The Social Regeneration Podcast

Emotional Permaculture: Healing Through Conflict | 043

How a Colombian community turns pain into connection
In this powerful episode, Luis Campos and Jenna Yates, co-founders and core members of the Colombian community El Juego, share with us what happens when you stop hiding your shadows and face them with others.We talk about how conflicts ranging from household chores to community finances became gateways for deeper self-awareness, and how emotional patterns rooted in childhood and family history keep showing up in our everyday relationships, whether at home or at work.What makes El Juego remarkable is that it was never planned: a group of travelers from very different cultural and economic backgrounds simply began exploring shared methods for processing their inner conflicts, and a community emerged organically from that process.Luis and Jenna introduce the concept of "emotional permaculture," the idea that the most difficult parts of ourselves can become the compost from which something genuinely regenerative grows.A core insight from the conversation is that healing is not a solo endeavor: we need other people to point out our blind spots, to hold space for the parts of us that we cannot yet see ourselves.Anyone navigating conflict at work, in relationships, or within themselves will find something concrete and grounding in this conversation. The main lesson is this: real connection and transformation happen not despite conflict but through it, when we have the agreements, the tools, and the community to go there together.💡 HIGHLIGHTS of this Episode✨ Conflict is the entry point, not the obstacle✨ Childhood patterns live inside workplace dynamics✨ Healing requires witnesses, not just willpower✨ Community emerges from shared process, not shared plans✨ Emotions are messengers for unmet needs👋 ABOUT Luis Campos (he/him) & Jenna Yates (she/her)Luis Campos and Jenna Yates are facilitators and core members of the El Juego community, based in Colombia.Luis is an Argentinian-born father, storyteller, and co-founder of El Juego, and someone who believes that to process our deepest pain, we must be able to laugh at ourselves.Jenna Yates brings together creativity, investigation, and strategic alliances, with a sharp aesthetic eye and curiosity that translates complexity and tension into insight and collaboration.El Juego is a diverse collective of over 30 individuals, investigating how to build cultures based on authenticity and responsibility, using conflict as a doorway to growth.Since 2016, El Juego has been living and working together, developing an approach that is interdisciplinary, non-prescriptive, and deeply rooted in personal and collective experimentation.With their methodology, called “playing”, they accompany individuals, groups, and organisations to live, work, dream, and relate with more freedom.
🔗 CONNECT & follow Luis & Jenna's work 👉 El Juego👉 Instagram
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💌 CONNECT & engage with Pia
Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn to follow and support each other’s work. 🤗If you consider yourself an #impactjobseeker or aspiring #impactpreneur at the beginning of your journey, jump on my Newsletter “Impact Insights” where I regularly share tools and best practices from my work as a sustainability consultant and system change facilitator. 🤓⚖For daily insights “behind the scenes” and event updates, join the extended community on the @work.with.impact Instagram account. 🧐💓Take care of yourself and others!Pia 🤍P.S. You can also watch this Episode on our YouTube Channel to see our faces and the beautiful nature reserve! 🌴🦗👋 🙂#socialregeneration #intentionalcommunity #innerwork #emotionalpermaculture #conflictastransformation #collectivehealing #communitybuilding #selfawareness #regenerativeculture #livingtogether #conflict #coaching #community #healing
 

