Awarepreneurs Interview - Juliana Gutiérrez

Hi. This is Paul Zellizer, and welcome to another episode of the Awarepreneurs podcast. On this show, we dive deep into wisdom from some of the world's leading social entrepreneurs. Our goal is to help you increase your positive impact, your profitability, and your quality of Before we get into today's topic, I have 1 request. If you could hit subscribe and do a review on your favorite podcast app, It helps more people learn how to have a positive impact through a values based business. Thanks so much for considering it. Today, I'm thrilled to introduce you to Juliana Gutierrez, And our topic is regenerative initiatives in emerging economy. Juliana is a transdisciplinary leader with 15 years of experience In things like corporate social responsibility, microfinance, urban planning, sustainability, climate change, and regenerative development.

Her work has been recognized as in won awards by organizations such as Ashoka, Echoing Green, and UNESCO. Juliana, welcome to the show.

Hi, Paul. Thank you so much for inviting me. I'm I'm really excited to join you today, because not only because I've been very inspired by the just recently, but also because, I I just love to Have conversations and learn from other people. And and I guess that in any, encounter that we have, we had the chance to learn a lot. So this is, a pleasure to be here. Thank you so much for inviting me.

It's such an honor. And listeners, full disclosure, Juliana and I got to meet in person. I was recently in Colombia, most of the Time in Medellin, a little bit of time in Bogota, and my wonderful brother, Craig Zelizer, some of you know him, put together an impact leaders brunch. Juliana and I got to meet at that brunch, and I get to hear about your work, Juliana. And, I just was so touched by what's happening in Medellin, and we'll touch on that. I also have some other episodes coming up soon. So listeners, hopefully, you won't get Sick of me, like, just raving about Medellin and what's happening in Medellin, but Julianna is part of a whole amazing Ecosystem of impact leaders in Colombia and especially in Medellin, so I want you all to know what's going on. And I was just So impressed both by you, Juliana, but also this whole ecosystem of what's happening.

It really is quite incredible. So, Julianna, to get us started, one of the things I'd like to help our listeners do is just get a little bit of sense of, like, who is this person and How did you get into the work that you do now? And one of the things as I was doing my homework, we we have to kinda Give acknowledgement to the generation that came before you. Your parents, had a big influence on your life and some Significant role in the career path you chose. Is that fair to say?

Yeah. Yeah, Paul. I like to tell a story related to that. And it's the during my childhood, I had the opportunity to accompany my parents on their Voluntary medical admissions to rural and very poor poor areas. And while my parents were, You know, taking care of the medical needs of the community, I spend my time playing and interacting with kids my age, Typically between 6 to 8 years old. And those moments were filled with an immense joy, and it felt as At the at that moment, I it felt like we were all equals, united by a simple pleasure as childhood It's it's what I said. But as I grew older and revisited those places as a teenager, I realized my friends From those early days, we're facing really hard realities. Many of them were forced into child labor, some other word, deprived, or or the educational opportunities, or they even, You know, they were struggling to have their basic human needs met.

And it was a stark contrast To the privileged life that I had. And it deeply affect me how I mean, it it wouldn't it it it make me witness The profound inequalities that we have in in Colombia. And, Moreover, the nature we had once engaged when when we were you know, when I was a child, my sisters and I were were children. That nature that was there in those areas that we used to visit with my parents, when I came back, it had Significantly deteriorated all the environment. Like, the one striking environment that I, you know, met, It gave away to urban expansion. So trees were cut down, the water was polluted, and garbage just threw everywhere. So those eye opening experiences ignite a sense of curiosity within me, pushing me to Question why I was granted opportunities that my friends were denied. And the answer became clear.

I had been fortunate to receive opportunities that We're denied to others just probably by chance. So this realization cultivated my empathy and foster A really strong commitment to working for a better world, I I should say. One where everyone has equal opportunities to thrive, you know, live fulfilling lives. And thus, I I guess, That's the connection that I do with my partners because I learned from them to collaborate and to help others, but also something That is important is how you can put your knowledge in favor of, cows. And in that sense, like, my cows have been Social development, equality, and also environment.

