The Social Change Career Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

What happens when innovation overlooks the very people it's meant to benefit? In this episode, Dr Craig Zelizer interviews Valentina Cullmann, whose career spans startups, global donors, and hands-on development programs across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The episode explores what it takes to drive innovation that actually works—anchored in human realities, not just tech hype.

• Hear upfront stories from startup life, consulting, and leading international partnerships—not just buzzwords or theory.

• Get pragmatic advice for your career: tips for choosing grad programs, succeeding as a consultant, building alliances, and working with global donors.

• Learn how productive conflict, diversity, and facilitation can transform "harmonious" teams into truly innovative spaces.

• See behind the scenes: from climate-positive innovation facilities and pandemic response competitions, to women-led telemedicine and youth entrepreneurship.

• Rethink "innovation" for development: why digital isn't always the answer, and how centering real people can unlock sustainable social change.

• Find out how to experiment, balance vision vs. survival, and grow resilience—whether you're launching social enterprises or leading projects in big organizations.

Valentina Cullmann is an innovation practitioner specializing in international economic development, digital transformation, and climate-positive impacts across the Global South. With more than a decade of experience, she has designed, implemented, and advised on innovation programs ranging from hackathons and policy labs to large-scale facilities supporting entrepreneurs and ventures worldwide.

She holds two Master's degrees in International Business and Politics from Copenhagen Business School and the London School of Economics. Valentina began her career in tech startups and global corporations before moving into international cooperation, working on digital innovation, economic promotion, and climate impact for organizations such as GIZ, BMZ, and the European Commission. She has also facilitated more than 60 workshops on leadership, collaboration, and innovation for global teams.

Grad School & Fellowship Options

• Central European University

• Fulbright Scholarships

• Rotary Peace Fellowships

• Knight-Hennessy Scholars (Stanford)

Recommended Reading and Influences

• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – Nigerian novelist on perspective and intercultural wisdom

• Adam Grant – "Challenge network" and productive conflict for innovation

Innovation Methods & Frameworks

• Design Thinking and Human-Centered Design

• Organizational Development (Systemic approaches)

• Process-Oriented Psychology (Mindell)

PCDN Resources

Make your inbox amazing with our new Career Digest subscription option for less than the cost a cup of coffee per month.

• Delivered 5–6 days a week, you'll get over 200 human curated opportunities every month—including jobs, fellowships, funding options, impact news, socent opps trainings, remote roles and more.
• Whether you're just starting or looking to advance, this digest provides the world's best human-curated impact opportunities to fuel your career.
• Interested in subscribing for a group or organization. Get in contact.

Other Terrific PCDN Resources.

Social Change Career Podcast: Access over 200 episodes featuring changemakers worldwide. Available at https://pcdn.global/listen or any major podcast platform.

Sign up for our Free AI for Impact Newsletter - Get amazing AI for Impact jobs, funding, consultancies, tools, tips and ethical insights.

PCDN Free Weekly Impact Newsletter: Explore global social impact jobs, funding, and opportunities. Sign up here

Episode 7 of Season 15 of The Social Change Career Podcast explores what it really looks like to link digital nomads to locally led community impact—moving beyond one-off volunteering toward consistent, ethical engagement. Hosted by Craig Zelizer, the episode features Sabine Bouwmeester, Director of Operations at Digital Nomads for Good, sharing lessons from the field on partnerships, power dynamics, and practical ways globally mobile professionals can contribute meaningfully wherever they live.

• You want a practical framework for responsible giving-back as a digital nomad—time, skills, and money aligned to local priorities.

• You're curious how to volunteer without reinforcing harmful dynamics (and how host orgs can structure roles that truly help).

• You care about community-first models that can work in multiple cities, not just one neighborhood or one moment.

• You're building an impact career and want a real example of how operations, fundraising, communications, and partnerships fit together in day-to-day social change work.

• You want actionable next steps—where to plug in, what questions to ask, and how to support organizations doing long-term work.

• Digital Nomads for Good (website)

• Digital Nomads for Good (DNfG official site)

• Digital Nomads for Good (Instagram)

• Get involved / donate

• Children of Medellín – Fundación Caminos

• Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences

• Sabine Bouwmeester (LinkedIn)

Sabine Bouwmeester is a humanitarian and development professional with over nine years of experience across international development, community foundations, fundraising, and communications. She is currently Director of Operations at Digital Nomads for Good, supporting daily operations and partnerships that bridge international volunteers, donors, and locally led foundations in Colombia. You can connect with her here: https://lnkd.in/exf8z9mg.

From 2019 to 2025, Sabine served as International Director at Children of Medellín – Fundación Caminos, a community foundation working with over 500 children in neighborhoods shaped by displacement and violence. Her work included international communication, fundraising, volunteer coordination, project design, and long-term community engagement.