Slow Down to Grow: A New Form of Coaching | 042

Johanna Hallbauer explains the ERDE Method to help address Eco-Anxiety and Finding Yourself
This episode is for coaches, facilitators, social entrepreneurs, and anyone who has ever felt stuck, burned out, or like they are doing things that no longer align with their values. It is also for those working in the sustainability or regeneration space who sense that their own cup is running low.In this conversation, I sit down with Johanna Halbauer, a systemic coach, facilitator and researcher, to explore her ERDE framework, an approach to regenerative coaching that she developed from her own lived experience. ERDE is an acronym standing for Emancipation, Regeneration, Dialogue and Emergence (or Unfoldment), and together we unpack what each of these phases actually means in practice. And what sets this method apart from traditional coaching is that it does not just focus on goals and cognitive conversation. It invites the nervous system into the process, draws on body intelligence and nature as a co-participant, and supports people in letting go of patterns that drain rather than sustain them.Johanna shares how regenerative coaching creates space for difficult emotions like grief, anger, eco-anxiety and overwhelm, and how it guides people back into action from a more connected, authentic place rather than from a place of achievement pressure. We also talk about specific somatic tools like bilateral tapping and pendulation that anyone can use to regulate their nervous system in everyday life. The key insight we keep coming back to is that slowing down is not the opposite of progress. It is the condition for it.💡 HIGHLIGHTS of this Episode✨ Regenerative coaching goes beyond goals: it includes the nervous system, the body and nature as active participants✨ Feeling stuck often means acting out of alignment with your values, not a lack of effort✨ Emancipation means letting go of old safety patterns that no longer serve you✨ Nature is not just a backdrop for healing. It is a relationship partner and gives resonance✨ Simple somatic tools like bilateral tapping can bring the nervous system back into balance within minutes👋 ABOUT Johanna Hallbauer (she/her)Johanna Hallbauer is a researcher, coach, facilitator, and the founder of ERDE — a coaching approach that grew from her own journey of exploring how we can lead and live in tune with ourselves, others, and the planet. Since 2019, ERDE has been evolving as a learning process, weaving together regenerative leadership, systemic coaching, and trauma-informed methods. Today, Johanna supports individuals and teams to strengthen their inner grounding, foster resilience, and lead in service of social and planetary well-being.🔗 CONNECT & follow Johanna Hallbauer's work 👉 ERDE👉 LinkedIn👉 Instagram💌 CONNECT & engage with PiaFeel free to connect with me on LinkedIn to follow and support each other’s work. 🤗If you consider yourself an #impactjobseeker or aspiring #impactpreneur at the beginning of your journey, jump on my Newsletter “Impact Insights” where I regularly share tools and best practices from my work as a sustainability consultant and system change facilitator. 🤓⚖For daily insights “behind the scenes” and event updates, join the extended community on the @work.with.impact Instagram account. 🧐💓Take care of yourself and others!Pia 🤍P.S. You can also watch this Episode on our YouTube Channel to see our faces 👋☺#regenerativecoaching #ERDE #somaticcoaching #ecoanxiety #innerwork #socialregeneration #authenticleadership #nervoussystem #regenerativeleadership #collectivehealing #systemiccoaching #slowdown #embodiment #ecopreneurs #transformationcoaching
 
 

Play to Grow: Using Permaculture Principles to make Facilitation, Education and Organisational Development regenerative | 041