And when I was doing my research, at least To the wider world, when I'm looking at, you know, what brought you to the attention of Ashoka or Echoing Green, One of the organizations that came up over and over again that you helped get going is called Low Carbon Tell our listeners about Low Carbon City. Like, what's the idea there? What was your role there? What were you hoping to accomplish with that very successful organization.

Yes, Paul. Well, it happened that I was doing a master's In, international development and all the focus of my research was climate climate change in in cities and Low development strategies low carbon development strategies for emerging countries. And it was a very interesting topic because, you know, I got into the opportunities that cities have to tackle climate change, Especially in in emerging emerging countries. And I got so passionate about this topic. And At the end of the of the masters, I had to deliver my thesis to the library. And the day that I did that, it Came without a lot of reflections on why did I do that? Like, why is gonna what is gonna happen after I put this This is in the library. Nobody's gonna read it. Nobody's gonna apply it.

So I at that point, I got the sense that Sometimes academia is or or in general, our education system is very disconnected to realities. But in academia, academia is the place where many great ideas are incubated but never applied. And that interests me to to keeps I mean, to to look for, for ways To to put that knowledge in practice. And when I came back to my country, I I was in Korea that I'm in South Korea at the time. But when I came back to Colombia, I said, like, I wanna push this topic further, and I wanted to be part of the public agenda. And I knocked the door on private sector, on public sector in even in academia, and nobody will really taking care about climate here. And and I'm talking about 10 years ago. So no nobody were, like, really interested in working in climate issues.

So the feeling of but at the same time, the impulse to to do something about it. And I guess also a little bit of luck. I met some friends that were doing they they were mostly in academia too, and they were also, doing activism, Like, for green cities in other organization called. And we gather, and we got together, and we We happen to share the same idea, and that's how, like, we started mobilizing in the public agenda issues about climate change and the importance of cities. So we at the time, we were doing events, free events where we gather public, private, civil society organization, and also community leaders and and communities along the what we can do from cities, which are those that generate 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions, how they can contribute to the Solutions. And at the same time, we you know, while we were doing these events, we were following up the negotiations of parties agreement, Where, you know, is kind of the road map for tackling climate change globally. And we realized that cities, although they have the to be part of the solution. They were not, like, really mentioned it in the a in the agreement.

So that motivate us even more to Take our idea farther. And, it happened that we decided to organize a first low carbon city work forum, to get the attention of media of, you know, all kind of stakeholders in the country. It happened that the event was opening Doors for building a global network of citizen led projects around the world that were, you know, Trying to include citizen participation in climate agenda, but also, like, trying to push forward the topic And building collective solutions. And that's how Low Carbon City was born. It was a collaborative process With a very multidisciplinary team that I started, I'm one of I'm I'm one of the cofounders, and I've lead the organization for 7 years. But although I've been the person that I've been, you know, being publicly, like, acknowledged as as the director, but it's been like an amazing team behind. I mean, no behind, like, besides Working and helping and cocreating. And, yeah, that's that's the beginning of of the organization.

And the organization, what basically does is Educating for climate friendly lifestyles, also connecting all kind of stakeholders to collaborate and cocreate, And as a result, creating projects and creating solutions along with communities is a very bottom up approach for, You know, climate governance, but it's a way to empower people no matter where you work, no matter where you live. It's a long story, but I'm very passionate about telling it because it has some learnings. The first is, like, how we can Use knowledge and information coming to that from academia to solve most of the pressing issues that we have and how we connect Academia with with you with the practice. The other, learning is the importance of Collaborative leadership and how co leading and cofounded the organization gave me that sense of collaboration and cooperation that we we need. And, yes, I guess the last learning and I'll stop there is That an organization like this needs a lot of work. And when it is growing, It's also growing the need of responsibility that you have to be faced. So so the learning is how through entrepreneurship, we can also find some paths for well-being that probably we'll discuss later. But I will say that, yeah, that's the the the last learning of this experience, how, you know, from social entrepreneurial spheres, you can contribute to the problem, but you can never Forget.

