Today, on the Lead with Heart podcast, I’m selfishly so excited to have Patton McDowell on the show and to share our conversation with you. We are discussing his path to becoming a leader in the nonprofit sector and the lessons he has learned over his career. Focusing on why nonprofit leaders often face high turnover, we talk about things like unrealistic expectations, generational shifts, and lack of professional development opportunities.  We chatted about practical tools and resources...

In this episode of the Lead with Heart podcast, I’m having a meaningful conversation with leadership and strategy advisor Kristin Harrington. We delve into Kristin's unique journey into nonprofit leadership, the importance of culture and workforce development, and funding strategies for enhancing an organization's impact. Highlighting the challenges faced by nonprofit professionals in leadership roles, our discussion covered themes of innovation, the significance of fostering a culture of...

Welcome back to the Lead with Heart podcast. I’m thrilled to have Sabrina Walker Hernandez on the show today. Sabrina is the president and CEO of Supporting World Hope, a nonprofit and mission-driven consulting agency that specializes in providing strategic planning, leadership development, and board education services to other nonprofits and mission-driven organizations. Sabrina emphasizes that simple steps like building relationships with board members, setting clear expectations, and...

Today, on the Lead with Heart podcast, we are discussing authentic leadership with my guest Joshua Berry, author of "Dare to Be Naive: How to Find Your True Self in a Noisy World." In this episode, Joshua shares his journey from international business to entrepreneurship, offering insights gained from working with organizations like the Ritz Carlton Hotel Company and Mercedes Benz. Discover how Joshua's experiences shaped his understanding of leadership and culture, and learn practical...

Welcome back to the Lead with Heart podcast. I'm very honored to have Jake Wood as my guest today. Jake is a Marine Corps veteran and the founder and CEO of Groundswell- a software company that enables companies to help their employees become modern philanthropists by providing tech-enabled donor-advised funds. Prior to launching Groundswell, Jake served as the founder and CEO of Team Rubicon, a disaster response organization that is widely considered one of America’s leading nonprofits. We...

Welcome back to the Lead with Heart podcast. I am so honored to have Dr. Robyn Graham on the podcast today to talk about anxiety and leadership. Robyn is a marketing and lead generation strategist, host of a globally acclaimed podcast, and best-selling author. Many of you will know that anxiety is something I have been dealing with personally eight months postpartum. So selfishly, I'm really excited to have this conversation to pick Dr. Robyn’s brain but also to provide some insight into...

Welcome back to the Lead with Heart podcast. I am so honored to have Dimple Dhabalia on the podcast today. She has an amazing background in human-centered leadership and I’m truly excited to dive deep into this needed conversation. Dimple is the founder of Roots in the Clouds, a boutique consulting firm specializing in normalizing workplace mental health care and using the power of story to heal individual and organizational trauma and moral injury. Today we are talking about...

Welcome back to the Lead with Heart podcast. Today, I have Carmita Semaan, founder and CEO of the Surge Institute, on the podcast. The Surge Institute focuses on educating and developing leaders of color – who can then create transformative change for young people, their families, and our broader communities. We talk about empowering leaders of color, creating a safe space for people to share their stories, uncovering inclusivity gaps in your organization, and more. In this episode: [01:21]...

Welcome back to the Lead with Heart podcast. I’m so excited to have Cindy Wagman as my guest today. Cindy serves nonprofits and nonprofit consultants and she's the founder of the Fractional Fundraising Movement that connects small nonprofits to the fractional fundraisers that serve them. And that's what we're going to be talking about today. We cover what a fractional fundraiser is, how they can contribute to organizational growth and transformation, the challenges they may face, and...

Welcome back to the Lead with Heart podcast. My guest today is Julie Ordoñez, the founder of Courage Lab. Julie is a major gifts strategist and expert advisor who helps nonprofit leaders learn the strategies and practice the habits to overcome their fear of asking for more and raise major gifts. We talk about major gift fundraising leadership, the essential qualities needed for nonprofit leaders to succeed, how to form 'mission-rooted friendships' with donors, and so much more. In this...

Welcome back to the Lead with Heart podcast. I'm having a total pinch-me moment because I have Darian Rodriguez Heyman on the podcast today. A lot of his work has been foundational in my career. Darian is an accomplished fundraiser, social entrepreneur, and best-selling author. He has co-founded several social impact conference series, is an in-demand fundraising consultant, and is a frequent keynote speaker at social impact events around the globe. We talk about how valuable strong...

Welcome back to the Lead with Heart podcast! Today, I have Tucker Wannamaker on the podcast with me and I'm so excited because we have a lot in common – so this will be a good conversation. Tucker is the CEO of Thrive Impact, and he is working to right the injustices happening against nonprofit leaders and solve nonprofit leader burnout for those in some of the toughest leadership conditions. He believes that burnout is the enemy of creating positive change. We talk about the injustices that...

