Designing Tomorrow: Creative Strategies for Social Impact

Plenty of people still picture a museum as a quiet building with art on the walls and a staff whose job is to guard what's inside. Victoria Munro, Executive Director of the Alice Austen House, sees an advantage in that assumption: because museums look harmless from the outside, they have room to do serious work on social change and safe space. She explains how she took the velvet ropes down at a nationally designated site of LGBTQ+ history and built programs that turn visitors into co-creators.

Episode Highlights: 

[00:07:20] Museums as sites for contemporary connection 
[00:10:55] Why art lovers hesitate to call themselves creators 
[00:11:25] "Sneaky" programming that turns visitors into co-creators 
[00:12:40] A safe space that doesn't look like one: LGBTQ+ history in a historic house 
[00:16:20] Taking down the velvet ropes at the Alice Austen House 
[00:19:45] Alice Austen, one of the first women to take photography onto the street 
[00:30:20] Budgets, strategy, and leadership as creative acts 
[00:36:55] Staying motivated through professional community

Notable Quotes: 

Victoria Munro [00:07:20]: "We need to look at museums as being not just repositories of historical collections, but being spaces that are sites for contemporary connection." 

Victoria Munro [00:13:05]: "Coming and participating in one of our programs isn't going to out you." 

Victoria Munro [00:17:00]: "Really, what was that chair saying to that fourth grader? Nothing. Absolutely nothing." 

Victoria Munro [00:30:20]: "Your yearly budget should be aspirational. It should be based in reality, but there should be things that you are aspiring to."

Resources & Links:

• Alice Austen House: aliceausten.org
• Museums Council of New York City: museumscouncil.org
• Victoria Munro on Instagram: instagram.com/munro.victoria/

Hosted by Eric Ressler, Founder & Creative Director of Cosmic, with co-host Jonathan Hicken, Executive Director of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. New episodes every Tuesday.

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Social impact teams are happy to experiment. Where they struggle is admitting when the experiment fails. Jonathan and I dig into what design thinking and the scientific method can teach the sector, and why our refusal to name failure may be the thing holding impact back.

Episode Highlights: 

[00:03:30] Defining design thinking and the scientific method, side by side 
[00:08:00] The real failure point: we won't admit when things don't work 
[00:11:00] How science learned to publish its failures 
[00:18:00] A closed-door conference where funders aren't invited 
[00:24:30] In defense of design thinking 
[00:31:00] Knowing where failure is okay and where it isn't

Notable Quotes: 

Jonathan Hicken [00:08:25]: "Failure of an experiment is just as valuable as the success of an experiment." 

Eric Ressler [00:09:45]: "You don't want to tell your donors you messed up and you failed. But that's the trap."

Resources & Links:

• You Design Your Culture. Here's How : Designing Tomorrow Podcast Episode from August 18, 2026 — https://youtu.be/L9oi0lF4mII
• Stanford Social Innovation Review — https://ssir.org/articles/entry/when-evidence-isnt-enough
• IDEO U — ideou.com
• Stanford d.school — dschool.stanford.edu

Hosted by Eric Ressler, Founder & Creative Director of Cosmic, with co-host Jonathan Hicken, Executive Director of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. New episodes every Tuesday.

→ Subscribe: designingtomorrow.show → Work with Cosmic: designbycosmic.com

Listeners, now you can text us your comments or questions by clicking this link.

*** If you liked this episode, please help spread the word. Share with your friends or co-workers, post it to social media, “follow” or “subscribe” in your podcast app, or write a review on Apple Podcasts. We could not do this without you!

We love hearing feedback from our community, so please email us with your questions or comments — including topics you’d like us to cover in future episodes — at [email protected]

Thank you for all that you do for your cause and for being part of the movement to move humanity and the planet forward.

Philanthropy takes heat for being slow to move money, and learning usually gets the blame. 

Katherine Haugh, founder of the Convive Collective and a learning partner to some of the largest climate-focused philanthropies in the US and Europe, thinks that critique is fair but aimed at the wrong target. 

