The Switch by Nonprofit HR

As a part of the series spotlighting Nonprofit HR's 2023 Social Impact Women to Watch Finalists, Lindsey Otto, Marketing & Communication Associate, Editorial & Content for Nonprofit HR, sits down with Anahid Brakke, President & CEO of the San Diego Hunger Coalition, for a conversation about her organization and incredible contributions to the sector!

Tune in to hear Anahid detail:

• How her lived experience has given her a unique perspective of how critical her organization's mission is

• How her understanding of the strategies of housing-based missions inspired her to advance a data-informed approach to advance her organization's mission

• Embracing your uniquities as a human, especially as a woman, will serve your future self and how you show up

• How leadership is not just about empowering people, but giving people the opportunity to use that power

To learn more about the San Diego Hunger Coalition, visit www.sandiegohungercoalition.org.

In this episode, Lisa sits down with Deborah Rutter, President of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, to discuss the historic and cultural value unique to the organization, how they continued to virtually serve their international communities through COVID-19, using the arts as a unifying force among the organization's employee population and more!

In this episode, you'll hear:

• How the organization's wide variety of employees and personalities is what makes its culture particularly unique

• What the organization focused on when codifying its values as an artist-centric institution

• The strategic strides the organization is making to invite and welcome underrepresented artists and audiences

• How the organization's DEI book club fostered conversations that worked their way into high-level organizational discussions

About the Kennedy Center

As the nation's cultural center, and a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, the Kennedy Center is a leader for the arts across America and around the world, reaching and connecting with artists, inspiring and educating communities. The organization welcomes all to create, experience, learn about, and engage with the arts. Learn more about the Kennedy Center on their website.

About Deborah

In an age marked by social and technological change, Deborah Rutter has emerged as one of the nation's most adroit leaders in the arts, combining artistic daring with fiscal sustainability, inclusivity, and responsiveness to the needs of the community. Ms. Rutter began as President of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on September 1, 2014, and serves as curator of the Kennedy presidential memorial, and artistic and administrative director to the world's busiest performing arts center. Read more about Deborah.

About Lisa

Driven to serve the often-overlooked people management needs for the social impact sector, Lisa set out to build a market where one didn't exist. She founded Nonprofit HR, the leading talent management firm in the country that works exclusively with the nonprofit sector. Read Lisa's full bio.

About Switch

The Switch offers access to Nonprofit HR's talent management knowledge presented by our expert consultants, media partners, and guests from across the social impact sector. For over 20 years, Nonprofit HR has produced content that illuminates critical, timely and insightful knowledge for leaders of social impact organizations. Insights from this podcast shine light on the full talent management lifecycle, from employee attraction to organizational culture, engagement, performance management and retention.

In this episode, Lisa sits down with Anne Filipic, CEO for Share Our Strength, who shares insights about how the organization has invested in their employees, its current progress in the DEI space, and why she approaches leadership with empathy, vulnerability and authenticity.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• Making space for purposeful in-person engagements when possible, as well as the diverse ways to invest in culture and connection.

• The movement the organization has made around diversity, equity and inclusion, including centering equity in grantmaking.

• How the organization addresses DEI fatigue by examining why centering equity is essential to the ability to fulfill its mission.

• What keeps Anne up at night as a CEO, including how the organization will evolve into the future and support individual flexibility while not losing team camaraderie.

About Share Our Strength

Share Our Strength's mission is to end hunger and poverty in the U.S. and abroad through campaigns, like No Kid Hungry, which will end childhood hunger in the United States, and Cooking Matters, which helps low-income families learn to shop and cook healthier. The organization believes that everyone has a strength to share to help ensure every individual can live a healthy and productive life. Learn more about Share Our Strength on their website.

About Anne

Over the past twenty years, Anne Filipic has led consequential civic, philanthropic, and political efforts that have helped transform the nation. Most recently, she served as Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Management and Administration and the Office of Administration. In this role, Anne was responsible for building and maintaining the most diverse staff in White House history. Prior to joining the White House, Anne was the Chief Program Officer at the Obama Foundation, where she developed global programs focused on civic engagement and leadership development. She also oversaw the integration of two major initiatives, My Brother's Keeper and The Girls Opportunity Alliance, into the Obama Foundation. Read Anne's full bio.

About Lisa

Driven to serve the often-overlooked people management needs for the social impact sector, Lisa set out to build a market where one didn't exist. She founded Nonprofit HR, the leading talent management firm in the country that works exclusively with the nonprofit sector. Read Lisa's full bio.

