The Criterion Institute Podcast

Hosted by Joy Anderson

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Jun 2026

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How do we disrupt the entrenched power dynamics in finance to advance a more equitable future? Join us for the Criterion Institute Podcast as Joy Anderson, a global thought leader in business and social change, leads us through a series of discussions, interviews, frameworks, rants, and re-frames that will help you better understand how to use finance as a tool for transformative systems change. Learn more by visiting us at www.criterioninstitute.org.

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June 4, 202633 min

#80: What Are You Willing to See? Disruption, Fault Lines, and the Moments That Matter

In this episode, Joy Anderson reframes one of the most common narratives in moments of crisis: instead of asking how to stabilize and return to normal, she asks what disruption makes visible. Building on earlier conversations about systems opportunities, she distinguishes between disruptive events and the deeper structural patterns they expose, and highlights how moments of volatility can make long-standing dynamics of power, risk, and inequity harder to ignore.The episode opens with a conversation with Rachel Sinha, a systems change practitioner and field builder, as the two explore the tensions inherent in building a field, from questions of legitimacy and power to who gets resourced and recognized. From there, Joy connects these themes to Criterion’s work on gender-based violence, feminist finance, and local capital, showing how disruption can reveal hidden costs and overlooked actors within financial systems. The episode ultimately challenges listeners to treat disruption as evidence and invites them to see systems more clearly and act with greater readiness.Episode Highlights00:00 - Introduction to Systems Change and Disruption02:49 - Building a Field of Systems Change Practice06:05 - Power Dynamics in Systems Change09:05 - Understanding Systems Opportunities11:47 - Disruption as Revelation15:09 - Examples of Systems Opportunities18:00 - Responding to Disruption20:51 - The Role of Communities in Systems Change23:58 - Conclusion and Call to ActionRelevant LinksCriterion Institute Website and LinkedInJoy's LinkedInRachel Sinha’s LinkedinDive DeeperFramework for financing the prevention of gender-based violenceA systems-level framework that explains how financial structures, incentives, and norms influence the persistence of gender-based violence and how finance can be used to prevent it.Fòs Feminista: Building Feminist Financial InfrastructureA case study showing how a feminist intermediary designs and uses financial and non-financial assets to reshape capital flows and build long-term movement-led financial infrastructure.Fostering a Feminist Financial Imagination: A Radical Conversation about Finance, Feminist Futures,…A publication that explores how reimagining financial systems can unlock new strategies and possibilities for advancing gender equality and social justice.Pacific Possibilities: Designing Better Financial Vehicles for the PacificA report that outlines how to design investment vehicles grounded in local economic and social realities, rather than forcing existing financial models onto communities.Other episodes you might also like:#75: When the Moment Arrives: Acting on Systems Opportunities#78: Intermediation Is Not Overhead#58: Check List or Trust List: Power, Performance, and the Politics of Procedure#16: We Made This System Up, We Can Change It.Part of the ImpactAlpha Podcast Network

May 21, 202624 min

#79: From Invitation to Trust: Rethinking Relationships in Finance

In this episode, Joy Anderson reflects on invitation as a foundational practice for leadership, collaboration, and systems change. Moving beyond calendar invites, she reframes invitation as a form of power that determines whether participation is passive or meaningful. When people are explicitly invited into roles that matter, where their presence is needed and their contribution is clear, progress is made. In complex systems where hierarchy is unclear, invitation becomes the mechanism that supports coordination and shared purpose.Joy then reframes the notion of “handholding,” a common phrase in investing that often implies lack of capability. What is really being described, says Joy, is about trust, proximity, and power. Advice in investing is rarely neutral, especially when tied to capital, and what is presented as support can become control without permission and alignment. Drawing from work with the Mastercard Foundation African Growth Fund, she outlines four conditions that make for better and more balanced investment relationships: permission, boundaries, protection of vulnerability, and moments to recalibrate. Together, these help us to rethink how relationships are built and how influence operates within financial systems.Episode Highlights00:00 Introduction to the episode and themes01:49 Invitation as a form of power04:14 Invitation in complex collaborations and consortiums06:18 From presence to contribution: what invitation makes possible08:40 Practices of invitation in leadership and systems change10:03 Rant: unpacking the phrase “handholding”12:30 Trust, vulnerability, and investment relationships14:57 Permission, advice, and power in investing17:03 Capacity, timing, and misalignment in support19:02 Conditions for “handholding” as trust infrastructure21:17 Reflection questions on relationships and influence22:26 Ways to engage with Criterion InstituteRelevant LinksCriterion Institute Website and LinkedInJoy's LinkedInDive DeeperDisrupting Fields: Addressing Power Dynamics in the Fields of Climate Finance and Gender Lens InvestingThis report examines how power operates in emerging financial fields and how actors navigate existing systems while trying to change them. It highlights the tension between advancing new ideas and working within entrenched power structures, making it highly relevant to this episode’s focus on invitation, influence, and participation.Addressing Power Dynamics in Investment ProcessesA deep dive into how investment processes reflect and respond to power dynamics, including how trust, transparency, and engagement shape relationships between investors and companies. The report emphasizes the role of intentional design in building more equitable investment relationships.Process Metrics that Analyze Power Dynamics in InvestingThis report introduces tools for identifying and measuring how power shows up in investment processes—moving beyond representation to examine whose knowledge is valued and how decisions are made. It directly connects to the episode’s discussion of influence, control, and whose perspective shapes outcomes.Advanced Practice in Gender Lens InvestingA framework for identifying and shifting power, privilege, and bias within financial systems by focusing on how investments are made. It highlights how changing processes—not just outcomes—can transform relationships and redistribute power in finance.Other episodes you might also like:#74: No Permission Required: Volunteerism as a Power Shift#68: Clarity is Relational: Leadership in Complex Systems#52: Reimagining Resourcing for Social Transformation – Part TwoPart of the ImpactAlpha Podcast Network

