In today’s interview, John Hagan, President & CEO of Our Climate Common, calls on nonprofit board members and leadership teams to do two critical mission-building tasks: (1) examine their role in staff burnout; and (2) consider how the “rat wheel” approach to work hinders their organizations from solving the big problems of their mission.

Helpful takeaways from this timely conversation include:

• How much time are you spending on growing revenue vs. solving problems?
• Are you aware of there is a difference?
• Where is “think time” in your organizational structure?
• How are you as leaders cultivating a less stressful work environment so that your staff have time to think about what they’re doing instead of just reacting?

This conversation is a direct challenge to board and leadership to shift their thinking about thinking to better achieve their mission.

Listen now and share your thoughts!

Connect with John

The Upside of Nonprofit Burnout

LinkedIn

Our Climate Common Website

About John

John Hagan – President & CEO, Our Climate Common

John Hagan is an ecologist and former President of a nonpartisan, science-driven sustainability nonprofit, and he is current Chair of the Maine Climate Table. He has partnered with many for-profit sectors on sustainability, including large timberland owners, farmers, institutional investors, retailers, fishermen, and many others. He received the Austin Wilkins Award from Maine Governor John Baldacci for his work on the stewardship and conservation of Maine’s forests, and the Integrity in Conservation award from the New England Society of American Foresters. John has served on the board of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, the largest forest certification program in North America.

Today’s interview with Lourdes G. Zuniga, the award-winning leader and Executive Director of Financial Health Pathways, is a masterclass in authentic leadership.

As an introvert, a woman of color, and an immigrant, Lourdes has had to deconstruct the narrative of leadership as “in-your-face, white male, and non-accent” and reconstruct it to make space for herself in rooms where others don’t feel she belongs.

Helpful takeaways from today’s episode, include:

• Not needing to fill your predecessor’s shoes
• Finding your own path and taking your own journey to success
• Being brave enough to start the succession plan conversation with your board
• Taking inventory of the strengths and weaknesses you bring to your organization
• Letting the organization grow if you no longer add value to it
• Not making the organization “so you” that without you, it doesn’t succeed
• Understanding the strength of your unique voice
• Honing your confidence to enter and speak up in rooms where you’re not welcome
• Educating your funders for the greater good of the entire sector, not just your organization: “If it’s not brought up by us who are in the trenches, who’s going to tell them?”

Listen now and share your thoughts!

Connect with Lourdes

LinkedIn

Financial Health Pathways Website

About Lourdes

Lourdes G. Zuniga - Executive Director at the Financial Health Pathways

Lourdes G. Zuñiga is an award winning social impact leader, who recently has been named Presidential Leadership Scholar. A journalist from Lima Peru, Lourdes, from a very young age, has always been involved in philanthropy and social causes, particularly advocating for Hispanics, immigration issues, health and education. Through the work she leads in her non profit she aims to improve our systems and create economic opportunity for all. Lourdes has been recognized as one of the most influential women in Central Texas by the Austin Business Journal and she received the President's Volunteer Service gold medal award, the Founder's award by The Austin Area Urban League and various other accolades. She is also a proud alumna from the LBJ Women Campaign School's inaugural class, where she was selected because of her work as an influential leader and strategist, and the American Express Leadership Academy.

This delightful interview with Julie Leven, violinist, art activist, social entrepreneur and founder of Shelter Music Boston is a refreshing reminder about beauty in service and leaning into your organization’s strengths—especially when resources are limited.

Helpful takeaways from today’s episode include:

• How to really respect, listen to, and incorporate your constituents’ feedback
• Checking your ego at the door for the sake of your organization’s success
• Is the Board construct still the right fit for today’s nonprofits?
• Separating rigorous expectations from ruthless leadership
• Creative and useful tools for measuring program success
• Why tell potential funders what you do, when you can just show them?

Listen now and share your thoughts!

Connect with Julie

LinkedIn

Voice of Hope Artistic Project

Shelter Music Boston Website

Shelter Music Boston YouTube Channel

Shelter Music Boston Instagram

About Julie

As Founder, Executive and Artistic Director of Shelter Music Boston, I oversaw all components of this social service agency which employs professional musicians to deliver regularly scheduled classical music concerts in homeless shelters and other sheltering environments in Greater Boston.

I believe that it is the responsibility of 21st century citizen artists to provide access to the arts to all people, whether or not they have a home. Every concert delivered by Shelter Music Boston transforms individual audience members from desperation to dignity with live classical music.

Currently I consult to organizations working to create social change with high quality artistic and musical programming, including: A Musical Heart in Washington DC, Musik på Trappen (Music on the Stairs) in Copenhagen, Denmark, The Philharmonia Baroque Education Program, in the Bay Area CA, and others.

