In this episode, we journey to Johannesburg to speak with Nwabisa Mayema, a dynamic social entrepreneur and fierce advocate for women’s leadership across Africa. Nwabisa brings a bold and grounded presence to every space she enters. Her path—from accounting student to self-made entrepreneur, partnership strategist, and global convener—has been shaped by a deep belief in purpose, community, and the radical power of relationships. With roots in South Africa’s Eastern Cape and a lineage of what she calls “wild women,” Nwabisa shares how social capital, collective wisdom, and vulnerability can transform both businesses and societies. In this conversation, she explores what it means to lead with integrity, build community instead of networks, and embrace entrepreneurship not as hustle, but as healing and legacy-making.

In this week’s episode, we travel to Nairobi to speak with Tom Osborn, a visionary social entrepreneur and community-rooted leader whose work is reshaping how we think about mental health, sustainability, and youth empowerment in Africa. From growing up in a rural Kenyan village to launching his first clean energy venture at 18 and studying at Harvard, Tom’s path has been guided by a radical belief in community-first solutions and local agency. Now the founder and CEO of Shamiri Institute, Africa’s largest youth mental health provider, Tom shares how culturally grounded care, deep listening, and collective healing can transform not just individual lives but entire systems. Co-host Elisabeth Makumbi leads this beautiful conversation, which explores how to decolonize mental health care, reframe recovery on community terms, and rethink what it means to lead with humility, courage, and local knowledge.

In this week’s episode, we travel to Johannesburg to speak with Lekgetho Makola, a visual storyteller, cultural strategist, and arts executive whose work spans decades and continents. From his early days sculpting clay animals in rural Limpopo to curating critical archives at Robben Island and studying under film legends at Howard University, Lekgetho shares how his journey has been shaped by care, community, and a radical commitment to dignified representation. Now chief operating officer of the Market Theatre Foundation, he reflects on the transformative power of photography infused with love as a tool not only for documenting truth but for reclaiming identity and rehumanizing Black life. The conversation explores what it means to make—not take—images, the tension between capitalism and care, and the promise of building artistic ecosystems rooted in joy, collaboration, and cultural memory.

Jump To:

02:09 - “Disorganized lions won’t catch even a limping buffalo.” Lekgetho’s invocation highlighting the power of community and collective action.

05:15 - Lekgetho’s journey into the arts, with a little help from an attentive headmaster and exposure to animation on TV early in his childhood.

10:00 - The role of the arts, politics, political organization and even sport, in building a space for him to gently “let down” his father by choosing to pursue arts over studying economics.

14:50 - The Howard University experience, Lekgetho chooses to attend graduate school at the premier HBCU in the US and continues to be inspired by its pan-Africanist teaches

23:30 - References in Black imagery in the US, and West Africa and their influence on archiving the photos at Robben Island Museum, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.

25:35 - Visual literacy, the transformation of South Africa and the power of the image to de-humanize Africans as part of the “Colonial excursion”

33:30 - On utilizing the care found in traditional African storytelling to put dignity back into the modern legacy of Black and African storytelling.

46:20 - Youth and the impact of African music and urbanism on the future of visual storytelling.

54:00 - South Africa’s current challenges and the importance of care and integrity.

In this week’s episode, we travel to Tunisia to talk with Leila Ben-Gacem, a social entrepreneur and cultural preservationist, who shares her journey from biomedical engineering to community-based entrepreneurship in the heart of Tunis’ historic Medina. The conversation takes place at Dar Ben Gacem, her boutique hotel and social enterprise that not only revitalizes a historical space but also empowers the local community through inclusive hiring, artisan collaboration, youth education support, and economic opportunity. Leila emphasizes redefining profit to include social and environmental impact, advocating for a shared economy model where local prosperity is interlinked. This extraordinary conversation touches on the many layers that make up modern African identity in all its myriad forms helping to make Africa “home” to not just those on the continent but around the globe.