May 7, 202625 min

#78: Intermediation Is Not Overhead

In this episode, Joy Anderson reflects on a renewed wave of conversations around innovative finance following recent funding disruptions across the feminist movement, particularly in the context of discussions surrounding the Women Deliver conference in Australia. Drawing from Criterion Institute’s long-standing work at the intersection of finance and social change, she introduces a set of reframes designed to move organizations beyond the narrow question of “how do we get more funding?” toward a deeper understanding of how capital actually moves within economic systems.The episode outlines seven key reframes. Through these reframes, Joy highlights the importance of financial infrastructure—intermediaries, instruments, and systems that structure relationships and shape power. Ultimately, the episode argues that sustainable and equitable movement-building depends not on accessing more money, but on intentionally designing the relationships and systems through which finance operates.‍Episode Highlights00:00 - Introduction to Innovative Finance and Feminist Movements05:14 - Understanding Economic Relationships in Movements10:14 - The Role of Financial Intermediaries15:08 - Reframing Funding and Economic Relationships20:10 - Building Trust and Stability in Financial SystemsRelevant LinksCriterion Institute website and LinkedInJoy’s LinkedInDive DeeperCriterion TOOLKITPacific Possibilities: Designing Better Financial Vehicles for the PacificFostering a Feminist Financial ImaginationOther episodes you might also like:#75: When the Moment Arrives: Acting on Systems Opportunities#58: Check List or Trust List: Power, Performance, and the Politics of Procedure#63: From Scarcity to Power: Reimagining Finance for Feminist Movements‍Part of the ImpactAlpha Podcast Network ‍https://impactalpha.com/podcasts

April 23, 202636 min

#77: Strength Is the Strategy: A Conversation on Movement‑Led Finance

#77: Strength Is the Strategy: A Conversation on Movement‑Led FinanceWhat happens when feminist movements stop asking permission—and start acting as asset owners?In this episode, Joy Anderson is joined by Giselle Carino and Meradith Leebrick of Fòs Feminista to explore how movement‑led organizations are building financial tools, institutions, and enterprises that sustain reproductive justice over the long term.In this conversation, they reflect on why organizational strength (governance, reserves, and financial discipline) is not separate from movement work but essential to it; how Fòs Feminista was deliberately designed by and for organizations in the Global South; and what it looks like to act as a financial intermediary without training wheels. They trace Fòs Feminista’s long history with innovative finance, dig into the creation and scaling of INNOVA Health Supplies as a feminist social enterprise, and challenge conventional assumptions about risk, collateral, and repayment, arguing instead for designing capital that matches the realities, time horizons, and power dynamics of real change.Episode Highlights00:00 - Introduction to Fòs Feminista and Its Mission02:50 The Concept of 'Fòs' and Its Origins05:40 Building a Strong Ecosystem for Reproductive Justice08:01 Organizational Stability and Movement Leadership14:18 Innovative Finance Strategies in Reproductive Health17:33 Collaborative Solutions for Sexual and Reproductive Health22:15 Acting as Asset Owners in the Movement30:11 Scaling Impact and Future DirectionsRelevant LinksCriterion Institute website and LinkedInJoy’s LinkedInGiselle Carino, CEO, Fòs Feministahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/giselle-carino-937285102Meradith Leebrick, Lead, Social Innovation & Financing, Fòs Feministahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/meradithMentioned in this EpisodeFòs FeministaINNOVA Health SuppliesFeminist Impact Fund (Fòs Feminista)Dive DeeperIntroducing Standards of Practice for Gender Lens InvestingProcess Metrics that Analyze Power Dynamics in InvestingDisrupting Fields: Addressing Power Dynamics in the Fields of Climate Finance and Gender Lens InvestingFostering a Feminist Financial ImaginationOther episodes you might also like:#74: No Permission Required: Volunteerism as a Power Shift#72: From Add-on to Operating System: Rethinking the Role of Services in Local Value Creation#73: Search Funds Reframed: Expanding Access to Business Ownership#20: Shifting Power in Investment Practice: The Costs of Doing BusinessPart of the ImpactAlpha Podcast Network<a...

