As we’re a majority women-owned business and since November is a month of gratitude, we thought we’d create space in this month’s blog to spotlight and give thanks to women of impact who are making positive change in the world. As we researched and wrote this story, we realized there are so many remarkable female social entrepreneurs, we’ll likely turn this into a periodic feature in our blog. So, if you have women of impact you admire, let us know by emailing us at [email protected].
Maggie Kane
Founder and Executive Director, A Place at the Table
Raleigh, North Carolina
What We Love
Maggie is one of those humans who simply exudes love for all, whether you’re an old friend, a corporate executive, or someone living on the street, living on the margins. She’s a strong believer that everyone deserves dignity, and part of that dignity comes from having access to good food. A native of Raleigh, Maggie opened A Place at the Table, her city’s first pay-what-you-can café, providing community and good food for all, regardless of means. The business model offers several payment options, from full price to reduced rate to paying it forward. Each day 40-60 volunteers come through the café doors; some to work in exchange for a food, and many just looking to be of service to others.
Learn More
You can follow Maggie on LinkedIn and visit A Place at the Table to learn more. You also might be interested to learn more about the network of about the of pay-what-you-can cafés by visiting One World Everybody Eats.
Masami Sato
Founder and CEO, B1G1
Singapore
What We Love
Masami is high energy and radiates impact in everything she does. A native of Japan, Masami’s been a social entrepreneur since 2001, always seeking to use business to solve inequalities that exist in the world. She’s been a teacher, translator, natural food chef, farmer, author, and award-winning entrepreneur. With B1G1, she innovated a completely new way for businesses to easily embed giving into the heart of their everyday business activities. Since the company’s inception in 2010, the B1G1 international community of 2,500+ businesses has created more than one-quarter-billion (and growing) micro giving impacts.
Learn More
You can follow Masami on LinkedIn and visit B1G1 to learn more about her certified B Corp.
Sarah Calhoun
Founding Owner, Red Ants Pants
White Sulphur Springs, Montana
What We Love
While a lot of attention in the social impact movement goes to urban-based entrepreneurs, Sarah Calhoun makes her mark through rural empowerment with a focus on women. Sarah founded Red Ants Pants to design and manufacture workwear that would fit, function, and flatter women (think welding and farm work, for example). She launched a nonprofit, the Red Ants Pants Foundation, to support women’s leadership, working family farms and ranches, and rural communities. She also kickstarted the Red Ants Music Festival, which annually draws 16,000+ attendees to celebrate rural Montana, revel in country music, and raise funds for the foundation’s work.
Learn More
You can follow Sarah on LinkedIn and visit Red Ants Pants to learn more.
Lauren Singer
CEO, Package Free
New York City, New York
What We Love
Lauren Singer knows how to reduce waste — and she’s using her time and talents to guide others on a quest for zero waste. Lauren first gained notoriety when she reduced a year’s personal waste to fit in a 16-oz mason jar, and her “Trash is For Tossers” blog is a must-read with a strong and fun voice. Her online shop Package Free offers Zero Waste Kits and sources products from individuals and brands with a mission to create a positive environmental impact. Since its launch in 2017, Singer’s company has kept hundreds of millions of pieces of trash from being disposed of in landfills.
Learn More
You can follow Lauren on LinkedIn and visit Package Free to learn more. And don’t forget to check out her Trash is for Tossers blog.
Rose Penelope Yee
Chief Visionary Officer, Green Retirement, Inc.
Alameda, California
What We Love
How can someone seemingly be everywhere at once? Is it a superpower? Or is it simply Rose Penelope Yee, whom colleagues describe as being among the most engaged women of impact they know. Rose’s day job is with Green Retirement, a financial services firm she co-founded to help people plan for retirement and exercise the power of their 401Ks to prevent harm on people and the planet. In addition, she is Chair for the Social Good Advisory Group to Pink Panda Finance; a member of the finance committee for the Movement for a People’s Party; a lifetime member of Social Venture Circle; and a founding leader of WeTheChange, a group of B Corp women CEOs working to bring about shared and durable prosperity through systemic changes to the global economy.
Learn More
You can follow Rose on LinkedIn and visit Green Retirement to learn more.
Cherie Hoeger
CEO and Co-founder, Saalt
Boise, Idaho
What We Love
Cherie Hoeger is a writer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and a leading advocate who’s using the power of business to end the stigma of period prejudice. The Certified B Corporation she co-founded and leads, Saalt, provides women with premium, reusable menstrual cups and leakproof underwear. Its impact in the world is that it commits 2% of revenue to donate period care to regions with the most need and help fund initiatives in menstrual health, education, and sustainability. Her company has diverted nearly 5 million waste products from landfill and has funded more than 100,000 days of school for young women around the world.
Learn More
You can follow Cherie on LinkedIn and visit Saalt to learn more about her certified B Corp.