Debra: Thanks for having me, Spiffy! Billion Strong, an initiative by Ruh Global IMPACT, aims to empower people with disabilities to embrace their identities and become discoverable. Many individuals with hidden disabilities fear discrimination, but by fostering a global community across 98 countries, Billion Strong encourages persons with disabilities (PWD) to unite, share their experiences, and bridge the understanding gap, enabling meaningful inclusion in corporations and education systems.
Christy: Thanks for having me, Spiffy. I lead Save the Children's policy, advocacy, and campaigning work, which includes the activities of Save the Children's political advocacy arm, Save the Children Action Network (SCAN). We work to inform policymakers and build the political will to drive meaningful policy change at the local, state, and national levels to empower children and their families in the US and abroad. We are focused on bringing children and children’s needs front and center for US policymakers. Nearly all government action impacts children and youth, but too often they are not consulted or considered. We need the very people who campaign on making things better for children and families to become actual champions for children in the US and around the world.
Joanna: It’s great to be here, Spiffy! Illumen Capital’s mission is to reduce racial and gender bias in investing and entrepreneurship. In other words, the challenge we address is to increase racial and gender diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in who is hired as an investor and which entrepreneurs or founders get investment dollars. Illumen does this by working with investors to identify and reduce their own biases and then subsequently coaching investors to implement new initiatives and actions to increase diverse representation and make investing more equitable.