Your transition plan is great on paper. You have a clear roadmap to move from one leader to the next. You’re sailing along fine. Then, bam! Here comes a pandemic. While we’re at it, let’s throw in having to care for ailing elderly parents. What happens when you can’t give the thousand percent that you’re used to and you disappoint yourself and your colleagues and your organization?

On today’s episode, Sazara Johnson, Founder of SATECHRO and former Board President of ISPI Hampton Roads, speaks candidly about all these challenges and encourages leaders with her story.

This discussion is raw and includes so many gems:

• The difference between resolution and solution
• Why sometimes as the leader you must clean the toilet for a while. Can you handle that?
• What happens if leadership calls you to focus on yanking out the old roof and plumbing and getting them in working order and not on building the beautiful exterior that everyone praises?
• Are you okay as a leader who doesn’t get the glory?
• The importance of the “shut up and listen” leadership skill
• How to turn a detractor into an advocate by finding out the causal factor of their frustrations

Listen now and share your thoughts!

Connect with Sazara

LinkedIn

Email: Sazara@satechro.com

About Sazara

Before you read my work summary that is supposed to shine a light on my work quality, please know that first God the Father, God Jesus Christ, and the Spirit of the Living God must take all of the credit. Without God, I would be nothing. Please always pray that my heart remains humble in Christ Jesus

"SAZARA JOHNSON introduces to us the role of the business entity performance technology practitioner (BEP Tech). What is the purpose of this role? To guide organizational leaders in times of enterprise-level emergencies, turmoil, and crisis using an array of HPT tools. Sazara's article resonated with me. It caused me to recall a client engagement several years ago when I was able to serve my client as a BEP Tech during an event that impacted over a million customers. Even though I didn't know there was a name for what I was doing. Now, I know."
-Peter C. Honebein, PhD (Published in the Performance Improvement journal)

Sazara R. Johnson is a: A) boots-on-the-ground mediator between operational teams & tactical/strategic leaders, B) business/academic educator & advisor to decision makers/ influencers/leaders/entrepreneurs, and C) problem solver.

Experienced in crisis prevention, Sazara conducts workshops that have been attended by employees of:

IBM, Raytheon, USPS, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, Emory University, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, The City of Daphne (AL), Wegmans Food Markets, The City of Oakland, T-Mobile, Charles County Sheriff's Office, Department of Public Health (Office of Legal Services), Texas State Teacher's Association, and more.

Growing up with parents who are pastors, Sazara learned the message of integrity. As a technology training project manager, author, public speaker, president-elect board of director, and business and employee performance improvement advisor, she advises business professionals on maneuvering games of business politics with their morality, integrity, & health intact.

Sazara is a BEP Tech (business entity performance technologist) with a background in technology implementations, training, public speaking, and media/marketing.

Learn more about a BEP Tech here: www.SaTechRo.com

“We spend a lot of time with the people that we think we want to hire,” say Nick Monzi, co-founder and CEO of Learn Fresh, a Philly-based but nation-serving nonprofit focused on the intersection between students, STEM and social emotional development and sports and entertainment.

In today’s episode, Nick shares some profound and practical tips for hiring and retaining great team members who will help shape and execute your organization’s strategic vision.

These takeaways should be in the toolkit of all good leaders!

We discuss:

• Identifying great staff from your organization’s existing supportive community
• Investing time in the hiring process
• Why you shouldn’t hire for skill set first
• How your job description is only 50% of what you need
• Making room for your team to grow into their talents
• Personalized professional development

Take a listen and join in on the conversation.

Bonus: Nick is a world traveler. Think you can guess his dream trip?

Connect with Nick

LinkedIn

Learn Fresh Website

Learn Fresh Podcast

Learn Fresh LinkedIn

Learn Fresh Instagram

Learn Fresh (Math Hoops) Instagram

About Nick

Nick Monzi currently serves as CEO and Co-Founder of Learn Fresh, a national education nonprofit dedicated to enhancing student’s STEM and social-emotional achievement through sports and entertainment. Since the organization's founding, he has worked with global corporations, leading urban school districts, and national and regional after-school program providers to develop the Learn Fresh community program model. Since its launch in Cleveland during the fall of 2013, the experience has expanded to include initiatives with 30 professional sports teams and over 500,000 students. He has also driven the invention of four new programs, which have been funded and supported by team and league partners in North America, Africa, and Australia.

Nick earned a bachelor's degree in Entrepreneurship and Marketing Management from Syracuse University, and completed his master's degree at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he took an active role in growing the presence of education innovation on Harvard's campus. In addition to his entrepreneurial pursuits, he has been an active arts and music educator for the past decade.

For questions about Learn Fresh’s mission and vision, contact Nick via email at nick@learnfresh.org.

Funding! Nonprofits cannot meet their missions without adequate access to dollars. We all know this. But how can leaders think of funding differently to avoid operating from a deficit mindset.

