climate Adaptation Looks Like on the Ground(34:17) Why Africa’s Climate Plans Aren’t Getting the Funding They Need(38:00) Taking Grassroots Stories to Global Leaders(42:04) Bringing African Climate Stories to Europe(46:04) Building International Solidarity Before COP29(47:53) “We Are Not Giving Up”: Evelyn’s Climate Advocacy Strategy(50:48) Climate Resilience in Action: Water, Food and Agriculture(01:00:04) How Evelyn’s Faith Sustains Her

What happens when one of America's most efficient agencies, US AID, dedicated to providing foreign assistance and international development to countries around the world, is dismantled by a set of political appointees, DOGE, Elon Musk, and the second Trump Administration?

The answer is that 750K people die in the year since Inauguration Day, January 20 2025, when President Trump took office and issued a series of Executive Orders, including EO 14169 which issued a freeze on all foreign assistance.

In his compelling and NY Times best-selling book, "Into The Wood Chipper: A Whistleblower's Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID", author Nicholas Enrich provides a day-by-day timeline of what unfolded in a critical 42 day period from January 20 2025 to March 2 2025.

In this season 3 episode 11 of Katy Hansell: The Impact Whisperer® podcast, Nicholas Enrich shares the chaos and cruelty that led to the effective end of US AID by a set of a few people who had no idea what lifesaving work US AID actually did until they had actively begun gutting it. It leads up to why Nicholas Enrich felt he had no choice but to release a series of memos documenting what the administration had done to US AID and the projected impacts for people around the world that had relied on US AID, an agency that had saved 92 Million Lives over two decades.

Prior to being put on leave on March 2 2025, Nicholas Enrich served as Acting Assistant Administrator of Global Health at US AID and had served under 4 presidential administrations.

Creator/ Host Katy Hansell, aka The Impact Whisperer®, is a globally recognized (Top 10), award-winning expert impact coach, strategic advisor to founders, and Board Director, known for guiding 500+ clients over 3 continents to make the impact they care about.

Our podcast features top global voices, established and emerging Gen-Z leaders, who share how they advocate and activate for the people, causes, and communities that have captured their hearts.

Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction to Nicholas Enrich(03:24) Nicholas’s Moment of Impact(07:27) From Kenya to USAID: Finding a Career in Global Health(10:18) Debunking Myths About USAID & Foreign Aid(14:45) What USAID Actually Does Around the World(17:51) How Foreign Aid Shapes America's Global Reputation(19:03) Project 2025 & the Push to Dismantle USAID(21:58) How DOGE Took Aim at USAID(26:36) Day One: Trump's Executive Order Freezes Foreign Aid(31:27) Why USAID Staff Were Silenced(37:55) What Happened On Day Nine(40:52) Inside the Fight to Restart Life-Saving Programs(46:39) The Emotional Final Days at USAID(51:27) Why Nicholas Enrich Became a Whistleblower(54:49) The Memos That Documented the Destruction of USAID(58:43) Why Nicholas's Book Resonated With Americans(01:05:37) What Remains of U.S. Foreign Aid?(01:09:05) The Human Cost of Dismantling USAID(01:11:05) What Gives Nicholas Enrich Hope?(01:12:29) Closing Thoughts

Have you ever thought about living or working abroad? Considered joining an early stage start-up? Wondered if it makes sense to pursue graduate education in the age of AI?

If so, we have a great podcast conversation for you that covers all these topics and more! In this season 3 episode 10 of Katy Hansell: The Impact Whisperer® podcast, High Growth Start-Up Builder & Operator, Everett Cedarholm shares the through line behind his career: a lifelong love of building things, from mechanical engineering and tinkering as a kid to consulting, startup operations, and assuming leadership roles at hyper-growth start-up Shipper in Indonesia.

This podcast conversation follows how he moved from advising to doing, why he chose an emerging markets startup, what he learned about scaling teams, processes, and profitability, and why he is now seeking roles in Industrial tech companies leveraging AI.We also discuss why MBA programs need to treat AI as a core skill rather than an elective, what it means to become a power user, and why the current moment is especially exciting for builders.