Forgive, what it means in the context of well-being.

It's so impressive that you grew this From an idea to 7 years later, you said, Juliana, to something that is a network in a 130 cities around The world, that's that's awesome. And I I think, yeah, I might know the answer to this. But but what I hear some of the key Strategies that you would, you know, suggest of how that scaling came about. There was something about that, You know, partnering with good ideas from academia, that was one. I heard you say that bottom up approach. This really wasn't just a Few people trying to push their ideas on the larger group, but really listening and engaging in die in very deep dialogue. And then there's that collaborative leadership style. Those those were 3 things that I heard both in my research and in your answers Today, we do do those feel like things that are important to understand or somebody wants to understand how low carbon cities Scaled to that degree in a relatively short amount of time?

Yeah. I think definitely. But not only that is I think there's some another thing that, you know, you hear everywhere. Like, people are worried about climate, And people are even, like, getting, you know, mental stress due to the news that we're reading and That we're watching what is happening all around the world in terms of the impact of climate change. And people ask themselves usually, like, what can I do? And people don't find the the tools because, you know, the system that has been built around climate change is very it's been very institutional and country focused, but it hasn't pay attention to the possibility of building a collective governance where everybody can be part of the solution. So I guess that's one of the the the learnings that we had, you know, for growing and scaling up is Offering possibilities for people no matter what profession do they have to engage and to promote, You know, these collaborative spaces, and you know what is, I'll say, tricky and difficult when you have Something open in a in in that way. And when you offer that kind of opportunities to everybody, no matter what's their background or where they live. It happens that you can lose track on the impacts.

Because for us, like, we've been always It's a very small organization, like, no more than 15 people. And depending on the projects, it can grow or or become smaller. But keeping track on what 130 cities are doing is is really hard. So what we, you know, decide at at some point, It was a learning, but also something that we, you know, realize is that that's the beauty of the movement that we feel is that no matter If we're still connect to those cities or not, there are people there that are change makers promoting change and feeling part of the solution. So I guess that I will add, this to to what you just mentioned.

Beautiful. One of the reasons I wanted to have you on the show, Julianna, is I think you have a unique Perspective in your language that you just, used is how initiatives so often are country focused. Right? Like, where we live. And and I'm a big fan of, you know, place based that that there aren't cookie cutter solutions. What works in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which is High desert environment might not work in Medellin or, you know, in a rainforest in Asia or, you know, the highlands of Africa. So I wanna make room for the uniqueness of each place as we're addressing some of these challenges like climate. But I also think you have a perspective of, like, how you're listening for what can work in a number of Or at least be modified in a number of different environments. And in terms of our title today, when we're talking about emerging economies, I'm curious as somebody who, you know, lives in Medellin, is from Colombia, but also, you know, your graduate work was in South Priya, you've come to the attention of organizations that are internationally known like UNESCO or Ashoka.

What are the both challenges, the unique challenges in emerging economies when it comes to impact work? And then on the other side of the coin, I think there's some advantages and room for being much more innovative in Countries that don't have as much of a formal, like, here's the way we're supposed to do things that I sometimes see in more developed economies. Like, What would you say both on the challenge side and also the opportunities or the more innovation that comes out of emerging economies that you've seen as you've gone around the world and you're listening to people in a 130 cities, for instance.

Well, I love that question because I have walked through that question for many years. And I guess that in in emerging countries, I like to call here a word that I love, I mean, it's be by your regions. You know, if you go to nature and if you understand how nature and ecosystems work, Nature doesn't say, okay. My limits are here, and then there's another country. So keep going. You know what I mean? Understanding that concept of bioregion make us feel like we're we belong to the same ecosystem Even if we have different names because our political systems and, you know, our history has separate us. And one way to separate us is, you know, to have countries with with, you know, borders that nature doesn't recognize, I mean, in terms of ecosystem. So I like I like to call that word of bioregion just to say that even if There's some emerging countries or not in our, you know, predominant system, when it comes to nature, like, we're part of the same ecosystem.

