In this heartfelt episode of What’s the Rusch, host Rebecca Rusch sits down with Maureen Kolenyo, Regional Director of East Africa for World Bicycle Relief, transformational leader, and mother of five. Maureen shares her incredible journey from corporate powerhouse to purpose-driven changemaker, revealing how a simple bicycle can unlock safety, education, and opportunity for girls across Africa.

Together, Maureen and Rebecca explore the deep inequities in education access, the overlooked power of community-based solutions, and what it really means to redefine success later in life. From navigating male-dominated boardrooms to rising before dawn to prioritize wellness, Maureen’s story is one of grace, grit, and lasting impact.

As a powerful advocate for gender equity and rural development, Maureen is proving that leadership is not just about what you achieve, but about what you lift in others. Her voice is a rallying call to rethink our legacy, reimagine retirement, and move through life with purpose, connection, and heart.

Transformative Insights

1. The bicycle is a tool for mobility that is transforming access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunity across rural Africa.
2. Why Maureen left a 26-year corporate career to pursue lasting community impact.
3. Redefining success after 50 by letting go of the pressure to win and embracing a more holistic, human-centered definition of achievement.
4. Why relationships—not just results—are the currency of sustainable leadership.

1. Maureen opens up about being unaware of rural poverty in her own country until witnessing it firsthand during COVID.
2. She shares the emotional story of a mother whose daughter’s new bicycle meant she could finally sleep peacefully at night.
3. Rebecca and Maureen dive into the pressure women face to choose between motherhood and ambition—and how to build a life that honors both.
4. Maureen reflects on hitting burnout, and how learning to rest became her ultimate act of strength.

1. How to lead with empathy, clarity, and shared purpose.
2. Engaging men, communities, and families to champion girls’ education and create cultural change from the ground up.
3. Wellness is a part of wholistic leadership practice including the role of movement, morning routines, and boundaries in staying grounded.
4. Why trust and generosity are the foundation of lasting influence.

1. Maureen’s evolution from task-driven corporate leader to holistic, impact-centered changemaker.
2. Embracing health and stillness as core values—not luxuries—in a high-demand life.
3. Leading by example for her children, showing that failure, like not finishing a marathon, can still be a proud win.
4. Maureen’s reflections on legacy and how she’s shaping a retirement defined by service and joy.

1. World Bicycle Relief
2. Be Good Foundation – Rebecca’s Nonprofit
3. Rebecca’s Kilimanjaro Ride for WBR (Video)
4. Follow Maureen Kolenyo on LinkedIn

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