Design for Change Interviews - Most Popular

Sheela Sethuraman

Host Sheela Sethuraman, a Stanford Center for Social Innovation correspondent, asks accomplished social entrepreneurs how their organization is designed and managed to create change. As Stanford Center for Social Innovation correspondent, she conducts interviews with accomplished social entrepreneurs around the world about the innovations that are transforming the way people learn.

Sheela Sethuraman has over 14 years of experience in educational design, multimedia production and technology management. As Founder and Executive Director of Eduweave, Sheela has collaborated with local and international organizations, like UNESCO, in adapting and using the digital storytelling curriculum with youth in diverse settings. Sheela was also Project Director for a recently concluded study by Pearson Education to evaluate technologically innovative assessment items based on Common Core State Standards.

Sheela is an accomplished multimedia producer and has created numerous short form videos for various clients. She is currently working on a startup idea - an internet platform for students to create and curate their learning strategies.

Prior to this, Sheela was Director of Technology at CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology), a premier R&D organization focusing on diverse learner needs. She has been a member of various consortiums such as Web Access Initiative (WAI), National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) and Open eBook Forum. She is also a seasoned trainer and workshop facilitator.

Sheela has a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Government College of Technology (India), a master’s degree in Film and Video Production from Mass Communication Research Center (India) and a master’s degree in Educational Technology from Michigan State University (USA).

(more)

Podcast

Mechai Viravaidya - The “Condom King” Takes on Public Health

When most people think of condoms, they get a little embarrassed and uncomfortable, but not Mechai Viravaidya. Known in Thailand as the "Condom King" Viravaidya began nearly 40 years ago trying to demystify condoms and focus public attention on the public health aspects of contraceptives. Since then, he has become a leader in critical public health issues like poverty, family planning, and HIV/AIDS. In this interview with host Sheela Sethuraman, Viravaidya offers pragmatic answers to these problems.

Podcast

Magda Iskander - Healthcare for the Homebound

Having an elderly parent with failing health and being unable to provide adequate care out of one's home poses a difficult enough challenge in the United States, let alone in Cairo, Egypt, where home services are scarce. In this audio interview with host Sheela Sethuraman, Magda Iskander describes how she founded Care With Love to fill the need in Cairo for short or long term home healthcare through well-trained and compassionate home health care providers.

Podcast

Dr. Christopher Elias - Advancing Technology to Improve Health

PATH (Program for Appropriate Technology and Health) is a nonprofit organization designed to ensure that the benefits of innovation in science and technology are available to developing countries and remotely located, low-income groups. In this audio interview, host Sheela Sethuraman speaks with Dr. Christopher Elias, president and CEO of PATH, about the PATH's origins, accomplishments, and challenges.

Podcast

Andrea Coleman - Keeping Healthcare Mobile Saves Lives

Many areas of rural Africa suffer from a lack of healthcare delivery. In this audio interview with host Sheela Sethuraman, Andrea Coleman explains how she and her husband founded Riders for Health to provide life-saving assistance to such regions. She outlines how the organization uses motorcycles, in particular, to transport healthcare providers and medical goods, and how it has created a sustainable approach.

Podcast

Thulasiraj Ravilla - Aravind: Sustainable Healthcare

How did a free eye clinic that started in a house in south India in 1976 grow to become Asia's first international training facility for blindness prevention workers? In this audio interview, host Sheela Sethuraman speaks with Thulasiraj Ravilla from the Aravind Eye Care System. Ravilla concentrates on the innovative approaches that Aravind has developed to become a model for high-quality, low-cost health care.

Podcast

Vera Cordeiro Rio - Breaking the Cycle of Poverty-Related Illness

When Dr. Vera Cordeiro Rio worked at Hospital da Lagoa in Rio de Janeiro, she witnessed a constant admission/re-admission cycle in childcare treatment. To break that cycle, she gathered medical community volunteers to form Renascer, addressing root causes that prevent families from providing adequate care. In this audio interview, join host Sheela Sethuraman as she learns how Cordeiro Rio translated her passion translated into a methodology that is quickly sweeping through Brazil and the world.

Podcast

Feliciano Reyna - Tackling AIDS in Venezuela

Feliciano Reyna talks about his multipronged approach to tackling AIDS in Venezuela. In this audio interview with Design for Change host Sheela Sethuraman, he shares his successes in influencing his government's policies and his strategies for engaging the corporate sector in this effort.

Podcast

Beulah Thumbadoo - Making Reading Sexier

Beulah Thumbadoo talks about her experiences promoting adult literacy, first from within the South African government and university system, and then through her own organization. Talking with Design for Change host Sheela Sethuraman in this audio interview, she also shares advice from her experience on social entrepreneurship.

Podcast

Rafael Alvarez - Preparing Students to Succeed

While volunteering at a charter school, Rafael Alvarez was confronted with some shocking information—hardly any students in the senior class had plans to attend college. So, in true social entrepreneurial fashion, he decided to match up this under-served market with another under-served market, entry level IT. Talking with Design for Change host Sheela Sethuraman in this audio interview, he explains how Genesys Works prepares students technically and professionally to enter a corporate environment and change their lives.

Podcast

Kim Feinberg - Self-Sufficiency Through Education

AIDS in South Africa has left millions of children without parents or any resources to help themselves. In this audio interview with Design for Change host Sheela Sethuraman, Kim Feinberg describes how her organization, the Tomorrow Trust, uses education to help these children grow into self sufficient, economically productive, and socially included adults.