And in that sense, it's been interesting because most of the innovations that we hear in climate, Especially in climate area where I've been working during the last years are all coming from the north. You know, like, where the innovation is supposed to be, where the resources are, you know, available. And By the way, you come to, you know, to a country like Colombia that has all the challenges, I mean, not only In terms of environment, but also social, you know, we're one of the most unequal country in the world. We're we're one of the most Dan Jarrow's place on air for environment advocates. And, you know, when you have, like, all kind of Problems happening in the same time. Resilience of people is just something that comes naturally because at some point, A lot of people are trying to survive and to have, like, their basic needs meet. But at the same time, there are many people trying to, You know, understand how to solve those issues related to climate and environmental crisis, but also to social crisis. So although we have all those challenges, we have a very talented and very innovative Spheres where people are trying to just, you know, make it work, creating all kind of innovations, then, You know, you you get my point.

And what is nice about initiatives, and I connect this to what I mentioned about low carbon city is that, You know, it's a way to position and, I mean, to put also in the international agenda that the global south has a lot of solutions that can work, You know, globally. And, and those solutions, you know, are men mainly it's because people are also, you know, trying to solve their daily lives is not, like, very far issues that We are seeing, but it's just the issues that we, you know, live every day. And so I guess the challenges are, of course, how to how to make this message to become bigger and broader? Like, in the global cell, we can have a lot of solutions for for what our world needs now. And in that sense, is important, like the, Not only in terms of investments, but the flux of of resources and the acknowledgement of that in the international agenda is is a total challenge. It's not the same to be an entrepreneur in in a country like Colombia than in other country, Let's say from the north where there's a lot of funds and, you know, even the government invests in entrepreneurs. Like, here, it could be, a little bit difficult and and and challenging if we're not connect to those, international agenda. So so I said, yeah. The challenges are not only in terms of, you know, the climate and social crisis, but also or ecological crisis, but also, like, How we, you know, develop solutions that can be funded, that can, you know, be, is collab.

And, it's not only a mother of resources. It's also a mother of recognize that, you know, coming back to my my first Trace, when I was talking about this, is that we are part of a bioregion. We are tied, and we're connecting the same ecosystem that is called Planet Earth. And for Planet Air, we we're not you know, for solving those challenges that we have, we don't, you know, we don't necessarily need to look up just at the solution that come from the north, but also understanding the importance of those solutions that are coming from emerging countries as as Colombia.

As you're talking, Julianna, I was thinking, people sometimes tease me who listeners sometimes tease me, and they joke about how many times I use word about, Like, granular. Right? But I can't I can't help it. Right? So I was thinking about the difference between one thing that's being talked a lot in more developed, Richer economies like, you know, carbon extraction. Basically, these, like, super fancy, like, Carbon vacuum cleaners that are gonna suck vac carbon out of the air, and they're incredibly take cost 1,000,000,000 and 1,000,000,000 of dollars to even turn them on. And it's not even clear if they're gonna work, but 1,000,000,000,000 of dollars have been invested in these kind of carbon removal, you know, technology. And then, like, I think about something as simple and emerging economies. Like, in my research, one of the most Productive agriculture is that have ever existed on the face of this planet have been in the areas around Mexico City. And one of the reasons That it's so effective is something called biochar.

You can look it up listeners, and biochar is just a very Consciously produced type of charcoal that's, created at a very specific Temperature has all these nooks and crannies in the charcoal that gets into the soil and holds microorganisms, like, for 100 of years. Right? So it's literally just burning sticks and wood, but it's doing it in a very intentional way. It doesn't cost Hardly anything. You just not have to know how to do it. Right? But it can create incredibly sustainable long term agricultural practices that Feed people with a lot less energy, a lot less need for pesticides and everything. Right? So these, like, $1,000,000,000,000 vacuum cleaners that is even sure it's gonna work in the developing economies. Very technical and oftentimes expensive solutions. And in emerging economies, you might see something like Biochar, which is you just have to know how to create charcoal, in the process is a little bit different than how you would normally burn, You know, excess wood, right, or excess, you know, agricultural waste.

