Tell us a little bit about your organization and what lead you to create it?
My personal passion for adventure, culture and exploring areas of the world less traveled by the main stream tourist led me to take several trips into the lands of the Mandeng people of West Africa. The region is so rich in history and has an absolutely fascinating musical culture that accompanies life in a way where you become one with the rhythm of West Africa for the time that you are immersed in the area. The contrasts that hit all of your senses in West Africa are tantalizing: the sounds, smells, views, tastes and overall feeling of being there is truly otherworldly. The hospitality is incredible, and one is immediately welcomed into host families like you are one of their own. However, it does not take long to realize that this region has been seriously struck by many years of political and civil unrest, and children tend to suffer the most from malnutrition and lack of healthcare. I have had a longtime goal to personally give back to this region of West Africa, and in 2016, the idea of building a school in the Ivory Coast began to materialize. This region has gone through two recent wars and 46% of the population is living below the poverty line, so I decided that my first endeavor to provide aid to the area would be to build a school. I see myself as a connector of humans who want to make a difference and, with that humble heart, I incorporated L’Ecole Des Enfants with a great deal of help from a large and powerful network of “we can do it” attitude individuals. I’m simply the catalyst to make this school a reality!
How do you manage leading a non-profit and juggling an intensive leadership role within a large multinational corporation?
Where your heart and passion are involved, there is no limit! I feel very fortunate to have worked with Schneider Electric for the past 12 years in various roles building a network of incredible people. I am now channeling that energy and that network towards L’Ecole Des Enfants. It has been really amazing to witness our new non-profit come together and to see how people have stepped up from all over the world to help! In my role as global director of customer excellence for IT Business at Schneider and in my role as a non-profit president, I draw on my expertise in customer experience after more than a decade in the field. I truly believe that giving back is an incredible way to make anyone a better leader. A sustainable business needs to think about more than the bottom line, and Schneider Electric and our employees walk the talk!
We understand that you have quite an extensive international business background, please tell us more.
Growing up in Sweden, I was very happy living in the countryside. Many of my friends seemed to want to leave, but I never envisioned myself roaming the world’s every corner. In 2003, I moved to Belfast to do one year of my engineering degree abroad. I have not stopped traveling since. I finished my Master Thesis in Robot Surgery in Singapore, and soon after I got a call from Schneider Electric to work on a contract that was based in France. “Sounds fantastic!” was my reply. After France, I moved to Copenhagen for a couple of years to run customer experience (CX) and continuous improvement for Schneider Electric in Denmark. My Scandinavian sojourn came to an end when I was asked to lead CX for all of Europe, a job that was based in Barcelona, Spain. After a few months, the perimeter of my territory grew to include not only Europe, but also the Middle East, Africa and South America – a job with a larger scope and more personnel development. I have always had a strong passion for seeing others thrive. This role had me on the road for almost 75% of the time and I had tremendous experiences visiting many countries. Experiences involved being inside the great pyramid of Giza to the Tigre Delta in Buenos Aires. When I was asked to take a role for APC by Schneider Electric, the move to Boston enabled me to pursue my next cornerstone of personal development; completing my Executive MBA at Northeastern University. After completing that program, I took a breather from boxing up my life and have truly come to love this gem on Earth of incredible people coming together in New England. There is a very unique spirit in this region – and a drive to be of service to others – that inspires me deeply.
What is the vision for L’Ecole Des Enfants? What big events are you aiming to initiate in the coming year?
First up is our gala dinner June 13th. I encourage everyone to join this very special evening and get tickets on our website! We will begin building the school this summer in the Ivory Coast. Next big fundraising step will be to launch the peer to peer fundraising platform in the coming days which will be the beginning of our crowd sourcing to really get us going with the construction this summer. Here I invite you who is reading this to participate! All donations support the progress! Later in the year we will focus on larger grant applications and adding more events, such as a fundraising walk. I would love some volunteers’ support to get organized on a date and location. We would use the same platform to manage the new events as previously mentioned.
How can millennials further support the cause? What organizations would be most ideal to collaborate with?