She and Eric dig into what's actually slowing foundations down, why learning so often becomes a way to dodge a decision, and the two things a foundation needs to genuinely learn.

Episode Highlights:

 [00:14:15] The real reason money moves slowly: control and ego, not learning
 [00:18:00] Why learning has such a good brand, and how that hides dysfunction
 [00:19:45] Learning as a way to dodge a hard decision
 [00:26:30] The two non-negotiables: leadership commitment and psychological safety
 [00:32:35] Why foundations won't publish their failures
 [00:44:30] The "healthy life" metaphor for becoming a learning organization

Notable Quotes:

 Katherine Haugh [00:15:50]: "I actually think that the reason why that is, is a function of control and ego."
 Katherine Haugh [00:18:00]: "Learning has a great reputation. Learning is a great brand. No one ever says, 'We hate learning.'"
 Katherine Haugh [00:28:15]: "You can have excellent evidence, but if your team doesn't feel safe to say what they really feel, it's all for nothing."

Resources & Links:

• The Convive Collective — https://convivecollective.com
• The Learning Philanthropy Framework 
• Center for Evaluation Innovation — cited at [00:16:30] as the source tracking how much of foundation portfolios go to learning and evaluation.

Hosted by Eric Ressler, Founder & Creative Director of Cosmic, with co-host Jonathan Hicken, Executive Director of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. New episodes every Tuesday.

→ Subscribe: designingtomorrow.show
 → Work with Cosmic: designbycosmic.com

Listeners, now you can text us your comments or questions by clicking this link.

*** If you liked this episode, please help spread the word. Share with your friends or co-workers, post it to social media, “follow” or “subscribe” in your podcast app, or write a review on Apple Podcasts. We could not do this without you!

We love hearing feedback from our community, so please email us with your questions or comments — including topics you’d like us to cover in future episodes — at [email protected]

Thank you for all that you do for your cause and for being part of the movement to move humanity and the planet forward.

Sandy Gould has spent 36 years studying where people's "superpowers" come from, and his answer is simple: the thing that makes you different is the same thing that lets you create what no one else can. In this conversation with Eric Ressler, the longtime GLAAD advisor and author of the forthcoming book Interlightening explains why conformity feels safe and isn't, and how the same rules that grow an individual grow an entire organization.

Episode Highlights: 

[00:03:00] From tech recruiting to GLAAD: a career built on unleashing people 
[00:05:30] Why the "why" leads to the what and the how 
[00:08:30] How one word, "should," quietly holds people back 
[00:15:30] Your organization is just one big person 
[00:16:30] Why success is the scariest moment for a team 
[00:27:00] Why your team should see you fight

Notable Quotes: 

Sandy Gould [00:19:25]: "The difference engine is what drives every human, every group of people, and our life and our world. If you and I were exactly the same, this conversation would be nothing." 

Sandy Gould [00:24:15]: "'I don't know' is a very powerful, honest thing to say. But honesty is more important. First, establish trust, then invite them in to help you figure it out."

Resources & Links:

• GLAAD — glaad.org
• Sandy Gould on LinkedIn — linkedin.com/in/sandy-gould-077354
• Sandy Gould on Instagram — instagram.com/spidersandy
• Interlightening: Unleashing Your Superpowers — forthcoming on Amazon

Hosted by Eric Ressler, Founder & Creative Director of Cosmic, with co-host Jonathan Hicken, Executive Director of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. New episodes every Tuesday.

→ Subscribe: designingtomorrow.show → Work with Cosmic: designbycosmic.com

Listeners, now you can text us your comments or questions by clicking this link.

*** If you liked this episode, please help spread the word. Share with your friends or co-workers, post it to social media, “follow” or “subscribe” in your podcast app, or write a review on Apple Podcasts. We could not do this without you!

We love hearing feedback from our community, so please email us with your questions or comments — including topics you’d like us to cover in future episodes — at [email protected]

Thank you for all that you do for your cause and for being part of the movement to move humanity and the planet forward.