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Lead with Heart Podcast. Today, I am so honored to have Nisha Anand, CEO of dream.org with me. Nisha is an Indian American activist and is known as a leader in cultivating unlikely and unconventional partnerships to create change. We talk about the beauty of disagreement, finding common ground to create change, and the leadership lessons Nisha has learned along her journey from a grassroots activist to the leader of an organization that creates...

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Lead with Heart podcast. I am so excited and honored to have Jordana Merkin from Voice for Good with me today. We’re talking all about creating internal clarity at your nonprofit to improve the effectiveness of your external marketing. After a decade of in-house nonprofit marketing, Jordana founded Voice for Good to bring her insider knowledge and outsider perspective to help growing nonprofits clarify their messaging to connect to those who matter most...

Welcome back to the Lead with Heart Podcast. Today I have Sonya Perez-Lauterbach with me and I am so excited to share this conversation with you because she’s an expert in emotions and leadership. She’s sharing how you can use your emotions to make yourself a better leader. Sonya is the creator of Leadership Atlas, a holistic approach to leadership development that integrates the mental, emotional, and embody aspects of leading. She empowers motivated change agents to move from burnout and...

Welcome back to the Lead with Heart Podcast. I have Nichole Montoya with me and she is sharing with us how to create a company-wide culture of listening and flexibility. Nichole is the CEO and co-founder of Cheddar Up - a platform that helps millions collect group payments and information. It is also a beneficial tool for nonprofits for fundraising, and Nichole is going to tell us all about it today. In this episode: [02:49] Nichole’s Entrepreneurial Mindset [04:58] What is Cheddar Up and...

On today’s episode of the Lead with Heart Podcast, I am speaking with the driving force behind FarmHouse Rescue, Danielle Judd. Her remarkable abilities have propelled the organization to new heights, enabling it to make a meaningful impact in the lives of those it serves, and she is going to share just how she does that with us today. We talk about just how important it is to define your nonprofit’s mission and purpose and how to keep that at the forefront of all your decisions. In this...

Welcome back to the Lead with Heart Podcast. Today, I have Lacey Kempinski as my guest. She's a CFRE and the founder and owner of Balanced Good, a company that focuses on changing the way our sector supports parental leave and working parents. We talk about what parental leave really looks like and how employers can develop some more responsibility around it. This conversation will be helpful to you, whether you are an employer or a parent. And I am so excited to dive in, especially now as I...

I have Chris Baiocchi on the podcast with me today and I have known him probably my whole career in fundraising. Early on in my career when I didn't really know what I was doing, he offered to meet with me for coffee and it's been a joy to learn from him. Chris has worked in the nonprofit space for more than 22 years as a communicator, fundraiser, and leader. He is the founder and CEO of Resolute Philanthropy, a consulting firm that provides nonprofit leaders with the tools and resources...

I am so excited to have Jenn Klein on the podcast today to talk about philanthropy. She’s the founder of You Are A Philanthropist, certified fundraising executive, major gift officer, health coach, mother of two, and soon-to-be author of a book coming out this spring called Giving is Selfish. We're going to talk about philanthropy, work-life balance, health and wellness, and the reasons why people give back. In this episode: [04:45] How nonprofit leaders can embrace the idea of being a...

In this episode of Lead with Heart, I have Yulia Zhernovaya as my guest. She is the Head of Operations and Strategy at Giveffect, the leading all-in-one nonprofit software. She aims to translate her passion for technology into the nonprofit sector and demonstrate how technology can make our work more human. In this conversation, we are diving into the ways technology can help break down silos and get everyone on the same page, make more informed decisions, and significantly reduce the time...

In this episode, I have Brian Ford, the host of the Self Improvement Daily Podcast – with 17+ million downloads to date. He is on a mission to help convert human intention into action and has been actively working on personal development for over a decade. There’s so much content out there about self-improvement. We talk about it, we think about it, but when it comes down to it we don’t actually do it.  Today, Brian is sharing with us some really tangible and tactical tips and processes that...

In this episode of Lead with Heart, I have Amy Varga, the founder of The Varga Group, as my guest. She is a fundraising expert and leadership coach who is dedicated to raising the standards of her profession, and I'm so excited to explore all things leadership, philanthropy, and fundraising together. Amy shares some incredible fundraising tips and tricks. She provides many good insights into what it means to be a fundraiser and much more, as well as some actionable ways to engage with our...

In this episode, we dive deep into the world of executive coaching and leadership development with Janet Ioli, a former leader in Fortune 200 Companies. Janet has earned a reputation as an extraordinarily talented, results-oriented, and sought-after executive coach, leadership coach, change strategist, speaker, and organizational advisor. In this conversation, we talk about developing self-awareness, self-reflection, and self-leadership to show up as a better leader in your organization and...