The SolarPunk NOW Pioneers explain how Infinity Tools and the Context Craft Method can turn your Workshop into a Garden
This episode features Agnes and Denny from SolarPunk NOW, a project at the intersection of permaculture, regenerative design, and hands-on facilitation tools. It is for facilitators, educators, coaches, team leaders, workshop designers, and anyone curious about regenerative approaches who want to bring more creativity, collaboration, and ecological thinking into their work and everyday life.We talk about the Infinity Tools, which are two reusable, sustainable facilitation tools they have developed and use in their own work: stone paper, a writeable and wipeable surface made from stone leftovers, and Beenius, beeswax and bamboo sticks that can be used to build almost anything.Agnes and Denny explain how they use both tools in the Play to Grow method, their workshop format that combines permaculture principles with hands-on play, and how they have seen participants go from confused to genuinely inspired, especially people who previously found permaculture literature overwhelming.The concept of Context Craft runs through the entire conversation: the idea that the philosophy, the tools, and the facilitation approach each have their role, but that the real creative work happens when practitioners adapt everything to their own specific environment.Agnes explains how she first worked with beeswax stick construction while running a social innovation co-working space in Egypt, where she and Denny eventually built furniture and even domes using the same structural logic. Agnes describes how the stone paper completely changes the energy in a room during workshops, because writing without the fear of making a permanent mistake unlocks a different kind of creative freedom.We also discuss how the Infinity Tools connect naturally to working with AI, for example, using colour-coded stone paper notes that an AI can read and sort.The episode is a genuine and warm invitation to anyone who wants to explore these tools, experiment with them in their own context, and contribute to a growing global community of regenerative practitioners.💡 HIGHLIGHTS of this Episode✨ Stone paper: write, wipe, reuse. No waste, no fear, just flow✨ Beenius (beeswax sticks + bamboo) turns any group into builders and inventors within minutes✨ Play to Grow = permaculture as compass & Infinity Tools as medium & Context Craft as application✨ Colour-coded stone paper notes are AI-readable. Analogue and digital can work together✨ Purpose-driven work is the single best recommendation for a sustainable creative life👋 ABOUT Agnes Friedrich & Denny Ehrlich (they)Agnes and Deny are Solarpunk NOW, and they are on a mission to move towards the regeneration of the planet. With new tools and systems for trainers, teachers, facilitators, and, honestly, anybody else. Not the boring stuff. Things that are fun and playful to experience.Like reusable paper made from limestone, which you can simply wipe off and use again. Like Beenius, a 3D construction kit made from bamboo sticks and special beeswax that brings ideas into reality. To create prototypes, models, and structures within your own context.Their vision is that in the future, people all over the world will be using these tools to inspire and collaborate with each other. For example, to create ecosystems and food forests together. That's why Agnes and Deny use these tools to develop playful experiences that help people build actual ecosystems with the help of permaculture principles.🔗 CONNECT & follow Guest's Name work 👉 Solarpunk Now Instagram👉 Agnes on LinkedIn👉 Beenius on Instagram👉 Solarpunkt Now Website****💌 CONNECT & engage with PiaFeel free to connect with me on LinkedIn to follow and support each other’s work. 🤗If you consider yourself an #impactjobseeker or aspiring #impactpreneur at the beginning of your journey, jump on my Newsletter “Impact Insights” where I regularly share tools and best practices from my work as a sustainability consultant and system change facilitator. 🤓⚖For daily insights “behind the scenes” and event updates, join the extended community on the @work.with.impact Instagram account. 🧐💓Take care of yourself and others!Pia 🤍P.S. You can also watch this Episode on our YouTube Channel to see our faces 👋☺#permaculture #regenerativedesign #infinitytools #playtogrow #facilitation #contextcraft #solarpunknow #workshopdesign #sustainabletools #stonepaper #circulareconomy #designthinking #regeneration #futureofwork #innovation #pioneers #organisationaldevelopment
 

Language, Trust, and the Power of Participation | 040

Ilja Maiber on why meeting people where they are is the most radical thing a change agent can do
This episode is for anyone who has ever confused knowing something in theory with actually being able to do it, for impact-driven professionals who find sales and marketing uncomfortable, and for facilitators, leaders, and changemakers who want to understand when to involve others and when to decide alone.I sat down with Ilja Maiber, community weaver, process facilitator, and participatory design practitioner at the Institute for Participatory Design and he takes us through his life's journey that took some twists and turns until finding meaning and purpose in his current work.We explore how overthinking is often a form of avoidance, why feedback is a gift once you stop defending yourself against it, and how the language we use around concepts like sustainability can either connect or disconnect us from the very people we want to reach.We also talk about the GO! Hamburg project, which supports social entrepreneurs in Germany through events, community building on the Circle platform, and ecosystem development.The episode closes with Ilja's reflections on a two-month journey through Kenya and Uganda and how travelling changed his relationship with fear, possibility, and the kind of courage it takes to act before you fully believe in yourself. The biggest shared lesson from this conversation: stop accumulating knowledge and start collecting real experiences, because that is where transformation actually happens.💡 HIGHLIGHTS of this Episode✨ Overthinking is often avoidance in disguise✨ Feedback is a free gift to take or leave, not a verdict on who you are✨ Participation creates ownership, ownership drives implementation✨ Meet people in their language, not yours✨ Act first, believe later: evidence creates confidence👋 ABOUT Ilja Maiber Ilja is a facilitator, community weaver and lover of all the good things life has to offer - whether it's spending time with friends, discovering the world by traveling it, or getting lost in the stories of the people he meets close to and far from home.🔗 CONNECT & follow Ilja Maiber's work 👉 LinkedIn👉 Institute for Participatory Design👉 GO!Hamburg💌 CONNECT & engage with PiaFeel free to connect with me on LinkedIn to follow and support each other’s work. 🤗If you consider yourself an #impactjobseeker or aspiring #impactpreneur at the beginning of your journey, jump on my Newsletter “Impact Insights” where I regularly share tools and best practices from my work as a sustainability consultant and system change facilitator. 🤓⚖For daily insights “behind the scenes” and event updates, join the extended community on the @work.with.impact Instagram account. 🧐💓Share this Podcast with a least 1 Person! - Spread hope for a regenerative future! 🌻Take care of yourself and others!Pia 🤍P.S. You can also watch this Episode on our YouTube Channel to see our faces 👋☺
 
