I am thrilled to share my latest conversation. Why? Because Venus Devnani, Executive Vice President of American Jewish World Service, is not just fabulous; she brings an interesting perspective to the NGO table. This conversation is not just worth listening to; her thoughts on honoring different perspectives and making room for multiple truths directly apply to our work in the development sector. One of the highlights of our conversation is Venus’ viewpoint on how understanding different experie...
Oct 02, 2024•29 min•Ep. 109
In this episode of Lessons from Leaders, Sharif Aly, President of the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), shared his unique and game-changing insights on leadership in our conversation. This journey is nothing short of awe-inspiring, showcasing remarkable resilience, vision, and innovation. From navigating the challenges of being the eldest son of immigrant parents to shaping his career in the wake of 9/11, Sharif’s story is a testament to resilience, purpose, and unwavering dedicat...
Oct 02, 2024•32 min•Ep. 108
Have you redefined your view of leadership recently? I share this inspiring conversation with Judith Le Blanc, the trailblazing Executive Director of the Native Organizers Alliance. Deeply rooted in her Indigenous culture and heritage, Judith introduced me to a fresh perspective on leadership, as her bold journey is a powerful testament to the impact of collective action and cultural continuity. Her insights left a lasting impression on me, and I know they'll resonate with you, too. Beginning in...
Jul 05, 2024•29 min•Ep. 107
My esteemed guest is Robert Bank, CEO of American Jewish World Service. Robert's remarkable journey, from his formative years in apartheid-era South Africa to his current role as a fervent advocate for vulnerable communities, offers profound insights into the transformative power of diverse experiences in shaping effective leadership. Robert introduces a practical framework for effective leadership: the three L's: Listen, Learn, and Land. This approach underscores the value of embracing diverse ...
Jun 20, 2024•38 min•Ep. 106
Have you fallen head over heels with your mission statement? Get ready to dive into a whirlwind of inspiration from my guest, Michael Thatcher, CEO of Charity Navigator, when he shares that, for him, falling in love with the mission and setting audacious goals are the turbo boosters of motivation and success that foster innovation to drive impactful change within NGOs. 🔸 "Falling in love with the mission fuels our passion while setting impossible goals ignites our imagination and determination ...
Apr 19, 2024•28 min•Ep. 105
This podcast is a game-changer. Celebrating CREED's 2nd anniversary, I'm joined by Paul Weisenfeld, Executive Vice President at RTI and a key figure in the Coalition for Racial and Ethnic Equity in Development’s (CREED) Board Executive Committee. Get ready for some real talk! Paul shares CREED's remarkable journey, from its infancy to shaking up the development sector. Senior leaders like Paul are spearheading change, advocating for racial equity in their organizations. His insights into CREED's...
Mar 15, 2024•23 min•Ep. 104
Tune in now and revitalize your approach to social impact! From the very start, my conversation with Julia Roig, Founder and Chief Network Weaver at The Horizons Project, is a thought-provoking dialogue that promises to captivate your interest. Julia’s resilient journey in the nonprofit sector contains invaluable insights that ignite passion and action. I couldn't help but jot down Julia's insightful words at the core of our conversation. “Don’t just face risks but embrace them. Risks often unfo...
Feb 13, 2024•32 min•Ep. 103
In this captivating episode, we explore the compelling dynamics of leadership and the empowering concept of active resistance. My distinguished guest, Dr. Dorothy Nyambi, the President and CEO of the Mennonite Economic Development Association (MEDA), draws from her rich background as a medical doctor and her inspirational leadership journey. Dr. Nyambi’s take on authentic leadership is a beacon of wisdom, emphasizing the significance of staying true to oneself, aligning actions with beliefs, and...
Nov 03, 2023•30 min•Ep. 97
Meet Art delaCruz, a CEO who's not just about numbers and metrics but believes in connecting with people, fostering trust, and making failure more terrifying than missing a goal. My chat with the Team Rubicon leader was a revelation. His disruptive leadership style? He modestly acknowledged, ”'I'm flattered you've noticed.” If you love a good tale, this episode is for you. Imagine a journey to leadership woven with stories of family values, a 22-year career as a Naval officer, and a profound com...
Nov 03, 2023•31 min•Ep. 98
Join me for a captivating interview with Will Warshauer, President & CEO of TechnoServe. Will’s leadership journey began as a Peace Corps volunteer in Sierra Leone. A chance encounter with a young boy named Bolo highlighted the impact of unequal opportunities, inspiring him to dedicate his career to international development and unlocking potential for people. Will reflected on another pivotal career moment while leading a team in Pakistan. They faced delays and productivity issues. Frustrat...
