WEBVTT - Rena Greifinger and Alex Idol: Maverick Collective 0:00:04.960 --> 0:00:08.639 And we really believe that without health equity, we're never 0:00:08.720 --> 0:00:12.000 going to achieve gender equity. There's eight hundred and ten 0:00:12.119 --> 0:00:16.759 women that die every day due to complications or pregnancy 0:00:16.800 --> 0:00:19.799 and childbirth. So these are things that we have answers to, 0:00:19.960 --> 0:00:23.960 we have solutions to. You know, we have modern contraception, 0:00:24.040 --> 0:00:27.080 we have all of the you know kind of knowledge 0:00:27.120 --> 0:00:30.280 that we need to have strong maternal health care. That 0:00:30.520 --> 0:00:34.240 was Rena Gryfinger talking about the state of women's health 0:00:34.320 --> 0:00:39.800 worldwide and about a unique approach to improving it. Rena 0:00:39.960 --> 0:00:44.040 is managing director of the Maverick Collective, which brings together 0:00:44.159 --> 0:00:50.280 women philanthropists to solve problems from a feminist perspective. I'm 0:00:50.280 --> 0:00:53.680 alion Ververe and this is Seneca's one Women to Hear. 0:00:54.360 --> 0:00:57.160 We are bringing you one hundred of the world's most 0:00:57.240 --> 0:01:03.240 inspiring and history making women you need to hear. One 0:01:03.320 --> 0:01:07.320 of the founders of the Maverick Collective is Melinda French Gates. 0:01:08.080 --> 0:01:11.720 Here's what she has to say about Maverick. This is 0:01:11.760 --> 0:01:17.640 what happens when smart, dedicated, compassionate women come together to 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:20.200 make the change they want to see in the world. 0:01:21.800 --> 0:01:26.280 Rena is joined in today's conversation by Collective member Alex Idol. 0:01:27.120 --> 0:01:31.320 She's a philanthropist and head of the John Idol Family Foundation. 0:01:33.000 --> 0:01:37.640 Listen and learn why Rena Gryfinger, Alex Idol, and the 0:01:37.720 --> 0:01:42.279 women of the Maverick Collective are amongst Seneca's One Women 0:01:42.280 --> 0:01:49.520 to Hear. I'm speaking today to two leaders of the 0:01:49.600 --> 0:01:54.800 Maverick Collective, Rena Grindfinger and Alex Idol. It is an 0:01:54.840 --> 0:01:59.080 innovative funding initiative of high net worth women supporting women's 0:01:59.120 --> 0:02:02.400 health and relay did projects. And I'm eager to talk 0:02:02.440 --> 0:02:04.640 to both of them today and grateful they are with 0:02:04.720 --> 0:02:07.720 us so we can all learn about what this important 0:02:08.200 --> 0:02:13.480 platform does. Rena welcome, Alex welcome. Thank you so much. 0:02:13.560 --> 0:02:16.079 It's great to be here. Well, tell us what does 0:02:16.120 --> 0:02:20.240 the Maverick Collective do and why is it different or 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:25.280 how is it different from other nonprofits. So, the Magic 0:02:25.320 --> 0:02:29.400 Collective is a community of women philanthropists that are investing 0:02:29.600 --> 0:02:33.640 in global health and reproductive rights with the aim to 0:02:33.720 --> 0:02:38.519 accelerate gender equity across the world. We were co founded 0:02:38.600 --> 0:02:43.600 by Global Health Organization p s I with Melinda French 0:02:43.680 --> 0:02:46.960 Gates and the Crown Princess of Norway about nine years 0:02:47.000 --> 0:02:51.000 ago and the idea was to bring women philanthropists together 0:02:51.600 --> 0:02:56.160 to quote unquote give beyond the checkbook, to engage deeply 0:02:56.360 --> 0:02:59.119 in the work that they were funding, so that they 0:02:59.160 --> 0:03:04.080 could be authentic champions for women and girls and reproductive health, 0:03:04.440 --> 0:03:06.919 so that they could get smart on the issues and 0:03:07.000 --> 0:03:10.120 be able to use all of their capital, not just 0:03:10.160 --> 0:03:14.839 their money, but their curiosity, their time, their testimony, um 0:03:14.960 --> 0:03:18.640 their influence to advance the issues that they care about, 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:22.960 while at the same time really using their their financial 0:03:23.000 --> 0:03:26.040 capital to help k s I, which is a leading 0:03:26.360 --> 0:03:29.280 kind of cutting edge global