Earlier in her career, Sabine worked as a sports and movement professional, group fitness instructor, and sports broker in Amsterdam-Noord, using sport as a tool for inclusion, coaching, and youth engagement. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Cultural and Social Development from the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, with a minor in International Social Development.

This episode features  Hun Taing, an executive leader, innovator, coach, and Cambodian genocide survivor, sharing her extraordinary journey of building a career at the intersection of justice and healing. Drawing from over 20 years in labor rights, public health, civil rights, and organizational transformation, Hun opens up about personal resilience, the power of humanizing conflict, and practical strategies for meaningful impact in turbulent times.

Why Take a Listen 

• Hun's story as a Cambodian genocide survivor and refugee—and how her lived experiences instilled a lifelong dedication to equity and healing.

• Actionable insights on entering and advancing in social change careers, including labor organizing, conflict transformation, DEI, and public service.

• Navigating challenges to equity and inclusion in today's climate, and strategies for advocating sustainable change in bureaucratic systems.

• Hun's career trajectory from activism and the labor movement (SEIU, ACLU) to systems-level inclusion and leadership consulting via Training for Transformation.

• The transformative role of mindfulness, art, and community-based programs (like healing gardens for refugee elders) in building resilient organizations and individuals.

• Advice for selecting values-aligned advanced education and tips for job seekers managing uncertainty in competitive markets.

• Resources on healing, art, and reconciliation, including Hun's master's thesis and research in Cambodia.

• Practical encouragement for working within, on, or around systems, and tools for sustaining yourself and your community in uncertain times.

Featured Resources Mentioned in the Podcast

• Memories of Cambodia (Hun's Story on YouTube)

• Training for Transformation, LLC

• SEIU (Service Employees International Union)

• ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union)

• School for International Training (SIT)

• "The Way Out Is In" podcast (Thich Nhat Hanh/Plum Village)

• Connect with Hun on LinkedIn

About Hun Taing:
Hun Taing (she/her) is passionate about building healthy and effective organizations to lead meaningful change. For more than twenty years, she has served in executive leadership roles, driving organizational transformation in labor rights, environmental justice, civil rights, and public health. She finds fulfillment in coaching social change leaders to identify and transform behavior patterns that are hindering their goals. Her work centers on aligning policy, people, and practice to build inclusive, mission-driven institutions. She is a Chinese-Cambodian genocide survivor and refugee, married to a Black man from Oakland, and raising three children. Joy comes from mindfulness, gardening, and deep connections with people and nature.

PCDN Resources

• Subscribe to the PCDN Career Digest
  Curated global jobs, funding, and resources for social impact careers
  https://pcdn.global/subscribe

• Listen to More Episodes
  Conversations with over 180 changemakers in 30+ countries
  https://pcdn.global/listen

• Subscribe to the AI for Impact Newsletter
  Tools, jobs, and insights at the intersection of AI and social good
  https://impactai.beehiiv.com

Devon is a Bay Area-native capacity builder with 12+ years of partnering with social entrepreneurs and founders. Be it a refugee crisis, youth empowerment, education, philanthropy, network building, systems change, and climate crises.  Devon is there to co-create strategy and implementation solutions for greater equity.

In Episode 15 of Season 8, listen to Devon's grounding, honest and real journey in life and how she developed an impressive set of sought-after skills related to co-creating strategies, working with boards, creating virtual communities, facilitating networks, among many.  Oh, and listen how she "takes over" this interview and witness us co-creating.   

Check out previous seasons & episodes of our Award-Winning Social Change Career Podcast.

 ***Episode recorded on April 13th, 2021

Key Links

Devon Davey  

Possibility Project

Devon's LinkedIn  

***New product*** PCDN.global is launching our first ever online workshops on all this career of change. First workshop was February 1st, stay tuned for more information on the next career PCDN.global career workshop.

Join our free PCDN Impact Career Chats

Book a session PCDN Coaching Services  

Become an insider and join the PCDN Career Helping Line  

Subscribe to PCDN.global's Daily or Weekly Newsletter

This episode was brought to you thanks to the Rotary Peace Fellowship:

Are you an existing or emerging peace leader looking to take your career to the next level? You might be eligible to receive full funding to pursue a MA or professional certificate in peace & conflict studies.

Learn more about Rotary Peace Fellowships at https://www.rotary.org/en/our-programs/peace-fellowships

"If you have privilege, use it to do good" is just one of the many tips that came out of an amazing conversation with poverty and development researcher Dr. Soumya Balasubramanya.