Everett holds an MBA from INSEAD and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Duke University. He has professional experience with Accenture, was an Alter Fellow, and held several leadership roles at Shipper, based in Jakarta.

Creator/ Host Katy Hansell aka The Impact Whisperer®, is a globally recognized (Top 10), award-winning expert impact coach, strategic advisor to founders, and Board Director, known for guiding 500+ clients across 3 continents to make the impact they care about.

Check out our podcast up on all the pod platforms and well into season 3, Katy Hansell: The Impact Whisperer® podcast! We feature top global voices, established and emerging Gen-Z leaders who share how they advocate and activate for the people, causes, and communities that have captured their hearts!

Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction to Everett Cedarholm

(02:45) Everett’s Moment of Impact

(05:45) From Consulting to Building: Finding Work That Feels Meaningful

(08:12) How Mechanical Engineering Shaped Everett's Career

(11:17) Why Everett Wanted to Work Abroad

(13:10) What Is the Alter Global Fellowship?

(15:30) Landing in Jakarta: What Happened on Day One?

(18:10) Adjusting to Life in Jakarta & Indonesia's Startup Scene

(20:06) Shipper: Building a Logistics Startup in Indonesia

(25:07) What Is Third-Party Logistics?

(27:17) Scaling Shipper: Creating Structure From Chaos

(29:37) From Six Months to a Startup Career

(35:27) Making a Fast-Growing Startup Profitable

(36:36) Lessons From Working Abroad & Scaling a Startup (40:56) The Motorcycle Trip Across Indonesia

(43:42) Is an MBA Worth It in the Age of AI?

(45:36) Why Is AI Still an Elective in Business School?

(48:44) How to Actually Learn & Build With AI

(50:05) What Gives Everett Hope?

(51:27) Closing Remarks

In this season 3 episode 9 of Katy Hansell: The Impact Whisperer® podcast, Creator/ Host Katy Hansell sits down with Professor Amanda Randles, Director of the Duke Center for Computational and Digital Health Innovation and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University, to explore how supercomputing, AI, and digital twins are transforming healthcare from reactive to proactive.

Amanda shares the story of how her career began at IBM working on the Blue Gene supercomputer sparked a realization: she wanted to use supercomputers to solve human health problems. That pivot led her from computer science and physics into interdisciplinary research spanning bioinformatics, fluid dynamics, applied physics, and biomedical engineering.

A major focus of the conversation is Amanda’s pioneering work in hemodynamic modeling—simulating blood flow through the human circulatory system. She explains how her lab moved from modeling a single heartbeat to creating the Randles Lab longitudinal hemodynamic mapping framework (LHMF), that can now model weeks of blood flow activity, opening the door to new biomarkers.

The episode explores what a vascular digital twin is: a virtual, continuously updated model of a patient’s body informed by imaging, wearables, and other sensor data. Amanda describes how this approach can help clinicians find disease earlier, track progression in real time, and test treatment options before ever stepping into the operating room.

Katy and Amanda discuss the technologies powering this work, including HARVEY, the Randles Lab high-performance computing platform that runs large-scale fluid simulations, and Harvis, the extended reality interface that helps clinicians visualize and interact with complex 3D blood flow data. They also discuss HarVI the machine learning layer that lets doctors rapidly test “what if” surgical scenarios and see immediate predicted outcomes.

Amanda explains how AI is accelerating nearly every stage of the workflow—from automated image segmentation to biomarker discovery—and how her center is bringing together researchers across cardiovascular disease, neurosurgery, rehabilitation, cognition, and more to build a broader digital twin of the human body.

Creator/ Host Katy Hansell, aka The Impact Whisperer®, is a globally recognized (Top 10), award-winning expert impact coach, strategic advisor to founders, and Board Director, known for guiding 500+ clients across 3 continents to make the impact they care about. We feature top global voices, established and emerging Gen-Z leaders, who share how they advocate and activate for the people, causes, and communities that have captured their hearts!