#SystemsChange #CommunityWeaving #ParticipatoryDesign #SocialEntrepreneurship #ProcessFacilitation #ImpactDriven #SustainabilityLeadership #ChangeAgents #FeedbackCulture #CoCreation #RegenerativePractice #ImpactpreNeur #GoHamburg #CollaborationMatters #TransformationJourney
 

Can Tourism fix what it breaks? - Stories from the Balkan | 039

Sustainability Consultant Suela Tahiraj on: Strategies how Tourism can and must become a Vehicle for Social RegenerationSuela Tahiraj, sustainability consultant and GSTC auditor, joins us to explore whether tourism can genuinely be a force for good - with a focus on the Balkans. We trace the region's journey from communist-era hospitality to today's sustainable tourism movement, and what that arc means for the opportunities and risks it faces right now.We talk about the tension between global certification standards and local realities, where stakeholder communication breaks down - and where it creates real progress. We also look at the cost of short-term thinking: unfinished hotel blocks, brain drain, and chasing visitor numbers without measuring carrying capacity.Finally, we bring the story back to you: What can you personally do to travel in a way that strengthens communities rather than extracting from them?The Balkans are at a decisive moment - one where they can still build something genuinely better from the start.This Episode is for anyone who travels, works in tourism, or simply wants to be a more thoughtful guest in the world.💡 HIGHLIGHTS of this Episode✨ Global certification standards are only as good as their local translation — without customisation, they produce compliance, not change✨ The Carrying capacity must be measured before growth is planned, not after the damage is done✨ Stakeholder dialogue is the single most critical factor in whether sustainable tourism succeeds or fails✨ Every traveller has agency: choosing certified operators, spending locally, and giving back are not gestures, they are leverage👋 ABOUT Suela Tahiraj (she/her)Suela is a sustainability consultant in the tourism industry, with a strong focus on sustainable tourism and GSTC standards. Through her work with Balkan Green, she helps tourism businesses and destinations put sustainability into practice in ways that are both meaningful and achievable.With a background in tourism and a passion for responsible travel, Suela brings a practical, approachable voice to sustainability. She is passionate about planting the seeds of sustainable tourism and supporting the industry as it moves toward a more responsible future....🔗 CONNECT & follow Suela Tahiraj's work 👉 LinkedIn👉 The Balkan Green****💌 CONNECT & engage with PiaFeel free to connect with me on LinkedIn to follow and support each other’s work. 🤗If you consider yourself an #impactjobseeker or aspiring #impactpreneur at the beginning of your journey, jump on my Newsletter “Impact Insights” where I regularly share tools and best practices from my work as a sustainability consultant and system change facilitator. 🤓For daily insights “behind the scenes” and event updates, join the extended community on the @work.with.impact Instagram account. 🧐💓Take care of yourself and others!Pia 🤍P.S. You can also watch this Episode on our YouTube Channel to see our faces 👋 🙂#SustainableTourism #BalkanTravel #RegenerativeTourism #GreenDestinations #TourismForGood #ResponsibleTravel #SocialRegeneration #CommunityTourism #GSTC #EcoTourism #ImpactTravel #TravelWithPurpose #VisitAlbania #HiddenEurope #TravelPodcast

