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It was such an honor to sit down to speak with Nikki Silvestri of Soil & Shadow this week. From her life as a speaker to CEO and mom, I was inspired to learn about Nikki’s life behind-the-scenes of her business.
Nikki shares what it looks like for her to embody her spiritual practice in her day-to-day activities, as well as what it took to get to where she is now: To have a family, thriving business, and career as a public speaker and change-maker with an environmental, social and economic impact.
Nikki didn’t hesitate to share all of herself in this episode - from what she learned burning-out in the non-profit world, to having challenges with fertility when she was ready to have a baby, to working through her own limiting beliefs around financial success. Nikki shares how she rose above her challenges to create a sustainable and thriving business with a triple bottom line ~ one that is here to see success in terms of planet, people and profits, and how she is helping other companies to do the same.
In this episode we discussed:
Nikki’s journey of becoming an entrepreneur and starting her business, “Soil & Shadow”
Behind the scenes, what it looks like for Nikki to be a Mother & CEO
Climate change, carbon emissions, and sustainable soil and agriculture practices that can reduce the amount of carbon in our atmosphere
How Earth’s ecosystems mirror our personal relationships
Nikki’s journey with moving beyond limiting beliefs to do empowering work that is good for people, the planet AND drives profits
How Nikki embodies her spiritual practice in her business
Nikki’s challenges with fertility and having her son as well as what needed to shift in her life
Nikki’s journey with being seen, improvising and becoming a keynote public speaker
Behind Nikki’s decision to continue running her own business (rather than working for someone else) when becoming a mother
Nikki’s upcoming projects including Diversity & Inclusion initiatives in the workplace
Stay in Touch with Nikki:
Nikki Silvestri is the Founder and CEO of Soil and Shadow, a project development firm designing economic and environmental strategies with human left in.
As the Co-Founder of Live Real and former Executive Director of People's Grocery and Green for All, Nikki has built and strengthened social equity for underrepresented populations in food systems, social services, public health, climate solutions, and economic development. A nationally recognized thought leader, her many honors include being named one of The Root's 100 Most Influential African Americans.
Nikki is a Faculty Member at the Food Business School (she co-designed and taught one of their inaugural courses, "Ethical Leadership in Food Business"). She is the Board Co-Chair of the Business Alliance of Local Living Economies (BALLE), and is an advisory board member of TendLab, a boutique firm unlocking the power of parenthood at work. She is the recipient of numerous awards including ELLE Magazine's "Gold" Award and OxFam America's "Act Local, Think Global" Award.
Nikki began her work in social change through the foster care system in Southern California, where she directed Foster Youth Empowerment Workshops. She has a master's degree in African American Studies from UCLA, and is originally from Los Angeles. She currently lives in Oakland, with her husband and son.
