“I thought it would be crazy for me to leave a full-time job as an executive director to an organization that I was wholeheartedly committed—to working for an 18-year-old high school senior in Houston, Texas, to do video games for teenagers with cancer…until I started thinking about the other crazy things I’ve done, and I realized it probably wasn’t even in the top 10.”

Eddie Gonzalez-Novoa is a serial social entrepreneur and leader who has crossed industries, sectors, and U.S. state lines in pursuit of positive social change. The son of Puerto Rican immigrants, Eddie’s multiple career shifts have included stints in the arts, education, and health care. Tune in to follow Eddie’s quest through priesthood, dance and performing arts; creating community around rituals; and recognizing how people enter into a community or space. From Harvard Divinity School to Jump Start New York to Public Allies, find out how Eddie threaded the needle between divinity, education, and leadership development, and how that all led to working with his nephew on a startup video game nonprofit for cancer survivors.

For more episodes of On Course: The Podcast from Echoing Green, visit anchor.fm/echoinggreen.