About Switch

The Switch offers access to Nonprofit HR's talent management knowledge presented by our expert consultants, media partners, and guests from across the social impact sector. For over 20 years, Nonprofit HR has produced content that illuminates critical, timely and insightful knowledge for leaders of social impact organizations. Insights from this podcast shine light on the full talent management lifecycle, from employee attraction to organizational culture, engagement, performance management and retention.

In this episode, Lisa sits down with Leslie Mays, Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer for the Gates Foundation, to deliver thoughts and insights about organizational culture, experimenting with a hybrid, globally distributed workforce struck by the pandemic, and navigating your employees and their welfare — first and foremost — to pull them back into an organizational environment!

In this episode, you'll hear:

• What the organization's solid, philosophical approach to return to the workplace looks like, which starts with a commitment to greater equity and inclusiveness through their DEI Framework.

• Considerations to arrive at a hybrid "return to the workplace" model that included research, engaging with employees, and creating and revising organizational guidelines and structure.

• How Leslie ensures that when taking their policies and processes outside of the United States and supplanting them elsewhere, they are mindful of the context and cultures in which they operate.

• Creating timed spaces and opportunities for people to come together and collaborate.

About the Gates Foundation:

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. The Gates Foundation operates in 144 countries around the world. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Mark Suzman, under the direction of co-chairs Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates and the board of trustees. Learn more about the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on their website.

About Leslie

Leslie Mays has led significant culture transformation efforts for more than 30 years across industries and sectors. She established and led the creation of innovative diversity and inclusion strategies for some of the world's largest firms, including Avon Products, Kimberly Clark, Pfizer, Inc, Royal Dutch Shell and General Mills. She currently serves as Chief DEI officer and is responsible for ensuring and integrating the impact of DEI across all areas of the Gates Foundation, including culture, talent, grantmaking and ultimately, program outcomes. Prior to joining the foundation Leslie was a partner at Mercer Consulting based in New York City. Read more about Leslie.

About Lisa

Driven to serve the often-overlooked people management needs for the social impact sector, Lisa set out to build a market where one didn't exist. She founded Nonprofit HR, the leading talent management firm in the country that works exclusively with the nonprofit sector. Read Lisa's full bio.

About Switch

The Switch offers access to Nonprofit HR's talent management knowledge presented by our expert consultants, media partners, and guests from across the social impact sector. For over 20 years, Nonprofit HR has produced content that illuminates critical, timely and insightful knowledge for leaders of social impact organizations. Insights from this podcast shine light on the full talent management lifecycle, from employee attraction to organizational culture, engagement, performance management and retention.

In this episode Lisa sits down with Dr. Karen West, President & CEO of The American Dental Education Association, to discuss the organization's priorities following the pandemic, how they continue to evolve their approach to hybrid/remote work, and how the organization is navigating the EDIJ space in terms of diversifying their leadership team, assessing currenting teachings and more!

In this episode, you'll here:

• How her leadership priorities of caring and listening has been actualized to shape the culture of the organization to be open, inclusive and collaborative

• How the organization structured their hybrid work model based on employee feedback

• Why improving communication has been a focus for the organization to build connection, break down silos and stay on track with its strategic plan

About ADEA

ADEA is the sole national organization representing academic dentistry. Its members include all 80 U.S. and Canadian dental schools, more than 800 allied and advanced dental education programs, more than 55 corporations and approximately 15,000 individuals. Its mission is to lead and support the health professions community in preparing future-ready oral health professionals. Learn more about ADEA on their website.

About Karen

Dr. Karen P. West received her undergraduate degree from the University of Louisville in 1977 and is a 1982 graduate of the University of Louisville School of Dentistry where she received her Doctor of Dental Medicine degree. She completed a General Practice Residency at the Medical College of Georgia in 1983 and was a 1992 graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Public Health where she received her MPH degree in Health Administration. On July 1, 2019, Dr. West became the President and CEO of the American Dental Education Association headquartered in Washington, D.C. Read more about Karen.

About Lisa

Driven to serve the often-overlooked people management needs for the social impact sector, Lisa set out to build a market where one didn't exist. She founded Nonprofit HR, the leading talent management firm in the country that works exclusively with the nonprofit sector. Read Lisa's full bio.

About Switch

The Switch offers access to Nonprofit HR's talent management knowledge presented by our expert consultants, media partners, and guests from across the social impact sector. For over 20 years, Nonprofit HR has produced content that illuminates critical, timely and insightful knowledge for leaders of social impact organizations. Insights from this podcast shine light on the full talent management lifecycle, from employee attraction to organizational culture, engagement, performance management and retention.

In this episode Lisa sits down with Martha Liggett, Executive Director of ASH, to discuss the organization's hybrid model, talent management challenges and how they've overcome them, and advice to organizations that may be experiencing fatigue in their EDIJ journey.

