How can carbon finance do more to strengthen rural livelihoods and empower the communities on the frontlines of climate change? Social Impact Pioneers - Anna Kilpatrick, from PUR, Ann Vaughan & Lilian Gwazayo of CARE, and Olaf Westermann, from Catholic Relief Services (CRS) explore this critical question.
The conversation, in turn, hears from people implementing carbon finance programmes with a focus on deepening livelihood benefits in countries from around the world, including Mr. Matola Sigele in Malawi; Karimi in Cambodia; Emmanuel and Joshua in Uganda.
Together, they unpack how nature-based solutions, carbon markets, and community-led restoration can deliver climate impact rooted in equity and sustainability. The conversation dives into payment for ecosystem services, carbon equity, and the importance of long-term investment in communities that steward forests and farmlands.
You will hear how carbon projects are reshaping livelihoods—improving food security, empowering women, and restoring degraded landscapes. And also some of the challenges - in making these programmes work - whether land rights, short-term rewards, or understandable skepticism.
This episode offers practical insights for businesses, investors, and NGOs seeking to align carbon finance integrity with inclusive development.
Listen now to explore how climate finance can be a cornerstone of sustainable livelihoods—not just a co-benefit.
This conversation is hosted by Yvette Torres-Rahman, co-founder of Business Fights Poverty.
Social Impact Pioneers:
- Anna Kilpatrick, Chief Strategy and Impact Officer at PUR, whose agroforestry projects help global companies decarbonize agricultural supply chains while improving smallholder incomes.
- Ann Vaughan, Associate Vice President for Resilient Futures at CARE, leading work to unlock climate finance that reaches 25 million people, especially women and girls.
- Olaf Westermann, Senior Technical Advisor on Climate Change and Agriculture at CRS, connecting conservation, livelihoods, and equity in nature-based carbon projects worldwide.
- Lilian Gwazayo, Field Advisor, & Environmental Scientist, CARE, Malawi.
Links:
Redd+ Projects: https://unfccc.int/topics/land-use/workstreams/redd/what-is-redd
PUR: https://www.pur.co/
Catholic Relief Services: https://www.crs.org/
Care: Malawi We Staan Nog Steeds: https://www.carenederland.org/verhaal/malawi-we-staan-nog-steeds
Care: Malawi: Herstel van groene vegetatie draagt bij aan duurzame toekomst
https://www.carenederland.org/nieuws/malawi-het-herstellen-van-groene-vegetatie
CARE Malawi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/care-international-in-malawi/posts/?feedView=all
CARE Nederland: https://www.linkedin.com/company/care-nederland/posts/?feedView=all
Restore Africa: https://www.evergreening.org/restoreafrica/
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How can carbon finance do more to strengthen rural livelihoods and empower the communities on the frontlines of climate change? Social Impact Pioneers - Anna Kilpatrick, from PUR, Ann Vaughan & Lilian Gwazayo of CARE, and Olaf Westermann, from Catholic Relief Services (CRS) explore this critical question.
The conversation, in turn, hears from people implementing carbon finance programmes with a focus on deepening livelihood benefits in countries from around the world, including Mr. Matola Sigele in Malawi; Karimi in Cambodia; Emmanuel and Joshua in Uganda.
Together, they unpack how nature-based solutions, carbon markets, and community-led restoration can deliver climate impact rooted in equity and sustainability. The conversation dives into payment for ecosystem services, carbon equity, and the importance of long-term investment in communities that steward forests and farmlands.
You will hear how carbon projects are reshaping livelihoods—improving food security, empowering women, and restoring degraded landscapes. And also some of the challenges - in making these programmes work - whether land rights, short-term rewards, or understandable skepticism.
This episode offers practical insights for businesses, investors, and NGOs seeking to align carbon finance integrity with inclusive development.
Listen now to explore how climate finance can be a cornerstone of sustainable livelihoods—not just a co-benefit.
This conversation is hosted by Yvette Torres-Rahman, co-founder of Business Fights Poverty.
Social Impact Pioneers:
- Anna Kilpatrick, Chief Strategy and Impact Officer at PUR, whose agroforestry projects help global companies decarbonize agricultural supply chains while improving smallholder incomes.
- Ann Vaughan, Associate Vice President for Resilient Futures at CARE, leading work to unlock climate finance that reaches 25 million people, especially women and girls.
- Olaf Westermann, Senior Technical Advisor on Climate Change and Agriculture at CRS, connecting conservation, livelihoods, and equity in nature-based carbon projects worldwide.
- Lilian Gwazayo, Field Advisor, & Environmental Scientist, CARE, Malawi.
