Action 2 Impact Podcast with Gwen Jones
Since 2019, host Gwen Jones — a proud Rotarian — has been sharing powerful stories of extraordinary people who turn bold ideas into meaningful impact. While many guests are Rotarians making a difference through service, the heart of the Action 2 Impact Podcast goes far beyond any one organization. Each episode spotlights inspiring individuals from around the world who took a single step to make life better for others — and ended up changing communities, and sometimes the world.
Listeners will discover uplifting stories, practical inspiration, and proof that real change doesn’t require perfection or permission — just action. Because impact isn’t reserved for a select few. It starts with one person, one idea, and one step.
Listen, subscribe, and get inspired to turn your own actions into impact.
Episodes
324 episodes
AUGUST ENCORE SHOW: Anne Onyango From The World Disability Rotary Group
AUGUST ENCORE SHOW: Today we are talking Adults with Clubfoot with fAnne Onyango from the World Disability Rotary Action Group. Not only does Anne have clubfoot, but she has taught yourself how to make shoes not only for h...
AUGUST ENCORE SHOW: The Rotary Wine Enthusiasts Fellowship
AUGUST ENCORE SHOW: I'm off to Grapevine TX to talk wine with Presisident of the Rotary Wine Enthusiasts Fellowship Conrad Heede. We're talk all things wine and fun. If you know a little or a lot about wine, this is the show for...
How To Think About Living Longer With Purpose w/ Writer James Strole
I’m back after brain surgery and I’m choosing to come back talking about longevity, beauty, and the quality of life we all deserve. James Stroll joins me to explain why living longer is becoming mainstream, why access may widen over time, and w...
The Power Of Significance With Aaron Sines
We catch up with our friend Aaron Stines as he wraps up his year as district governor and comes home from his first Rotary International Convention in Taipei with his daughter. He shares why he wrote The Power of Significance and how choosing i...
JULY ENCORE SHOW The 5 Points of Conversation with PDG Sidney Smith
JULY ENCORE SHOW: Time to talk, even if it's uncomfortable? Join me as I talk to Sidney Smith. PDG of 5180 who is bringing his "5 Points of Conversation" not only to Rotary but to the world.
Rotary In The UAE Proves Misconceptions Fall When We Ask Better Questions
We travel to the United Arab Emirates to learn what Rotary looks like on the ground when your clubs are truly multicultural and your youth programs are built as a pipeline. We challenge common misconceptions about the UAE, then dig into how Int...
How To Build A Longer Life With Science And Self-Trust
We talk with Jean Weidman about radical longevity as a life-oriented mindset, a science-forward health plan, and a humanitarian stance against treating anyone as expendable. We also dig into what’s real, what’s risky, and how to stay skeptical ...
What It Really Means To Be Cryopreserved After Death with guest Charlie Kam
We talk cryonics with Charlie Kam and treat it like a serious end-of-life option, not a movie trope. We dig into how cryopreservation works, why the brain is the main focus, and what “plan B” means if future medicine can repair what killed you....
How A Ugandan Youth Leader Uses Soccer To Heal Trauma And Keep Kids In School
We sit down with David Muhindo, founder of Be Well Child Care Initiative in Uganda, to talk about protecting vulnerable children and using soccer as a doorway into healing, mentorship, and life skills. We also trace David’s path from making bri...
JUNE ENCORE SHOW: Jeff Borek from Seattle 4
WE ARE HEADING WAY, WAY ,BACK TO SEASON 3 FOR THIS MONTHS ENCORE What's it like to be the president at one of the oldest Rotary groups in the world? Meet the President of Seattle 4, Jeff Borek, this ...
A Multi-District Conference Can Save Money And Grow Fellowship
We test a big idea for Rotary district conferences by bringing together four district governors who combine four districts into one event to grow fellowship, strengthen networks, and raise the bar on programming. We share what worked, what cost...
Why Throw Away Food When It Can Feed People Twice
We talk dirt with Eric Gardner from Loaves and Fishes and Chuck Corrigan from Rotary, digging into how food waste can become soil instead of methane. We walk through the real numbers, the grant that funded an industrial composter, and the simpl...
Breaking Democracy’s Chains
We question what “democracy” really means when choices feel filtered and money shapes outcomes more than voters do. We unpack Metin Perkin’s argument that party politics captures democratic institutions and explore a bold blueprint for reform t...
MAY ENCORE SHOW: Robyn Curtis and the Climate Change Action Group
MAY ENCORE SHOW: Join me and my new friend Robyn Curtis from the Rotary Climate Change Action Group. We are talking ECO, we are talking big problems, and even some big solutions. We are talking about one of our 7 areas of focus ...
Rotary And Change a talk with Cindie Kish
We sit down with Cindy Kish to decode what Rotary Membership Coordinator and International Assembly learning facilitator really mean, and why those roles matter when clubs feel stuck. We wrestle with the hard part of change: keeping people feel...
From Congolese Filmmaker To Refugee-Led Nonprofit Founder In Uganda
We talk with Wayne Wasagaga in Uganda about building Changia Africa, a refugee-led nonprofit rooted in education, skills, and human dignity. His story reframes refugee life as a place where purpose, leadership, and real community impact can sti...
ICRC Beyond The Red Vest
We sit down with Jacob Kirchner, senior strategic advisor for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Washington, DC, to unpack what neutral humanitarian work really looks like in modern wars. We connect the ICRC’s principles and legal ...
ENCORE SHOW: I'm A Rotarian Podcast Season 10 EP. 26 Peace Fellow and Cellist Diego Carneiro
APRIL ENCORE SHOW: Can we find Peace though music? Can we find understanding? Can music be a bridge to understanding the world we live in...why not. This week meet Rotarian Peace Fellow Diego Carneiro,as we ask some of these que...
Peace Building Through Football (Soccer)
Soccer becomes a practical pathway to peace when we pair skills training with family-focused lessons on respect, safety, and belonging. Ron and Marcos share how a “Soccer Plus” model that began in 1994 now scales through Rotary to serve kids fr...
From Delinquents To Dream Team With Less Moose Hats NEPELS PT2
We meet four first-time district governors stepping into leadership across the Northeast and hear what they want clubs to feel when the year is done. Then we check back in with the outgoing “delinquents” to learn what their big swing for change...
Voices From Rotary President-Elect Training Part 1
We hit the road to Northeast PELS and hand the mic to presidents-elect, district leaders, and longtime Rotarians who are stepping into big roles. The stories range from hilarious name-tag moments to serious talk on membership, global service, a...
Action 2 Impact Podcast Season 2 EP.6 Why Community Arts Matter And How To Support Them
We get honest about why the arts feel easier to ignore than roads or schools and why that choice costs us empathy, creativity, and shared community life. Brian Rodolfo, president and CEO of The Cabot, explains how a historic theater stays open ...
ENCORE SHOW!! I'm A Rotarian Podcast Season 8 EP.15 PE Gordon McInally
Encore Presentation — MarchJoin us for a special encore: an intimate conversation with Past RI President Gordon McInally, recorded before his term. Hear his vision to spotlight mental health and inspire global hope. Listen to Gordo...
Food Security Starts In The Soil
We talk with Eduardo Tavar Lopez from the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project in Beverly about how new farmers get trained and why sustainable farming depends on real systems like land access, education, and distribution. We also connect the ...
Action 2 Impact Podcast Season 2 EP. 3 The Peace Pole Project
We talk with Larry Strober about why Peace Poles still matter in a world full of conflict and how Rotary can turn a simple public marker into real peacebuilding momentum. We trace the movement back to Hiroshima in 1955, then follow its evolutio...