So that's just something that went through my head as you were talking about One example of how sometimes, you know, different amounts of money flowing through economy frames How we approach something like climate change. And I think we could use a lot more of those, like, not needing 1,000,000,000,000 of dollars of solutions. I just have a bias towards that. Anyway, what's your that's an example of what what it you know, how How different economies sometimes approach similar problems. One solutions require a lot more capital. Financial capital and other solutions sometimes are using intellectual capital. Like, how do you make that biochar, for example? Sup? Enough out of me, but that was just what was going through my head as you were sharing. So let's do this.

In a moment, there's been a really significant Kind of new iteration of your work and thinking about regenerative initiatives in a in a new and holistic way, and I want Our listeners to hear about that, but before we get there, I just wanna take a quick break, hear a word from our sponsor. Are you facing 1 or more important decisions in your impact business? And you'd like an experienced thought partner to develop a plan about how to proceed in the complex times we're living. But you don't feel the need for an extended coaching or consulting contract that's gonna cost you many 1,000 of dollars. You're looking for an affordable, targeted, and time efficient type of support. Through paulzelizer.com, I offer a strategy session package. These packages are ideal for entrepreneurs who are facing 1 to 3 immediate decisions, Like how to increase your positive impact, fine tune your marketing strategies to get more results for less effort, launch a new product or service successfully, We'll refine your pricing structure so it's both inclusive and provides you with a great quality of life. You can find out more by clicking below, And thank you so much for listening to this podcast. So welcome back, everybody.

In the 2nd part of the show, Julianna, we like to get more into the, like, the granular work that you're doing now. So you've had this great ride. You created low carbon City went international, 130 cities. I wanna talk about your work now, Julianna. And One of the things you're talking a lot about is well-being and regenerative Thinking, mindsets, and, you know, the issue of burnout and impact leaders Looking in a more holistic way to what their work involves. Is that fair to say? And if so, can you tell us more about

Sure, Paul. Well, I love stories. And there's a story, behind what you just mentioned and is that, you know, after, You know, working, 5 years as a social entrepreneur, no stop. I never took time for resting. I never rest On holidays, I never rest the time. World's

burning. Right? We all gotta work 247. Right?

Yeah. And when you see the The news and you, we you at some point you know, I I laugh about it because at some point, I thought that I was kind of a superhero trying to solve the the planet. And I was really mistaken at some point because, you know, the planet is going to survive with us or without us. And, and the second thing is that it doesn't make any sense when you put all your efforts to help To, you know, tackle, you know, the most pressing issues that we're facing in society when you're not taking care of yourself. In coming back to that, ecosystem that I have been mentioning, like, you know, in an ecosystem, we have interdependence and we have Interrelations between all beings. And you we you, me, and, you know, we, as humans, are part of of that big ecosystem. We're like a microcosm of the universe. And if you don't take care of yourself, like, you're going to You know, you you will resonate, in a different way on what you were probably expecting for the impact you were trying to generate.

So I'm I'm saying the to to mention that I had a burnout, and I didn't know that that Since the time, to be honest, like, I never really allowed myself to think that that was a possibility for me. But I was feeling so tired. I was overwhelmed with work. I was worried about, you know, that was the year of the pandemic. I was worried about, You know, the resources to to keep the funding of the organization and and to keep the work of my team, I was worried for everybody. And, yeah, you know, the body, reacts, and and the reaction was that I had a a a burnout. I'm still trying to understand, you know, what burnout's burnout means. But at that time, I didn't know.