Today’s episode is a cards-on-the-table everything-goes money discussion with Gabriel Maldonado, Founder and CEO of TruEvolution.

Takeaways include:

• Building relationships with individuals before institutions
• Treating the funder-donor dynamic as a partnership, not “parent-child”
• Saying no to “bad” money
• Understanding your privilege
• Transitioning funder relationships from current ED to incoming ED

Take a listen to a conversation that we need but are not having often enough.

Connect with Gabe

LinkedIn

TruEvolution Website

TruEvolution LinkedIn

About Gabe

As the Founder and CEO of TruEvolution, Gabriel Maldonado has led the organization’s efforts for the last eleven years to now include comprehensive HIV prevention and care services, a mental health clinic, and an emergency supportive housing program.

As a former member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS under President Obama, Gabriel works to elevate the representation of minority community-based organizations in state and federal policy priorities. In addition to his work at TruEvolution, Gabriel continues his advocacy serving on regional boards, such as Borrego Community Health Foundation -- the 5th largest federally-qualified health center in the U.S.-- and global organizations such as the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. Bringing a passion for business and consultancy, Gabriel works to advise industry leaders as an advisory board member for ViiV Healthcare, Janssen Therapeutics and Merck & Co. ‍ 

Gabriel believes that the needs and priorities of marginalized populations should be heard in every room and at every table impacting those communities. What drives Gabriel’s passion is his experiences in witnessing the devastating impacts of the industrialization of poor urban communities. Raised in the City of Compton, Gabriel watched not only his health but the health of his family and neighborhood be affected by the corrosive effects of refineries, smog, logistics and chemical facilities. Gabriel is firmly-rooted in advancing the quality of life and human dignity of people of color in the LGBTQ+ experience.

Funding! Nonprofits cannot meet their missions without adequate access to dollars. We all know this. But how can leaders think of funding differently to avoid operating from a deficit mindset.

Today’s episode is a cards-on-the-table everything-goes money discussion with Gabriel Maldonado, Founder and CEO of TruEvolution.

Takeaways include:

• Building relationships with individuals before institutions
• Treating the funder-donor dynamic as a partnership, not “parent-child”
• Saying no to “bad” money
• Understanding your privilege
• Transitioning funder relationships from current ED to incoming ED

Take a listen to a conversation that we need but are not having often enough.

Connect with Gabe

LinkedIn

TruEvolution Website

TruEvolution LinkedIn

About Gabe

As the Founder and CEO of TruEvolution, Gabriel Maldonado has led the organization’s efforts for the last eleven years to now include comprehensive HIV prevention and care services, a mental health clinic, and an emergency supportive housing program.

As a former member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS under President Obama, Gabriel works to elevate the representation of minority community-based organizations in state and federal policy priorities. In addition to his work at TruEvolution, Gabriel continues his advocacy serving on regional boards, such as Borrego Community Health Foundation -- the 5th largest federally-qualified health center in the U.S.-- and global organizations such as the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. Bringing a passion for business and consultancy, Gabriel works to advise industry leaders as an advisory board member for ViiV Healthcare, Janssen Therapeutics and Merck & Co.
‍
Gabriel believes that the needs and priorities of marginalized populations should be heard in every room and at every table impacting those communities. What drives Gabriel’s passion is his experiences in witnessing the devastating impacts of the industrialization of poor urban communities. Raised in the City of Compton, Gabriel watched not only his health but the health of his family and neighborhood be affected by the corrosive effects of refineries, smog, logistics and chemical facilities. Gabriel is firmly-rooted in advancing the quality of life and human dignity of people of color in the LGBTQ+ experience.

Today’s conversation with Sara Cantor, Founder and Executive Director of Greater Good Studio, is an exercise in leadership vulnerability.

Imposter syndrome is real. Whether you’re coming to formalized leadership through an opportunity that you created or through an opening, it can be difficult to accept that you are the right person for the job.

Learn from Sara’s journey how to:

• Identify the right next step(s) for you
• Pivot if you find yourself on the wrong path
• Build relationships to help you forward
• Assess what you alone bring into the role
• Embrace the continual process of learning and applying
• Accept that it should be you!

Helpful takeaways for your succession planning.

Connect with Sara

LinkedIn

GGS’s Website

GGS’s LinkedIn

GGS’s Instagram

About Sara

Sara co-founded Greater Good Studio to apply her background in ethnographic research and design strategy to overlooked problems and underserved people. At Greater Good, she designs effective and inclusive engagements, guides projects and teams, and develops partnerships with clients, peers and mentors. Sara speaks regularly on designing for social impact and has facilitated social innovation workshops around the world with a wide range of learners, from nonprofit executives to high school students. Sara holds a master’s in design planning from the Institute of Design at IIT and a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Northwestern University. She serves on the board of the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs.

Pissed-off about: The prison-industrial complex Optimistic about: Unconditional cash transfers Inspired by: How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith