Michael Feigelson, CEO of the Van Leer Foundation, makes the case that becoming a parent is a third window of accelerated human development, with the research to match.
Michael began his career alongside children and families facing homelessness, displacement, and violent conflict. He is also the host of the podcast Birth of a Parent, which has won seven Signal Awards since this recording
On this episode of The Solve Effect, Hala Hanna sits down with longtime friend Michael Feigelson, CEO of the Van Leer Foundation, to talk about:
- **Scaling with government:** why Van Leer finds the leader first, moves fast inside a window of opportunity, and fixes the kinks as it goes
- **The mouse and the elephant:** how a small endowed foundation keeps the leaders it works with at the center of the story
- **The parental brain:** what the research says about neuroplasticity in new mothers and fathers, and why parenthood may be a third window of development
- **Father Nature:** what owl monkeys, poison dart frogs, and stickleback fish reveal about fathering in the natural world
Michael Feigelson is CEO of the Van Leer Foundation, which works to foster inclusive societies where all children can flourish. He began his career alongside children and families facing homelessness, displacement, and violent conflict, and is now writing a book on the transition to parenthood.
Read the transcript here.
See what else is happening this week in Global Development from Devex: https://www.devex.com/focus/this\week\in\global\development
Michael FeigelsonGuest
Hala HannaHost