So what happened to me is that, You know, it was like a breaking point to asking myself in the career, you know, in the in in this journey of social entrepreneurship where you're always competing For resources where you, you know, are trying to, get recognition from from others on the work that you do to, you know, to benefit the organization. You're always also I mean, I guess a very competitive work And not only putting my passion as part of the What my organization need, but I was also putting my health and my well-being. And I did a question to me. I said, who I am at the time, Like, in in terms of in in the middle of a chaotic, part of my life, I I ask myself who I am without this organization And who I am without this cause that I'm working for. What is my life without this organization? Who I am without this organization? And I couldn't find any answer. And at the time, it was quite tricky and and sad because, You know, I was entire dedicated to my organization that that was my life. But then I realized, okay. See, if I want to heal, You know, those systems that are not working, I should start healing myself.

And that's how, you know, I came across this Concept of regenerative development, which is, you know, I I was working a little bit in regenerative, topics while I was in low carbon city, but I never saw it from a personal perspective. I was always Thinking how we can regenerate ecosystems, how we improve the health of some ecosystems that are already damaged. And, and then, you know, I I I said that sometimes we find solutions in nature, but just we're not observing. And I came across with this concept of regeneration, and I realized that regeneration is a characteristic that all, You know, living beings share even human beings. And I don't know. Like, some animals, For example, can reg regenerate some parts of their body or, plants have, you know, amend amazing regenerative powers, Like, from a leaf or from a root, you can reproduce them. Or the same happened in a forest or the same happened in our in our cells. I mean, our cells are, you know, regenerating all the time.

Like, daily, over 300 And 1,000,000,000 of cells are replaced and regenerated in our body. And, so so I just love how I understood that that that concept was a basic principle of life. We live in a system that is entirely, you know, regenerating all the time. However, due to the, you know, the the damage that we have created From our, you know, lineal thinking and our, you know, predominant, economic system, we have forgotten this, and we have, in fact, ecosystems that cannot be longer regenerated. So, you know, all these concepts start coming together, and you understand that getting deeper in into Understanding the problem systemically, I found out that we were in a stress planet. And the examples are, you know, all the just yesterday, some some, scientist For from the Brazilian center of Stockholm said that we already over past 6 of the planetary boundaries that, you know, provide us live and provide us, you know, the living conditions for, you know, human beings, be living in in this planet. So you have also stress systems where, you know, You we we can see in all models that we have, there's inequalities. We have poverty.

We have racism. We have, You know, the 1% of of of people, on this planet has the 90% of wealth. You see a system that at some point is destroying nature, is destroying, you know? And at the same time, you have stressed people. People, you know, when you see their figures, like, During the last year, the world is sad. It's the it's most sad and is is more depressed than ever before. And there's some studies that, you know, show a little bit of of this. Like, You know, for example, Harvard Medical says that 96% of executives, they're, you know, Struggling with mental health or, for example, in the US, from 60 to 90 people, that are attending the doctor are, you know, stress related appointments. Or, And one out of 4 people in, you know, all the Americas, you know, North America, Central, and South America, they have they've been through mental illness.

So, you know, having all this information together, Understanding the concept of regeneration, understanding that we are in a an unhealthy planet, in an unhealthy Systems and with unhealthy people, made me realize that perhaps for changing, we need Also and and changing and and promoting regeneration, which will regenerate ourselves. And it means how we can heal myself To be able to heal those systems where I belong. And that's how, you know, the regenerative leadership concept came to to to me. And, you know, there's a lot of people already around the world working on it. I I'd like to to mention Laura Storm, which is, like, one of of the mentors That I have had for for this journey. And, you know, there's a big movement around the world working in in regenerative practices, Which is great for, you know, when it comes to, restoring ecosystems or or improving the health of ecosystems, but also what happened with ourselves. So so, you know, with this information and understanding the problem and understanding how in social, entrepreneurship, there's a very, you know, similar behavior in terms of, You know, getting awards or getting recognition or getting funding and all or all of this lead us to mental illness. That made me start working with how we can promote, spaces for, you know, Leaders or even entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs to become, vulnerable, to recognize their vulnerability And try to, you know, implement different solutions to not only, like, take care of yourself and understand what well-being means to you, But also, how as long as you you are in a better health and mental health and and when whenever you have well-being, you will be More willing to work for others or to work, you know, to solve, or to promote solutions for solving, you know, the most pressing issues we face.