health organization, really move the 0:03:29.320 --> 0:03:33.320 needle on some of the most intractable problems in women 0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:35.800 and girls health across the world. And do you think 0:03:35.880 --> 0:03:38.720 that this model would have been workable twenty or fifty 0:03:38.800 --> 0:03:41.560 years ago? Even I'd like to think that women have 0:03:41.600 --> 0:03:44.160 been ready for this kind of model for a really 0:03:44.200 --> 0:03:48.200 long time. Um, But I do think that when we 0:03:48.200 --> 0:03:51.320 were founded, when the maver Re Collective was founded, um 0:03:51.360 --> 0:03:53.560 about nine years ago. I will point out that p 0:03:53.800 --> 0:03:56.720 s I is fifty two years old, so we've been 0:03:56.760 --> 0:03:59.360 in the business of global health a long time. But 0:03:59.440 --> 0:04:02.280 about nine years ago really was around the time when 0:04:02.440 --> 0:04:06.040 women like Melinda Gates were really kind of stepping out 0:04:06.080 --> 0:04:11.600 on their own and UM creating UH an identity around 0:04:11.600 --> 0:04:14.320 philanthropy that was truly their own. And I like to say, 0:04:14.400 --> 0:04:17.320 you know, being taken seriously for their mastery, not that 0:04:17.640 --> 0:04:21.200 not just their money or who they're married to. And 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:24.839 I think Melinda herself was really getting smart UM on 0:04:24.880 --> 0:04:27.480 the issues that she cared about, which she still does today, 0:04:27.520 --> 0:04:31.800 gender equity, reproductive health, and she wanted to see more 0:04:31.800 --> 0:04:35.200 women be able to champion those issues and be strategic 0:04:35.240 --> 0:04:38.159 and wise about how they fund those issues and saw 0:04:38.240 --> 0:04:41.080 this UM creation of a community is a place where 0:04:41.080 --> 0:04:43.840 they could really do so together. What we certainly know 0:04:44.040 --> 0:04:48.960 is that women want to practice philanthropy differently than men. UM. 0:04:49.040 --> 0:04:52.400 For too long, philanthropy has been very white, very male, 0:04:53.040 --> 0:04:56.080 UM quite patriarchal in the way it's set up. And 0:04:56.680 --> 0:05:01.040 we really believe in a more feminist, kind of redefined 0:05:01.080 --> 0:05:04.719 approach to philanthropy that looks and feels different. And I 0:05:04.760 --> 0:05:07.839 think ten years ago was a really important time for 0:05:07.920 --> 0:05:10.760 women like her to step out and lead, and we've 0:05:10.839 --> 0:05:14.480 just seen a real movement galvanized since then. Well, she 0:05:14.600 --> 0:05:17.840 has certainly been a leader in this field, and I 0:05:17.920 --> 0:05:21.800 know how committed she is, and I think it's extraordinary 0:05:21.920 --> 0:05:25.800 that the Maverick Collective has come into being. Alex, what 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:30.880 brought you into the Maverick Collective and how has that 0:05:31.200 --> 0:05:33.960 enabled you to do the kinds of things you might 0:05:34.000 --> 0:05:36.839 not be able to do otherwise? And how does one 0:05:37.000 --> 0:05:40.799 join the Maverick Collective. So I was at a unique 0:05:41.240 --> 0:05:44.480 point in my life when I had first joined Maverick Collective. 0:05:44.839 --> 0:05:48.800 I was I was in business school, I was going 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:52.680 through a major career transition. And I was also in 0:05:52.680 --> 0:05:57.000 a position where my family had asked me or had 0:05:57.120 --> 0:05:59.400 sort of let me know that I was going to 0:05:59.440 --> 0:06:03.080 be taking a leadership role in our family foundation. Today 0:06:03.120 --> 0:06:06.040 i'm president of our family Foundation. And what was really 0:06:06.080 --> 0:06:10.919 important for me was to make sure that I had experience, 0:06:11.560 --> 0:06:16.120 both locally and globally to be able to make the 0:06:16.160 --> 0:06:21.479 type of grants and and sort of UM effectuate philanthropy 0:06:21.560 --> 0:06:25.120 in a way that reflected my family values. And I 0:06:25.160 --> 0:06:30.080 think what was great is that UM I was able 0:06:30.240 --> 0:06:36.039 to partner with