Closing thought: This episode offers a compelling look at how computing power, AI, and human-centered design are converging to make healthcare more personalized, predictive, and empowering.Chapters(00:00) Introduction to Amanda Randles, Ph.D. (03:16) Amanda's Moment of Impact(05:18) From Computer Science to Healthcare: Finding Her Path(08:44) Building an Interdisciplinary Career in Computing & Medicine(14:43) Can Technology Make Healthcare Proactive?(16:13) Amanda's Vision: Find, Track & Treat Disease(18:13) Using Fluid Dynamics to Predict Disease(20:35) Building 3D Models of the Human Heart(25:54) Digital Twins: The Future of Personalized Medicine(29:58) The Computing Power Behind Medical Digital Twins(33:50) Making Medical Simulations Faster & More Efficient(36:47) What Data Goes Into a Digital Twin?(42:19) Making Medical Data Easier to Understand(45:05) Could Doctors Test Surgeries Virtually First?(48:33) How AI Is Transforming Medical Digital Twins(54:08) Connecting Science, Technology & Healthcare(57:22) What Brings Amanda Hope(59:04) Closing Remarks

Michelle Okere, MBA, CFRE is a distinguished Métis-Cree leader with roots in the Red River Settlement in Manitoba and Fort Belknap Indian Reserve in Montana. Michelle currently serves as the Executive Director of The Indigenous Prosperity Foundation (IPF). In this video from season 3 episode 8 of Katy Hansell: The Impact Whisperer® podcast, Michelle Okere shares how IPF is helping Indigenous women, youth, and early stage entrepreneurs access financial literacy, mentorship, grants, and capital across Canada.

The conversation also goes deep on colonial barriers to wealth creation, why economic reconciliation is a rights issue, and how Indigenous-led design creates stronger programs and stronger communities.

We discuss Michelle’s personal path, the founding and scaling of IPF, and the practical ways the organization works with Indigenous Financial Institutions, mentors, and community partners to support entrepreneurs from idea to investment readiness.

Creator/ Host Katy Hansell, aka The Impact Whisperer®, is a globally recognized (Top 10), award-winning expert impact coach, strategic advisor to founders, and Board Director, known for guiding 500+ organizations across 3 continents to make the impact they care about.

Key topics:

In this episode, Michelle explains how her passion for Indigenous entrepreneurship led to her role as executive director of the Indigenous Prosperity Foundation.

She shares how her upbringing as Métis-Cree in Saskatchewan shaped her leadership style, resilience, and understanding of unequal opportunity.

We discuss the long-term economic effects of colonial policies, including land dispossession, disenfranchisement, and barriers to home ownership and wealth transfer.

Michelle breaks down why economic reconciliation is not charity, but a rights issue and a major economic opportunity for Canada.

She outlines the main barriers Indigenous women and youth face in business: capital access, networks, mentorship, digital infrastructure, and culturally relevant support.

We talk about how Indigenous entrepreneurs often lead with community, seven-generation thinking, food security, language revitalization, and stewardship rather than profit alone.

Michelle describes how IPF was built from scratch, including early-stage infrastructure gaps, fundraising, and the significance of an early grant from Mastercard Foundation.

She explains IPF’s role in the ecosystem alongside NACCA and Indigenous Financial Institutions, especially around capacity building and loan readiness.

We discuss the Walking Together tour, which gathers direct community input from elders, nation representatives, and entrepreneurs.

Michelle shares how IPF's "Launchpad" program combines self-directed learning, Indigenous mentors, cohorts, grant funding, and pitch readiness.

Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction to Michelle Okere

(03:22) Michelle's Moment of Impact

(06:52) Growing Up in Saskatchewan: Experiences That Shaped Michelle's Leadership

(12:34) How Colonialism Still Shapes Indigenous Economic Opportunity Today

(15:59) The Barriers Facing Indigenous Women & Youth Entrepreneurs in Canada

(19:10) Why Community Impact & Sustainability Are Built Into Indigenous Business

(25:06) How Indigenous Financial Institutions Are Breaking Down Barriers to Capital

(30:37) Inside the Indigenous Prosperity Foundation & IPF "Launchpad" program

(38:24) Money Smarts: Teaching Financial Literacy Through an Indigenous Worldview

(49:15) Michelle's Leadership Lessons From Building an Organization From Scratch

(57:15) How You Can Support Indigenous Entrepreneurs

(01:00:30) What Gives Michelle Hope

(01:01:58) Closing Thoughts

Do you realize that Nature heals itself when humans step out of the way?