Oct 02, 2023•23 min•Ep. 96
I'm really excited to share some actionable advice from my recent podcast chat with Sara Nathan, the President & CEO of Amigos de las Américas. We go into the incredible transformation Amigos went through – shifting from being all about US-centric to becoming a locally-led global powerhouse driven by local vibes. Sara's story kicks off with her days as an Amigos volunteer as a teenager in Latin America, which ignited her passion for community development and leadership. This set the stage fo...
Aug 29, 2023•28 min•Ep. 95
Are you curious about the transformative power of leadership development? Join me in this latest episode, where we dive deep into the incredible journey of Marjorie Newman-Williams, President of Search for Common Ground. Early in her career, she encountered an ineffective boss, which sparked her interest in good leadership and its impact. Marjorie found herself asking, “Can you learn good leadership, and what are the basic things you need to know?” Marjorie shares how, in the middle of her caree...
Aug 29, 2023•24 min•Ep. 94
I had the opportunity to sit down with Gary White, an inspiring problem-solver and innovator. With three degrees in civil and environmental engineering, Gary tells of his passion for social justice began in his 20s when he became aware of the alarming statistic that 1.5 billion people worldwide lacked access to water and even more lacked access to sanitation. As an engineer with a solution-seeking mindset, he was determined to find answers. In our conversation about his unique start, Gary shares...
Apr 03, 2023•27 min•Ep. 89
This week’s Lessons From Leaders guest is Morgan Lance, CEO of OneSky. Her story and insights as the first CEO to transition into the position after the founder and leader of 24+ years are noteworthy simple truths. As the new CEO facing difficult decisions, Morgan shared: “When there's tough decisions to be made or moments of leadership that I know are going to be difficult for me, I always go back to that question: What is best for the kids that we serve? What is best for the children? What dec...
Feb 27, 2023•24 min•Ep. 88
This week, the Lessons from Leaders guest is Tessie San Martin the CEO of FHI 360. We are honored to have her as our leader in this episode. While there are many gold nuggets in this episode, for me there are two that are the most compelling. The first is when Tessie reminds me that "we can do hard things." Just look at how successfully the INGO sector pivoted in 2020, she points out. The second nugget is when Tessie talks leaning into the new normal and what that means for INGOs. "We have to re...
Dec 12, 2022•27 min
This week, we have Uma Viswanathan, the Executive Director at New Pluralists Collaborative as our guest on Lessons from Leaders. What do you know about trauma and leadership? How do you think trauma helps with transformation and leadership? That is one of the many meaty topics Uma and I talk about. This episode kicks off with Uma sharing her experience as a child of an immigrant family and how that organically led her to a deep curiosity of people, their motivations, and perspectives. It was fro...
Oct 17, 2022•34 min
This week, the Lessons from Leaders guest is Tjada D’Oyen McKenna, the President and CEO of Mercy Corps. We are honored to have her as our guest so shortly after her recent trip to Somalia. One of my favorite moments from this episode is the deep conversation with Tjada talking about courage (at 27 minutes if you want to jump right to it.) When I asked her what courage has to do with being a leader, she said: "There is a personal courage all leaders have because they are willing to say 'Hold me ...
Sep 26, 2022•36 min
”If people aren’t failing, then I think that possibly they are actually not pushing beyond the envelope. They are not innovating, or not going for that hard thing and stretching. That's why it is important to recognize and celebrate failure.” Michele Laird This week I sat down with Michele Laird, the Senior VP for Programs at Pact. I love Michele’s take on failure and the importance to try and be willing to fail, even sharing that when her family is sitting around the table for dinner she asks t...
Sep 12, 2022•36 min
This week I sat down with Janti Soeripto, the President and CEO of Save The Children US. Janti's story of leadership is diverse and unique in her experience. With 20 years in the consumer sector, selling tissues, diapers, and -- as she mentions -- even frozen peas, she shares the similarities and the differences in her leadership upbringing to where she is now. This episode is not just a must listen because of Janti's story to leadership, but because of our conversation regarding her story of he...
Aug 15, 2022•32 min
This week I sat down with Mishelle Rudzinski, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of SPOON. Mishelle's story of leadership and co-founding an organization is one like many leaders: She saw a need and decided to fill it. Her leadership story began at a deeply personal level with the adoption of her daughter. A journey which included an incorrect diagnosis, and severe malnourishment. It was her own daughter's experience with malnutrition that led to the research of children everywhere who have b...