an organization, Maverick Collective, who had sort 0:06:36.040 --> 0:06:39.800 of this big p S I N GEO behind them, 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:42.560 and we were able to take risk right. And that's 0:06:42.600 --> 0:06:47.200 what I came in to do. Is really fund innovation 0:06:47.680 --> 0:06:53.839 in global health, and UM I was able to UH 0:06:53.880 --> 0:06:59.080 invest in projects that philanthropists were otherwise UM maybe UM 0:06:59.120 --> 0:07:04.040 nervous to do. I think what I also had the 0:07:05.880 --> 0:07:09.680 what was great about Maverick was that I gained not 0:07:09.840 --> 0:07:12.800 just experienced sort of in writing the grant, writing the check, 0:07:12.880 --> 0:07:17.440 but we we went into two in country and really 0:07:17.720 --> 0:07:21.080 UM sat with the women and girls that we were impacting. 0:07:22.080 --> 0:07:26.640 That's so terrific. So it was a learning experience and 0:07:26.720 --> 0:07:30.840 not just a check writing experience. Rena, I know that 0:07:30.960 --> 0:07:34.920 the collective has programs all across the world. Can you 0:07:34.960 --> 0:07:38.480 give us a sense of the state of women's health 0:07:38.600 --> 0:07:42.760 right now and perhaps some of the specific kinds of 0:07:42.840 --> 0:07:47.840 programs that you're supporting to help improve women's laws. Absolutely, so, 0:07:48.200 --> 0:07:50.360 UM to give you a sense of our size and scale. 0:07:50.440 --> 0:07:54.119 P s I, which is the global health organization behind Matter. 0:07:54.160 --> 0:07:58.240 Collective operates in about forty six countries. We have five 0:07:58.280 --> 0:08:01.920 thousand employees across the world old about nine percent of 0:08:01.920 --> 0:08:04.800 whom are local to the countries and regents where we work. 0:08:05.320 --> 0:08:07.640 And as I mentioned earlier, we're fifty years old. So 0:08:07.680 --> 0:08:11.440 we're an organization that is deeply locally rooted. And locally 0:08:11.560 --> 0:08:16.320 lad but globally connected. And I would say the state 0:08:16.440 --> 0:08:20.120 of women and girls health right now is is, you know, 0:08:20.240 --> 0:08:23.640 continues to be pretty dire. And I hate to be 0:08:23.760 --> 0:08:27.200 kind of one to you know, drown ourselves in the negativity, 0:08:27.200 --> 0:08:30.960 but I think it's important to acknowledge that. You know, 0:08:31.080 --> 0:08:35.200 the Global Goals Report came out just a few weeks 0:08:35.200 --> 0:08:38.920 ago saying that without investment, gender equality will take nearly 0:08:39.040 --> 0:08:43.360 three hundred years to achieve. And we really believe that 0:08:43.400 --> 0:08:47.439 without health equity, we're never going to achieve gender equity. 0:08:47.640 --> 0:08:50.720 Right now, there's still over two hundred million women around 0:08:50.760 --> 0:08:53.880 the world that go without modern contraception that they want. 0:08:54.600 --> 0:08:58.240 Right There's eight hundred and ten women that die every 0:08:58.360 --> 0:09:02.120 day due to complex patitions of pregnancy and childbirth. So 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:04.520 these are things that we have answers to, we have 0:09:04.720 --> 0:09:09.720 solutions to you. We have modern contraception, we have all 0:09:09.760 --> 0:09:11.800 of the you know kind of knowledge that we need 0:09:11.840 --> 0:09:14.000 to have strong maternal healthcare, and we know that we're 0:09:14.480 --> 0:09:16.920 failing women and girls all over the world, including in 0:09:16.920 --> 0:09:21.839 this country. Of course, more than six of women did 0:09:21.880 --> 0:09:24.920 not get tested for any of the most dangerous diseases 0:09:25.400 --> 0:09:29.000 in the past twelve months and more women die from 0:09:29.040 --> 0:09:32.360 cervical cancer than childbirth in the global South, and that's 0:09:32.400 --> 0:09:36.000 really because there's still a severe lack of access to 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:40.440 healthcare and a lot of stigma, a lot of barriers 0:09:40.480 --> 0:09:43.480 put up, particularly against women and girls access in that 0:09:43.559 --> 0:09:47.080 healthcare and being able to make choices for their own bodies, 0:09:47.120 --> 