Professor Thomas Crowther explains how the ancient feedback loops that drove Earth's creation are the very same ones that can heal Earth, by restoring biodiversity and regenerating nature.

All that is required is that we allow the natural conditions to return and regenerate, without humans interrupting them through extraction, deforestation, or by creating monocultures.

Tom shares how feedback loops work with a personal story when he was bitten by a tropical snake in Honduras and hearing it had lethal venom, his brain created the symptoms of numbness and limpness.

A feedback loop starts small. Then it reinforces itself. The more we fear, the more we act from fear. The more we act from fear, the more the fear grows. The same thing happens in nature. More life changes the environment. That new environment allows more life. And suddenly the whole system starts compounding.

This is why Tom says restoration is not about forcing nature back. It is about creating conditions where nature can recover on its own. Take the example Tom shares of Desta's Coffee, a farmer in Ethiopia growing coffee under the rainforest canopy. Better coffee. Less fertilizer. Healthier forest. One good loop starts another.

That is the part I can’t stop thinking about. What if the real work is not fighting nature? What if it is helping the right feedback loops take hold? THE BEST PART IS that Tom and his team have founded @RestorEco which is a free online tool used by hundreds of thousands of people across the world to share information to enable the restoration of biodiversity and the regenerative loops to take hold uninterrupted by negative human intervention.

This conversation is from season 3 episode 7 of Katy Hansell: The Impact Whisperer® podcast "Restoring Biodiversity & Embracing Regeneration with Prof. Thomas Crowther, Ph.D." on all the pod platforms. Links in Comments. Be sure to listen because some howler monkeys from Costa Rica make the sound track!!

Creator/ Host Katy Hansell, aka The Impact Whisperer® podcast, is a globally recognized (Top 10), award-winning expert impact coach, strategic advisor to founders, and Board Director, known for guiding 500+ organizations across 3 continents to make the impact they care about.

Please share with someone who cares about Mother Earth and Mother Nature and wants our planet to heal OR someone who loves the song of howler monkeys as much as we do :)! LOL.

Please subscribe so you don't miss any top global voices sharing how they activate and advocate for the people, causes, and communities that have captured their hearts!

Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction to Thomas Crowther

(03:10) Thomas’s Moment of Impact

(07:19) The Idea of Feedback Loops Related to Climate Change

(15:04) Why Hope Is More Powerful Than Fear

(20:02) The Hidden Force That Shapes Human Behavior

(24:38) The Secret Intelligence of Forests

(29:25) Nature's Invisible Feedback Loops Explained

(34:25) The Surprising Science Behind Ecosystem Recovery

(38:19) Why Restoring Nature Beats Protecting It

(43:40) The Startup Trying to Rebuild the Planet

(47:31) How AI & Technology Could Save Ecosystems

(52:49) Can Reforestation Actually Fight Poverty?

(55:53) Why Thomas Is Optimistic About Earth's Future

(59:52) What Gives Thomas Hope?

(01:00:56) Closing Remarks

#biodiversity #nature #regeneration #environment

In this Season 3 Episode 6 of Katy Hansell: The Impact Whisperer® podcast, guest Shontra Powell, a seasoned corporate leader and podcaster/author of "Proven Not Perfect"™, shares her inspiring journey of courage, purpose, and self-acceptance that will empower you to lead with confidence and grace.

Our conversation explores how ambitious women leaders can navigate the complex path of purpose-driven success without sacrificing their authenticity or well-being.

Creator/ Host Katy Hansell, aka The Impact Whisperer®, is a globally recognized (Top 10), award-winning expert impact coach, strategic advisor to founders, and Board Director, known for guiding 500+ organizations across 3 continents to make the impact they care about.

