Your Nonprofit Life

Heather Lojeski is the co-founder of Faith Hope & Love. Heather and her husband Mark, have been married for over 30 years they have a large family and enjoy spending time with their three grandchildren. Their experience as foster parents and working at a camp for abused and neglected children has given them a desire to help children in crisis situations across southeastern Wisconsin.

Show Notes Page:https://yournonprofitlife.com/ep5-heather-lojeski/

Connect with Faith, Hope and Love

• Website: https://fhlforkids.org/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/faithhopelovebags/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/fhlforkids/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/FHLforKids
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDUSG7PkglzBtG2fxl-a1Yw

Connect with Your Nonprofit Life

• Website: https://yournonprofitlife.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yournonprofitlife
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yournonprofitlife
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/yournplife
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2MhMLQN1riYU1TgvS_iMEw/

Learn more about the Nonprofit Leadership Lab and our exclusive online community The Village:

• Website: https://nonprofitleadershiplab.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nonprofitleadershiplab

Kayla Abramowitz is the founder and "Chief Kid Officer" of Kayla Cares 4 Kids. You might recognize Kayla as a guest on Joan Garry's "Nonprofits Are Messy" podcast or maybe you've seen her on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt's "Inspiring America". Kayla is an amazing and resilient young woman.

Drawing on her childhood experience with multiple chronic illnesses, she has created something really special for children who spend a lot of time at hospitals and families who stay at Ronald McDonald Houses® throughout the United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. Enter Covid-19... Listen to learn how Kayla Cares 4 Kids has pivoted during the pandemic.

Connect with Your Nonprofit Life: http://yournonprofitlife.com/bonus1-kayla-abramowitz/

Connect with Kayla Cares 4 Kids:

• Website: https://kaylacares4kids.org/
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/KaylaCares4Kids
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KaylaCares4Kids
• Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/KCares4Kids
• YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/kaylacares4kids

My guest, Andrea Pauls Backman, spent most of her adult life in investment management, but everything changed when her mother was diagnosed with A.L.S. -- a rare disease for which there is no cure.

In this episode you'll learn how this amazing leader transitioned from decades in corporate America as an investments manager to becoming an invested CEO of a nonprofit in the Chicagoland area right as the Founding CEO stepped down.

To connect with Andrea, learn more about ALS, and view Laura's ice bucket challenge video from 2014, please visit https://yournonprofitlife.com/ep4-andrea-pauls-backman/

Today's guest is Mindy Griffith is the Executive Director of Bag it! They educate, empower, and connect cancer patients and their caregivers with the right information, right when they need it most. The resources they create not only provide a road map to help people navigate a cancer diagnosis, they also offer a step-by-step method for organizing necessary medical records throughout treatment–and it's perfect for both the patient and the caregiver. Mindy is only the second Executive Director the organization has ever had, and so you know I had to ask her about how the transition went when the founder stepped down. I think you're going to be pleasantly surprised by Mindy's journey from being an elementary school teacher to becoming the Executive Director of a small nonprofit in Tuscon, Arizona.

Why would an introverted electrical engineer leave her successful and lucrative career in high tech to join the team at a small nonprofit, and how did she go from being part of the team to running the entire organization?

Since March is Multiple Sclerosis Awareness month, I thought it would be a neat idea to interview Sara Loud, the CEO of Accelerated Cure Project. Not only will we hear about Sara's surprising career change, we'll also learn how an innovative approach to sharing research results is speeding up efforts towards finding a cure for M.S.

OH, and one last thing. Sara and I are both introverts--INTJs on Meyers Briggs. It's so rare to have two INTJ women in the same space at the same time, we had to talk a little about what it's like to be an introverted leader and the challenges...

Read more on the YNL website...

If I've learned anything in my life, it's that the path to leadership is never a straight line. More often than not, it's a long and winding road with curves you can't see around, potholes to keep things interesting, a couple detours for good measure...and, if you're lucky, you might see a few deer along the way. Are we there yet?

When I first met my guest, Jill Brown, the Executive Director of Northwest Kidney Kids, I had no idea she'd entered college as a Political Science major. And I'm pretty sure she had no idea that someday she'd be running a nonprofit! And not just any nonprofit, but the very same organization that would one day support her through the scariest time of her life: her toddler's kidney failure. In fact, she was recruited by the previous executive director during one of her daughter's dialysis sessions.

It takes a special kind of person to take the helm ...

Read more on the YNL website

How did you come to work in the nonprofit sector? What was a big challenge you overcame? If you knew then what you know now, what would you tell your less-experienced self? These are just a few of the questions that Laura Zielke, Director of Member Experience for the Nonprofit Leadership Lab, will ask leaders from across the nonprofit sector.

In addition to learning about the big difference small nonprofits are making in local communities, each episode is designed to help you feel less alone in your work and inspire you to keep on keepin' on.

Laura's specialty is culling out golden nuggets of wisdom from every conversation yielding actionable tips you can put into practice right away.

Discover how so many nonprofit leaders are taking their nonprofits from messy to thriving without burning out in the process.