0:09:49.679 in their own lives. You know, we're we're very kind 0:09:49.679 --> 0:09:52.040 of steeped in it in the reproductive health and right 0:09:52.160 --> 0:09:55.920 space right now, particularly here in the US, which which 0:09:55.920 --> 0:10:00.080 reverberates globally um and that translates to a lot of 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:02.880 other health issues as well beyond reproductive health, where women 0:10:02.920 --> 0:10:07.280 are women and girls particularly lack the ability to kind 0:10:07.280 --> 0:10:10.160 of take their health into their own hands. You know. 0:10:10.200 --> 0:10:12.120 The plus side of this, of course, is that we 0:10:12.200 --> 0:10:16.720 have incredible ingenuity and creativity that come out, particularly in 0:10:16.760 --> 0:10:20.160 times of crisis and constraints. We have a lot of 0:10:20.200 --> 0:10:23.240 known solutions out there. We do actually know how to 0:10:23.280 --> 0:10:27.439 provide better access to healthcare. And I think now, particularly 0:10:27.520 --> 0:10:30.280 from the seat that I sit in and in working 0:10:30.280 --> 0:10:34.080 with individual philanthropists and particularly women philanthropists that are that 0:10:34.160 --> 0:10:37.400 are bold and curious and willing to go where others won't, 0:10:37.880 --> 0:10:41.040 we have a huge appetite and a lot of momentum 0:10:41.040 --> 0:10:45.760 around using philanthropy to really catalyze the type of systemic 0:10:45.840 --> 0:10:48.240 change that we need in order to break down those 0:10:48.240 --> 0:10:53.000 barriers to health and to gender equity. Um, how Maverick 0:10:53.000 --> 0:10:57.440 Collective has always operated is is this idea, as I 0:10:57.480 --> 0:10:59.920 just said, of going where other funders won't and use 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:06.200 in philanthropy as a vehicle to test new innovations, new technologies, 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:09.000 new approaches and ways of working in order to move 0:11:09.000 --> 0:11:15.120 the needle and to accelerate rapid innovation in healthcare. You know, 0:11:15.240 --> 0:11:19.440 for instance, we have Maverick members that are helping p. S. 0:11:19.480 --> 0:11:23.800 I introduce new contraceptive technologies in different markets. You know, 0:11:23.960 --> 0:11:26.680 one of our members funded a piece of work that 0:11:26.720 --> 0:11:31.640 allowed us to test whether women can self inject contraception 0:11:31.720 --> 0:11:34.200 in Mozambique. This is a technology we don't have here 0:11:34.240 --> 0:11:37.880 in the US, but it's becoming more popular across the 0:11:37.880 --> 0:11:41.719 global South, trying to kind of leap fraud or bypass 0:11:41.840 --> 0:11:45.440 the major roadblocks in the healthcare system. You know, taking 0:11:45.480 --> 0:11:47.319 it's very hard for women to be able to get 0:11:47.360 --> 0:11:52.480 to clinics to get their prescribed contraception. This self inject 0:11:52.520 --> 0:11:54.720 contraceptive is something that a woman could pick up in 0:11:54.720 --> 0:11:58.760 her local pharmacy, take home and inject in the privacy 0:11:58.800 --> 0:12:02.000 of her home. We were able to use Maverick money 0:12:02.040 --> 0:12:06.160 to test the kind of desire and uptake of this 0:12:06.280 --> 0:12:11.040 contraceptive technology in Mozambique, to also prove to the government 0:12:11.080 --> 0:12:14.640 that women could in fact self inject safely at home. 0:12:14.720 --> 0:12:18.200 Of course, um, women you know aren't always trusted to 0:12:18.240 --> 0:12:20.040 do such things, and of course the data showed of 0:12:20.080 --> 0:12:23.400 course they can um And within five years of this 0:12:23.480 --> 0:12:27.280 Maverick investment, we have been able to demonstrate that there 0:12:27.400 --> 0:12:30.199 was a real desire and a real demand for this 0:12:30.280 --> 0:12:33.800 new type of contraception and also show the government that 0:12:33.800 --> 0:12:37.360 that they could actually um allow women to access it 0:12:37.400 --> 0:12:40.880 in pharmacies. And after five years policy was changed and 0:12:40.880 --> 0:12:43.600 now women are able to access self inject contraception across 0:12:43.640 --> 0:12:47.160 