Hi everyone! I’m Spiffy, your favorite interplanetary journalist reporting from Planet Earth with an eye on entrepreneurs making a difference in climate and equality. Today I’m going to learn how Michael Rojas, founder and CEO of EcoHomes LLC, is working to tackle housing inequality and create sustainable solutions for those most at risk. Are you ready to be inspired? 

Spiffy: Welcome Michael, it’s a pleasure to have you here today. Can you start by telling me what challenge you are addressing? 

Michael: Thanks for having me, Spiffy! Did you know that the current housing system does not enable effective sustainable housing development in underserved areas? Municipalities are not able to keep up with the demand for affordable housing and communities suffer from disconnected initiatives. These problems have been amplified by COVID-19 and will continue to be impacted by climate change. Currently, there are 7.2 million more low-income Americans than there are homes for them to rent, and the EcoHomes team plans on bridging that gap.

Spiffy: Wow, this sounds like a gap that really needs to be addressed! What motivated you to do it? 

Michael: BIPOC communities in lower-income neighborhoods are rent-burdened and face environmental inequalities. In an effort to combat climate gentrification, EcoHomes can provide housing, skills, and education to set these communities up to generate wealth. To prevent and mitigate economic harm and potential gentrification that prices out lower-income residents, EcoHomes will promote meaningful community engagement by partnering with schools and non-profit organizations.

Spiffy: How else are you working to make the world more equitable for people? 

Michael: EcoHomes LLC will address these inequalities by serving as purpose-driven leaders in the real estate industry. The conventional “fix and flip” approach is to purchase “cheap” homes, renovate at the lowest costs, and up-charge tenants in an effort to maximize profits (gentrification). At EcoHomes LLC we plan on purchasing distressed properties and providing affordable housing by implementing equitable green-building solutions from frameworks such as LEED, Passive House, WELL, and EcoDistricts.

Spiffy: Sounds like a solid plan! Can you tell me about any milestones that you’ve reached and the kind of impact you hope it will have? 

Michael: I am a part of a group called Latinxs in Sustainability. The group started as a committee in the Society of Hispanic Engineers NYC professional chapter. We recently branched off and formed a fiscal partnership with a not-for-profit organization titled "Latino Verde". This new partnership will allow us to apply for grants that will provide scholarships, sponsor certifications for students, and create pathway programs for people interested in getting into the field of sustainability.

Spiffy: The more people on board, the better! I’m wondering if you could share about an experience when you faced failure and didn't give up. What did you learn from failure? 

Michael: The biggest barrier is scaling and access to financing. We've spent the last year participating in different pitch competitions and mentorship programs to try to figure out a scalable business model. The team is shifting the business model to incorporate a tech platform that streamlines the green building certification process and serves as a resource hub for the green building community. We believe this will open the door to funding opportunities so we can eventually start retrofitting.

Spiffy: Before we sign off, is there anything else you would love to tell our audience? 

Michael: The pivotal moment when I became interested in studying the intersection of engineering and climate change occurred during my semester abroad in Australia. One day I saw the One Central Park apartments in Sydney, Australia which fundamentally changed my perception of what it meant to be an engineer. The building is covered in a vertical plant system, solar panels, and mirrors that reflect the sun for maximum energy generation. It would be pretty cool to illustrate futuristic buildings covered in thriving ecosystems, powered by renewable energy.

Spiffy: With a vivid imagination, anything seems possible! Thanks so much for sitting down to talk to me today, Michael, it’s been an honor!

 

Michael Rojas, founder and CEO of EcoHomes LLC, is a mechanical engineer with an interest in studying the intersection of engineering, purpose-driven entrepreneurship, and environmental justice. He is currently studying for an MBA in Sustainability from Bard College with a concentration in the Circular Economy and is working towards making the built environment equitable for all. (Nominated by Action Accelerator. First published on the Ladderworks website on October 20, 2021.)

 

© 2021 Ladderworks LLC. Edited by Jill Landis Jha. Spiffy’s illustration by Shreyas Navare. Follow Spiffy’s interviews of founders building a more equitable world here.

Sowmya: Education is supposed to inspire young people to equip them to work, earn a living, and help solve the great challenges in their villages, their country, and the world. The problem is, mainstream education in India stifles creativity and fails to prepare young people for work or life. The substandard education, an explosion in the working-age population, and ever-more-urgent challenges facing the world put India on a collision course for the future. But there is a way forward. Experiential learning puts an emphasis on creativity, innovation, and collaboration. At Lead by Design, we enable young people to unlock their creative potential to build an equitable, resilient, and thriving future.

