In this conversation with Edgar Villanueva, founder and CEO of Decolonizing Wealth Project, we explore listening as a transformative practice—from listening to our own experience and the wisdom of elders, to listening for spirit and the quiet intuitions that guide us toward healing, courageous leadership, and institutional transformation.
Edgar reflects on his Southern childhood, where countless Saturdays at the library sparked a lifelong curiosity about worlds beyond his own. He also shares about his Indigenous roots, the elders who grounded him, their teachings on healing, and how listening helped him recognize his calling to transform money from a source of harm into a form of medicine.
Together, we explore how these experiences intersected with difficult institutional realities, inspiring Decolonizing Wealth and opening a conversation that gave voice to stories many in philanthropy had lived but few had spoken publicly.
Edgar also reflects on the spiritual dimensions of his journey, including his time in seminary, the heartbreak of becoming estranged from institutional religion, and the path of reconnecting with inner guidance through nature, intuition, and spirit. Along the way, we consider how institutions can shape the stories we tell ourselves about where guidance comes from—and what becomes possible when we learn to listen again.
As Edgar reminds us, listening is more than hearing. It is a practice of grounding that can reconnect us to wisdom, clarify our calling, and open new possibilities for personal and institutional transformation.
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