the country. So we see some really important uses of 0:12:47.240 --> 0:12:50.320 Maverick money not only to help ps I try new things, 0:12:50.360 --> 0:12:53.200 but really to change policy engage systems in the countries 0:12:53.240 --> 0:12:57.040 where we were. Yeah, that's an excellent example of not 0:12:57.160 --> 0:13:01.720 just direct funding one project, but really being able to 0:13:01.760 --> 0:13:05.640 go well beyond that by affecting policy changes that then 0:13:05.679 --> 0:13:13.959 make it enormously sustainable for larger numbers of people. Seneca 0:13:14.000 --> 0:13:16.439 has one hundred women to hear. Will be back after 0:13:16.480 --> 0:13:30.200 the short break, you know, Alex, I'm wondering um. Rena 0:13:30.280 --> 0:13:36.000 mentioned the fact that the Collective works with other female 0:13:36.000 --> 0:13:39.120 philanthropists and you are clearly one of them, and I 0:13:39.280 --> 0:13:44.199 wondered what projects you you have been perhaps closely involved 0:13:44.240 --> 0:13:47.600 in in terms of the funding, that have been particularly 0:13:47.679 --> 0:13:51.959 significant for you. Yeah. So I've invested with the Collective 0:13:52.840 --> 0:13:56.400 for many years now. I was pretty early on in 0:13:55.640 --> 0:13:59.120 it in its inception as well, and so I've invested 0:13:59.640 --> 0:14:04.160 in three ways and in three programs. So the first 0:14:04.200 --> 0:14:07.480 program that I invested with is called Maverick Venture and 0:14:07.520 --> 0:14:10.440 if you're familiar with finance, sort of a venture capitalist 0:14:10.440 --> 0:14:16.559 approach to investing in philanthropy. UM, it's UM larger investment 0:14:16.640 --> 0:14:20.560 in size, it's a few years, but as Rina mentioned, 0:14:20.600 --> 0:14:24.160 it's really catalytic and change. And so I focused on 0:14:24.760 --> 0:14:30.560 women's health. In Uganda. Many women still die um within 0:14:31.600 --> 0:14:35.600 during childbirth or within weeks of childbirth, and we, similar 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:39.200 to the example that Rena had mentioned, not only funded 0:14:39.360 --> 0:14:43.440 UM clean birth kits that saved women's lives, but this 0:14:43.600 --> 0:14:48.640 was ultimately adopted into policy change, and UM there was 0:14:48.640 --> 0:14:52.880 additional funding that's that was provided. Uh. That sort of 0:14:52.960 --> 0:14:56.680 led me to help discuss with Rena the founding of 0:14:57.120 --> 0:15:00.960 another program I invested in called Maverick Next, and that 0:15:01.200 --> 0:15:04.080 was a cohort model, So that was bringing on young 0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:07.600 women who not only wanted to invest in this innovation, 0:15:07.800 --> 0:15:12.240 but wanted to invest in deep systemic change. And so 0:15:12.480 --> 0:15:16.360 for my project with Maverick Next, that was also related 0:15:16.400 --> 0:15:19.359 to sexual and reproductive health and that was in Ethiopia 0:15:20.120 --> 0:15:25.560 and my project there was related to contraception. I think 0:15:25.960 --> 0:15:29.520 what was really great about this experience was that it 0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:33.440 led me to want to invest in Mavericks third program 0:15:33.480 --> 0:15:37.800 because you know, with that we also again are focused 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:42.200 on scaling up the project. I think from the two 0:15:42.760 --> 0:15:45.520 UM women that were initially impacted in the cavell that 0:15:45.560 --> 0:15:48.960 we had focused on. Now the goal is to reach 0:15:49.160 --> 0:15:54.200 half a million girls with contraception in Ethiopia and some 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:59.680 surrounding countries. What was so apparent about that was sitting 0:15:59.720 --> 0:16:02.440 down on with this young girl and putting her at 0:16:02.480 --> 0:16:05.880 the center of you know, impact, in the center of 0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:08.800 you know, we're really here to support her. And so 0:16:08.920 --> 0:16:12.600 Maverick has a new um, has a new program called 0:16:12.600 --> 0:16:17.240 Portfolio that is really putting women and girls