This is Dreaming in Color, Africa

Jump straight into:

00:02:00 Leila starts off the conversation with lyrics from Tunisian rapper Balti; don’t worry she translates for Darren.

00:04:00 Because of her father’s work travel, growing up Lelia spent only summers home in Tunisia, which made her value and appreciate Tunisian culture even more and understand the opportunities that the culture offers.

00:07:10 The magic of being a social entrepreneur and being able to run a business that benefits “the people that work there, the community, the environment”.

00:12:30 On taking “early retirement at 30” in order to pursue her obsession of social entrepreneurship.

00:15:00 On the origins of the Dar Ben Gacem hotel in the city’s Medina - built on layer upon layer of history going back 500 years, with each era ushering in new influences.

00:25:00 On artisans thinking “horizontally and vertically” to move forward and create new narratives

00:28:00 Hear how Tunis, which was originally known as Africa before giving the continent its name, can be considered home by so many.

00:31:00 According to Leila, the history of Tunis is easy to understand. “They come. We don’t like them… And they become family.” That history of layering makes Darren think of great gumbo when he grew up in New Orleans.

00:38:00 Hear Leila talk about being “the most positive person I know”

00:40:00 Rounding out the conversation on a pitch for social entrepreneurs and how many of Leila’s “250 dreams” are likely to come to fruition

In this episode Semhar Araia, CEO of the Diaspora Academy, discusses the transformative power of diasporic life—from visiting Eritrea as a teenager to working there professionally—highlighting the emotional and political significance of being both from a place and apart from it. She shares the story behind her name, revealing a powerful lineage tied to Eritrea’s struggle and resistance.

The conversation delves into the power of the diaspora and diasporic identity, particularly for Black and Brown communities, and the beauty of finding a sense of belonging across traditional borders. Semhar advocates for diasporic unity grounded in love, mutual recognition, and feminist values, arguing that the diaspora holds immense potential to reimagine global leadership and collective liberation. In recognition of the power of the diaspora we purposely start our journey through Africa with this conversation with Semhar in her home in DC.

This is Dreaming in Color, Africa.

Jump straight into:

00:00:45… Introduction of Semhar Araia

00:02:35… Semhar opens the conversation with an Invocation honoring her

00:03:55… Semhar’s early beginnings in an activist home in 1970’s New York

00:09:04… The importance of community – Semhar shares about her deep connection to Eritrean Diaspora community and how that sense of community has evolved

00:12:03… Going “home”, to Eritrea, at 13

00:14:20… Going back again, professionally, as a diasporan

00:16:12… Naming: the role of Semhar’s highly politicized name, and its connection to Eritrea’s struggle for independence, in her sense of “taking up space”

00:21:05… on deep impact of separation from homeland, and of connection…

00:25:47… The power of the diaspora movement, and how it is at once a feminist and a liberation movement

In our fifth season, host Darren Isom and guest host Elisabeth Makumbi travel throughout Africa to spotlight extraordinary leaders from across the continent, from South Africa to Tunisia, with stops in Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Senegal along the way. These conversations highlight Africa as a key driver of global innovation and leadership, where bold, values-driven leadership is shaping a more equitable future.

Welcome to Dreaming in Color, a show hosted by Darren Isom, a partner with The Bridgespan Group, that provides a space for social change leaders of color to reflect on how their life experiences, personal and professional, have prepared them to lead and drive the impact we all seek.

In this bonus episode, Darren is joined by a dynamic panel of philanthropic leaders: Don Chen (President of Surdna Foundation) Flozell Daniels, Jr. (CEO of the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation), Mayra Peters-Quintero (Executive Director of Abundant Futures Fund), and Vanessa Mason (Principal at Omidyar Network), and . Recorded live at the Surdna Foundation offices in New York City, the group dives into an in-depth discussion about building a more equitable world through racial justice, cross-racial solidarity, and community-driven solutions.

