151: {Interview} The Art of Social Impact: A Conversation with Simone Pero

In this conversation, Simone Pero shares her journey as a social impact advisor and film producer, emphasizing the importance of storytelling in various sectors. She discusses how social impact can manifest at both macro and micro levels, highlighting the significance of purpose and passion in driving change. Simone also introduces her initiative to support artists in creating impactful projects, fostering a sense of community and collaboration.

takeaways

• Artistry can help us navigate social challenges.
• Storytelling is essential for connecting with audiences.
• Social impact can be achieved on a small scale.
• Change often requires time and persistence.
• Purpose drives effective social impact initiatives.
• Creating support systems for artists is crucial.
• Every individual has a unique story to share.
• Understanding your audience is key to impactful storytelling.
• Social impact can influence public policy and community change.
• Collaboration enhances the effectiveness of social initiatives.

Connect more with Simone HERE or on LinkedIn HERE

Transcript

Caroline Pennington (00:01.386)
Welcome, Simone.

Simone Pero (00:02.956)
Hello, hello.

Caroline Pennington (00:05.814)
So you and I met through a mutual friend and we had a meeting first and after talking to you, I thought you'd be a great podcast guest and so I'm excited to have you today. You are a social impact advisor for creatives. You're an Emmy nominated film producer, a public speaker and founder of four impact productions. So I want to hear our listeners to hear your background. How did you do it? How did you get to where you are? I want to hear your story, all the things.

Simone Pero (00:28.366)
your background, how did you do it, how did you get to where you are? I want to hear your story, all the things. Okay. So well, I'm so excited to be here. So thank you for having me. So I

I founded 4 Impact Productions really with this very strong belief that artists are the first responders of social change, right? And especially the times that we're finding ourselves in, you know, I truly believe that artistry and story really can help us see our way through a lot of these social challenges. So that is kind of the basis of what I do in the world.

And honestly, if I think back of where, ooh, is there an echo? We're okay. Honestly, if I look back and where this all started is my mother.

She was a single mom breaking convention, at least within her family and social circle. And she built this life of breaking rules that were meant to contain her. She was a single mom in the 70s. you know, for example, when I was in elementary school on a secretary salary, she went and bought a two family house. And she became landlord and I

Caroline Pennington (01:49.9)
you know, for example, when I was in elementary school on a secretary salary, she went to a family house and she became landlord and I became the landlord's daughter and we filled the apartment with tenants from all over the world, Turkey, Iraq, Hungary, Italy and around our kitchen table, I would hear stories and human stories.

Simone Pero (02:00.363)
I became the landlord's daughter. And we filled the apartment with tenants from all over the world, Turkey, Iraq, Hungary, Italy. And around our kitchen table, I would hear stories and human stories. And they...

you know, as I kind of grew up in that, was learning really how stories are showing what is going on in our systems, right? And so that, from that table is where I learned kind of the personal is political. And I think that is what drove me and launched me into my master's degree in public policy, going to DC, working with the federal government and the White House and

and then later into corporate communications and then of course now launching my film business. it kind of all, all my worlds are now colliding in terms of helping artists really engage and understand how to resource their projects and bring them out into the world with a social impact bent and we can talk about that.

Caroline Pennington (03:22.068)
Okay, that, I love that story. Thank you for sharing that about the apartment and about your lessons learned and experience around the table with your tenants that you and your mom had. That's really special. And I bet you learned a lot. I mean, it sounds like you had a lot of diversity. You're exposed to a lot of diversity and that probably led to a lot of bigger thinking or forward thinking, I would assume.

Simone Pero (03:22.294)
Okay, that I love that story. Thank you for sharing that about the apartment and about your lessons learned and experience around the table with your tenants that you and your mom had. That's really special. And I bet you learned a lot. I mean, it like you had a lot of diversity. You're exposed to lot of diversity. And that probably led to a lot of bigger thinking or forward thinking, I would assume.

Caroline Pennington (03:45.876)
Okay, so I wanna talk more about storytelling with you. Why is it so important? I don't care what it is, fill in the blank that you do, politician, own a business, work in corporate, whatever it is, everyone has a story. So how do you tell your story to...

Simone Pero (03:46.08)
Okay, so I want to talk more about storytelling with you. Why is it so important? I don't care what it is, fill in the blank that you do. Politician, own a business, work in corporate, whatever it is, everyone has a story. So how do you tell your story to

Caroline Pennington (04:09.964)
Tell your message or to communicate what you do or why you're an expert or why you should be the go-to whatever, fill in the blank.

