252. How Rihanna's Clara Lionel Foundation Is Fighting for Climate Justice + Resiliency - Justine Lucas and Fiona Korwin Pawlowski
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Overview
Meet Justine & Fiona. They're leading the charge not only at Rihanna's Foundation, Clara Lionel Foundation (named after her grandparents😭💚), but also educating the world that climate disasters do not impact all communities equally. Tune in and hear how the foundation is using local people to solve problems in the Caribbean leading to climate resiliency - all supporting Rihanna's dream that her "philanthropy will be as big as my music and my fashion."
💡Learn:
Understanding climate justice & climate resiliency🌎
Climate disasters do not impact all communities equally. What CLF is doing to combat this.
How they're harnessing the power of Rihanna’s platform to deepen impact and advocacy
Today’s Guest
Justine Lucas, Executive Director and Fiona Korwin Pavlowski, Senior Director, Clara Lionel Foundation
“When we have something as urgent and complex as the climate crisis, we need everyone and we need to reach across industries and borders, and really build partnerships and support people like these women that are leading these clinics.”
Episode Transcript
Download Full Episode Transcript Here
Episode highlights
Justine’s story and journey to where she is today (4:00)
Fiona’s story and journey to where she is today (5:30)
The history and mission of Clara Lionel Foundation (8:00)
CLF’s scope of work and their global footprint (11:00)
Leveraging community based partnerships (12:30)
CLF’s Climate Resilience Initiative (15:00)
CLF’s climate justice work (18:00)
What resilience looks like in tangible terms (18:40)
A powerful moment of philanthropy in Fiona’s life (31:00)
A powerful moment of philanthropy in Justine’s life (34:00)
Fiona’s One Good Thing: Close the loop. (38:00)
Justine’s One Good Thing: Nonprofits should be working to put themselves out of business. (38:53)
Connect with CLF (41:00)
powerful quotes
“You can’t get more critical than the climate crisis.” -Fiona
“CLF historically had done all this amazing work in emergency response and natural disasters. We had seen in this role but also in our careers that emergency response feels like a bandaid.” -Justine
“Communities are left to pick up the pieces for years and years. It felt like something that kept repeating.” -Justine
“For us, we focus on critical facilities. We look at health clinics, schools, shelters, and we equip them with renewable energy. And we harden the infrastructure so that these facilities can withstand natural disasters and ensure that communities have continuous access to those critical services.” -Justine
“We focus on supporting community based organizations.” -Justine
“This isn't about where you're from, this is about meeting people where they are.” -Fiona
“How can we maximize and elevate these leaders that are already doing the work on the ground.” -Fiona
“The fact that climate disasters don't impact all communities equally was really the impetus for the climate resilience initiative.” -Justine
“The climate crisis is not impacting communities equally.” -Justine
“We really believe strongly in building partnerships with community based organizations and really acknowledging their deep understanding of what's necessary to achieve justice in their own communities. So that is our climate justice work. In that pillar of work, we are just grant giving to these organizations.” -Fiona
“We work with each partner to specifically tailor what we are doing to their vision and their needs. We define resilience as infrastructure and operations. We talk about resiliency of buildings and systems.” -Fiona
“After the murder of George Floyd, we leveraged about $47 million dollars in grant making in 2020.” -Justine
“When we’re assessing infrastructure, we’re talking about renewable energy. How do you have a 360 degree approach to resiliency and what readiness looks like.” -Fiona
“In emergencies, we found that our partners are already positioned as the emergency response leaders for their communities.” -Fiona
“This is about human rights and access.” -Fiona
“When we have something as urgent and complex as the climate crisis, where we need everyone and we need to reach across industries and borders, and really build partnerships and support people like these women that are leading these clinics.” -Fiona
“Everyone gets up and does the work every day because this is a right that everyone should have.” -Fiona
“People can feel her humble nature and can feel her energy because she just shows up as herself. So I think we build partners and build relationships by just listening and being authentic.” -Justine
“Philanthropy is about goodwill between humans. Philanthropy is not about things, it’s about what you do once you listen.” -Fiona
“The system is facilitating that injustice of what needs to be solved for. Systems change approach is what I learned there.” -Justine
“If you ask yourself if you are closing the loop, it is a really nice and simple core tenant to ask yourself.” -Fiona
“We should be trying to solve the challenge, not perpetually putting bandaids on a challenge.” -Justine
“How are we putting ourselves out of business? I’m not here to build an organization, I’m here to do the work.” -Justine
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Episode Sponsored by
Studio Selfie
Julie Confer, Jonathan McCoy, Becky Endicott, Justine Lucas, Fiona Korwin Pawlowski and Fernando Stallings.
