In today’s rapidly evolving world, where innovation and technology are at the forefront of transforming lives and businesses, how do we ensure that our pursuit of progress remains grounded in empathy and understanding? How do we create innovations pushing the boundaries of what’s possible and enriching and uplifting the communities they’re designed to serve?
I sat down with Amy J. Wilson, Founder and Guide at Empathy for Change, to explore the critical intersection of innovation, empathy, and human-centered design. In a profound conversation that traverses the landscape of liberatory and equity-centered community design to the nuances of trauma-informed approaches, Amy sheds light on the importance of integrating compassion into the fabric of innovation.
Amy challenges us to reflect on our innovators, technologists, and leaders roles. Are we inadvertently participating in a culture of extraction, or are we genuinely contributing to creating meaningful, positive change? This episode delves into the essence of empathy within the innovation ecosystem, urging us to become more aware of our blind spots and the impact of our creations on the world around us.
Through stories and insights, Amy illustrates the practice of “Noticing and Reflecting” – a cornerstone of liberatory design that empowers us to align our innovations with our values and intentions, ensuring that we’re not just creating for the sake of innovation but are genuinely making a difference in people’s lives.
This episode is a call to action for the tech and innovation community to integrate empathy and reflection into our processes. It’s about understanding that trust is “earned in droplets and lost in buckets” and recognizing our profound responsibility to innovate responsibly, ethically, and with a deep sense of empathy for the communities we aim to serve.
Guest Details:
Name: Amy J. Wilson
Title: Founder and Guide
Company: Empathy for Change
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Amy J. Wilson is the founder of Healing for Work, a community and program rooted in scientifically-proven ways for individuals to overcome burnout and improve workplace well-being. Through the Empathy Action Lab, she works with ambitious, purpose-driven organizations or entrepreneurs to design communities & movements with more empathy, to tell powerful stories, and to advance collective action.
Amy is the bestselling author of Empathy for Change: How to Build a More Understanding World with stories and frameworks to catalyze change within and around us. She is a Facilitator of Stanford University’s Ethics, Technology, and Public Policy for Practitioners and an advisor and coach for Innovation for the Public Good Graduate Certificate at UNC Chapel Hill.