Simone Pero (04:10.2)
tell your message or to communicate what you do or why you're an expert or why you should be the go-to whatever film of life.

I love that you see that, right? So from all of, you know, working in public sector, private sector, independent, story is that core. You know, in corporate we call it, you know, messaging, right? But it is based on the story of the company, the story of, you know, the mission of where that business is going. In nonprofits, what's the story of the impact that you want to make in the community?

in film and television and all of the things, it's about the story maybe of the character, right? And how are you looking at themes in a person's life or in the character development? it, you know, at the core of his story, but it's also knowing who your audience is. So in corporate, right, we talk about customers. And in government, we talk about constituents.

in entertainment, film, television, we talk about audience and viewers. So we are creating stories with those lenses. And so a story for a consumer is how would that product or your brand touch a person's everyday life, whatever product it is. In politics or government,

Caroline Pennington (05:47.792)
in politics or government, it's a journey to care about what is that policy, how is that going impact how I put food on the table, how do I...

Simone Pero (05:49.688)
its constituents, the constituents care about what is that policy going to, how is that going to impact how I put food on the table? How, you know, how do I,

you know, engage in my workplace, all of the things from an agency perspective or from a politician perspective, how are you going to help policies to help me in my life, right? So it's like they're telling the story to help them with their story, right? So there's a connection there. And so.

you know, the core of the story is looking at themes. It's looking at an emotional language in film and television. There's a sensory, a sensory experience that you're creating to write. So you have both the visual medium and in in word. So you're always looking at kind of what is that? What are those emotional touch points in that story? And, you know, neuroscience has proven how

story really helps us think about things in new ways and it connects us to maybe take action. There's been a lot of studies about that lately. really looking at what are the core themes, are the core, what are the core motivations as a human? Can we go back to the human and changing hearts and minds no matter if you're in corporate,

government or in media. Okay, this may be a very baseline question, but as I'm sitting here listening to you talking, like my wheels are turning about, okay, everyone has a story, right? So how do you know which one to tell? Ooh.

Caroline Pennington (07:29.886)
Okay, this may be a very baseline question, but as I'm sitting here listening to you talking, like my wheels are turning about, okay, everyone has a story, right? So how do you know which one to tell?

Simone Pero (07:45.998)
Well, again, it goes back to who's your audience and what is it that you want to project into the world in that moment, right? So it as part of like the work that I do with filmmakers, know, my filmmakers come to me and they they want to change the world. And I'm like, OK, let's get a little practical. What does that mean?

Caroline Pennington (07:56.862)
in that moment, right? So...

Simone Pero (08:14.517)
So if it is a narrative, if it's a fiction film, we look at, what are the characters going through? What are their story arcs? it could be very subtle. even, even if it's a horror genre, we can always find what is the story that, what are we trying to convey here? And I work on films and projects that have a social,

impact, right? So what is, you know, what is that thinking that you want to change in the audience when they see the the film or content? Or what is the motivation you want to give them? What do want them to leave the theater or their living room with? So it

really depends on both the maker, like who's delivering that story and them understanding, okay, who's the audience and what do I want to, how do I want to contribute to their growth, hopefully, and evolution there.

Caroline Pennington (09:24.874)
Okay, I love that you put it that way because I didn't think about it like that. Like, okay, what do I want to share and then how is it going to impact my viewers or audience or constituents or whatever the film of blanket is. And you really have to think about, it sounds like multi-dimensional, like what are you willing to share and then what are, what is going to resonate with them? Like, what are they going to hear when they hear the message?

Simone Pero (09:46.958)
Exactly. mean, just in speaking with you today, it's like, what, what do I want to share? Right? And what, you know, what stories in my life or in my work?

would connect to you, your audience, and what I want to share with the world right now. And for me, right now, I wanna share all about artists for social change, right? So I go back and I really thought about that question and it's kind of just bubbled up for me lately. It's like really what happened.

with my mother and growing up. And that might sound cliche, but it was really so connected to the work that I do today. And I had no idea, right, that that was happening. I just thought it was normal that we had United Nations in our house all of the time and

we would take our tenants to doctors and deal with government agencies or deal with their families overseas or dealing just to get to school every day. And those are all, you could connect a public policy to all of that. And I was like, okay, this is something I'm really interested in. I love that. It's a special experience and a unique one. So thank you for sharing.

Caroline Pennington (10:41.74)
We would take our time to talk to government agencies or deal with their families overseas or dealing just to get to school. And those are all connected on the phone. All of that. This is something I'm really interested in. I love that. And that is a special experience and a unique one. So thank you for sharing.

