“The people closest to the problems, the ones holding communities together, building movements and driving real change, were almost always the last seen and least funded.” — Latanya Mapp
Overview
What happens when the work you do stops being abstract—and you come face-to-face with the people whose lives depend on it?
For Latanya Mapp, that happened on her first day working for UNICEF in Ethiopia. Sent into an area devastated by drought and crop failure, she encountered an experience that would stay with her throughout more than three decades of work across international development, diplomacy, philanthropy, and social change.
In this episode of Leadership Story Talks, Jerome Deroy and Julienne Ryan speak with Latanya about the importance of staying close to the people affected by our decisions. She reflects on shifting power and capital toward those closest to the problems, building relationships that allow leaders to be “called in” rather than called out, and why simply saying “my door is always open” may not be enough.
Latanya also shares what happened when she stepped away from traditional organizational leadership and created space for discernment. Asked the deceptively simple question “Who are you?”, she rediscovered a thread that had been present throughout her life: sometimes finding what comes next means returning to what was there all along.
You’ll Hear
- How Latanya’s first day with UNICEF in Ethiopia became one of the defining experiences of her life
- Why leaders need to stay connected to the people ultimately affected by their work
- How seeing the human stories behind statistics can transform our sense of responsibility
- The thread Latanya sees connecting her work across diplomacy, international development, philanthropy, and social change
- What it means to shift power and capital toward people closest to the problems
- Why communities need to tell leaders what they actually need rather than having solutions imposed upon them
- What Latanya learned when reproductive justice organizations publicly challenged Planned Parenthood
- Why an “open door” isn’t enough if people don’t feel they have permission to walk through it
- How building genuine stakeholder relationships can create opportunities for leaders to be “called in” rather than called out
- Why Latanya stepped away from traditional organizational leadership to create space for discernment
- What the deceptively simple question “Who are you?” helped her rediscover about herself
- Why the work closest to your heart and closest to your abilities may be the best place to begin when the problems around us feel overwhelming
Resources
- Latanya Mapp | LinkedIn
- Latanya | Culture Seekers
- The Everyday Feminist: The Key to Sustainable Social Impact—Driving Movements We Need Now More than Ever — Global Fund for Women
- Navigate AI Collaborative | Discover AI Solutions Today
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