Every leader in the social impact space has failures. But we rarely talk about them. We brush over them, reframe them, paper over them. Michelle Moog-Koussa thinks that's a mistake. She built the Bob Moog Foundation from $15,000 and a stack of Bob's crossed-out notebooks into a 20-year institution, and she runs it like a scientist: write down the idea, test it, and record an honest "didn't work" before turning the page.

Episode Highlights: 

[00:00:00] Why the social impact sector refuses to talk about failure 
[00:04:00] How 60,000 CaringBridge messages gave birth to a foundation 
[00:17:00] "You're swinging a miniature bat" and the reframe that changed everything 
[00:23:00] Running a nonprofit like a scientist: hypothesis, test, iterate 
[00:25:30] The sector embraces the scientific method, except the failure step 
[00:31:30] Why fear of failure keeps organizations frozen in planning

Notable Quotes: 

Michelle Moog-Koussa [00:27:15]: "Mistakes are the portals to discovery." 

Eric Ressler [00:25:30]: "The sector at large does not accept failure with grace." 

Michelle Moog-Koussa [00:18:05]: "I don't have a miniature bat. My bat is so big, I just needed more people to help me swing it."

Resources & Links:

• The Bob Moog Foundation — moogfoundation.org
• The Moogseum — moogseum.org
• Spectrasonics Bob Moog Tribute Library — spectrasonics.net/products/tribute/
• Native Instruments Modular Icons — native-instruments.com/en/pricing/modular-icons/

Hosted by Eric Ressler, Founder & Creative Director of Cosmic, with co-host Jonathan Hicken, Executive Director of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. New episodes every Tuesday.

→ Subscribe: designingtomorrow.show → Work with Cosmic: designbycosmic.com

Listeners, now you can text us your comments or questions by clicking this link.

*** If you liked this episode, please help spread the word. Share with your friends or co-workers, post it to social media, “follow” or “subscribe” in your podcast app, or write a review on Apple Podcasts. We could not do this without you!

We love hearing feedback from our community, so please email us with your questions or comments — including topics you’d like us to cover in future episodes — at [email protected]

Thank you for all that you do for your cause and for being part of the movement to move humanity and the planet forward.

Every nonprofit leader has told themselves the same story: if funders just understood us, they'd fund us. Eric and Jonathan make the uncomfortable case that misunderstood impact is usually a you problem, and that what looks like a storytelling gap is almost always an identity gap. Close it, and funding, talent, and trust all get easier.

Episode Highlights: 

[00:01:15] The identity impact gap, defined 
[00:04:05] Why the gap quietly starves your funding 
[00:08:20] Why a widening gap can be a sign of growth 
[00:12:50] The three pillars: identity, expression, perception 
[00:30:00] "That's a you problem" 
[00:38:40] Why trust isn't built on your 990s 

Notable Quotes: 

Eric Ressler [00:04:20]: "I would urge orgs to figure out: if there was only one thing that everyone could know us for, what might that one thing be? And do a really good job beating that drum."

Jonathan Hicken [00:25:20]: "It has to start with a deep understanding of self. Before you can get to expression, before you can get to perception, you have to know yourself."

Resources & Links:

• Seymour Marine Discovery Center — seymourcenter.ucsc.edu 
• Cosmic — designbycosmic.com
• Who are you Becoming? https://designbycosmic.com/podcast/who-are-you-becoming/ 
• Who Are You Becoming — designbycosmic.com/podcast/who-are-you-becoming/ 

Hosted by Eric Ressler, Founder & Creative Director of Cosmic, with co-host Jonathan Hicken, Executive Director of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. New episodes every Tuesday.

→ Subscribe: designingtomorrow.show → Work with Cosmic: designbycosmic.com

Listeners, now you can text us your comments or questions by clicking this link.

*** If you liked this episode, please help spread the word. Share with your friends or co-workers, post it to social media, “follow” or “subscribe” in your podcast app, or write a review on Apple Podcasts. We could not do this without you!