Okay, so I wanna switch gears here and I wanna dig more into the social impact piece because it's fascinating to me and I wanna learn more from you about it and I my listeners to learn more about it. So I'm gonna ask a very baseline question of what exactly is social impact and how can it be used in shaping culture and change? So two part question.

Simone Pero (11:06.189)
Okay, so I want to switch gears here and I want to dig more into the social impact piece because it's fascinating to me and I want to learn more from you about it. I want my listeners to learn more about it. So I'm going to ask a very baseline question of what exactly is social impact and how can it be used in shaping culture and change? So two, two part question. Well, you know, there, there can be many definitions of social impact, right? And

From my purview, it's really about visual storytelling in terms of content, media content for social impact. Social impact is really about how are you, whatever the project is, it could be a project, an initiative, a film.

anything that we do in life, what kind of impact is that having on the larger society? And larger society can be maybe just a community. It doesn't necessarily have to be the world or the country. It could be like what's in our backyard? What is in our school district? That is a social impact. Are we, you know, the baseline, right?

you know, the early stories were like, get on the PTA to get a stoplight on a street at Four Corners that was never there before. That is a social impact, right? That we are doing something that, yes, may help my individual, my individual experience, but also for many. So social impact is about what is it about that what we do can have an impact for many.

And I guess the second part of your question is about larger, what does that look like? And again, it can be public policy. What is it that we are doing as an individual to impact the collective? So is it looking at making a...

Simone Pero (13:22.516)
a piece of legislation change and how does our project help make that piece of legislation come to life or how do we educate policy makers? Again, it could be on a local level, state level, federal level, international level. Education, that's another part of social impact when I work with projects. It's, do you wanna get your film or story in schools?

Caroline Pennington (13:43.504)
. Do you want to get your film or story in schools? Do you want to have the district, a lot of schools have like a documentary club that you put your fifth graders in and you use the film and then we create curriculum guides that sort of social impact.

Simone Pero (13:48.769)
Do you want to have the district a lot of schools have like duck my friend has a documentary club that she brings her fifth graders in and they use the film. And then we create curriculum guides that's so social impact in film has many layers. we're trying to give tools. say I always say it's like what everything outside of the screen. So to the filmmaker like you go make the best film possible. And then as impact producers we take

that and go do in the world. So bringing it to schools, creating a curriculum guide, bringing a brain trust together around the film, cultural conversation. We also work with, you know, how do you get reporters and media to talk about the issue in a new way with this, this either the story.

or kind of that human connection again, right? So media is always looking for new ways. So that's impact.

Right? And so these stories add up and even social media, right? So we run social media campaigns now. Maybe we get influencers and celebrities and and other and all of us to start talking about the issue. And it's in film or or television or any sort of media content that I work with or artistry could be a play. could be a dance. How are we?

expressing that issue with this art form. And that is impact.

Caroline Pennington (15:25.928)
Okay, I love that you broke it down that way because sometimes even I am guilty of this when I was reading about your history and everything and I was standing there like thinking like social impact, like, wow, my mind immediately went to like changing the world or, you know, government policies or like feeding the hungry or like the really big, big issues that we all know exist in this world. But you made a great point about social impact can be exercised and used at a small level, micro level.

Simone Pero (15:28.074)
sometimes even I go through this when I was reading about your history and everything and I was sitting there and thinking like social impact like wow my mind immediately went to like changing the world or you know government policies or like feeding the hungry or like the really big big issues that we all know exist in this world but you made a great point about social impact can be exercised and used in a small level micro level

Caroline Pennington (15:55.519)
like at the school with the PTA, need a red light put up or stuff like that. And so I think that's really important to think about and recognize that even those small things make a big difference.

Simone Pero (15:55.775)
like at the school with the PTA need a red light put up or stuff like that. So I think that's really important to think about and recognize that even those small things make a big difference. Absolutely. Absolutely. And yeah, we don't all need to be on the world stage. And and yes, we can maybe write a check to a charity or to help support and that is needed. And

amazing and we have to keep doing that for things that we care about. And it doesn't necessarily have to always be financial is my other point. Right. So the social change really comes right. We all see it in the world with with little steps. Right. And and it takes decades. You know, I worked with the Federal Labor Department and it took

We worked on the Family Medical Leave Act that it took 40 years to get that one in. And so these things take a while, right? And then how it then seeps into our daily lives. so things take time. And I'm all about positive, forward-moving change.

