This week’s guest is very very special to me - she’s a long-time leader in the education, youth development, and nonprofit space, and she’s also my sister. Darcy Richie is the Senior Director of Programs and Impact for Generation Citizen. I invited her to join me to talk about something that lies at the core of almost any conversation about effective leadership - communication. More specifically, I wanted to talk about the how and the why of building teams. I’ve taken to calling Darcy the commun...
May 04, 2021•44 min
This week’s guest is Reverand Dr. Emma Jordan Simpson. Emma is the Executive Pastor at the Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn, NY, a writer, a social justice activist, and the Executive Director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation USA. She has practiced leadership in many roles and in many ways over the past few decades. She and I have a frank conversation about the different ways to hold power as a leader, and about what true sustainability feels like when you’re leading an organizati...
Apr 27, 2021•37 min
Rhea Wong is a recovering Executive Director who now coaches other nonprofit leaders to greater fundraising success. She is passionate about helping leaders to attract resources to fund their work because the world needs so much. When she's not talking about all things fundraising, she can be seen walking around downtown Brooklyn with Stevie Wonder-dog and possibly performing at a stand-up comedy open mic. She's recruiting for her next cohort for her Fundraising Accelerator which you can find at...
Apr 20, 2021•1 hr 13 min
I’ve known the incredible Ana Polanco for going on three years now. Ana is an intuitive, international coach, storyteller, and wisdom keeper who helps culturally diverse women and social change organizations find new ways of leading. One thing that I have come to know and respect about Ana is how authentically she shows up in every space that she inhabits. She is a beautiful case study in how to do and lead deep social change work in a way that is aligned with one's values, past, and purpose. I’...
Apr 13, 2021•36 min
I had the absolute joy of meeting this week’s guest - Marcella Tillet - in 2019, through her work as VP of Programs and Partnerships at the Brooklyn Community Foundation. Marcella is an incredible steward of the philanthropic and programmatic work at BCF, as you’ll hear in our conversation. She is thoughtful and intentional and proactive in centering the experiences and perspectives of grantees and their communities, in it is because she is this way that she has such insight into our theme of su...
Apr 06, 2021•42 min
Today I'm speaking with management and leadership whiz, Kishanana Palmer. Kishshana is an international speaker, facilitator, trainer, coach and strategist, and a quintessential social entrepreneur. Kishshana and I get deep into the why and the how of sustainability. She talks honestly about her path to greater sustainability, what it feels like to burn out, why sustainability is so important for our health, and why it’s so hard to maintain. And we discuss concrete strategies for moving and lead...
Mar 30, 2021•37 min
This month marks the one-year anniversary of the official start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was during this same month last year that I had the pleasure of talking with Vu Le, writer, speaker, former ED of RVC on the West Coast, and author of fantastic Nonprofit AF, about this very topic of sustainability in the NP Sector. I'm resharing this conversation during this anniversary month, both as a way denoting how timeless this topic is, and because now, a year into this crazy and redefining momen...
Mar 23, 2021•18 min
In this episode, we speak with Chitra Aiyar. Chitra is an attorney, educator, community builder, and former Executive Director of The Sadie Nash Leadership Project. Throughout her career, Chitra has found that creating sustainable leadership is not a short-term process - that it must be viewed long-term. The question we discuss in this episode: How can we create an environment that will support the long-term practice of sustainable leadership? What are the trade-offs required? Listen in as Chitr...
Mar 16, 2021•49 min
Phil Li, President and CEO of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, is with us in this episode. The mission of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation is to create a more vibrant New York by investing in leaders, the organizations that develop them, and their networks. Phil has seen and thought about leadership from so many angles. Since joining the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, the organization has shifted its focus to investing in people as leaders. For Phil, he has seen that people are the m...
Mar 09, 2021•17 min
In this episode, we speak with Jill Eisenhard, founder and former Executive Director of the Red Hook Initiative in Brooklyn. Since its beginning in 2002, the RHI has worked to create social change and overcome systemic inequities by empowering youth. Since stepping down as Executive Director of the RHI, Jill has been reflecting on the role. It is a role that requires you to be 100% dedicated 100% of the time, often having to perform in areas that aren’t your strengths. What if it wasn’t? What if...
Mar 02, 2021•31 min
In this episode, I talk with Tene Howard, Executive Director of the Sadie Nash Leadership Project, and Zareta Ricks, Executive Director of Opening Act. Both women stepped into their leadership roles just as the world began to shift. They have both had to navigate getting to know their new roles, their staff, and how the funding landscape works and is shifting, all while navigating a global pandemic and seismic racial unrest. They have also had to figure out their own leadership style while the w...
Feb 23, 2021•40 min
In this episode, I talk with Dennis Williams, Senior Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility at Warner Media. In this episode, we talk about what it really means to put resources to work to create a better, more just world; What is the responsibility of partners outside of the nonprofit sector to push themselves beyond comfortable answers to tough questions about how to create true equity and inclusion, and how the nature of partnerships might need to change and expand to create more s...
Feb 16, 2021•32 min
In this episode, we speak with Wayne Ho, President and CEO of the Chinese-American Planning Council. They aim to promote the social and economic empowerment of Chinese American, immigrant, and low-income communities. When we look to the next normal, we have to look back to the previous normal and ask ourselves if that is what we want to go back to. Wayne agrees that we must change in order to create true equity in society. Tough conversations need to be had and leaders have to be willing to make...
Feb 09, 2021•32 min
In this episode we speak with Katy Rubin, an artist, facilitator, and founder of Theatre of the Oppressed NYC. As a nonprofit, Theatre of the Oppressed NYC partners with communities that face discrimination to spark transformative action through theatre. For the last decade, Katy has dedicated herself to illuminating the power that disenfranchised communities truly have. As a white leader, Katy has grappled with her position of power and how much space she does, and should be, taking up. We disc...
Feb 02, 2021•30 min
Today we speak with Tarik Ward, Director of Music Programs for the ELMA Philanthropies Services. Tarik and ELMA also work with Brooklyn Community Foundation, doing amazing work supporting small and emerging arts and youth development organizations. The sustainability of nonprofits is always a question on the mind of organizations, but 2020 made it an even more pressing one. We discuss maintaining the sustainability of nonprofits in practice as well as how philanthropy can often play an unconscio...
Jan 26, 2021•32 min
In this episode, we speak with Kemi Ilesanmi, Executive Director of The Laundromat Project in Brooklyn. This project invests in artists and neighbours committed to societal change by supporting their artmaking, community building, and leadership development. Since the start of 2020, the COVID-19 global pandemic has confined many of us to our homes. For Kemi, she has seen the restrictions of time and space disappear. Conversations about equity and race were able to happen virtually and without bo...
Jan 19, 2021•31 min
In this episode, we speak with Robyne Walker Murphy, nationally recognized art and social justice educator and Executive Director of Groundswell, a nonprofit which “brings together artists, youth, and community organizations to use art as a tool for social change.” 2020 has presented a big list of challenges to all Americans, most especially African Americans, which was highlighted following the death of George Floyd. We discuss the role of nonprofits in helping communities all across the countr...
Jan 12, 2021•42 min
I’m your host Brooke Richie-Babbage. Each week on the Nonprofit Mastermind Podcast, I’m going to do a deep dive into the strategies and mindset behind launching, scaling, and leading a high-impact nonprofit. Today, I’m happy to present you with a welcome episode to outline more of what’s to come and my personal background. With over 20 years experience as a social entrepreneur, a nonprofit leader, a professor, a consultant, and an executive coach, I know what it is really like in the trenches do...
Jan 12, 2021•8 min