Links:
Redd+ Projects: https://unfccc.int/topics/land-use/workstreams/redd/what-is-redd
PUR: https://www.pur.co/
Catholic Relief Services: https://www.crs.org/
Care: Malawi We Staan Nog Steeds: https://www.carenederland.org/verhaal/malawi-we-staan-nog-steeds
Care: Malawi: Herstel van groene vegetatie draagt bij aan duurzame toekomst
https://www.carenederland.org/nieuws/malawi-het-herstellen-van-groene-vegetatie
CARE Malawi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/care-international-in-malawi/posts/?feedView=all
CARE Nederland: https://www.linkedin.com/company/care-nederland/posts/?feedView=all
Restore Africa: https://www.evergreening.org/restoreafrica/
Legislating humanity to change the system, with Maaria Mozaffar
Social Impact Pioneers
29 minutes 59 seconds
3 weeks ago
Legislating humanity to change the system, with Maaria Mozaffar
In this episode, we meet Social Impact Pioneer Maaria Mozaffar — a legislative attorney, human rights policy strategist, and author of inclusive policy. Maaria’s life work proves that lasting change begins not with slogans, but with courage and conversation. From writing inclusive laws to confronting systemic inequity, Maaria’s journey reveals how anyone — yes, anyone — can participate in reshaping the policies that define our lives.
Across today’s headlines, and the headlines of inequality the dehumanisation of communities through policy and enforcement is very much a reality. Maaria joins us to untangle that thread and to ask — what does justice look like when we centre humanity, empathy, and inclusion in our laws?
An attorney, mediator, and author, Maaria Mozaffar has been advancing equity since the early 2000s, drafting groundbreaking legislation such as the Inclusive Athletic Attire Act, Faith Behind Bars, and resolutions against cross-cultural bullying and hate crimes. Her legal models have been replicated nationwide, proving that human-centred policymaking is not just possible — it’s powerful.
In conversation, Maaria explains that real reform starts with writing the code itself. She shares how individuals — not just elected officials — can influence the legislative process: learning, listening, and mediating to find common ground. “It’s not politics,” she says. “It’s about refusing to allow any community to be dehumanised.”
From her early days in law school during 9/11 — when she witnessed civil liberties eroding in real time — to her current work mediating conflicts and drafting inclusive laws, Maaria’s career bridges law and humanity. Through stories of legislation that began at kitchen tables and ended in state law, she offers both moral clarity and practical steps for creating accountability, transparency, and dignity in policy.
This is a conversation about courage, systems, and the belief that transformation is possible if we’re willing to engage.
So, what does it mean to write laws that protect rather than punish — to legislate with empathy?
Join us for this hopeful episode as Maaria Mozaffar shares how to turn disillusionment into action, and how each of us can shape a more just and humane society.
Links:
Maariamozaffar.com
Inclusive Athletic Attire Act: https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/publicacts/view/102-0051
Faith Behind Bars: https://ilga.gov/Legislation/ILCS/Articles?ActID=4430&ChapterID=55
Social Impact Pioneers
How can carbon finance do more to strengthen rural livelihoods and empower the communities on the frontlines of climate change? Social Impact Pioneers - Anna Kilpatrick, from PUR, Ann Vaughan & Lilian Gwazayo of CARE, and Olaf Westermann, from Catholic Relief Services (CRS) explore this critical question.
The conversation, in turn, hears from people implementing carbon finance programmes with a focus on deepening livelihood benefits in countries from around the world, including Mr. Matola Sigele in Malawi; Karimi in Cambodia; Emmanuel and Joshua in Uganda.
Together, they unpack how nature-based solutions, carbon markets, and community-led restoration can deliver climate impact rooted in equity and sustainability. The conversation dives into payment for ecosystem services, carbon equity, and the importance of long-term investment in communities that steward forests and farmlands.
You will hear how carbon projects are reshaping livelihoods—improving food security, empowering women, and restoring degraded landscapes. And also some of the challenges - in making these programmes work - whether land rights, short-term rewards, or understandable skepticism.
This episode offers practical insights for businesses, investors, and NGOs seeking to align carbon finance integrity with inclusive development.
Listen now to explore how climate finance can be a cornerstone of sustainable livelihoods—not just a co-benefit.
This conversation is hosted by Yvette Torres-Rahman, co-founder of Business Fights Poverty.
Social Impact Pioneers:
- Anna Kilpatrick, Chief Strategy and Impact Officer at PUR, whose agroforestry projects help global companies decarbonize agricultural supply chains while improving smallholder incomes.
- Ann Vaughan, Associate Vice President for Resilient Futures at CARE, leading work to unlock climate finance that reaches 25 million people, especially women and girls.
- Olaf Westermann, Senior Technical Advisor on Climate Change and Agriculture at CRS, connecting conservation, livelihoods, and equity in nature-based carbon projects worldwide.
- Lilian Gwazayo, Field Advisor, & Environmental Scientist, CARE, Malawi.
Links:
Redd+ Projects: https://unfccc.int/topics/land-use/workstreams/redd/what-is-redd
PUR: https://www.pur.co/
Catholic Relief Services: https://www.crs.org/
Care: Malawi We Staan Nog Steeds: https://www.carenederland.org/verhaal/malawi-we-staan-nog-steeds
Care: Malawi: Herstel van groene vegetatie draagt bij aan duurzame toekomst
https://www.carenederland.org/nieuws/malawi-het-herstellen-van-groene-vegetatie
CARE Malawi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/care-international-in-malawi/posts/?feedView=all
CARE Nederland: https://www.linkedin.com/company/care-nederland/posts/?feedView=all
Restore Africa: https://www.evergreening.org/restoreafrica/