I have learned to expect the unexpected from all sorts of individuals that come out of the woodwork to support. So to answer this question would be to limit the dreams of what we can do when we come together! Everyone I meet is a teacher. I do know that our organization needs help with grant applications and connections to larger donors. Most of my time is currently focused on building the school’s framework and mobilizing people towards our goal through crowdsourcing. It would be fantastic to have somebody on our team focusing on combing all the different sources of funding that would speed up school construction if only we knew those sources were available. Millennials seem particularly resourceful in coming up with creative ideas, so that would be a fantastic fit to have a grant manager volunteer. We could also greatly benefit from an event manager for organizing the next event after the gala dinner, such as a 5k walk somewhere in New England.
Who do you look up to? (Inspirational individuals in your life)
So many! Dalai Lama, Yogi Bhajan, Mahatma Gandhi, Malala Yousafzai, Nelson Mandela, Sadhguru, Mother Theresa, Gengis Khan, Julius Caesar, Cleopatra. I look up to artists that follow their inner voice and don’t live as slaves to any system but follow their inner drum beat, doing their soul’s work. They fascinate and inspire me greatly to live as fearlessly. I also draw inspiration from people who mostly see possibilities in any given circumstance. Life throws us curve balls and the ones that take altitude rather than attitude inspire me, whatever walk of life. Individuals that have the skill to make others feel good and respected whatever the situation carry the seeds of the magic that is at the kernel of all of us; compassion and kindness.
Any other sources of inspiration that have become staples in your weekly routine?
My daily Sadhana practice is foundational to me. Every day starts around 4:30am with a cold shower, prayer, kundalini yoga and meditation for a duration of approximately two hours. It’s during the “Amrit Vela” – the nectar hours – that I have most of my creative ideas that set the core of my manifestation for how I live my life. “Know Thyself” is essential if you want to be the captain of your vessel, and it starts with being on top of your day. It’s also essential to let go of the old to make space for the new. Having a steady routine to donate / throw old material things and keep material things to a minimum allow for maximizing the flow of fresh energies in your life. We are here for a blink of an eye, so I believe we would do wisely to not hold on to anything as the only constant in life is change. From the moment of our first breath to our bodies final rest, we are here to experience and learn. To stay open, humble and teachable with a foundation in strong values such as integrity, grace and authenticity is what I strive for.
Kindly provide us a few paragraphs about yourself
The passion I have for this school project and for West Africa is already shining through in the previous questions. In addition to this endeavor to launch a non-profit I am very energetically connected with my mission to empower others to live their life to their fullest potential. To do so I have a healing practice; Deepika Healing, where I provide services for individuals to progress on their paths. I am always humbled by the immense light that shines through from the healings and the awakening with the powerful tools I have been handed down in the lineage of King Salomon within the Modern Mystery School. Another toolkit that I use a lot for myself and with my students to tap in to the creative powers of the universe is Kundalini Yoga. It’s a wonderful framework to structure your Bhakti (devotion) and Shakti (power) towards a deeper knowledge of who we really are and what we came here to do. In September I am leading a trip to the Ivory Coast where we will participate in building L’Ecole Des Enfants in Bouake and volunteer at an orphanage in Abidjan to mention a few of the activities. We will weave the journey together with workshops of drumming, dancing and Kundalini Yoga. Want to come? Visit my website for more information www.DeepikaHealing.com.
Maria Johansson is a social entrepreneur with over a decade of managerial experience in global program management for a multibillion dollar company. Maria grew up in Sweden and has since lived on three continents and seven countries and is well versed in seven languages. She holds a MEng in Automation and Mechatronics (Chalmers University of Technology, Swe, Queens University, UK, Nanyang Tech Uni, Singapore) and an Exec MBA (Northeastern University, MA). Maria is the founder and owner of two companies incorporated in MA, USA. One is focused on empowering individuals to live life to their fullest potential and leverages Maria’s expertise as a certified coach, yoga instructor and energy healer. The other company is the nonprofit L’Ecole Des Enfants, Inc. whose mission is to build schools in the most impoverished areas of West Africa to provide the children there with the skills necessary to create their best possible future.