at the 0:16:17.280 --> 0:16:23.360 forefront of the decision making, and all of the initiatives 0:16:23.520 --> 0:16:26.600 and all of the partnerships are really going to be grassroots, 0:16:26.720 --> 0:16:28.800 and they are going to come from in country and 0:16:28.880 --> 0:16:31.800 come from the women and girls who are directly impacted 0:16:31.960 --> 0:16:36.600 by these health initiatives. That's terrific. I can just hear 0:16:36.640 --> 0:16:41.000 how enthusiastic you are as an investor in these programs 0:16:41.040 --> 0:16:45.440 over the fact that they make a difference in Rena, 0:16:45.520 --> 0:16:49.040 telling us as well about the significant impacts that the 0:16:49.120 --> 0:16:53.520 programs have had. I know that the Maverick Collective has 0:16:53.560 --> 0:16:58.960 been involved, uh significantly in helping with the evacuation of 0:16:59.080 --> 0:17:03.600 Afghan women and human rights defenders women leaders when the 0:17:03.640 --> 0:17:07.679 Taliban took over. Can either of you talk about that? So? 0:17:07.720 --> 0:17:11.080 I think I can touch upon that quickly in that 0:17:11.160 --> 0:17:13.800 I think what's really incredible about the Maverick Collective is 0:17:13.840 --> 0:17:17.679 the trust that we have placed both in p s 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:22.040 I and in the community as a whole. We are 0:17:22.160 --> 0:17:26.679 really friends and family. As Maverick Collective members, we not 0:17:26.720 --> 0:17:29.680 only have personal relationships and now professionals, some of us 0:17:29.720 --> 0:17:33.280 invest in venture capital together. But one of our members, 0:17:33.320 --> 0:17:37.679 Amy dorn Bush, came to the community and in partnership 0:17:37.680 --> 0:17:43.600 with Vital Voices and discussed what funding was needed. And 0:17:43.840 --> 0:17:46.520 none of us had really batten eye. And I think 0:17:46.560 --> 0:17:50.680 within forty eight hours as a community, we had mobilized 0:17:50.960 --> 0:17:55.280 a few million dollars and this was not something that 0:17:55.400 --> 0:17:58.320 we needed to vet. We needed to, you know, get 0:17:58.359 --> 0:18:00.840 the analytics behind or the number or as we we 0:18:01.000 --> 0:18:03.320 know our community, we know our members and there are 0:18:03.440 --> 0:18:06.840 such trust and trust based philanthropy that has been built 0:18:07.680 --> 0:18:10.360 that I think that's just one example of why our 0:18:10.400 --> 0:18:14.960 community is so special, um, and the impact that we 0:18:15.320 --> 0:18:18.520 can really have, Well, that's terrific. In and you've just 0:18:18.600 --> 0:18:22.000 described yet another dimension of the collective and how you 0:18:22.080 --> 0:18:26.639 work together. Rena. You're the managing director of the collective, 0:18:26.760 --> 0:18:30.360 and I wonder how you got involved. Alex has told 0:18:30.440 --> 0:18:34.240 us about her engagement. What have you learned from coming 0:18:34.280 --> 0:18:38.040 into the collective and being in the position you're in? Oh? Sure, 0:18:38.160 --> 0:18:42.000 I mean this has absolutely been a dream job for me. Um, 0:18:42.040 --> 0:18:45.200 It's it's really one of the most Uh. I feel 0:18:45.200 --> 0:18:47.080 like I have the best job in the world, you know, 0:18:47.160 --> 0:18:49.560 I was I was born into a family of what 0:18:49.600 --> 0:18:53.920 I call high achieving do gooders. So my grandfather rose 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:56.800 up from working the auto factory floor to becoming the 0:18:56.920 --> 0:18:59.720 vice president of the United Auto Workers Union at a 0:18:59.760 --> 0:19:02.560 time when labor leaders like him kind of moved in 0:19:02.680 --> 0:19:07.560 sync with the likes of Martin Luther King Jr. Caesar Chavez. UM. 0:19:07.600 --> 0:19:09.640 This is kind of my d n A. My father 0:19:09.760 --> 0:19:13.520 is a prison health expert UM who fights for inmates 0:19:13.600 --> 0:19:16.119 rights to healthcare, and my mother founded and ran one 0:19:16.160 --> 0:19:19.040 of the largest nonprofit health plans in New York City. 0:19:19.080 --> 0:19:21.600 So public health was always really close to me and 0:19:21.680 --> 0:19:25.119 my heart and my family and