Beyond Compliance: Sustainability Careers in Crisis Mode | 038

🎉 The SOCIAL REGENERATION Podcast is celebrating its 1 YEAR Anniversary! 🎊✨ Thank you all for your presence and contribution on this journey 🤍Wellbeing and Mental Health seem to be "Hot Topic" No.1 on this Show and something we need to tend to for Social Regeneration and working as Change Agents. Hence my lovely colleague Asya and I are inviting you on a 8-week-Positive-Intelligence® journey, starting on March 9th! 🛎️As a collective Birthday Gift 🎁all TSR listeners get a 100€ Discount! 🤗 💝👉 Sign up now for one of the few spots in this mini-group programme with this CODE: TSR100PQWould love to meet some of you online and in-person in the coming weeks and regenerate together - deeply! 💕✨ Episode SUMMARY
From Green Deal to Omnibus - What's Next for Sustainability Professionals
In today's episode, Juliana Webel, an experienced sustainability manager, and I talk openly about the current turbulence in the sustainability sector and what it feels like to work in this space right now.
We reflect on how the market has shifted from growing demand and strong regulatory drivers to hiring freezes, paused projects and uncertainty.
We share how regulations like CSRD, ESG and the omnibus discussions shaped corporate priorities and sometimes reduced sustainability to reporting and compliance. At the same time, we saw that these rules also opened doors for innovation, culture change and employee engagement around sustainability.
We explore the disappointment many professionals feel as programmes are scaled back and skilled people are let go. But we don't get stuck in doom and gloom.
We also discuss a different perspective that less regulation can reveal which organisations are truly committed to sustainable transformation. We encourage people to look beyond formal job titles and to drive change from within their current roles.
We talk about mentoring, networks and coffee chats as ways to stay connected and hopeful.🫶 This episode is for sustainability professionals, impact job seekers and anyone wanting to align their work with their values.🔑 A key lesson is that meaningful change still depends on people, courage and relationships, even when the market is tough.💡 HIGHLIGHTS of this Episode✨ Volatile sustainability job market✨ Compliance versus real impact✨ Regulations as door openers for innovation✨ Change from within organisations✨ Power of networks and mentoring👋 ABOUT Juliana Webel (she/her)Juliana is a cross-sector sustainability professional with a 15-year international journey in this space. Originally from Brazil, she has been living and working in Germany for 8 years, bringing over 10 years of experience as a consultant in the built environment and cross-sector corporate sustainability, complemented by additional years of climate-related advocacy and academic study. Juliana is a stakeholder engagement and network enabler who believes in the power of meaningful connections and collaborative work. She is a regenerative economy enthusiast, focused on working with purpose toward change.🔗 CONNECT & follow Juliana's work 👉 LinkedIn📚 RESOURCES to dive deeper➡ BOOK - Net Positive by Paul Polman and Andrew Winston➡ r3.0 - Not-for-profit platform that promotes Redesign for Resilience and Regeneration➡ Podcast - Frankly Speaking
 
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💌 CONNECT & engage with Pia
Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn to follow and support each other’s work. 🤗If you consider yourself an #impactjobseeker or aspiring #impactpreneur at the beginning of your journey, jump on my Newsletter “Impact Insights” where I regularly share tools and best practices from my work as a sustainability consultant and system change facilitator. 🤓⚖For daily insights “behind the scenes” and event updates, join the extended community on the @work.with.impact Instagram account. 🧐💓🔔 If you are an #impactjobseeker and wondering what your role in sustainability could be those days, let's have an Exploration Call and I will tell you everything about the Mentoring Programme 😇👉 Apply for Exploration Call ☎️Take care of yourself and others!
Pia 🤍P.S. You can also watch this Episode on our YouTube Channel to see our faces 👋 🙂#sustainability #impactcareers #regeneration #climateaction #esg #careerpivot #impactjobs #greendeal #omnibus #sustainabilitymanagement #reporting #csrd #sdg #greentransition #purposefulwork #sustainabilitycareers #systemschange #socialimpact
 