Tune in to hear:

• The complexities of succession planning and how to keep people connected in a hybrid environment

• How the organization has taken its external health advocacy and reflected it internally to center well-being for staff

• The importance of taking the long-view when it comes to an organization's EDIJ journey

• Why self-care and setting priorities allow leaders to show up more effectively

About ASH

The American Society of Hematology (ASH) is the world's largest professional society of hematologists serving both clinicians and scientists around the world who are working to conquer blood diseases. With more than 18,000 members from nearly 100 countries, ASH's mission is to foster high-quality, equitable care, transformative research, and innovative education to improve the lives of patients with blood and bone marrow disorders. Learn more about ASH on their website.

Follow them on social media!

o Twitter: @ash_hematology

o Facebook: AmericanSocietyofHematology

o Instagram: American Society of Hematology

o LinkedIn: Ash_hematology

o YouTube: American Society of Hematology

About Lisa

Driven to serve the often-overlooked people management needs for the social impact sector, Lisa set out to build a market where one didn't exist. She founded Nonprofit HR, the leading talent management firm in the country that works exclusively with the nonprofit sector. Read Lisa's full bio.

About The Switch

The Switch offers access to Nonprofit HR's talent management knowledge presented by our expert consultants, media partners, and guests from across the social impact sector. For over 20 years, Nonprofit HR has produced content that illuminates critical, timely and insightful knowledge for leaders of social impact organizations. Insights from this podcast shine light on the full talent management lifecycle, from employee attraction to organizational culture, engagement, performance management and retention.

In this episode Lisa sits down with Jonna Davis, Operations & Funds Manager from The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR), to discuss her organization's talent management practices as they navigated the onset of the COVID19 pandemic and continue to navigate organizational growth.

Tune in to hear:

• How the COVID-19 pandemic amplified the organization's ability to put their values in practice
• How the organization is building in guidance and tools for staff to support an effective flow of feedback
• Why a science based approach was the most effective in informing the advancement of the organization's leave policies

About FFAR

The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) connects funders, researchers and farmers through public-private partnerships to support audacious research addressing the biggest food and agriculture challenges. FFAR's mission is to build collaborative partnerships to support audacious science addressing today's food and agriculture challenges. They envision a world in which pioneering, collaborative science provides every person access to affordable, nutritious food grown on thriving farms. Learn more about FFAR on their website.

About Jonna

Jonna Davis joined the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) in November 2021 as the operations and impact director, responsible for enhancing operations and assessing the impact of FFAR's research funding. After spending over a decade in global development, she joined FFAR with a desire to apply her experience to impactful work in the United States. She's especially interested in the intersection of agriculture and climate change. Read Jonna's full bio.

About Lisa

Driven to serve the often-overlooked people management needs for the social impact sector, Lisa set out to build a market where one didn't exist. She founded Nonprofit HR, the leading talent management firm in the country that works exclusively with the nonprofit sector. Read Lisa's full bio.

About Switch

The Switch offers access to Nonprofit HR's talent management knowledge presented by our expert consultants, media partners, and guests from across the social impact sector. For over 20 years, Nonprofit HR has produced content that illuminates critical, timely and insightful knowledge for leaders of social impact organizations. Insights from this podcast shine light on the full talent management lifecycle, from employee attraction to organizational culture, engagement, performance management and retention.

In this special episode of The Switch, Rose Gebken, Marketing & Communication Manager for Nonprofit HR, and Michelle Brier, Co-Founder and Vice President of Marketing & Development for BluePath, catch up and explore Michelle's stellar contributions to the sector!

Tune in to hear Michelle detail:

- How her lifelong love of animals led to creating a business providing assistance through service dogs

- Why being able to access the expertise of their board members and other trusted resources is key for the success of a leader

- The benefits of investing time in structure as a small organization during their phase of beginning to grow and scale

In this special episode of The Switch, Rose Gebken, Marketing & Communication Manager for Nonprofit HR, and Koua Franz, Chief Strategy Officer for Committee for Children, catch up and explore Koua's stellar contributions to the sector!

Tune in to hear Koua detail:

- Why social-emotional learning was important to her growing up as a refugee

- How women can help inspire others by voicing their dreams and speaking them into life

- What her love of Japanese manga taught her about leadership

In this special episode of The Switch, Lindsey Otto, Marketing & Communication Associate for Nonprofit HR, and Kavita Mehra, Executive Director of Sakhi for South Asian Women, catch up and explore Kavita's stellar contributions to the sector!

Tune in to hear Kavita detail:

- Why leaning back and listening actively as a leader is key in letting your team members shine

- How tapping into your own energy allows the ability the show up authentically and build relationships

- How her experience has guided her to shift from a hustle mindset to a focus on people and culture needs