Jul 11, 2022•23 min
Lucia Nasser, President for Vital Voices in Honduras joins us in the leader’s chair to share about Vital Voices, coming back to in person post pandemic, and a personal story about the deep dive into personal growth and what that has to do with leadership. “When we think of leadership, we usually think of a leader's skills. We focus on the 'what', the 'where', the 'how' and the 'why'. In my personal journey, I have found that the 'who' is very important. Who is that leader? Who is the one coming ...
Jun 27, 2022•27 min
In this episode, Ashok Regmi, Executive Director of Street Law, Inc. shares his leadership path with us. Originally from Nepal, his leadership trajectory started when he worked to establish the first FM channel to use the power of radio to engage and develop a concept to bring education to his community. He came to the US for schooling, but it was outside of the classroom that he learned real life strategies of leadership sharing. “Development works well when people closest to the problems are p...
Jun 13, 2022•30 min
Kate Moynihan is with us this week. I have known Kate for years and have always admired her leadership savvy. Kate is the Executive Director of Seva Foundation, a foundation working in over 20 countries to increase the capacity of local hospitals, and develop sustainable eye care programs. Kate, like nearly all leaders, has seen a drastic change in leadership over the course of the pandemic. She talks about her role as an executive for a non-profit organization during a time of such discord and ...
Jun 06, 2022•24 min
I am here with Polly Dunford, the President and CEO of IntraHealth International. Polly has been someone we have been trying to get on our podcast for a long time - since she took this role at IntraHealth in March of 2020. “It was a crazy time to take over an organization. I started on March 16th, the exact day that the world went virtual…” In this episode, Polly shares what it felt like to meet staff virtually. She shares about her role, not as the CEO, but as the self identified CPO – Chief Pe...
Apr 25, 2022•17 min
This week is a special episode as we have a Lessons from Leaders Alumni, William (Bill) Abrams, and the successor to his position at Trickle Up, Nathalie Laidler Kylander. This episode is unique in that we are able to walk through their experience of transitioning from one CEO to another, including what the overlap time looked like, how they walked it with grace and respect for one another, and how their leadership “trickled down” through the entire organization. Both are self-proclaimed non-tra...
Apr 11, 2022•29 min
This week, we have Paige Alexander, CEO of The Carter Center, as our guest on Lessons from Leaders. As I have long been watching the work of The Carter Center, it is a pleasure to sit down with Paige. We jump right into the conversation: What is it like to lead right now? How has communication changed? What are you hearing from your organization? Transparency, authenticity, and togetherness, are all qualities that Paige demonstrates. She admits that it took her time and effort to find the balanc...
Mar 28, 2022•25 min
This week I sit down with Indira Kaur Ahluwalia, whose work I was initially drawn to due to all she has been doing for racial and ethnic equity. Indira has built her career on enabling equality systemically on the strength of individual differences initially establishing Development and Training Services (dTS) in 2002 to build gender equality and social inclusion. I like to say she comes to this seat with 3 hats which gives her viewpoint of leadership a dynamic lens. CEO, author, strategic advis...
Feb 21, 2022•27 min
This week I sit with John Stephens who is the CEO of The BOMA Project. John brings a unique leadership lens to his position with BOMA because he has served as a board member, a position for an organization that was funding BOMA, and then interim CEO. From each role, John was able to grow his view of how to best service the organization. “It helped me launch, having those close relationships with board members. I knew what was important to them. I knew how the board functioned. I think often time...
Feb 07, 2022•24 min
Wild Network has been a strong, and foundational support of the Lessons from Leaders podcast over the last 3 years so to have Fiona here with me today is amazing! I like to call our first interaction a meeting of two sisters from different mothers, it was instant connection and friendship. In this episode, we start by discussing vision. Fiona has such a gift of seeing where things can grow and be made stronger sharing, “When I have conviction about something that needs to be done, I believe I ca...
Jan 24, 2022•22 min
Welcome back, leaders. We hope that this new year brings innovation and reaching new limits. It is so exciting to start off the new year with leader Brigit Helms, who is the Executive Director at Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University. Brigit's impact has reached corners of the world from Africa, to Asia, to Costa Rica, Latin America, and beyond. In her travels and experience, it is 'safe' to say nothing quite prepared her for entering a new role at a new organizatio...
Jan 03, 2022•32 min
