Celebrating Women #IWD - Elena Crescia
Celebrating women making things happen, this interview features Elena Crescia.
1. What is that one thing that drives you to do what you do each morning?
I see myself as a bridge builder, a connector of dots. I am passionate about building bridges between countries, languages, ideas and people. And every day I see the need of new bridges to build, connections to make, relationships to foster, initiatives to help grow. That's what drives me morning, afternoon, evening and late into the night.
2. A few words of wisdom for the women out there wanting to make things happen in your field or any field?
If you see the need for change, don't wait for someone else to take charge, don't complain that it is not taken care of. Enjoy the opportunity to make the difference, to be the changemaker, and do it your way.
3. One thing for work or life you can't live without and why? (think about tools/ apps/ etc that help you on your path)
I am addicted to Spotify where I have playlists to suit every mood, and I love our Soundcloud TEDxMusicProject channel, that helps me discover new super-talented musicians from all over the world.
I use all the major cloud services available, Dropbox, Drive, iCloud. I access my files and work from anywhere.
I love the diversity of connections, language and style of different social media. You'll find me using Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook on a daily basis.
Having said all that, I cannot live without real books and eye to eye conversations.
4. What are your hopes for the future generation of women?
I hope the future generations of women do not take what they have for granted. I hope they value the advancements made until today and they keep working until we reach true gender equality worldwide in all aspects of life and work.
5. What can we do better to help women in the world reach their potential?
We have to strive to reach our potential ourselves. Nothing more powerful than leading by example, while keeping a humble soul, a listening mind, and an empathic heart. We should help girls and young women trust their instincts and their abilities more than they do today. Help a woman believe in herself and you are helping her to become a powerful changemaker.
6. Favourite website for daily inspiration to keep you motivated - or newsletter?
I use a Chrome app called Momentum, which features a beautiful photo and inspirational quote daily. I love it, it makes me smile every time I open a new tab.
I am addicTED to TED.com. As a language coordinator of translations of subtitles into Spanish and Portuguese, I watch many TEDTalks and TEDxTalks weekly. That's a major dose of wisdom + inspiration.
Follow Elena on Twitter
Elena Crescia
Founder Editora de Ideias. Founder Portfolia: women in social business.
Change Agent, Connector, Idea generator, Investor, Philanthropist, Social entrepreneur, Writer, Editor, Global soul, Brainstormer. Passionate about social entrepreneurship, sustainability, social finance, impact investments, gov 2.0, Latin America, design, photography.
President Net Impact Sao Paulo Chapter.
Curator and organizer of TEDxSãoPaulo, TEDxSãoPauloWomen, TEDxJardins, and TEDxJardinsWomen. Curator and outreach of TEDx Music Project. TED Open Translation Project Language Coordinator.
Past experience includes LGT Venture Philanthropy Fellow, Ashoka Youth Venture Brazil Operations Manager, international organizations (UNDP and Group of 15), think-tank East-West Institute, consulting firms McKinsey&Company and E-stratégia Pública.
Master of International Affairs, Columbia University. Master of economic and financial evaluation of development projects, Sorbonne University.
Elena is from Argentina. She has lived and worked in the United States, France and Brazil, where she lives with her 3 kids.