Anyone can be a Sustainability Leader | 037

A conversation with Merlina Missimer on Formal Education for Social Transformation
In this episode, I get to talk to my former "teacher" Merlina Missimer, co-director of the Master's in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability (MSLS) program in Karlskrona, Sweden, and a researcher with nearly 20 years of experience in sustainability leadership and social sustainability.We explore what makes a sustainability leader, why formal in-person education still matters in a world of online learning, and what the MSLS programme does differently to create truly transformational experiences.We discuss the vital skills sustainability professionals need today, from strategic thinking to social skills to inner development, and why understanding the problem is never enough without the ability to act on it.We also dive into the ongoing debate around sustainability versus regeneration, especially on the social side, and why defining what a healthy social system looks like (or not) is both possible within context and urgently needed.A key theme throughout is that you do not need a formal title or a senior position to be a sustainability leader, but you do need allies and a community to sustain the work.This episode is for anyone who cares about driving change, whether you are considering formal sustainability education, already working in the field and feeling isolated, or simply wondering what skills to build. The core lesson is that sustainability leadership is about agency, collaboration, and the courage to work within systems while creatively pushing their boundaries. If you take one thing away, let it be this: never do it alone.💡 HIGHLIGHTS of this Episode✨ No official "role title" is needed to be a leader in sustainability✨ In-person learning builds what online never can✨ Strategic and social skills beat technical knowledge✨ Inner work keeps change agents from burning out✨ An unsexy but practical definition of social sustainability👋 ABOUT Merlina Missimer (she/her)Merlina's work focuses on research and education in sustainability with 15+ years of experience in the field. She is the Director for the Master's in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability and has worked with the programme for nearly 20 years. Merlina enjoys sharing her own learning and understanding of sustainability with others, as well as creating learning environments that allow people from diverse backgrounds to quickly grasp essential concepts and work with them on a deep, transformational level.🔗 CONNECT & follow Merlina's work 👉 LinkedIn👉 Instagram👉 MSLS Programme (Applications open! 📮)👉 Department of Strategic Sustainable Development💌 CONNECT & engage with PiaFeel free to connect with me on LinkedIn to follow and support each other’s work. 🤗If you consider yourself an #impactjobseeker or aspiring #impactpreneur at the beginning of your journey, jump on my Newsletter “Impact Insights” where I regularly share tools and best practices from my work as a sustainability consultant and system change facilitator. 🤓For daily insights “behind the scenes” and event updates, join the extended community on the @work.with.impact Instagram account. 🧐💓👉 If you want to work with me, reach out to me via my website: impacthills.com 🤗Take care of yourself and others!Pia 🤍P.S. You can also watch this Episode on our YouTube Channel to see our faces 👋 🙂#sustainability #regeneration #leadership #socialsustainability #systemsthinking #changemakers #education #innerdevelopment #climateaction #sustainabilitycareers #impact #community
 
 

