The Global Ambassadors Program, developed by Bank of America in 2012 in partnership with Vital Voices, pairs emerging talent from small and medium businesses and non-profit organizations with senior women executives in various industries for a week of one-on-one, group and peer mentoring. Those within the program are working to tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges – the climate crisis, gender-based violence, and economic and racial inequalities – all while boosting their local economies and creating a positive social impact in their communities. In October of 2022, Bank of America hosted the 21st Global Ambassador Program in Washington, D.C., with 20 women social entrepreneurs, business and nonprofit leaders.
To help generate broader awareness of this program and the incredible work being led by the participants, we elected to host a LinkedIn Live conversation with one of the small business owners and her mentor.
In order to bring the program to life, we chose to host a short LinkedIn Live conversation – one of the first ever hosted by Bank of America. The conversation featured Elise Labott, a Global Ambassador program mentor, founder and CEO of Zivvy Media and a journalist covering foreign affairs. She sat down for a one-on-one conversation with Olga Kudinenko, Founder and Chair of the Board at Tabletochki/Kids of Ukraine, Ukraine’s largest charity helping children with cancer.
The two discussed the impact that the program has had on both of them – from a mentor and mentee perspective – as well as the lessons they’ll take away from their time together. Olga reflected on her work, and how she can expand her footprint and mission to reach even more children in need.
At about the 5:48 minute mark, the live broadcast was interrupted by church bells coming from across the street. While totally unplanned, our host Elise Labbot was able to quickly pivot to mention that the bells – 5 minutes in total – ring every day to represent the five minutes that George Floyd had a police officer’s knee on his neck.
The LinkedIn Live had more than 12.5K views and generated more than 144 comments and 35K impressions. As one of Bank of America’s first forays into live video, and with no pre-promotion or scheduling, we consider these audience and engagement numbers a huge success.