Join the conversation as the panelists explore the role of relationships in movement building, the power of joy and imagination in sustaining hope, and the importance of investing in intergenerational leadership. They discuss the challenges of systemic change, the need for incremental wins, and how to create space for collective healing and repair.

Jump Straight Into:

• (00:22) Darren introduces the panel and sets the stage with a poem by Audre Lorde.
• (01:45) Flozell Daniels, Jr. reflects on his family history, his racial equity work, and what brings him sunshine.
• (07:28) Mayra Peters-Quintero shares her journey in immigrant rights advocacy and her hopes for creating a culture of belonging.
• (15:12) Don Chen discusses the critical role of cross-racial solidarity in achieving systemic change.
• (21:30) Vanessa Mason highlights the importance of joy and care in equity work and the necessity of dreaming together.
• (29:15) The panel reflects on the generational shift in leadership and creating space for younger leaders to thrive.
• (42:03) A forward-looking conversation about building a shared future and fostering collective imagination.

Episode Resources:

• Connect with Flozell Daniels, Jr., Don Chen, Mayra Peters-Quintero, and Vanessa Mason on LinkedIn.
• Learn more about the organizations they represent: Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, Surdna Foundation, Abundant Futures Fund, and Omidyar Network.
• Listen to past Dreaming in Color episodes here.

Welcome to Dreaming in Color, a show hosted by Darren Isom, a partner with The Bridgespan Group, that provides a space for social change leaders of color to reflect on how their life experiences, personal and professional, have prepared them to lead and drive the impact we all seek.

Today we welcome Mia Birdsong, a pathfinder, writer, and facilitator who engages the leadership and wisdom of people experiencing injustice to chart new visions of American life. As the Founding Executive Director of Next River, she nourishes communities toward a liberated future.

In her book "How We Show Up" and the podcast miniseries "More Than Enough," she highlights community vitality and the guaranteed income movement. Previously, Mia was Co-Director of Family Story and Vice President of the Family Independence Initiative, promoting new narratives and leveraging data to support low-income families.

Her public dialogues, TED talks, and other initiatives spotlight marginalized voices as leaders of change. A Senior Fellow at the Economic Security Project and a Future Good Fellow, Mia lives in Oakland, tending to bees, chickens, and plants on the occupied land of the Chochenyo Ohlone people.

In this episode, Darren and Mia discuss what constitutes something as radical, a future without poverty, and finding joy and optimism in activism.

This is Dreaming In Color.

Jump straight into:

(00:22.7) Introduction of Mia Birdsong, Founding Executive Director of Next River.

(06:27.5) Cracked open: Mia shares her educational beginnings in Rochester and how an unexpected Public Enemy cassette tape on a school bus ignited her path to activism.

(09:19.9) Critical Resistance and Mia’s journey to becoming an abolitionist.

(12:04.2) The American dream vs. the collective dream.

(13:43.1) Ending poverty is not a problem of lacking solutions, but of lacking belief. Mia Birdsong explores her initial efforts advocating for a guaranteed income.

(20:59.9) Dismantling power structures and moving beyond wealth and power hoarding.

(22:51.2) We explore Mia’s work with Next River and her unwavering commitment to guaranteed income, guaranteed housing, education and universal healthcare.

(26:02.6) What is radical? Mia shares how many “unattainable radical beliefs” are actually being successfully performed all over the world and how discovering these stories of small communities implementing these systems for themselves inspires her work.

(29:38.2) The path of least resistance: Mia discusses finding strength in vulnerability and staying optimistic vs. falling into cynicism.

Episode Resources

• Keep up with Mia on Twitter, Instagram, & LinkedIn
• Learn more about Mia through her website.
• Order Mia’s book “How We Show Up” here.
• Listen to Mia’s podcast “More Than Enough” here.
• Watch Mia’s TEDX Talk “The Story We Tell About Poverty Isn’t True” here.