Our Work

Over eight years, AMPED has:

  • Launched podcast incubators for women of color and underrepresented storytellers

  • Trained hundreds of independent producers across Africa, Europe, and the United States

  • Partnered with schools, universities, and nonprofits to build storytelling capacity in communities most affected by climate change

  • Developed ethical frameworks for co-creating stories with Indigenous and frontline communities

Our Leadership

Cat Jaffee and Dr. Lola Fatoyinbo, close collaborators and co-creators of The Human Element, lead AMPED alongside interim board member Kerllen Costa, a conservation leader based in Angola.

Dr. Lola Fatoyinbo

Lola is a Tropical Forest Ecologist and Environmental Scientist who specializes in the use of Satellite data and Remote sensing, and has never met a tree she didn’t want to hug. She’s also a researcher at the MIT Media Lab in the Space Enabled Group and a National Geographic Explorer. Previously, she worked at NASA for over 15 years, she’s published over 70 scientific papers, and her work has been recognized by the Explorers Club, The Royal Geographical Society, and featured in the BBC, PBS, CBC, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and more.

Catherine de Medici Jaffee

Cat is an award-winning audio producer whose work bridges science, Indigenous knowledge systems, and immersive storytelling. Her podcast Guardians of the River won Best Non-Fiction Podcast at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2021 and the Jackson Wild Media Awards - a first for the National Geographic Society. Episode two, ‘Ghost Elephants of Lisima,’ was the basis for Werner Herzog's 2025 film Ghost Elephants. She also produced Back to the Water, which won Best Independent Non-Fiction Podcast at Tribeca in 2024. She is a former Ted Scripps Fellow in Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado Boulder, a Luce Fellow, and a Fulbright Scholar. She’s the founder of House of Pod and Amped, and her work has been recognized and featured in National Geographic, Radiolab, Outside, PBS, PRX, SAPIENS, and many others.

Our Partners

Tribal Media, SAPIENS Magazine (Templeton Foundation Teaching for Humanity), Fort Lewis College, The Denver School of the Arts, Harvard University, The Denver Film Festival, ANI Foundation, Redline Foundation, Rose Foundation, RURALEX, CHANSE (Collaboration of Humanities and Social Science in Europe), and Round Square Schools.

Get In Touch

For inquiries about workshops, partnerships, or collaborations, contact Cat at cat@houseofpod.org.