240: How Can We Build the Nonprofit Leadership Pipeline? (Carmita Semaan)

SUMMARY

Are you developing a strong pipeline of nonprofit leaders within your organization? In episode #240 of Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership, Carmita Semaan, founder of The Surge Institute, explains how nonprofit leaders should strategically position future talent to help their organization excel, and maintain a steady stream of candidates for when it’s time to hire. Learn how Surge is changing the narrative and supporting diverse leadership across the sector. Carmita also shares how she’s communicating her mission to funders, community members, and corporate leaders, and how her fundraising has enabled her to dramatically scale her organization. She shares how Surge measures success and how she herself recruits talented leaders. 

ABOUT CARMITA

Carmita Semaan is Founder and CEO of The Surge Institute. Her superpower is supporting and elevating the genius of emerging and seasoned leaders - particularly women and people of color - and shining a light on the brilliance and ingenuity that is too often overlooked and untapped in solving systemic issues. Carmita hails from Birmingham, AL and proudly professes that her hometown made her who she has become. Birmingham’s history has shaped what she feels called to do and the hustle, horsepower and heart she exhibits. Her guiding principle is the connection of head, heart, and soul in leadership to drive sustainable impact and lasting partnerships. Carmita holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan. She is a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, a 2009 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow, and is a graduate of the Broad Residency in Urban Education. She honors her love for education equity, creative arts, and the amplification of and investment in women community leaders via many boards and volunteer engagements. Carmita lives in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter, and their beloved goldendoodle, Jefferson.

EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCES 

• Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
• Learn more about Carmita and her work at The Surge Institute 
• Ready for a Mastermind?  Learn more here!
• Watch for the companion workbook and the audio version of Patton’s best seller, Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership: Seven Keys to Advancing Your Career in the Philanthropic Sector, coming soon!