At a moment of growing inequality and division, who is advancing the vanguard of economic and social progress to bolster our most vulnerable communities? Whose work is fostering the inclusive growth that ensures every individual thrives? Who will set the ambitious standards that mobilize whole industries, challenging their peers to reach new altitudes of social impact? 

In 2024, Impact Next — a new editorial flagship series from NationSwell — will spotlight the standard-bearing corporate social responsibility and impact leaders, entrepreneurs, experts, and philanthropists whose catalytic work has the potential to shape the landscape of progress amid urgent need for social and economic action.

For this installment, NationSwell interviewed Heather Nesle — President of New York Life Foundation.

Greg Behrman, CEO and Founder, NationSwell: What brought you to this field? Was there a moment in your life that galvanized your commitment to driving bold action on social and economic progress?

Heather Nesle, New York Life Foundation: There is one seminal moment for me: I took guitar lessons when I was in fourth or fifth grade, and my guitar teacher was playing at Carnegie Hall. My parents decided the whole family would go and get dressed up as a show of support, and on our way out, I noticed a homeless person sitting on the street right by the entrance. I remember having a conversation with my father about it, and asking why somebody would be sitting there, and that conversation stays with me as one of the first moments I can remember where I really started to understand privilege — the idea that not everybody has a place to live, or food to eat. It was a spark that likely inspired me to ultimately enter the field of social purpose.

Behrman, NationSwell: Looking back at the scope of your career, how have your thinking, your strategies, leadership style, or philosophies evolved? What are some attributes or approaches that make you an effective leader in this space?

Nesle, New York Life Foundation:  Being an effective leader transcends sectors, and I think there are a few core attributes that everybody has to have: good communication, proficiency at your job, the ability to pick strong people and develop them well. I’m also a big believer in curiosity — constantly reading, exploring, and meeting new people. I think it helps to cultivate new ideas. 

In terms of my personal style at work, I’ve always just believed in treating adults like adults, and on our best days, making sure that we’re having fun and bringing a sense of humor to the things that we do. I’ve been very lucky in that I love what I do and I love coming into work. If I had to nail down one core philosophy that I return to, I think it would be to just continue doing your best to add a little bit more into this world than you’ve taken away.

Behrman, NationSwell: What are a few things you’d like to shine a spotlight on around the work that you’re leading?

Nesle, New York Life Foundation: A lot of the work we do is around mental well-being, as it relates to childhood bereavement. I think we’re seeing a lot of suffering across the country, and really around the world — people are in this sort of gloomy place generally. From our perspective, the loss of a significant person is always going to affect your mental health, but the larger macro trends that we’re seeing around drug overdoses, suicide, etc., just really exacerbate that suffering for children and families, and so this acute sense of crisis that we’re in is making those disparities even more stark.

We also have another focus in the middle school education space, and it doesn’t take an expert to know that middle school is a fraught time in your life, but there are so many things that are just making it harder right now. We have the after-effects of the pandemic still playing out on learning and socialization, and social media, and some of the isolation that comes into play there. We also have several looming crises — climate change, social justice, you name it — that young people are deeply concerned about. Those are big issues that are affecting the areas where we focus. 

At the same time, I also feel optimistic about so much. I get to work on these issues with some of the smartest and most passionate people, and young people, in particular, continue to inspire me. One of our grantees in the bereavement space is the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. When you read the writing and you see the different art created by these young people, it really does fill you with hope. You see that there are optimistic, passionate people coming up behind you, and it makes you feel like the future is bright.

Behrman, NationSwell: What else about the impact strategies, initiatives, or partnership models New York Life is championing feels particularly unique or differentiated? 

Nesle, New York Life Foundation: Generally, most children will have an adaptive response to grief with certain basic interventions, but as a society, we don’t really know who these children are — there isn’t any real way to identify them. Studies have shown that kids who have lost a parent are more than twice as likely than non-bereaved kids to have issues at school and at home, even many years later. They have an increased risk of mental health and psychosocial problems, and some research also suggests that children who lose a parent at an early age have lower levels of educational attainment. 