But at the same time, your impact increased. And, I'm I just want to mention here that There's a study that Berkeley, made some some time ago where it said that seventy 2% of entrepreneurs suffer from mental health problems. And in Latin America, 6 of 10 entrepreneurs, Which is, you know, having having those figures make me wonder if those are the people that are trying to innovate, to create solutions on their Part of this system where, you know, we're getting ill, it doesn't make any sense. And that's been my journey during the last As to years, understanding how regenerative leadership can be a possibility for healing ourselves to sell To heal the systems where we work, but also a possibility to connect us to nature. And I said this Because nature I mean, we're part, and I'm coming back to the bioregion concept. We're part of an ecosystem, but we're disconnected. And we've been promoting a narrative of separation where nature is one thing and human beings is another thing. And we do things to nature instead of doing things along with nature.

And I mentioned this because, there's studies, You know, there are studies around the world that said that when you spend at least 2 hours in nature every week, you can increase all your Your well-being, indicators in your body. Even people with chronic diseases, when they are, you know, engaged with nature, they can, you know, have, Some kind of, well well-being coming from those experiences. And it is that important that when you see some countries like Germany or Japan or UK or Canada, they're even prescribing nature as part of, You know, the the security system I mean, the the medical system. And yeah. So I've been talking too much. I'm I'm sorry, but just to give you

No. You're so passionate, Juliana. I'm so glad you're here. And my head's shaking. My many of you listeners may know this, but my original training, I have a master's degree in community mental health As a licensed professional counselor for many years, 15 year career in that work, and I totally burned out, Juliana. It was I was my 1st career was more in the realm of, working to end domestic violence and sexual Salt and engaging young men as fathers and in their families, and it was incredible work, but it was really hard. And It was that similar dance of trying to keep the work going and good quality impact work and trying to keep The funding for a whole team, and I was, you know, a lot of people were looking towards me for a lot of things, Both in terms of the, like, strategies of delivering the work and engaging with resistance systems or We did batters intervention and keeping courts informed, but also keeping the funding going for all that at the same time. 15 years, I totally burned out.

And, I mean, I burned out bad. Right? And, I con I contrast that. You know? Certainly, I'm concerned about what's going on in the world in in a very robust way, but I was sitting last night having dinner with, One of the key support people in my network, we've met twice a month for eight and a half years now. Big shout out to Jason Stein, my mastermind buddy, for eight and a half years, and and we were talking about kinda what life looks like now. I'm 16 years into this iteration of my career after 15 years of my 1st career. And and 16 years in, while it still has hard moments, I love what I do. I feel incredibly grateful to do it, and 16 years in, I'm Excited to wake up. I love my clients.

I love doing this podcast. I am in a place where I can take care of myself and my financially without, like, biting my fingernails if I'm gonna be able to, you know, keep a roof over my head and help contribute to my kid's grad school or, you know, whatever. Right? Like, those things are taken care of, and, I'm really, really grateful. But what you're talking about, Julianna, this Sense of, like, you're trying you're a leader in the impact space trying to do great work, and you're trying to, like, support a Team or be part of a be a leader in a collaborative way for a team, and you're trying to keep the financial, you know, balls in the air. I I can't tell you the number of leaders I hear from around the world in all sorts of economies that are feeling stress and burnout trying to keep all those balls in the air. So we're running out of time, but before we let you Go, Juliana. Like, if there's a leader whose head is shaking about that whole kind of constellation that you described so well. Right? The world isn't facing incredible challenges.