April 9, 202624 min

#76: Bring Your Expertise: Why AI Needs More Voices

In this conversation, Joy Anderson and Mara Bolis discuss the intersection of gender lens investing and AI, highlighting the importance of diverse perspectives in shaping the future of technology. Mara shares her journey from working at Oxfam to exploring AI at the Kennedy School, and her reflections on addressing gender inequality in emerging technologies. They explore the challenges of navigating spaces traditionally dominated by experts and why it’s time to bring new types of knowledge into AI discussions. The conversation underscores the value of interdisciplinary approaches and the power of collective learning to empower underrepresented voices in the tech space.Episode Highlights00:00 - Introduction to AI and Power Dynamics03:11 - Imposter Syndrome and Interdisciplinary Leadership06:06 - The Importance of Domain Expertise in AI09:08 - Challenging Traditional Notions of Expertise11:55 - The Role of Gender in Economic Systems15:12 - Agency and Participation in AI Development17:59 - Practical Tips for Engaging in AI20:49 - Building Community and Learning TogetherRelevant LinksCriterion Institute website and LinkedInJoy’s LinkedInMara's LinkedInDive DeeperDisrupting FieldsFostering a Feminist Financial ImaginationIntroducing Standards of Practice for Gender Lens InvestingIf enjoyed this episode, consider listening to “Knowledge and Power,” which offers language for recognizing and challenging whose expertise carries weight in decision‑making spaces, and “Disrupting Fields,” which looks at how authority, legitimacy, and participation take shape as new fields emerge.Part of the ImpactAlpha Podcast Network https://impactalpha.com/podcasts

March 26, 202619 min

#75: When the Moment Arrives: Acting on Systems Opportunities

In this episode, we share how Criterion approaches systems change—by paying close attention to where leverage actually lives, how power moves through relationships, and why timing matters as much as ideas. You’ll hear how we think about staying close to the people and systems that can shift outcomes, even when it looks like we’re waiting. This perspective reframes strategy as readiness: noticing signals, building trust, and being prepared to step forward when the moment to act genuinely arrives.Episode Highlights00:00 Introduction to Systems Change and Strategy03:01 Understanding Systems Opportunities05:49 The Role of Timing in Systems Change09:13 Defining System Tensions and Opportunities12:06 Strategic Posture and Approach14:58 The Importance of Relationships in Systems Change17:55 Conclusion and Call to ActionRelevant LinksCriterion Institute website and LinkedInJoy’s LinkedInCriterion’s Strategic PlanDonella Meadow’s Leverage PointsIf this episode resonates, you may also want to listen to “Clarity Is Relational,” which explores how sense‑making and strategy emerge through relationships, and “Navigating Paradoxes,” which looks at how leverage and emergence show up in real market systems.Part of the ImpactAlpha Podcast Network https://impactalpha.com/podcasts

March 12, 202618 min

#74: No Permission Required: Volunteerism as a Power Shift

In this episode of The Criterion Institute Podcast, Joy Anderson reflects on the often-overlooked power of volunteerism and voluntary association as a foundational force in civic life, democracy, and systems change. Drawing on history, personal experience, and Criterion’s own organizational design, Joy explores how spaces that are not governed by markets, paychecks, or formal permission create access, shift power, and allow people to learn, belong, and act together. She traces the evolution from early American voluntary associations to modern professionalized nonprofits, questioning when expertise became a gate and why unpaid work is so often dismissed as less valuable. At its heart, this episode is an invitation to reconsider freedom of association—not as charity or secondary labor, but as a vital way we build communities, share power, and sustain ourselves beyond our formal professional lives.Episode Highlights00:00 Introduction00:29 Joy Anderson's Background and the Foundation of Criterion01:25 The Significance of Access and Volunteerism in Civic Life02:25 Historical Roots of Voluntary Associations in America03:11 Early 19th Century Social Reform Movements04:05 The Proliferation of Voluntary Associations in the 19th Century05:28 The Shift to Professionalization of Nonprofits07:21 Benefits and Barriers of Professionalism in Volunteer Work09:35 The Value of Informal Economies and Voluntary Association10:53 Community and Volunteerism at Criterion Institute12:47 The Power of Free Association and Its Social Impact14:13 Volunteering as a Form of Community Building16:39 Opportunities for Engagement with Criterion Institute18:22 Closing Remarks and How to Get InvolvedRelevant LinksCriterion Institute website and LinkedInJoy’s LinkedInVolunteer at CriterionPart of the ImpactAlpha Podcast Network https://impactalpha.com/podcasts