Using Your Leadership Skills for Good: Non Profit Panel Recap
Tell us a little bit about your organization and what lead you to create it?
My personal passion for adventure, culture and exploring areas of the world less traveled by the main stream tourist led me to take several trips into the lands of the Mandeng people of West Africa. The region is so rich in history and has an absolutely fascinating musical culture that accompanies life in a way where you become one with the rhythm of West Africa for the time that you are immersed in the area. The contrasts that hit all of your senses in West Africa are tantalizing: the sounds, smells, views, tastes and overall feeling of being there is truly otherworldly. The hospitality is incredible, and one is immediately welcomed into host families like you are one of their own. However, it does not take long to realize that this region has been seriously struck by many years of political and civil unrest, and children tend to suffer the most from malnutrition and lack of healthcare. I have had a longtime goal to personally give back to this region of West Africa, and in 2016, the idea of building a school in the Ivory Coast began to materialize. This region has gone through two recent wars and 46% of the population is living below the poverty line, so I decided that my first endeavor to provide aid to the area would be to build a school. I see myself as a connector of humans who want to make a difference and, with that humble heart, I incorporated L’Ecole Des Enfants with a great deal of help from a large and powerful network of “we can do it” attitude individuals. I’m simply the catalyst to make this school a reality!
How do you manage leading a non-profit and juggling an intensive leadership role within a large multinational corporation?
Where your heart and passion are involved, there is no limit! I feel very fortunate to have worked with Schneider Electric for the past 12 years in various roles building a network of incredible people. I am now channeling that energy and that network towards L’Ecole Des Enfants. It has been really amazing to witness our new non-profit come together and to see how people have stepped up from all over the world to help! In my role as global director of customer excellence for IT Business at Schneider and in my role as a non-profit president, I draw on my expertise in customer experience after more than a decade in the field. I truly believe that giving back is an incredible way to make anyone a better leader. A sustainable business needs to think about more than the bottom line, and Schneider Electric and our employees walk the talk!
We understand that you have quite an extensive international business background, please tell us more.
Growing up in Sweden, I was very happy living in the countryside. Many of my friends seemed to want to leave, but I never envisioned myself roaming the world’s every corner. In 2003, I moved to Belfast to do one year of my engineering degree abroad. I have not stopped traveling since. I finished my Master Thesis in Robot Surgery in Singapore, and soon after I got a call from Schneider Electric to work on a contract that was based in France. “Sounds fantastic!” was my reply. After France, I moved to Copenhagen for a couple of years to run customer experience (CX) and continuous improvement for Schneider Electric in Denmark. My Scandinavian sojourn came to an end when I was asked to lead CX for all of Europe, a job that was based in Barcelona, Spain. After a few months, the perimeter of my territory grew to include not only Europe, but also the Middle East, Africa and South America – a job with a larger scope and more personnel development. I have always had a strong passion for seeing others thrive. This role had me on the road for almost 75% of the time and I had tremendous experiences visiting many countries. Experiences involved being inside the great pyramid of Giza to the Tigre Delta in Buenos Aires. When I was asked to take a role for APC by Schneider Electric, the move to Boston enabled me to pursue my next cornerstone of personal development; completing my Executive MBA at Northeastern University. After completing that program, I took a breather from boxing up my life and have truly come to love this gem on Earth of incredible people coming together in New England. There is a very unique spirit in this region – and a drive to be of service to others – that inspires me deeply.
What is the vision for L’Ecole Des Enfants? What big events are you aiming to initiate in the coming year?
First up is our gala dinner June 13th. I encourage everyone to join this very special evening and get tickets on our website! We will begin building the school this summer in the Ivory Coast. Next big fundraising step will be to launch the peer to peer fundraising platform in the coming days which will be the beginning of our crowd sourcing to really get us going with the construction this summer. Here I invite you who is reading this to participate! All donations support the progress! Later in the year we will focus on larger grant applications and adding more events, such as a fundraising walk. I would love some volunteers’ support to get organized on a date and location. We would use the same platform to manage the new events as previously mentioned.
How can millennials further support the cause? What organizations would be most ideal to collaborate with?