Hi friends, it’s Spiffy, back again on Planet Earth with an eye on entrepreneurs making an impact on UN SDG 4: Quality Educaiton! I have one more interview for you this week. Today I’m excited to cruise around with Chris Bennett, the co-founder and CEO of Wonderschool. Chris is driven to make sure every child has access to high-quality early childhood care and education. Let’s see how he’s doing it!

Spiffy: Welcome Chris, I’m excited to learn about Wonderschool! Can you tell me what challenges are you addressing through your startup?

Chris: I’m excited to tell you, Spiffy! Research shows that children who have access to high-quality early childhood care and education find greater social and academic success than their peers who do not have such services. They achieve more in school, are healthier, earn more money in their careers, and are less likely to go to jail. It’s for these reasons I’ve made it my personal and professional mission to ensure every child, birth through age 11, has access to high-quality early childhood education in their communities.

Spiffy: And that brings me to my next question: what motivated you to focus in on early childhood? 

Chris: Growing up, I attended in-home child care. Yoli, the woman who ran that in-home program, eventually moved her work into a bustling commercial space. She impacted many local families, including my own. The quality of early childhood education I received ultimately enabled me to be the first member of my family to go to college. I’ve made it my personal and professional mission to ensure every child, birth through age 11, has access to high-quality early childhood education in their communities.

Spiffy: How is Wonderschool working to create a more equitable world? 

Chris: Wonderschool is working toward a more equitable world by ensuring every child has access to affordable, high-quality early childhood care and education. By doing so, our company is reducing educational and social inequalities among our most disadvantaged children and their peers. We are positioning care providers, many of whom are women of color, for decent work and economic mobility. And we are ensuring the existence of sustainable cities and communities. Wonderschool is more than an online platform—it’s a tool for social good.

Spiffy: Have you started any initiatives that you’re particularly excited about? What kind of impact do you anticipate it will have?

Chris: In response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the displacement of Afghan refugees, Wonderschool is committed to providing essential services to create jobs and ensure long-term stability. It is our responsibility to support resettled families as they rebuild their lives and communities. Wonderschool recently announced it would provide its platform free of charge to all Afghan refugees and offer end-to-end onboarding in multiple languages.

Spiffy: I’m curious if you’ve ever faced failure, Chris? What did you learn from it? 

Chris: Before Wonderschool even began to code its platform, we helped child care providers get licensed, helped recruit and enroll students, and generally supported the small business launch. One of the programs we started did very well. The provider decided to close her Wonderschool and take all of the students off platform. We did all of the hard work, and it was not enough to meet her needs. But we kept going. We listened. We changed our business model so we could better support providers for the life of their programs.

Spiffy: Have you learned anything unexpected lately that you’d like to tell us about?

Chris: I learned about the power of doing good and being public about it. Wonderschool is all about doing good, but a colleague of mine, Cailin Sandvig, led an initiative to support Afghan refugees in starting programs on the Wonderschool platform for free. This is something we would have done and kept to ourselves prior to working with Cailin, but because of her efforts, we created a public relations campaign around it. It’s led to a good amount of inbound interest from organizations looking to partner, and it has energized our team and amplified our impact.

Spiffy: Before we sign off, is there anything else you would love to tell our audience?

Chris: Yes, Spiffy, providing the right care during early childhood has a profound impact on not just education—but on life outcomes. And yet, early child care remains an unsolved problem. Before the pandemic, 51% of Americans lived in child care deserts, meaning more than half of Americans do not have sufficient child care access. Already in a financially precarious industry and exacerbated by the COVID pandemic, 60 percent of child care centers may not fully recover. We are now in a full-blown child care crisis, and we need new solutions fast. A system of affordable, accessible, quality home-based child care is a valuable one.

Spiffy: I know a few people who would second that! I hope you can get more people on board—this is a train that needs to travel around the world! Thanks for speaking with me today, Chris, it’s been an honor. 

 

Wonderschool CEO and co-founder Chris Bennett’s appreciation for education goes back to his parents, Honduran immigrants who did whatever they could to ensure that he had access to an excellent education—from sending him to a quality preschool to supporting him through his graduation from the University of Pennsylvania. He was committed to making sure other children had the same opportunities to reach their full potential. (Nominated by Pathway Ventures. First published on the Ladderworks website on October 8, 2021.)

 

© 2021 Ladderworks LLC. Edited by Jill Landis Jha. Spiffy’s illustration by Shreyas Navare. Follow Spiffy’s interviews of founders building a more equitable world here.