They're part of a group or they're a leader Making a positive difference in a very you know, they're very dedicated, and they're trying to Take care of themselves and their team financially, and that's leading to just to, like, wow. I don't know if I can keep doing this or maybe just flat out, I Can't keep doing this. What, like, very concrete tips would you leave that person with about how can they Keep doing impact work, but do it in a more sustainable regenerative way. How do they go from burnout and unsustainability and start To move the needle towards more regenerative leadership and more regenerative activism, what would be a couple tips you would give to somebody in that situation?

Well, I guess the first thing will be understand what well-being means to you. Also understanding that well-being is not the same thing for every body is I I think it's a very individual conqueror that we you find out what will be means to you. And the second, I guess the question that I went to at the moment of the born out was who I am Without this organization, and that gave me a lot of answers. And it made me feel you know, understand myself in a very holistic way To understand that I'm mind, I'm heart, I'm emotions, spirit, and how I'm gonna and I'm also body. How I'm gonna nurture All those areas of my life. And and, you know, we have a lot of opportunities already available for,

All

of these, things and and, it's like you can have your own well-being journey, understanding what is well-being for you. And, you know, having said that, I said that if we acknowledge the interdependence Of our personal well-being, with social society and ecological health, we can also, you know, drive our organizations more effectively. We we need to understand that, You know, from that holistic approach that recognize that healing involves, you know, mental, emotional, physical, and Aspects is also part of of your entrepreneurial journey. If if you're aware of that, you You you can't avoid, you know, getting to the limits or extremes of our mental, health problems. So I guess, Those 3 things along with having a collaborative network where you can, you know, be vulnerable, where you can normalize in, as human beings, though, we can be vulnerable even more when we are at the forefront of social and environmental crisis It's it's also important. And that's when, you know, I like to say to some of the people that are hearing us that if you're been, struggling with this or you're being trying to connect nature with your business or with your organization, you want that your theory of change, you know, is It's based also in this model where, you know, you heal yourself, you to heal the systems and to heal, the planet. I'll be happy to to connect As well.

Great. And if somebody's interested in connecting with you, Julianne, and finding out more about the regenerative work you're doing, where where should they go?

Well, I mainly like to to give my my social network, so I'm not sure we can put the the Contact details in

What whatever you want. Yeah. Like like LinkedIn, I know I think you're pretty active on. Would that be one place?

Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. And if you also want to check the work that I've been doing that we have been doing, at city to, you know, promote Those regenerative visions as part of the solutions for tackling climate change, you can also visit the low carbon c d .com.

Awesome.

That that low carbon.org.

Cool. So I'll put links to Juliana's LinkedIn to the low carbon city website, also like I said, Ashoka Echoing Green. So you know me and listeners, I'm a try to get All the resources that we possibly can, but the main thing is go connect with Julianna on LinkedIn. Go check out the Awesome work that they're doing at Low Carbon City. Reach out, get support. You don't have to reinvent the wheel. Juliana, thank you so much for being on the show today, and thank you for the incredible work that you're doing.

Thank you, Paul. I I really enjoy This conversation and, yeah, I hope it also inspires and get connect to, Connect another people with this, house that we're trying to promote, how we can regenerate our world starting from ourselves.

Love it. So listeners, again, check the show notes. So much good stuff here in this episode. And before we go, just a quick reminder. Again, I don't know why more podcast host don't do this. I have podcast hosts who tell me, Paul, I have a real hard time trying to get awesome guests, And what do you do? And I say, one of the things I do is ask my listeners for awesome guests. Juliana connected through and I connected through my brother, Craig Zelizer, thank you, Craig, for connecting us, but you send amazing suggestions. If you listen to the show, you know what we love to talk about, So I love listener suggested topics and guests.

If you have an idea, just go to the Awarepreneurs website, awarepreneurs.com, And click on the contact page. We have 3 simple guidelines. And, again, just love it when listeners suggest, hey. I think this would be a great topic, or hear somebody doing awesome impact work. Love to see an episode. Please bring your suggestions. You can send them in there. So for now, I just wanna say thank you so much for listening.

Please take really good care in these intense times, And thank you for all the positive impact that you're working for in our world.