We’re doing a pilot in Utah, with our partner the Children’s Collaborative, right now to identify bereaved youth and connect them with key benefits, and we’re essentially doing three core things there. The first is we’re working with one of the largest school districts in Salt Lake to add a question to their intake forms when children register for school every year voluntarily asking guardians to let the school know if the child has lost a parent or guardian. The second thing we’re doing is working with their Department of Records and Department of Health to compare death records with birth records so that when somebody dies, they can actually determine if their name is on somebody’s birth certificate who’s under the age of 18. And then the third thing that we were able to do is convince Utah to become the first state in the nation to add a checkmark on their state death certificate indicating that a person who has died has left behind a dependent child. After these young people are identified in these different ways, the United Way is leading the effort to conduct outreach to their current guardian or remaining parent, and work with them through the various processes until they start to receive benefits they might be eligible for, including Social Security, SNAP, FEMA, as well as connections to emotional resources. 

We’re also partnering with other cities and states — including Dallas, Memphis, and the state of New Jersey, where they actually just passed legislation requiring bereavement education for students in grades 8-12. So there’s good stuff going on — we’re excited about moving that needle forward.

Behrman, NationSwell: How are you making sense of the field right now? What are the current social impact trends that are not getting enough attention, in your mind?

Nesle, New York Life Foundation: In my role, I also have a hand in our sustainability strategy and reporting, working with people from across the organization. It’s impossible to approach these topics without engaging the entire company, because the reporting and regulatory requirements are all-encompassing. It’s exciting — there are opportunities for CSR professionals to learn new skills and create new impacts in their companies. 

I also think there are headwinds and tailwinds affecting philanthropy in general. There has been a lot going on in the DEI space, and that’s affecting grantmakers. Some of these recent court cases and settlements are creating confusion about how to continue supporting underserved populations and avoid potential litigation. This challenge will continue as other cases wind their way through the legal system. On the other hand, what we see, at least in our company, and I hope it’s an example of a broader trend, is much higher engagement, people really wanting to volunteer, really wanting to have a purpose. And we’re lucky, we have a very mission-driven business at the heart of what we do. At New York Life, we have not only gotten back to pre-pandemic levels, we’re on track to exceed those levels, so that feels really exciting.

Behrman, NationSwell: Of the social or economic leaders who perform a similar function to yours at peer organizations, whose work inspires you, and whom you hold in high esteem?

Nesle, New York Life Foundation: I think working in a sector like this, we’re incredibly lucky — there’s a real kinship to this field and lots of folks to be inspired by. For the last 18 years, I have been meeting regularly with a group of women — it just happened to shake out that way — in the CSR field. We found each other organically, through groups like NationSwell, and decided to get together and exchange ideas and help each other work through challenges. It has been one of the most formative experiences of my career.

The “members” of this illustrious group include Liz Cribbs, who’s now in philanthropic advisory at UBS; Kelly Fisher, who’s in sustainability at HSBC; Natalie Abatemarco, who just recently retired from Citi’s Community Development Group (and is a staunch Mets fan, like me); Fran Laserson, who retired as the head of the Moody’s Foundation; and Louise Raymond, who was at McGraw Hill in their CSR department, but now runs her own sustainability consultancy. 

We support each other through the highs and lows of this work — and I encourage people starting in this profession to form their own peer groups.

Behrman, NationSwell: Could you recommend any insightful resources – maybe a book, report, podcast, or article that has significantly influenced your thinking?

Nesle, New York Life Foundation:  One book that I go back to quite a bit is Working by Studs Terkel. It’s a compilation of stories about people and their jobs, details about what they do day to day, how it makes them feel, and the purpose they find in those jobs. I think, especially in these times when we all feel so polarized, just getting down to the nuts and bolts of how people spend their days and what they think and worry about creates some much needed empathy. We all really do care about most of the same things, and want to derive purpose in how we spend our days. But it also gives you an appreciation for how the world works and how people doing many different jobs keep us safe, fed and happy. 

My father, when I was young, gave me a copy of Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, and out of so many inspiring and thought-provoking quotes there’s one by Joyce Carol Oates that really resonates: “A daydreamer is prepared for most things.” I’d like to think so!