just doing purpose driven work. 0:19:25.800 --> 0:19:28.840 I cut my teeth in global health really early on. 0:19:29.119 --> 0:19:32.000 As a college student. I studied abroad in Cape Town, 0:19:32.040 --> 0:19:36.359 South Africa. And in addition to you know, traveling around 0:19:36.359 --> 0:19:41.280 that beautiful country and um, you know, pretending to know 0:19:41.320 --> 0:19:43.639 how to serve, which I never really learned, I also 0:19:43.840 --> 0:19:48.960 was volunteering in a township with HIV positive um families 0:19:49.000 --> 0:19:52.520 and communities. It was at a time when anti retroviral 0:19:52.600 --> 0:19:55.359 treatment was not available to people in South Africa, so 0:19:55.440 --> 0:19:58.399 there were protests and marches in the street almost every day. 0:19:58.680 --> 0:20:01.720 I got very involved with the Student Action Campaign and 0:20:01.800 --> 0:20:05.919 just really kind of found my inner activist and became 0:20:05.960 --> 0:20:10.520 pretty obsessed with UM working on the global HIV epidemic 0:20:10.600 --> 0:20:14.120 and then later particularly with adolescents and young people. So 0:20:14.160 --> 0:20:17.600 I spent about fifteen years at my career focused on 0:20:17.720 --> 0:20:21.399 the needs of adolescence and youth UM around their sexual 0:20:21.440 --> 0:20:25.760 and reproductive health, HIV prevention and treatment. I founded programs 0:20:26.119 --> 0:20:29.119 in the US working with teens and young adults and 0:20:29.200 --> 0:20:31.320 made my way to p s I about ten years 0:20:31.320 --> 0:20:34.159 ago as our global Youth and Girls advisor, And it 0:20:34.240 --> 0:20:36.840 was right around that time that Maverick Collective was was 0:20:36.880 --> 0:20:39.919 getting started, and I worked hand in hand with a 0:20:39.960 --> 0:20:42.919 lot of our founding Maverick members who were funding the 0:20:42.960 --> 0:20:45.439 youth and girls work of p s I, and I 0:20:45.520 --> 0:20:49.359 kind of fell into being almost like a m a 0:20:49.400 --> 0:20:52.480 liaison to them, you know, kind of helping helping them 0:20:52.560 --> 0:20:56.960 navigate the global Youth and Girls space, spending time with 0:20:57.040 --> 0:21:01.200 them in country and in conferences as they were getting 0:21:01.200 --> 0:21:03.360 smart on the issues and going deep on their own 0:21:03.400 --> 0:21:05.760 learning journey. I even got to live in me and 0:21:05.800 --> 0:21:08.960 mar for several months starting up a Maverick project, so 0:21:09.000 --> 0:21:11.200 it was pretty close to the community from the get 0:21:11.200 --> 0:21:15.760 go um and then moved over to found start up 0:21:15.840 --> 0:21:20.000 Maverick Next along with Alex um And and then take 0:21:20.040 --> 0:21:22.080 over the collective a couple of years ago when my 0:21:22.119 --> 0:21:26.000 predecessor left. And it's just been this amazing way for 0:21:26.040 --> 0:21:32.400 me to combine my deep passion for designing with and 0:21:32.400 --> 0:21:37.280 and and really kind of learning directly from communities about 0:21:37.320 --> 0:21:40.800 what they desire, what delights them, what what is important 0:21:40.800 --> 0:21:43.600 to them when it comes to their ability to thrive, 0:21:44.200 --> 0:21:46.960 and being able to co design with them the programs 0:21:47.000 --> 0:21:51.200 that are going to really um really helped them see 0:21:51.240 --> 0:21:53.800 success in the world. And being able to then bringing 0:21:53.920 --> 0:21:57.639 bring donors into that space. Uh, and watch the magic 0:21:57.720 --> 0:22:01.920 that happens when our Maverick members really get to stick 0:22:02.240 --> 0:22:06.280 right there proximate, you know, in the room with the 0:22:06.840 --> 0:22:09.159 women and girls that they're supporting the way that Alex 0:22:09.240 --> 0:22:11.920 talked about, you know, her moment of meeting a young 0:22:11.960 --> 0:22:15.000 married girl in Ethiopia, it's really one of the biggest 0:22:15.000 --> 0:22:17.880 pleasures of my life. Well, I can hear that your 0:22:18.040 --> 0:22:23.639 enthusiasm and commitment and experience certainly come through. We're quickly 0:22:23.720 --> 0:22:26.200 running out of time, but I want to ask both 0:22:26.240 --> 0:22:30.439 of you, as you've given us this wonderful introduction to 0:22:30.520 --> 0:22:33.680 the work of the collective, and perhaps even more importantly, 0:22:34.480 --> 0:22:38.560 caring about the impact and the change that is created 0:22:38.880 --> 0:22:44.159 from that kind of work. Given that, what makes you optimistic? 