Amanda Joy Ravenhill knew she wanted to make a large impact on our society in her day-to-day work. And she gets the opportunity to do just that as the executive director of the Buckminster Fuller Institute, an organization founded to remember and implement the ideas of R. Buckminster Fuller, a renowned 20th Century inventor and visionary. The Institute is dedicated to the same mission Buckminster Fuller had—catalyzing transformative solutions to complex global problems through design thinking education. The Institute’s programs offer a look at local needs and global trends to design a holistic approach that brings together art, science, design and technology. The organization is known for its flagship program, the Buckminster Fuller Challenge, which offers an annual $100,000 prize to support the creation and execution of a strategy that has the potential to solve humanity’s most pressing problems.
As a passionate advocate for environmental work and social justice issues, Amanda has found a job that fulfills her. Today we discuss her path that brought her to her executive director role and go deeper into her day-to-day duties in that position. We also talk about Project Drawdown, a book and digital platform she co-founded that shows the path to carbon neutrality with a positive twist. In the book, an international coalition of researchers, professionals and scientists present viable techniques and practices to halt climate change, allowing us to view the challenge as an opportunity to create a just and livable world.
In addition to her daily job, Amanda started a band—The Seastars—with four of her close friends, who also happen to be leaders in sustainability and social impact movements. The group sings cover songs, but they adapt the lyrics to focus on the environment. We recommend you check out their fabulous cover of “Royals” by Lorde.