Yeah, so I rely on our individual actions to kind of have that ripple effect into something collectively and larger. As I'm listening to you talk about this more, I keep going back to the word purpose. No matter what it is, even if it's small, need something changed in the school or need a government,

Caroline Pennington (17:29.97)
As I'm listening to talk about this more, I keep going back to the word purpose. No matter what it is, even if it's small, know, need something changed at the school or need a government FLA policy, you know, so we can have that going. It all matters. And I think working towards those things and having the goals are so important.

Simone Pero (17:47.796)
Yeah, and that's a lot of frankly that's a lot of the work that I do in that if you're looking to Bring resources into your projects into these initiatives purpose is the like

huge purpose and passion, right? So when you're pitching a funder, you want to show your passion for it, but really what is the purpose of your project in this, you know, spectrum of making that impact, whatever it is. And so,

work we work a lot on kind of really identifying and getting clear on what that purpose is. I actually created this guide, Your North Star for Social Impact, and it gives you questions about what is your why and but like what is the purpose and how do you see your work or what your voice or initiative in the world, where do you see

the purpose of it and what could the outcome be. And you kind of put it out there and you don't know if it's gonna happen or not, but you have a direction. And that's the main point of getting people on board is that really showing that you have a direction. I have a purpose, I'm going to go do this, and I'm gonna get five people on board and we're gonna go do. I love that. So what is lighting up with the clients that you're working with right now? What is lighting us up? Yeah, like what is...

Caroline Pennington (19:19.774)
I love that. So what is lighting up with the clients that you're working with right now?

Yeah, like what is, me an example or something that you're really passionate or excited about with your company or with your clients. I want to hear all the things.

Simone Pero (19:27.399)
Give me an example or something that you're really passionate or excited about with your company or with your clients. want to hear all the things. yes. So what what I'm really excited about right now is that I have been you know, a lot of my work has been behind the scenes for most of my career and whether it's, you know, speech writing, whether it's for, you know, or

whether it's supporting corporate messages and then also supporting films and filmmakers. And what I have been doing now is really expanding out and coming out from behind the scenes, behind the camera to really equip more artists. So I'm working more with artists now and really about helping them create these ecosystems of support.

Caroline Pennington (19:59.341)
messages and then also supporting films and film angles.

Simone Pero (20:24.639)
to help fund their projects, to help them get seen, help them get out in the world, and then help them create these campaigns for impact. So I am now giving master classes, and I have this Artists for Impact program now that it's a four month program where we take, we workshop projects, but

really help them kind of every week do the things that need to be done because we're also finding in our business for sure so much is changing. We have to become entrepreneurs now with your project and so it becomes lonely as an independent content maker and what I'm finding is that people are coming to me that yes they want help with the strategy or help finding funders and figuring that out but it's really about

having someone just be with them on this very lonely process when they keep getting doors closed, saying, nope, can't fund you, can't fund you, but then keep on going because so many of these projects that I work on are not like the big blockbusters. I work on projects that are more independent minded, artist minded, and mission minded. And.

You you have to have that internal passion, purpose. You have to show the business case of the project. And so there's all of the things that go into that. so I'm really here now to support as many artists as possible in much more of a broader perspective rather than just kind of working on one film at a time. So I'm very excited about that. I love that. And that's a great transition into how can our listeners find you?

Caroline Pennington (22:16.894)
I love that and that's a great transition into how can our listeners find you?

Simone Pero (22:22.505)
Well, I'm on LinkedIn, mainly, with my name, but I also have my weekly newsletter, which you can get at forimpactproductions.com, which is F-O-R, impactproductions.com. And also I have this free guide, Your North Star to Social Impact, and that will get you in my orbit here and...

I give weekly tips, stories about how this impact world is happening in terms of artistry. so I'm excited to be in touch with as many people as possible to really talk about this stuff. Because I think, again, we need us telling our stories to help us get through a lot of the challenges we're all facing.

Caroline Pennington (23:19.532)
And I love that too, just so everyone listening to this podcast can know, like we're all going through it together. So it sounds like you've created an amazing community where people can have more fellowship and friendships and not do it alone. So I love that.

Simone Pero (23:20.438)
to just so everyone listening to this podcast can know like we're all going through it together. So it sounds like you've created an amazing community where people can have more fellowship and friendships and not do it alone. So I love that. Yes, yes, we are in this together for sure. Thanks, Simone. Thank you so much, Caroline. Bye bye.

Caroline Pennington (23:37.43)
Thanks, Simone.