0:22:44.200 --> 0:22:48.639 I mean, obviously, Rena, you talked earlier about the dire 0:22:48.760 --> 0:22:51.960 situation of women's health around the world, and it is that. 0:22:52.280 --> 0:22:56.800 But yet you are making such a difference collectively through 0:22:56.840 --> 0:23:00.920 the collective and what you're doing individually. So what gives 0:23:00.920 --> 0:23:05.600 you hope in these times? I think if you can 0:23:06.280 --> 0:23:11.120 UM do something or make a difference in one person's life, 0:23:11.520 --> 0:23:17.040 that can have such a cascading and crucial and important impact. 0:23:18.240 --> 0:23:23.080 I you know, as I mentioned, sitting across from a 0:23:23.200 --> 0:23:27.560 young woman who is sixteen and married and has the 0:23:27.640 --> 0:23:33.239 pressure of UM pressure coming from family, and and you know, 0:23:33.280 --> 0:23:37.920 whereas I have a choice, I think is UM motivates 0:23:38.000 --> 0:23:42.560 me every single day. I think that also UM, you know, 0:23:42.680 --> 0:23:47.120 just growing up that is part of our values. I 0:23:47.160 --> 0:23:51.800 was raised as UM an equal. My father, my mother, 0:23:52.080 --> 0:23:56.840 my family. They always had treated me with equity, and 0:23:57.160 --> 0:24:00.920 so I feel as though I have a responsibility UM 0:24:00.960 --> 0:24:06.080 to support in any way that I can to help 0:24:06.200 --> 0:24:10.720 uplift UM those that are in poverty, or do not 0:24:10.880 --> 0:24:14.960 have the same opportunities or access to health care. What 0:24:15.080 --> 0:24:19.600 really gives me hope is being able to sit at 0:24:19.640 --> 0:24:23.440 this kind of nexus where I sit at p s I, 0:24:23.600 --> 0:24:27.359 where I get to spend my days listening directly to 0:24:28.200 --> 0:24:33.640 leaders on the ground, proximate leaders, feminist leaders, community leaders, 0:24:34.000 --> 0:24:37.359 hearing from them directly what they want for the world, 0:24:37.680 --> 0:24:40.040 what they want for their own lives, what they think 0:24:40.080 --> 0:24:44.320 the solutions are, uh kind of solving and dismantling these 0:24:44.440 --> 0:24:48.679 really deep seated systemic problems. And then being able to 0:24:48.720 --> 0:24:51.960 go and sit in rooms with a community of you know, 0:24:52.200 --> 0:24:56.760 bold spirited, curious women who have a lot of resources 0:24:56.800 --> 0:24:59.359 and a lot of passion and a willingness to listen, 0:25:00.040 --> 0:25:03.920 and bringing those worlds together, and and being able to 0:25:04.200 --> 0:25:09.320 ensure that we can resource not only be creative in 0:25:09.400 --> 0:25:12.480 genuine ideas, but ideas that are driven by the people 0:25:12.520 --> 0:25:16.359 who are experiencing the problems the most. And so what 0:25:16.480 --> 0:25:18.919 gives me hope is that we have an opportunity to 0:25:19.080 --> 0:25:22.199 redefine the way global health is done, to redefine the 0:25:22.200 --> 0:25:25.440 way philanthropy is done, and mad reflective is doing that 0:25:25.520 --> 0:25:28.159 even in just our tiny slice of the world. And 0:25:28.200 --> 0:25:30.120 if there's any type of you know, if we can 0:25:30.119 --> 0:25:35.000 share anything that impacts and inspires others to act more boldly, 0:25:35.400 --> 0:25:40.119 to listen to communities, to give more flexibly, to take 0:25:40.160 --> 0:25:43.080 on a more feminist approach to the way that they 0:25:43.200 --> 0:25:45.639 mobilize their resources. I think that we have made a 0:25:45.680 --> 0:25:50.640 real impact. Well, certainly, the Maverick Collective provides so much 0:25:50.680 --> 0:25:54.080 hope two women around the globe, and for that we 0:25:54.119 --> 0:25:58.040 should all be grateful and grateful to you, Rena grund 0:25:58.119 --> 0:26:00.920 Finger and to you Alex I'd for the work that 0:26:01.000 --> 0:26:04.679 you do with the collective and making so much possible. 0:26:05.119 --> 0:26:12.760