February 26, 202641 min

#73: Search Funds Reframed: Expanding Access to Business Ownership

In this episode of the Criterion Institute podcast, Joy Anderson explores the concept of search funds as a transformative financial tool for entrepreneurship. The discussion highlights the potential of search funds in different contexts, particularly in Africa and the U.S., emphasizing the importance of power dynamics, governance, and the role of impact investing in business ownership. The conversation also addresses the challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurship through acquisition, advocating for a shift in how we perceive and support business ownership.Episode Highlights00:00 - Introduction to Search Funds and Power Dynamics02:48 - Search Funds in Africa: Opportunities and Challenges06:14 - Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition in the U.S.09:08 - Rethinking Entrepreneurship: The Case for Buying Businesses11:59 - The Mechanics of Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition14:48 - Power Dynamics in Business Transactions18:05 - The Role of Impact Investing in Business Ownership20:59 - Navigating the Entrepreneurial Landscape24:11 - The Future of Entrepreneurship and Ownership27:02 - Conclusion and Call to ActionRelevant Links• Criterion Institute website and LinkedIn• Joy’s LinkedIn• Eric's LinkedIn• Allegra's LinkedIn• Lindsay's LinkedIn• Joy's Post on Search Funds Part of the ImpactAlpha Podcast Network https://impactalpha.com/podcasts

February 12, 202647 min

#72: From Add-on to Operating System: Rethinking the Role of Services in Local Value Creation

In this episode, Joy Anderson is joined by Entrepreneurial Solutions Partners co-founders Eric Kacou and Charity Kabango to explore what it truly takes to build thriving businesses and markets across Africa. Together, they challenge familiar impact investing narratives and offer a radically different way of thinking that centers entrepreneurs as human beings embedded in complex ecosystems.The conversation ranges from hope and value creation to the often overlooked power of the service economy, asking what markets need in order to actually work. With insight drawn from years of partnership through the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, this episode invites listeners to rethink expertise and imagine what becomes possible when we design economies around dignity, choice, and investable hope. Episode HighlightsChapters00:00 Introduction to the Criterion Institute Podcast02:14 The Genesis of Entrepreneurial Solutions Partners (ESP)06:21 Centering Entrepreneurs in Their Context10:16 Understanding the Ecosystem and Entrepreneurial Challenges14:25 The Survival Trap and Systemic Change18:30 Collaboration and the Role of Service Providers22:16 Power Dynamics and Choice in Entrepreneurship26:08 Investable Hope and Capital Allocation30:41 Pre-Investment Value Creation Services34:32 The Importance of Service Providers in the Economy38:04 Investing in Service Businesses40:54 Building Infrastructure for Productivity42:56 Hope and Future AspirationsRelevant Links• Criterion Institute website and LinkedIn• Joy’s LinkedIn• Eric's LinkedIn• Charity's LinkedIn• Episode #57: Investable Hope: A Conversation with Susie Pan on Financing the Future• Investing in Africa’s Future: A Roadmap to Dignified and Fulfilling Job CreationPart of the ImpactAlpha Podcast Network https://impactalpha.com/podcasts

January 29, 202620 min

#71: Time to Pause: How We Learn to Let Go, Listen and Pivot

In this episode of the Criterion Institute podcast, Joy Anderson reflects on the power of letting go—of beliefs, assumptions, and fixed identities that may no longer serve us. Through a personal story about guided meditation, she explores how releasing long-held ideas can create the conditions for more grounded leadership. As we enter 2026, this reflection becomes an invitation to reassess what we think is necessary or unchangeable, and to hold space for discernment, listening, and imagination. Letting go, Joy reminds us, is not about abandoning values—it’s about making room for clarity in a shifting world.The second half of the episode turns to a live example of that clarity in practice: Criterion’s decision to postpone its 22nd Convergence event. Joy walks us through how this decision emerged from sustained listening and a willingness to pivot. Rather than centering an annual convening, Criterion is shifting toward deeper partnership, extended collaboration, and more focused engagements to address gender-based violence through finance. This change reflects a discipline of responding to what is truly needed—and offering more precise, actionable invitations that align with the urgency and complexity of this moment.Episode Highlights00:00 - Welcome to 2026: A New Era of Action05:51 - Letting Go of Outdated Beliefs12:02 - Listening and Pivoting: The Power of Adaptation18:09 - Building Trust Through ChangeRelevant LinksCriterion Institute website and LinkedInJoy’s LinkedInPart of the ImpactAlpha Podcast Network https://impactalpha.com/podcasts