Soumya's research focuses on poverty and development challenges in Asia and Africa at the nexus of water, food, health and energy.  Her methods include program evaluation, micro-econometrics and non-market valuation.  Her lenses through which she does her work are gender, equity and the environment.

In Episode 14 of Season 8, learn about Soumya's middle class Indian upbringing and how she couldn't become a volcano expert so she became an economist instead. Soumya reflects on her amazing research career after her PhD from Duke University; how she uses research to inform policy, works with diverse stakeholders including governments and civil society, and to course-correct ongoing investments and programs.

Check out previous seasons & episodes of our Award-Winning Social Change Career Podcast.

 ***Episode recorded on April 12th, 2021

Key Links

Soumya Balasubramanya 

CGIAR- global research partnership

Soumya's Linkedin

***New product*** PCDN.global is launching our first ever online workshops on all this career of change. First workshop was February 1st, stay tuned for more information on the next career PCDN.global career workshop.

Join our free PCDN Impact Career Chats

Book a session PCDN Coaching Services

Become an insider and join the PCDN Career Helping Line  

Subscribe to PCDN.global's Daily or Weekly Newsletter

This episode was brought to you thanks to the Rotary Peace Fellowship:

Are you an existing or emerging peace leader looking to take your career to the next level? You might be eligible to receive full funding to pursue a MA or professional certificate in peace & conflict studies. Learn more about Rotary Peace Fellowships at www.rotary.org/peace-fellowships

Nonprofit executive turned parallel entrepreneur.  Yes.  Because life and careers turn up a bit different than plans.  Kelly Nagle, has over a decade of experience working as a senior NGO officer in leadership and development capacities and currently is running not one but two social enterprises.

In Episode 13 of Season 8, listen to Kelly's fascinating career transition story.  From her days as an NGO executive, to completing her Masters in Political Science, to how her career plans were affected by covid and how she how she pivoted to the social enterprise sector.

Check out previous seasons & episodes of our Award-Winning Social Change Career Podcast.

 ***Episode recorded on April 7th, 2021

Key Links

Teen Think Tank Project

The Uncharted Territory

Kelly's LinkedIn

***New product*** PCDN.global is launching our first ever online workshops on all this career of change. First workshop was February 1st, stay tuned for more information on the next career PCDN.global career workshop.

Join our free PCDN Impact Career Chats

Book a session PCDN Coaching Services

Become an insider and join the PCDN Career Helping Line  

Subscribe to PCDN.global's Daily or Weekly Newsletter

This episode was brought to you thanks to the Rotary Peace Fellowship:

Are you an existing or emerging peace leader looking to take your career to the next level? You might be eligible to receive full funding to pursue a MA or professional certificate in peace & conflict studies. Learn more about Rotary Peace Fellowships at www.rotary.org/peace-fellowships  

How does a career fighting social inequality look like? Look no further as I sit down with one of the world's expert in social inequality: Ben Phillips.

Ben Phillips is the author of the book How to Fight Inequality. He advises the UN, governments and civil society organizations. He is Launch Director of the Fight Inequality Alliance. He has lived and worked in four continents and a dozen cities. He has led programs and campaigns teams in Save the Children, the Children's Society, the Global Call to Action Against Poverty and the Global Campaign for Education. 

In Episode 12 of Season 8, listen how Ben's passion for inequality started as a young activist in the Mamelodi township, South Africa, in 1994, just after the end of apartheid. I also asked him about his book; his take on social entrepreneurship and his very honest answer on how to get paid by doing good. 

Check out previous seasons & episodes of our Award-Winning Social Change Career Podcast.

 ***Episode recorded on March 18thd, 2021

Key Links 

How to Fight Inequality Book

Fight Inequality Alliance

Ben's Linkedin

***New product*** PCDN.global is launching our first ever online workshops on all this career of change. First workshop was February 1st, stay tuned for more information on the next career PCDN.global career workshop.

Join our free PCDN Impact Career Chats

Book a session PCDN Coaching Services

Become an insider and join the PCDN Career Helping Line  

Subscribe to PCDN.global's Daily or Weekly Newsletter

This episode was brought to you thanks to the Rotary Peace Fellowship:

Are you an existing or emerging peace leader looking to take your career to the next level? You might be eligible to receive full funding to pursue a MA or professional certificate in peace & conflict studies. Learn more about Rotary Peace Fellowships at www.rotary.org/peace-fellowshipsocial change venture that works to bring about structural changes that will fundamentally shift the systems

This week's guest story starts with a healthy food business and evolves into one of the biggest most successful business philanthropy efforts working with 3k business and over 220M giving impacts called B1G1.

Masami Sato is originally from Japan. Masami has lived in over 30 countries in 5 continents. She is a teacher, translator, natural food chef (and a farmer!), author and award-winning entrepreneur as well as a mother of two teenage children.

