You cannot live in today's world without being witness to the power of networks. Networks are all around us and constantly influence us in ways both conscious and subconscious. Immediate family and close friends, global-reaching social networks, professional networks, passion networks... the list of all the networks you're connected to gos on and on and overlaps and intersects in ways that solve problems, create opportunities and catch us in moments of incredible serendipity.

So, as you might guess, networks are a powerful tool for the social sector.    My guest for the 180th Terms of Reference Podcast, is exceedingly passionate about networks. Sara Farley is the Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of the Global Knowledge Initiative, an organization that builds purpose-driven networks to deliver innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing problems.

You're going to love this conversation about how networks can be leveraged to locate resources, enable collaboration, connect participants and, ultimately, find solutions to problems.

I take for granted that I can walk away from my microphone right now, head over to my kitchen and turn on my stove to boil water, bake a cake or cook myself a meal. And, I don't even think about the fact that I have hot water available on demand at any time of the day. I just turn on the tap and its there.

This is not the case for millions and millions of people throughout the world. In fact, there is a huge portion of the human population that still relies on burning wood, or charcoal, for cooking and cleaning. This dependence is a massive time suck away from other productive tasks and, as we've heard on other episodes, a considerable health risk.

My guest for the 179th Terms of Reference Podcast has a better idea that he hopes will end the use of charcoal. Dr. Sebastian Rodriguez-Sanchez is the CEO and Co-Founder of KopaGas, a technology solutions provider of Advanced Metering Infrastructure for energy utilities. KopaGas has developed and deployed the first commercial pay-as-you-cook platform for propane.

I'm positive you'll love this episode where Sebastian and I discuss why propane is a powerful replacement for charcoal, how he company sell and manages their smart meter system, what it takes for a family to make the change to gas and much more.

Even though we work on hundreds of different issues across a similarly diverse group of settings, I think the argument could be made that the work of the social sector is ultimately focused on creating a world where all humans have equal opportunity to flourish. This is at the base of what we’re doing with programing that seeks to improve financial systems, agricultural practices, environmental protections, health systems and education. And, one of the things we know, unequivocally, is that women have received the short end of the stick, almost no matter how you measure it.

Here’s the thing: marginalization of women doesn’t just happen in traditional development settings. It’s alive and well in the US, Europe… and, well, every other leading economy on the planet.

This is why I’m especially pleased to have Claire Wasserman as my guest for the 178th Terms of Reference Podcast. Claire is the founder of Ladies Get Paid - an organization focused, currently, on empowering women in the workplace.

As you’ll hear in the show, I found Claire when seeking to learn more about Red Bull Amaphiko, where she is the Deputy US editor. Red Bull Amaphiko is a is a collaborative platform for social entrepreneurs that is sponsored by the energy drink company of the same name. But our conversation quickly turns to how Ladies Get Paid was founded and has quickly expanded into a phenomenon of 10,000 women... and growing.

You're going to love this show where we talk about women rising up to get what they deserve, and how one woman has made the leap to be a leader in that movement.