This year, the United Nations is “recognizing the contribution of women and girls around the world who are leading the charge on climate change adaptation, mitigation, and response, to build a more sustainable future for all”: the theme for International Women’s Day 2022 (IWD 2022) is Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow. We are very excited to share the stories of two local female leaders in sustainability: Karin Power, Administrative Director of B Local PDX and Oregon State Representative, and Liz Zavodsky, Executive Director of Ecochallenge.org.

“The sustainability of engagement is something I care deeply about.” This is why Karin Power, Oregon State Representative (D, District 41), took on the role of Administrative Director at B Local PDX, a community of local Certified B Corporations® that helps to connect and support them in their efforts to build socio-economic and environmental impact. Arnerich Massena Co-CEO Reegan Rae, CPWA®, sat down with Karin to learn more about what inspires her to be a powerful force for change.

“We ARE the people taking this on,” Karin remarks as she talks about her introduction to the world of sustainability. She wanted to ensure a better future for her children, and has found that she is not alone; B Local PDX has connected her with leaders across the state: “It is an absolute honor to help sustain that work,” she says about her role in this fast-growing membership organization. In this podcast, Karin shares stories from her journey and what motivates and encourages her to take on the multiple challenges of elected office, parenthood, and bringing together the B Local PDX community. For International Women’s Day, Karin also shared one of her deepest sources of inspiration: “All We Can Save,” an anthology of essays from women at the forefront of the climate movement.

Click above to listen to the podcast interview; you can also find it on YouTube here or Soundcloud here.

“We have the ability to create the future we want, and we can do it through our everyday choices.” This is at the heart of Liz Zavodsky’s driving philosophy; she is the Executive Director of Ecochallenge.org, a unique organization that gets people directly involved in working toward environmental and social justice. Interviewed in this podcast by Arnerich Massena Philanthropic and Investment Advisor Katherine Fox, CFP, CAP®, Liz talks about Ecochallenge.org’s mission to inspire people to take responsibility for Earth. “Through our daily actions, the choices we make on a daily basis, we have influence on the world… What we’re trying to show is that it does matter.”

You can learn more about Ecochallenge.org at ecochallenge.org. Liz has offered a coupon code for Arnerich Massena listeners who are interested in purchasing the newest revision of their resource discussion book, Seeing Systems: Peace, Justice, and Sustainability; visit https://store.ecochallenge.org/ and use the coupon code SAVE10.

Click above to listen to the podcast interview; you can also find it on YouTube here or Soundcloud here.