Episodes

7
Sept. 2, 2025

Emily & Susan – How They Rescued One Million Pounds of Food

Emily Rials and Susan Swinford, co-directors of Columbus Food Rescue, are at the forefront of the fight against food waste and hunger in Central Ohio. They share their inspiring story of transforming food rescue efforts into a powerful force for community building and social justice. Emily and Susan talks about the operational complexities of managing over 200 weekly food pickups, from coordinating volunteers through a web-based app to navigating the unpredictable world of "popup" rescues inv...
6
Aug. 26, 2025

Emily & Susan – From Teacher and Student to Co-Directors

Emily Rials and Susan Swinford are co-directors of Columbus Food Rescue. They share the story of how they came to lead Columbus Food Rescue, a program that connects surplus food with those in need. Susan recounts how she took over the organization in the chaotic early days of the pandemic, while Emily describes how she jumped in to help rebuild the program, making cold calls and navigating a rapidly changing landscape of food donation and distribution. They discuss the importance of their teachi...
5
Aug. 19, 2025

AJ Boyce - How One Man Supports Underserved Farmers

AJ Boyce, an agriculture conservation practitioner with The Nature Conservancy, explores his work at the intersection of environmental sustainability and social justice. AJ explains his role at the world's largest environmental nonprofit, sharing what his day-to-day looks like—from 7 AM calls with farmers about cover crops to managing conservation projects and developing capacity for regenerative agricultural methods. The conversation breaks down misconceptions about farmers, revealing the econo...
4
Aug. 12, 2025

AJ Boyce – Building Green Spaces Where They’re Needed Most

AJ Boyce, an agriculture conservation practitioner with The Nature Conservancy, explores his work at the intersection of environmental sustainability and social justice. AJ explains his role at the world's largest environmental nonprofit, sharing what his day-to-day looks like—from 7 AM calls with farmers about cover crops to managing conservation projects and developing capacity for regenerative agricultural methods. The conversation breaks down misconceptions about farmers, revealing the econo...
3
Aug. 5, 2025

Lauren Click - Breaking Barriers to Composting, One Classroom at a Time

Lauren Click is the founder and executive director of Let's Go Compost. She is on a mission to democratize composting across the United States. As a Mercedes-Benz BEVisioneers fellow and the US Compost Council's Young Professional of the Year, she's turning a simple worm bin into a nationwide educational movement. She shares the story of how her organization has scaled from a single school to over 120 schools across 10 states, with plans for even greater expansion. Lauren discusses the challe...
2
July 29, 2025

Lauren Click - How a Small Apartment Launched a National Nonprofit

Lauren Click is the award-winning founder and executive director of Let's Go Compost, a nonprofit making composting accessible to all. What started with a failed $500 composting device in a high-rise apartment has blossomed into a national movement, providing free resources to schools and communities across all 50 states. Lauren shares her unexpected journey into the world of waste, which began not in a garden, but in a high-rise apartment in Scottsdale, Arizona. Fueled by frustration with a ...
1
July 22, 2025

Season 4 Intro - A Look Back and What’s Ahead

Hosts Adam and Dominique kick off Season 4 of Green Champions, celebrating their 73rd episode milestone after over a year of weekly releases. They reflect on their favorite stories from Season 3's collaboration with Green Umbrella and the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit, highlighting guests like Shaila Maynard from SewValley and Zach Burns from the Cincinnati Zoo who built hydroponic systems to grow lettuce for giraffes. They preview Season 4's upcoming diverse lineup, featuring conver...