We love hearing feedback from our community, so please email us with your questions or comments — including topics you’d like us to cover in future episodes — at [email protected]

Thank you for all that you do for your cause and for being part of the movement to move humanity and the planet forward.

Most leaders know how to fight through a crisis. Almost nobody's ready for the moment things start working.

That's where Jonathan finds himself. Five years into running the Seymour Center, the survival years behind him. Funding's solid. The team's humming. He walks the halls, thinks "we're good," and tells me that stability feels strange. Almost uncomfortable. Like a problem he doesn't have the muscle for yet.

What I keep seeing after 15 years is that that's exactly how good organizations stall out. The bold, experimental swings that built the momentum are the first thing leaders quietly retire the moment things feel stable. So the real discipline is refusing to coast, and building from a place of stability instead of scarcity while you still have the calm to think clearly.

Episode Highlights: 

[00:01:35] Momentum is a different kind of problem 
[00:10:45] Three viable paths, one hard choice 
[00:19:05] Build from stability, not scarcity 
[00:20:10] The trap of business as usual 
[00:23:05] Owning your wins in front of funders 
[00:29:10] What got you here won't get you there

Notable Quotes: 

Jonathan Hicken [00:28:55]: "Keep the foot on the gas, and lean into what I know has worked — which has been big, creative, different, bold swings."

Eric Ressler [00:20:35]: "The trap would be, okay, it's working now, we just move into business-as-usual mode. That's how orgs stall out a lot of times."

Hosted by Eric Ressler, Founder & Creative Director of Cosmic, with co-host Jonathan Hicken, Executive Director of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. New episodes every Tuesday.

→ Subscribe: designingtomorrow.show → Work with Cosmic: designbycosmic.com

Listeners, now you can text us your comments or questions by clicking this link.

*** If you liked this episode, please help spread the word. Share with your friends or co-workers, post it to social media, “follow” or “subscribe” in your podcast app, or write a review on Apple Podcasts. We could not do this without you!

We love hearing feedback from our community, so please email us with your questions or comments — including topics you’d like us to cover in future episodes — at [email protected]

Thank you for all that you do for your cause and for being part of the movement to move humanity and the planet forward.

Is culture something you design, or does it emerge from the people you hire? I think you design it, through the decisions you make every day. Jonathan thinks it starts with the people and grows from there. The more we talked, the more the two came together: culture isn't your values poster, it's the consistent decisions a team makes over and over, plus the guardrails and tools that help everyone make them well. 

Episode Highlights: 

[00:03:22] Why culture always starts with who you hire 
[00:05:15] The case that American work culture is broken 
[00:15:19] The hardest call: firing a high performer who's a culture misfit 
[00:17:12] How good short-term decisions erode culture 
[00:26:14] Guardrails: scorecards and "the Seymour Way" 
[00:31:25] If you ask your team to grind, do you have to grind too?

Notable Quotes: 

Eric Ressler [00:23:55]: "Culture is built by the consistent decisions and actions that you make as an org, not by your value statement or your posters." 

Jonathan Hicken [00:26:50]: "We recently started calling it the Seymour Way rather than core values. Because I can't actually tell somebody what their values are. What I can say is, 'This is how we do it here.'"

Resources & Links:

• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni — https://www.tablegroup.com/product/dysfunctions/

Hosted by Eric Ressler, Founder & Creative Director of Cosmic, with co-host Jonathan Hicken, Executive Director of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. New episodes every Tuesday.

→ Subscribe: designingtomorrow.show → Work with Cosmic: designbycosmic.com

Listeners, now you can text us your comments or questions by clicking this link.

*** If you liked this episode, please help spread the word. Share with your friends or co-workers, post it to social media, “follow” or “subscribe” in your podcast app, or write a review on Apple Podcasts. We could not do this without you!

We love hearing feedback from our community, so please email us with your questions or comments — including topics you’d like us to cover in future episodes — at [email protected]

Thank you for all that you do for your cause and for being part of the movement to move humanity and the planet forward.