Repair is a Radical Act: From fintech leadership to circular textiles | 036

How Lorena is crafting her own "Job in Sustainability" through curiosity & communityIn this episode, we talk about Lorena’s journey from a leadership role in fintech to becoming a sustainability professional and founder in the circular textiles space.We reflect on how career disruption became an opportunity to explore values, follow curiosity and purpose rather than just searching for the next best job.Lorena shares how networking shifted from transactional job seeking to genuine relationship building and why that change opened unexpected doors.We discuss why finding a tribe and taking action matter more than collecting endless courses and credentials.Lorena describes how her learning journey within the circular economy evolved into a focus on textiles, repair and sewing as accessible entry points for systemic change. She explains how mending clothes reconnects people to materials, skills, roots and community while challenging fast fashion culture and isolation.The episode also looks at entrepreneurship not as a goal but as a response to seeing unmet needs and wanting to act now. We talk openly about fear, impatience, financial support and the importance of mentoring along the way.➡️ This episode is for anyone considering a career shift into sustainability, feeling stuck in an unfulfilling job or wondering how to turn passion into action.🔑 The key lesson is that meaningful work often emerges through experimentation, connection and courage rather than linear career planning.💡 HIGHLIGHTS of this Episode✨ Career change into sustainability through curiosity & connection✨ Approaching Networking rather as Relationship building✨ Circular Economy made tangible for everyone✨ Repair as a cultural shift and system change driver✨ Community before credentials👋 ABOUT Lorena Maldonado (she/her)Lorena Maldonado grew up in Texas, since 2007 Germany has been her home. Lorena is passionate about finding ways to make sustainability accessible and inviting for everyone. She loves hands-on solutions, with community and face-to-face relationships at the center and is inspired by innovation that is built on simplicity.Lorena specialises in Circular Textiles, with a focus on community solutions to create appreciation for textiles all around us. She has many years of experience as an IT Engineering manager, which has equipped her with leadership skills critical to her new role as an entrepreneur and consultant.🔗 CONNECT & follow Lorena Maldonado's work 👉 LinkedIn👉 Instagram📚 RESOURCES to dive deeper➡ Instagram - The Clotheshorse Podcast➡ Instagram - Reparieren ist Liebe➡ Instagram - Clare Press | THE WARDROBE CRISIS➡ Instagram - The People's Mending➡ Post Growth Fashion Agency➡ Sustainable fashion at UNEP➡ Repair Rebels📣 YOU want your work to feel meaningful and be impactful?Not sure how to use your skills for Good or whether you got what it takes to get your own impact project off the ground?Whether you are an #impactjobseeker or aspiring #impactpreneur - Get yourself the support you deserve! 🤗For almost 2 years now, I accompany and support purpose-driven professionals on their journeys towards working in alignment with their values.👉 Check out the Mentoring Programmes on the work.with.impact website📅 Book a Free Exploration Call with Pia - Your Impact Mentor❗️ only two 1:1 Mentoring spots left for start in February/March🚀 Start your Sustainability Career today ❕ >> enroll in the SCC programme
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💌 CONNECT & engage with PiaFeel free to connect with me on LinkedIn to follow and support each other’s work. 🤗If you consider yourself an #impactjobseeker or aspiring #impactpreneur at the beginning of your journey, jump on my Newsletter “Impact Insights” where I regularly share tools and best practices from my work as a sustainability consultant and system change facilitator. 🤓⚖For daily insights “behind the scenes” and event updates, join the extended community on the @work.with.impact Instagram account. 🧐💓Take care of yourself and others!Pia 🤍#sustainability #circulareconomy #careertransition #impactcareers #regeneration #repairculture #purposefulwork #communitybuilding #slowfashion #systemschange
 

Staying human to fund & resource Climate Action | 035

Why acknowledging grief and using humour & stories matters
In this conversation with Climate activist and Philanthropy Advisor Raysa França from Impatience Earth, we talk about what it really means to work in climate action without sacrificing ourselves in the process. We reflect on how many people in the social and environmental impact sector are deeply motivated, yet constantly overstretched due to a lack of resources, structural inequalities, and unrealistic expectations.Raysa shares how her journey from Brazil to Finland shaped her understanding of access to nature, activism, and belonging, and why empowering people to act without exclusivity has become a core driver of her work.We discuss how burnout is not a personal failure but a collective symptom of how impact work is currently funded and organised. We explore why honesty, humour, and emotional openness can be more transformative than polished performance in climate conversations.We also dive into Raysa's work at Impactience Earth in climate philanthropy advisory, where education, learning journeys, and accountability help funders make better decisions.And last but not least, Raysa gives insights into her creative writing project, a book for children to teach about interconnectivity, loss and love.➡️ This episode is for climate professionals, funders, activists, and anyone who wants to contribute to change without losing themselves.The key lesson is that action becomes more powerful when we connect on a human level, acknowledge grief, and learn to set boundaries.💡 HIGHLIGHTS of this Episode✨ Climate work without disposability✨ Resources as care infrastructure✨ Action beyond performance✨ Humour as a bridge, not a distraction✨ Small windows to meaningful change👋 ABOUT Raysa França (she /her)Raysa França works at the intersection of climate action, creativity, and philanthropy. Like a tree with many branches, her impact career has grown across research, education, corporate, and nonprofit settings, each branch reflecting her commitment to enabling others with resources, knowledge, and opportunities so that they can contribute to sustainability transitions. Originally from Brazil and living in Finland for the past seven years, Raysa currently advises funders and donors on deploying climate finance where it can have the greatest impact.The project closest to her heart these days is a book she is writing for her nephew and niece - an attempt to shrink the distance of more than an ocean between them and capture the magic of connection across time and space. Outside of work, she enjoys exploring the outdoors, dancing, karaoke, and experimenting with plant-based cuisine.🔗 CONNECT & follow Raysa's work 👉 Raysa's Website👉 Impatience Earth👉 Raysa on LinkedIn
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📣 YOU want to take Climate Action and make a positive social impact?Get your impact project off the ground without burning out!I accompany and support purpose-driven professionals on their journeys towards working in alignment with their values.👉 Check out the Mentoring Programmes on the work.with.impact website📅 Book a Free Exploration Call with me personally.Take care of yourself and others!Pia 🤍P.S. You can also watch this Episode on our YouTube Channel to see our faces 👋 🙂#climateaction #philanthropy #socialimpact #burnoutculture #fundingchange #funding #climatejustice #regenerativework #systemschange #collectivecare #impactwork
 

