From entrepreneur to volunteer Board Chair, to nonprofit CEO, Erinn Rowe’s path to leadership at Harvest Hope Food Bank isn’t necessarily common, but neither are the needs of the food bank today. 

I sat down with Harvest Hope’s new CEO, Erinn Rowe recently to talk about her journey from board chair to food bank CEO, what she’s learned along the way, and key leadership insights she’s gained throughout her career. 

In this conversation we covered topics like:

How values like empathy, integrity, and honesty are the critical building blocks of leadership and successful organizations

The challenges of developing and cultivating corporate culture in an environment where some team members have never met face-to-face, and other COVID-related challenges

How empathetic leadership creates emotional and psychological safety for teams

The importance of honoring each team member’s humanity, and how an employee’s personal experiences impact their work

Insights on how to live out your core values daily as a leader

Why you can train for skills, but not for character — and how to address issues of character in your organization

What it’s like to transition from volunteer board chair to full-time CEO, and what you can learn from that transition

The value of clarity, honesty, and direct communication in organizations

This is a great conversation that any nonprofit leader or future leader will gain value from — I hope you enjoy it!