Most of the media often paints all businesses with a single stroke, but in our experience businesses are each unique and so many of them are focused on making the world a better place. We’ve highlighted a few such gems below.

Daniel Echevarria | Talk Show Host & Inspirational Speaker

The heart of my mission is to impact everything I do positively. I encourage the reader to watch an episode of “Weekly Dose of Dano.” It’s not your typical talk show; it’s an immersive experience where we dive deep with exceptional guests, uncovering stories that inspire and provoke thought. Join The Positivity Posse every Thursday at 9 PM EST / 6 PM PST for an evening of enlightenment beyond the surface. Prepare to be challenged and uplifted as we explore the intricacies of the human mind, sparking meaningful conversations that spur personal growth. Read more>>

Nick Toso | Founder & CEO, Rolli

Rolli contributes to the community and the world by addressing critical challenges in journalism and public discourse, particularly in the face of misinformation and the evolving media landscape. Here’s how it makes a positive impact: Read more>>

David Krouse | Film Festival Producer/Manager/Screener

I love the definition of art that Ayn Rand gives in The Romantic Manifesto, “Art is a selective re-creation of reality according to an artist’s metaphysical value-judgments. Man’s profound need of art lies in the fact that his cognitive faculty is conceptual, i.e., that he acquires knowledge by means of abstractions, and needs the power to bring his widest metaphysical abstractions into his immediate, perceptual awareness. Art fulfills this need: by means of a selective re-creation, it concretizes man’s fundamental view of himself and of existence.” Read more>>

Vivian Yu | Professional cleaner and organizer

Gym Near Me is not about getting individuals fit, it’s about building a healthy and happy community. We provide free workshops on nutrition as well as wellness, while also collaborating with the local schools in order to encourage kids to stay active. It is all about planting the seeds of health as well as wellness from starting. We are also focused on sustainability and using eco-friendly equipment and practices in our fitness facility. The idea is to improve the lives of our consumers and to create a positive influence on the community around us. Read more>>

Therese Miu | Social Impact Leader & Speaker

Our mission is to equip the next generation leaders by providing educational, relational, and financial resources. Rising Filipinas is a leadership program that empowers teen girls to be self-assured, resilient, & inclusive leaders. We are building in 2024 a youth empowerment organization designed to give tween and teen girls social and emotional learning (SEL) tools to build a strong sense of self. In Rising Filipinas Leadership program, women get and give peer mentorship, learn new skills, and have a place to be unapologetically ambitious. Rising Filipinas Leadership curriculum combats the mental health crisis by being a preventative program, meaning girls as young as 8 can enroll in the program or do the journal. With a balance of strength-building activities and real talk on important topics like bias and allyship, participants learn to embrace their leadership superpowers and reject limiting stereotypes about what girls can’t do. It is a mentorship program that enables youth to meet a diverse array of mentors with whom they explore topics in breakout cabins, inspiring growth, building community, and encouraging them to become change makers in pursuit of a more equitable world. This will be a nonprofit based in Los Angeles, advocating for platforms for Filipino/a/x representation through education mindset & culture. When we help youth have the tools to manage their emotions, value their positive qualities and communicate with others is a healthy way, they will be the change we wish to see in the world. Rising Filipinas overall vision is to create lasting opportunities for women and diverse leaders to emerge across various ecosystems and to help build legacies with significant impact that lasts for generations. Read more>>

Elizabeth Sims | Artist

Being a landscape-focused artist right now can feel fraught—my practice seems so ethereal compared to the work of activists, policy-makers, and non-profit workers. However, in my climate change reading group, the conversation between such folks and fellow artists is incredibly rich, imaginative, and generative. I believe that art, being impractical and boundaryless, is an important arena for the kind of interdisciplinary experimentation that can influence practical innovation in science, engineering, and politics. Read more>>

Junru Xu | Product designer & Design Lead & Entrepreneur

I am a partner of HMW Design Studio. HMW Design Studio is committed to shaping a future where creativity catalyzes positive social change. With a focus on impact-driven design innovation, the studio crafts experiences that are both forward-looking and deeply grounded in today’s societal challenges. Our projects include Yoyo, hearme, Cayaba Care patient app, etc. They are all focused on disadvantaged groups. For example, for deaf and non-vocal people, connecting with the world can be deeply frustrating. But it doesn’t have to be. HEAR ME is an app that uses AI technology and mindful interaction design to provide 360-degree support for the deaf and non-vocal community. It not only bridges their communication gap but offers 24/7 mood tracking and AI avatar-based personal assistance as well as emotional support. Read more>>

Bethany Hildebrandt | Music Journalist

Song & Fury is a music publication created in 2019 that originally started as an entertainment/lifestyle blog. In 2020, it transitioned into a full time music publication – providing album + single reviews, artist interviews, show previews, playlists, featured articles and more. Starting my own publication was very liberating and I know there are music lovers, fans, music journalists, industry professionals, etc. that share my passion for music. Bringing light into the world by featuring people’s favorite music and artists has become part of who I am and I will never let go of my passion. Read more>>

Jennifer and Michael Mangan and Fisk | Co-Founders: The Business of Creating Institute

The Business of Creating Institute exists to educate and to empower underserved individuals and communities in the Entertainment industry. Hollywood has traditionally been closed-door about the practicalities of navigating the business side of Entertainment, from how to market and sell your project to actual profits made. As the Wizard states in The Wizard of Oz, “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.” The Business of Creating Institute not only opens that door, it gives people a front-and-center “look behind the curtain”. Read more>>