Two camps are forming around AI in the social impact space. One says boycott it. The other says you're already behind. Meanwhile, the biggest decisions are being made without us. 

Kaz McGrath and Stephen Silveira of Play (PLAI — Purpose-Led AI) make the case for stepping into the conversation, holding space for skeptics and builders at the same table, and using AI as a tool for imagination and mission.

Episode Highlights: 

[00:04:30] "You are behind" — the message the sector keeps hearing 
[00:08:00] What if nonprofit professionals became the builders? 
[00:15:30] Tracking endangered species in the Amazon, led by Indigenous elders 
[00:19:00] The one filter for every AI decision: does it further your mission? 
[00:26:30] The environmental truth: your impact depends on where you live 
[00:35:30] Decisions are being made for us, not with us

Notable Quotes: 

Stephen Silveira [00:26:10]: "People are using AI to be that silver bullet. They want this future we're trying to describe, and they want to say AI is the thing." 

Kaz McGrath [00:35:55]: "These decisions are being made for us, not with us. For us, not without us."

Resources & Links:

• PLAI — weareplai.com
• Conor Grennan's AI Mindset — ai-mindset.ai
• Berkana Institute, Two Loops Model — berkana.org

Hosted by Eric Ressler, Founder & Creative Director of Cosmic, with co-host Jonathan Hicken, Executive Director of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. New episodes every Tuesday.

→ Subscribe: designingtomorrow.show → Work with Cosmic: designbycosmic.com

Listeners, now you can text us your comments or questions by clicking this link.

*** If you liked this episode, please help spread the word. Share with your friends or co-workers, post it to social media, “follow” or “subscribe” in your podcast app, or write a review on Apple Podcasts. We could not do this without you!

We love hearing feedback from our community, so please email us with your questions or comments — including topics you’d like us to cover in future episodes — at [email protected]

Thank you for all that you do for your cause and for being part of the movement to move humanity and the planet forward.

I have this problem, and I have it bad. At Cosmic I'm the bottleneck on more things than I should be, holding onto work because explaining it feels slower than just doing it. Jonathan doesn't get stuck there as often, so we dug into how executive directors and CEOs tell the bottlenecks that are right from the ones capping the whole org, and how to climb out of them.

Episode Highlights: 

[00:01:05] The bottleneck problem, named out loud 
[00:05:05] The real fear behind not letting go 
[00:12:08] Right sizing your role as the stakes rise 
[00:16:10] The ego question every leader has to confront 
[00:21:00] "Just this one time" and how it multiplies 
[00:30:20] The time audit that pulls it out of your head

Notable Quotes: 

Jonathan Hicken [00:02:15]: "I'm a big believer in hire people that are better and smarter than you, and then let them cook." 

Eric Ressler [00:21:00]: "Just this one time I'm going to do it. And then all of a sudden I've done that just this one time five times now." 

Jonathan Hicken [00:26:00]: "You hear stories of executive directors copy editing every single email that goes out. That is the most catastrophic failure of that organization."

Resources & Links:

• Cosmic: Eric's creative agency for nonprofits and mission-driven organizations
• Seymour Marine Discovery Center
• Science Solutions Santa Cruz podcast
• Drafting Our Strategic Dream Team: Eric and Jonathan’s past episode on YouTube

Hosted by Eric Ressler, Founder & Creative Director of Cosmic, with co-host Jonathan Hicken, Executive Director of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. New episodes every Tuesday.

→ Subscribe: designingtomorrow.show → Work with Cosmic: designbycosmic.com

Listeners, now you can text us your comments or questions by clicking this link.

*** If you liked this episode, please help spread the word. Share with your friends or co-workers, post it to social media, “follow” or “subscribe” in your podcast app, or write a review on Apple Podcasts. We could not do this without you!

We love hearing feedback from our community, so please email us with your questions or comments — including topics you’d like us to cover in future episodes — at [email protected]

Thank you for all that you do for your cause and for being part of the movement to move humanity and the planet forward.