The Journey behind CREATE Regeneration: Inner Work, Outer Impact | 034

Exploring what it takes to build regenerative spaces and redefining leadershipI sit down with the initiator and founder of CREATE Regeneration, Cathérine Lehman and listen to her personal journey from sustainability consulting and academic frustration to a deep personal crisis, which became the turning point leading her toward regeneration and the founding of CREATE.We both share how we experienced similar head-heavy beginnings in sustainability and later realised how essential emotional resilience, mental health, and inner grounding are to continue this work. Cathérine reflects on moving from pessimism and climate anxiety to discovering new communities, new language, and new tools that allowed her to reconnect with meaning.We talk openly about burnout, why the first CREATE Convention was both powerful and overwhelming for her, and what she changed to make the next iteration more regenerative.This episode holds important lessons for anyone leading projects, teams, or movements: sustainable impact requires sustainable processes, relationships, and self-leadership. It is also for people standing at the edge of big decisions — those who feel their “old life” no longer fits, but who don’t yet know the next step.💡 HIGHLIGHTS of this Episode✨ Regeneration as a Mindset Shift beyond Sustainability✨ Community and social support are essential during personal and professional Crises✨ How to design work and Events in regenerative, not exhausting, ways✨ Inner work as the foundation for sustainable Outer Transformation✨ Leadership as co-creation, connection, and growing at your own pace👋 ABOUT Cathérine Lehmann (she/her)Cathérine has been working in the fields of sustainability, environmental protection, and the socio-ecological transformation for several years. In a professional context and in her free time, she was active in project management, consulting, research, and entrepreneurship in various initiatives. In recent years, she has shifted to include more inner work in all aspects of her life. Since then, she has been committed to creating a regenerative society through inner and outer transformation.Her focus is now on the dissemination of regenerative approaches and the strengthening and connecting of actors in the field. As initiator of CREATE Regeneration, she works on bringing people together and fostering co-creation amongst people and organisations.🔗 CONNECT & follow Cathérine's work 👉 Website CREATE👉 LinkedIn Cathérine👉 LinkedIn CREATE👉 Instagram CREATE👉 Instagram Cathérine📚 RESOURCES to dive deeper➡ Reinveinting Society****If you feel "lost and alone" as well right now and wondering how you can go beyond Sustainability into the work towards Regeneration, I am happy to be your Mentor! 💕👉 Check out my 1:1 Mentoring Programme where we design your personal pathway of inner and outer transformation.❗️ to reserve one of the few spots for January/February 2026 be quick to book an Exploration Call with me 🫶***💌 CONNECT & engage with PiaFeel free to connect with me on LinkedIn to follow and support each other’s work. 🤗If you consider yourself an #impactjobseeker or aspiring #impactpreneur at the beginning of your journey, jump on my Newsletter “Impact Insights” where I regularly share tools and best practices from my work as a sustainability consultant and system change facilitator. 🤓⚖For daily insights “behind the scenes” and event updates, join the extended community on the @work.with.impact Instagram account. 🧐💓Take care of yourself and others!Pia 🤍P.S. You can also watch this Episode on our YouTube Channel to see our faces 👋 🙂#regeneration #innerwork #outerwork #sustainability #communitybuilding #leadership #transformation #cocreation #createconvention #personaljourney #futureofwork #regenerativesociety