I have learned to expect the unexpected from all sorts of individuals that come out of the woodwork to support. So to answer this question would be to limit the dreams of what we can do when we come together! Everyone I meet is a teacher. I do know that our organization needs help with grant applications and connections to larger donors. Most of my time is currently focused on building the school’s framework and mobilizing people towards our goal through crowdsourcing. It would be fantastic to have somebody on our team focusing on combing all the different sources of funding that would speed up school construction if only we knew those sources were available. Millennials seem particularly resourceful in coming up with creative ideas, so that would be a fantastic fit to have a grant manager volunteer. We could also greatly benefit from an event manager for organizing the next event after the gala dinner, such as a 5k walk somewhere in New England.
Who do you look up to? (Inspirational individuals in your life)
So many! Dalai Lama, Yogi Bhajan, Mahatma Gandhi, Malala Yousafzai, Nelson Mandela, Sadhguru, Mother Theresa, Gengis Khan, Julius Caesar, Cleopatra. I look up to artists that follow their inner voice and don’t live as slaves to any system but follow their inner drum beat, doing their soul’s work. They fascinate and inspire me greatly to live as fearlessly. I also draw inspiration from people who mostly see possibilities in any given circumstance. Life throws us curve balls and the ones that take altitude rather than attitude inspire me, whatever walk of life. Individuals that have the skill to make others feel good and respected whatever the situation carry the seeds of the magic that is at the kernel of all of us; compassion and kindness.
Any other sources of inspiration that have become staples in your weekly routine?
My daily Sadhana practice is foundational to me. Every day starts around 4:30am with a cold shower, prayer, kundalini yoga and meditation for a duration of approximately two hours. It’s during the “Amrit Vela” – the nectar hours – that I have most of my creative ideas that set the core of my manifestation for how I live my life. “Know Thyself” is essential if you want to be the captain of your vessel, and it starts with being on top of your day. It’s also essential to let go of the old to make space for the new. Having a steady routine to donate / throw old material things and keep material things to a minimum allow for maximizing the flow of fresh energies in your life. We are here for a blink of an eye, so I believe we would do wisely to not hold on to anything as the only constant in life is change. From the moment of our first breath to our bodies final rest, we are here to experience and learn. To stay open, humble and teachable with a foundation in strong values such as integrity, grace and authenticity is what I strive for.
Kindly provide us a few paragraphs about yourself
The passion I have for this school project and for West Africa is already shining through in the previous questions. In addition to this endeavor to launch a non-profit I am very energetically connected with my mission to empower others to live their life to their fullest potential. To do so I have a healing practice; Deepika Healing, where I provide services for individuals to progress on their paths. I am always humbled by the immense light that shines through from the healings and the awakening with the powerful tools I have been handed down in the lineage of King Salomon within the Modern Mystery School. Another toolkit that I use a lot for myself and with my students to tap in to the creative powers of the universe is Kundalini Yoga. It’s a wonderful framework to structure your Bhakti (devotion) and Shakti (power) towards a deeper knowledge of who we really are and what we came here to do. In September I am leading a trip to the Ivory Coast where we will participate in building L’Ecole Des Enfants in Bouake and volunteer at an orphanage in Abidjan to mention a few of the activities. We will weave the journey together with workshops of drumming, dancing and Kundalini Yoga. Want to come? Visit my website for more information www.DeepikaHealing.com.
Maria Johansson is a social entrepreneur with over a decade of managerial experience in global program management for a multibillion dollar company. Maria grew up in Sweden and has since lived on three continents and seven countries and is well versed in seven languages. She holds a MEng in Automation and Mechatronics (Chalmers University of Technology, Swe, Queens University, UK, Nanyang Tech Uni, Singapore) and an Exec MBA (Northeastern University, MA). Maria is the founder and owner of two companies incorporated in MA, USA. One is focused on empowering individuals to live life to their fullest potential and leverages Maria’s expertise as a certified coach, yoga instructor and energy healer. The other company is the nonprofit L’Ecole Des Enfants, Inc. whose mission is to build schools in the most impoverished areas of West Africa to provide the children there with the skills necessary to create their best possible future.