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Darian participated in the 2010 Tipping Point Network mini-Jam in Grass Valley, California.
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YES! was lucky enough to raise some fun with Darian...
where are you now? (and if applicable, where were your last three trips?)
Based in SF, but I just got back from spending six months on sabbatical, traveling all throughout Latin America and the Caribbean
for the first half, and Africa for the second. I also went to Paris to speak on behalf of the UN Environment Programme and share the new global youth engagement strategy I developed with their HQ team in Nairobi. If anyone is interested in learning about it and sharing their perspectives on how the UN can add unique value to the youth-led movement for sustainability, please email me, and I'll gladly connect you with UNEP.
describe your current project.
My
new book, Nonprofit Fundraising 101, is meant to be the bible for nonprofit fundraisers. For the first time, everything you need is in one place, and it's not just abstract concepts, but clear tips and tools. I also just took on a part-time role as the Executive Director of Numi Organic Tea's foundation, which focuses on providing clean, safe drinking water to farming communities around the globe, and providing gardening curriculum for low-income students in our HQ of Oakland, CA.
what's your vision for the next year - for yourself? for the world?
Making change irresistible by
providing the sound track to social change by DJing at social impact events around the world, and by
promoting the emerging field of impact investing- aligning market-based returns with environmental and social impact- via a conference I'm producing at the UN in NYC.
I believe the Golden Rule is to be the kind of person the world needs more of. I also believe that the secret to success and happiness in life is doing what you love and doing what you're best at. The trick is continuously revisiting those two things to reflect on what's truly important to you, and then to have the courage to follow your bliss. That's the main reason I take a six-month sabbatical and travel every 7 years -- to ponder where I want to devote my personal and professional energy, and revisit how I can be of the highest service.
a quote that inspires you?
"For every thousand that hack at the branches of evil, only one strikes at the root."
-Thoreau
two truths and a lie?
(readers, guess the lie)\
1) I just finished producing my first music track ever in Nairobi - a fun calypso jam in the traditional Luo tribal style of Benga.
2) I once got charged by a sea lion while snorkeling in the Galapagos and thought I was a goner for sure.
3) I made the move into nonprofits and sustainability after teaching English as a Second Language in the Barrio of East Los Angeles.
the best thing you took away from your jam experiences?
I thought it was amazing to see such a diverse group of people come together for common cause -- beyond male/female and racial diversity, the thing that really struck me was the difference in perspectives and politics. We had hard core progressives mixing it up with staunch Republicans, yet we found much more to agree on than to argue about.
any time sensitive announcement you want to make?
Darian's road to social impact was through engineering and then digital advertising, not via teaching; that is the lie. Feel free to contact him at <[email protected]> to find out more about his new book and other exciting initiatives.
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| Darian hanging with one of his heroes: Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus |
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