resilience Archives - Page 5 of 5

Brukty Tigabu – Changing African Kids Lives With TV

July 16, 2019
by admin

Our guest this week is one of the most determined and resilient people we’ve ever met. For the past 14 years she’s been on a mission to improve education for millions of children in Ethiopia encountering challenges on almost every front. We’re talking about the amazing Brukty Tigabu.

At the age of 10, Brukty took on the role of head of her household after her mother became very ill. She found a way to make ends meet by selling vegetables from their garden in the market. She credits this time in her life with giving her the basic business and survival skills that helped her get where she is today.

And where you find this former school teacher today, is running the social enterprise she co-founded called Whiz Kids Workshop. It creates educational media programs – including 3 internationally awarded television series for children in Ethiopia. For the past 14 years Whiz Kids Workshop has inspired a generation of young children in Ethiopia with their most famous and loved program, the puppet based educational TV show called Tsehai Loves Learning. They’ve also published over 100 books in 7 languages, produced radio programs, DVDs and teacher training – all to improve literacy, health education, gender equality and early childhood education.

Brukty has won many accolades for her work including the World Economic Forum’s “Outstanding Social Entrepreneur of the year 2018”, Fast Company’s ‘Most Creative People in Business’ 2012 and the Rolex Young Laureate Award in 2008.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How Brukty found her life’s purpose to enrich the lives of children and teens in Ethiopia and beyond
What it’s like being a woman running a business in Ethiopia (seriously hard)
How she pushes through fear
Why she found herself not being able to get out of bed and how she got herself going again.

Please enjoy this episode with the incredible Brukty Tigabu.

Links

Whiz Kids Workshop Website

Great YT video explaining Tsehai Loves Learning

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:03 — 31.3MB) | Embed

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Interview

Ann Sherry – The Positive Change Agent

April 9, 2019
by admin

Ann Sherry is a change maker who’s notched up so many extraordinary achievements during her decades long and inspiring career to date that it’s hard to know where to start. Suffice to say Australian women have a lot to thank her for as one of the many things she’s responsible for is introducing paid maternity leave to corporate Australia.

She also transformed the cruise industry in Australia as CEO of Carnival Australia, notching up double digit growth every year despite having to deal with significant challenges.

Today Ann sits on multiple boards including Carnival Australia where she is Chairman, she is also Chair of UNICEF Australia, and a Non Executive Director (NED) with one of the country’s biggest banks, National Australia Bank (NAB), as well as Sydney Airport, Rugby Australia, the Museum of Contemporary Arts Australia and Palladium.

Ann has many accolades for her extremely varied career to date including a Centenary Medal, an Order of Australia and the overall winner of the Women of Influence award in 2015.

In this episode you’ll hear:

How having a baby with Downs syndrome at just 21 didn’t stop her from pioneering his care and returning to work when he was still young
How she’s learnt to be resilient and not be phased by others judging her
Why she thinks women need to take more risks
And why she controversially bought a host of brightly coloured pant suits shortly after becoming one of the first senior women at a major bank.

For listeners who outside of Australia, near the end of the episode we talk about how there’s recently been a Royal Commission in to banking in Australia – it’s basically a court-style public inquiry into misconduct which unearthed some serious misconduct across the industry.

So please enjoy this fascinating discussion with the inspiring and truly entertaining Ann Sherry.

Links to Ann:

Twitter

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Interview

Dr Emma Camp – On a Quest to Save…

March 12, 2019
by admin

This week’s inspiring guest is Dr Emma Camp, a British marine bio-geochemist who searches out and then studies corals that can naturally survive in extreme conditions such as mangroves. This might sound simple but it leads to Emma listing crocodiles as one of the greatest risks of a day in the office!

She’s passionate about saving the world’s coral reefs and has made it her mission that we all should be too. (Emma, we’re convinced!)

Emma is a National Geographic Explorer and a current United Nations Young leader. Despite her relative youth, her pioneering research work and passion for saving corals has seen her receive numerous honours and highly-prized research fellowships.

In this episode you’ll hear:

How Emma used her determination and ingenuity to go from struggling to break into academia to starting her own company to get the research experience she needed
How her Dad’s mantra helps her reach her goals
What it felt like the first time she found herself at the UN General Assembly
And, the real story about the state of the world’s coral reefs and what you can do to make a difference,

Enjoy this episode with the passionate and determined Dr Emma Camp.

Links to Emma:

Emma’s website

Twitter

Instagram

UN Young Leaders Website

Things you can do to help save our oceans:

Take small actions – don’t use plastic, drink from a reusable cup, walk more
Get involved in beach clean ups
Eat sustainable fish. Find out how:
Lobby your politicians – get vocal – make them accountable!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:58 — 27.6MB) | Embed

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Interview

Dr Fiona Wood – The Inspiring Optimist

November 6, 2018
by admin

Our guest today is Dr Fiona Wood, a world-leading burns specialist and innovative surgeon and researcher. She’s a former Australian of the Year for her pioneering burns research and treatments.

Incredibly, she was also voted Australia’s most-trusted-person for six successive years.

Fiona and her groundbreaking ‘Spray-on-skin’ burns treatment came into the public eye in 2002 when 28 victims of the Bali bombings were flown to Perth in Western Australia to receive life-saving burns treatment under her supervision. (Spray on skin greatly reduces permanent scarring.)

Fiona has successfully commercialised “Spray on skin” treatment worldwide and all royalties from this business are used to fund further research into burns treatment through her Foundation.

In this episode hear Fiona talk about:

Her absolute passion for what she does and the responsibility she feels every day in the operating theatre
How she copes and consciously fosters resilience having seen so much suffering first-hand
How she approached commercialising ‘spray-on skin’ without having any commercial experience;
And her memories of the remarkable experience of being Australian of the Year

If you’re anything like us after listening to this conversation you’ll feel like you want to take Fiona out for a coffee, give her a hug and high five her all at the same time!

Enjoy!

Links of interest:

Dr Fiona Wood Foundation Website

Avita Medical

Fiona’s TED Talk

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:32 — 27.2MB) | Embed

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Interview

Aya Aso – The Savvy, Luxury Entrepreneur

September 11, 2018December 5, 2018
by admin

Our guest this week is Japanese luxury hotel and hospitality entrepreneur, Aya Aso.

Until last year, Aya ran the hotel chain she founded a decade ago, the Agora Hotel Group, a multi award-winning chain of resort and luxury hotels in Japan.

Aya spent most of her childhood living in Brazil and in her 20’s studied to become a concert pianist in Los Angeles. However, that idea was put on the back burner when a part time job at the Sheraton led to the discovery that she loved the hospitality industry.

This set Aya on her career journey and led her back to Japan where she ultimately started her business.

In today’s episode, you’ll hear:

How growing up in Brazil has impacted her as a business woman
How one of the most influential entrepreneurs in Japan took her under his wing and helped her learn the most important thing about running a company
What it was like to be a woman starting a business in Japan
How she lost most of her business after an earthquake devastated the travel industry in 2011 and
What it felt like to build the company back up to 1,000 staff only to reach a point where she felt she had no other option but to walk away

We can’t wait to see her next business, the SAVVY Collective, a Luxury Hotel Concept Consulting business, go from strength to strength.