In Episode 11 of Season 8, listen the non-linear and authentic path that is Masami's career and life.  From backpacking in Central America, to starting a healthy food business and living above her industrial kitchen to becoming an award-winning entrepreneur, two-time TEDx speaker and book author.

Check out previous seasons & episodes of our Award-Winning Social Change Career Podcast.

 ***Episode recorded on March 11rd, 2021

Key Links

B1G1

Masami's page

Masami's Linkedin

***New product*** PCDN.global is launching our first ever online workshops on all this career of change. First workshop was February 1st, stay tuned for more information on the next career PCDN.global career workshop.

Join our free PCDN Impact Career Chats

Book a session PCDN Coaching Services

Become an insider and join the PCDN Career Helping Line  

Subscribe to PCDN.global's Daily or Weekly Newsletter

This episode was brought to you thanks to the Rotary Peace Fellowship:

Are you an existing or emerging peace leader looking to take your career to the next level? You might be eligible to receive full funding to pursue a MA or professional certificate in peace & conflict studies. Learn more about Rotary Peace Fellowships at www.rotary.org/peace-fellowshipsocial change venture that works to bring about structural changes that will fundamentally shift the systems

If you ask me who is the face of the XXI century peacebuilder professional, I would say its Manal El Tayar.

Manal is a Rotary Peace Fellow, trilingual development professional with 7+ years of experience in project management and monitoring and evaluation skills in the fields of economic development and peace & justice transformation. Manal has represented Lebanon in a number of regional and international competitions as a national level track and field athlete. 

In Episode 10 of Season 8 you learn how Manal moved over 20 times in her childhood and youth years as a result of living in war-ravaging Lebanon and how she ran as a coping mechanism.  Behind every successful professional, there is a story of pain and resilience. This is Manal's story.

Currently, Manal is the Cora Weiss Peacebuilding Fellow GNPW (Global Network of Women Peacebuilding); Fragile States Peacebuilding Advisor at Tearfund and Founding Member and Director of Programs at UI (Unconventional International).

Check out previous seasons & episodes of our Award-Winning Social Change Career Podcast.

*Episode recorded on March 3rd, 2021

**I lost count, we are on Episode 10 not 9,  Ooops.  My bad.

Key Links

Rotary Peace Fellowship

Cora Weiss Peacebuilding Fellow

Unconventional International

Tearfund

***New product*** PCDN.global is launching our first ever online workshops on all this career of change. First workshop was February 1st, stay tuned for more information on the next career PCDN.global career workshop.

Join our free PCDN Impact Career Chats

Book a session PCDN Coaching Services

Become an insider and join the PCDN Career Helping Line  

Subscribe to PCDN.global's Daily or Weekly Newsletter

This episode was brought to you thanks to the Rotary Peace Fellowship:

Are you an existing or emerging peace leader looking to take your career to the next level? You might be eligible to receive full funding to pursue a MA or professional certificate in peace & conflict studies. Learn more about Rotary Peace Fellowships at www.rotary.org/peace-fellowshipsocial change venture that works to bring about structural changes that will

How you can become an art curator, produce global art exhibits that travel the world and work with Peace Laureates. Sounds amazing right? It's hard but very possible and Ashley Woods tells you how he is doing it.

Ashley Woods is an internationally recognized curator, project manager and producer.

From his "Making Peace" exhibit that has been to 13 countries; to his Martin Luther King Jr exhibit in Stockholm; to his global human trafficking campaign to how he is working in Atlanta's bid to host the 2022 World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates; you get a comprehensive and compelling story of how to use the arts for peace and make a living doing so.

In Episode 9 of Season 8 you learn where Ashley grew up, how he started working with non-profits to improve their communications with the use of photography and his globally recognized campaigns for social change.   

Check out previous seasons & episodes of our Award-Winning Social Change Career Podcast.

 ***Episode recorded on February 23rd, 2021

Key Links:

Martin Luther King, Jr

Making Peace Campaign

Ashley Wood's Linkedin

Contact Ashley

***New product*** PCDN.global is launching our first ever online workshops on all this career of change. First workshop was February 1st, stay tuned for more information on the next career PCDN.global career workshop.

Join our free PCDN Impact Career Chats

Book a session PCDN Coaching Services

Become an insider and join the PCDN Career Helping Line  

Subscribe to PCDN.global's Daily or Weekly Newsletter

This episode was brought to you thanks to the Rotary Peace Fellowship:

Are you an existing or emerging peace leader looking to take your career to the next level? You might be eligible to receive full funding to pursue a MA or professional certificate in peace & conflict studies. Learn more about Rotary Peace Fellowships at www.rotary.org/peace-fellowships