Impact Interview: Lynn Zebeda
Name: Lynn Zebeda
Role/Function: Co-Founder, Dr. Monk
What She’s Currently Working On:
Our agency Dr. Monk is almost celebrating its 10-year anniversary and to do so, we are launching a couple of spin-offs that excite us immensely.
To highlight a few: The Ananse Climate Project brings together African folklore and education to shift our perspective on climate change. Climate education has been dominated by Western narratives and solutions, and we are eager to apply an African lens. Ask any friend with roots in Ghana, Suriname or their diasporic communities and they will tell you who Ananse is (Anansi in Suriname, and even ‘Aunt Nancy’ in the Southern US): a spider, a trickster, a story character that has been around for centuries.
We created this project so that Ananse can help us be smart in dealing with the climate crisis. We started with the Ananse Climate Fellowship in which writers and illustrators create new stories that highlight different aspects of climate change. These will be the basis of the Ananse Climate Kit, an educational toolkit for children in Ghana that will help them become more climate resilient. Later, we aim to let the project travel the same route as Ananse did due to the transatlantic slave trade: from Ghana to Suriname to The Netherlands.
A related initiative is the Church of Climate Change, which we conceptualized a few years back and want to grow bigger. It is meant as a safe haven for creatives, thinkers, and doers who feel a responsibility towards our communities and environments. By building a proverbial church we aim to bring people together, learn about climate through a kaleidoscope of perspectives, reflect on our CO2 sins and take relevant action to LIBTFYI: Leave It Better Than You Found It. Everyone is welcome to join.
1. What was the “aha” moment that sparked your interest in social impact?
At some point during my early twenties, I had a realization that rather than having to choose between “becoming successful” and “doing good,” I couldn't see a better life for myself than one in which I would be successful at doing good.
The seed was planted much earlier, though, growing up with two parents that cared about people and were very aware of historical and present injustices, our colonial past and what was happening in the world. My subliminal childhood messages must have been that everyone is connected, that it is important to love fiercely, and that you are able to make a difference.
From that point onwards, my path was paved with "aha" moments. What randomly comes to mind: seeing cow carcasses lying along the highway in Nairobi a decade ago and hearing that they died because of climate change and droughts. Learning about systems change and that our mental models are where it starts if you are aiming for deep transformation. Being educated on how the “green transition” in the West is happening over the backs of (mining) communities in many places - except the West. The list goes on and on. I'm a sucker for "aha" moments and connecting the dots - please share yours when we meet!
2. How did you break into the social impact space?
I have been in the social and green impact space for around 15 years now. I got my first real job at age 21, when I was offered a position as an impact consultant at Better Future. I worked with management teams and communities around the world and the work experience shaped my vision on leadership. Tip #1: You're never too young (or too old!) to add value.
The job at Better Future was offered at to me after I participated in a leadership program organized by the same organization in The Gambia. Tip #2: Keep moving and try out different things, it may lead to good surprises in the future.
Before starting work, I learned a lot volunteering for the Night of the Tips for a couple of years, an initiative that was started by my dear friend Wies. Tip #3: Support awesome friends doing good things with your time and energy. It's such a great feeling working on positive change together.
After a decade of being a social entrepreneur working with a small team and many collaborators, my fourth and last insight would be that so much can be achieved when there is trust and joyfulness between people (and the opposite also holds true!).
3. What most excites you about the social impact space right now?
I like seeing the sustainability and social justice movements move closer and closer together.
“Freeness and unity for humanity and beyond,” is the motto my South African friend Luja put in my mind a few months ago, and that is in essence what both movements are about. I also come back energized from sessions with THNK, the School for Creative Leadership, that help me connect embodied leadership to systems thinking. They also have a cool blog about leadership.
And I am especially hopeful basking in the knowledge that so many of us around the world (shout out to my people in Amsterdam and New York and Accra and Las Terrenas) are doing good and smart and regenerative things that we can build on. Like my grandmother told me: if we want to get to the end, we have to start at the beginning.
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