Key topics covered:

• The defining moment of impact that reshaped Shontra's outlook on life and leadership
• The importance of aligning personal values with professional pursuits
• How to embrace vulnerability and humility as powerful leadership tools
• The myth of perfection—who truly benefits from striving for flawlessness?
• Building resilience through fortitude and course correction during setbacks
• The role of spiritual connection and purpose as anchors in leadership
• How to cultivate inspiration and confidence in everyday moments
• Practical strategies for balancing ambition, family, and self-care
• The transformative power of community, kindness, and hope in leadership journeys

Please share this with an aspiring leader who will find it inspiring and informative. We would love you to subscribe so you don't miss any top global voices who are sharing how they activate and advocate for the people, causes, and communities that have captured their hearts.

Chapters:

• (00:00) Introduction to Shontra Powell
• (03:37) Shontra’s Moment of Impact
• (08:49) Choosing Family Over Corporate Success
• (10:08) The Unexpected Ripple Effect of Courage
• (11:34) Listening to Your Inner Calling
• (13:30) Success, Ambition & The Hidden Trade-Offs
• (16:21) The Multi-Facets of Womanhood
• (17:36) What Purpose-Driven Leadership Really Means
• (18:36) Discovering Your Calling
• (23:27) Leading With Values Instead of Perfection
• (27:24) Practical Habits for Intentional Leadership
• (30:15) Overcoming Perfectionism & Self-Doubt
• (33:34) Building a Sustainable Leadership Mindset
• (39:07) Success Without Sacrificing Yourself
• (42:35) Humility and Living With Purpose Every Day
• (48:18) What Gives Shontra Hope
• (50:15) Closing Thoughts

Leadership, Innovation, and Resilience: Insights from President & CEO of John Clements Consultants, Inc., Carol Dominguez

Carol Dominguez cared so much about preserving the opportunities built in her father's company, John Clements Consultants, Inc. of The Philippines that upon the news of his sudden passing, Carol sacrificed personally and professionally to save her family's global business...and ended up scaling and sustaining it way beyond its original design as its President and CEO for many decades.

Discover how Carol Dominguez transformed her career and business amidst personal tragedy and industry shifts. This episode highlights the power of agility, technological foresight, and authentic leadership in navigating transformational disruption and growth. Carol shares how she led her global enterprise through multiple pivots with business model and technological adaptation.

Creator/ Host Katy Hansell, aka The Impact Whisperer®, is a globally recognized (Top 10), award-winning expert impact coach, strategic advisor to founders, and Board Director, known for guiding 500+ clients across 3 continents to make the impact they care about.

Main Topics:

• The personal and professional impact of unexpected loss and taking over a family business
• Strategic pivots: from staffing to BPO call centers, leadership development, and AI integration
• Building a resilient and innovative leadership culture
• The importance of continuous learning, networking, and self-reinvention
• Navigating AI adoption, governance, and organizational change

Be sure to share this episode with a leader who can leverage Carol's insightful lessons about how to lead a global enterprise through successive eras of pivoting and adaptation. Please subscribe so you don't miss any top global voices sharing how they activate and advocate for the people, causes, and communities that have captured their hearts.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Carol Dominguez

02:26 Carol’s Moment of Impact

04:48 Leaving a Global Career for the Family Business

10:05 The First Year: Grief, Pressure & Responsibility

15:25 Growing Beyond Executive Search

17:56 Seeing the BPO Opportunity Before Everyone Else

20:30 Turning the Philippines Into a Global Talent Hub

27:57 Building a Strong Leadership Culture

30:07 Hiring for Potential, Not Just Experience

32:55 How AI Is Reshaping Recruiting

35:06 The Skills That Will Matter Most in the AI Era

39:15 Advice for Future Business Leaders

41:48 Leading Through Uncertainty and Reinvention

45:17 Carol's Personal Leadership Philosophy

49:34 What Gives Carol Hope

50:52 Closing Remarks