Resource Type: Leader spotlights

Five Minutes with… IBM’s Sara Link

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

As artificial intelligence reshapes how institutions operate, many nonprofits and public-sector leaders are grappling with a pressing question: How can AI be deployed responsibly and equitably in service of the public good? 

At IBM, that question isn’t theoretical — it’s central to how the company designs, governs, and advances its AI strategy across sectors. In a new resource developed in collaboration with NationSwell, Responsible Use of AI for Social Impact, IBM outlines a practical roadmap for responsible AI adoption that moves beyond high-level principles and into actionable guidance for organizations navigating capacity constraints, ethical considerations, and rapidly evolving technology. The report emphasizes AI literacy; governance as an enabler instead of a blocker; and a clear focus on augmenting, rather than replacing, human capability. 

For this installment of Five Minutes with…., NationSwell spoke with Sara Link — IBM’s Global Head of Employee Impact — about what it takes to operationalize trustworthy AI at scale and why government and social sector leaders must be equipped not just with tools, but with the systems and confidence to use them well.

We asked Sara how IBM is reframing responsible AI from a compliance exercise into a performance advantage, what meaningful AI literacy actually looks like inside an organization, and what wild success for ethical AI adoption could look like five years from now. 

Here’s what she had to say:

NationSwell: What do you see as most distinctive about IBM’s approach to responsible AI, particularly for nonprofits and social impact organizations that face capacity constraints?

Sara Link, Global Head of Impact at IBM: It’s encouraging to see so many responsible AI principles circulating right now; that level of focus and intentionality is important. At IBM, our approach centers on making AI practical, understandable, and genuinely useful in everyday work. Our belief is that AI should help people do their jobs better — not replace them, overwhelm them, or create confusion.

One of the key insights in the report is that responsible AI has to be realistic for organizations with limited time, staff, and capacity. Nonprofits don’t have extra resources or margin for error, and in many cases they don’t have deep technical expertise in-house. So responsible AI can’t just live in a policy document — it has to be built in a way that reflects those constraints. That means designing tools and governance structures that are usable, accessible, and practical from the start, so organizations can adopt them confidently and integrate them into their daily work.

NationSwell: Augmenting rather than replacing human capability is central to IBM’s view of AI. Can you share an example of what that looks like in practice, either at IBM or with partners?

Link, IBM: In practice, we think about AI as something that helps bring work to life — whether that’s surfacing information, spotting patterns, or saving time on repetitive tasks. But at the end of the day, people still make the final decisions, especially when judgment, fairness, or context matter.

At IBM, for example, internal tools like AskHR or AskCSR help employees find answers more quickly and efficiently. They streamline the process, but they don’t replace accountability. People are still responsible for what happens next. The goal is to enable better, more informed decisions — not to obscure or complicate them.

NationSwell: The report emphasizes foundational AI literacy. What does “good” AI literacy look like inside an organization, and how does that translate into better outcomes?

Link, IBM: Good AI literacy means people aren’t afraid of the tools, but they also don’t blindly trust them. It shows up when leaders and staff understand what AI can support and where human judgment still needs to step in.

You can hear it in the kinds of questions people feel comfortable asking: Does this actually make sense? Should we double-check this before acting on it? For example, in a nonprofit using AI to screen applications or triage services, literacy shows up when staff know how to review AI recommendations, recognize when something doesn’t feel right, and understand that the final decision rests with them.

That kind of literacy leads to better mission outcomes. It reduces errors, helps guard against bias, and builds trust with the communities being served rather than simply automating decisions without oversight.

NationSwell: How does the report reframe responsible AI governance as an enabler rather than a blocker? What is one practical first step an organization can take?

Link, IBM: When you lay out clear rules, it actually becomes easier to move forward. Clarity helps people understand what’s acceptable and what’s not. Without that clarity, uncertainty can cause hesitation or lead organizations to avoid using AI altogether. One of the strongest findings in the report is that governance doesn’t slow adoption; it accelerates it by removing ambiguity.

A practical first step is to build a simple pause point into an existing workflow — a moment where a human reviews and signs off before an AI-driven decision affects someone. It doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be as straightforward as asking: Does this outcome make sense? Would I be comfortable explaining this decision to the person it impacts?

Over time, those small, repeatable checks turn responsible AI from a written policy into a daily habit. And that’s what enables organizations to scale AI safely and confidently.

NationSwell: If you could change one thing about how funders currently approach AI in the social sector, what would it be?

Link, IBM: First, it’s critical for funders to recognize the importance of investing in organizational capacity; that’s the foundation. I would encourage funders to focus not just on funding AI tools, but on supporting people’s ability to use AI well over time.

Investing in technology alone doesn’t create impact if organizations aren’t prepared to work with it. Right now, many nonprofits are expected to figure this out on their own. They may receive funding to pilot AI, but not necessarily the support for training, governance, or long-term learning that makes those tools effective and safe.

Through IBM’s AI for Impact program, which we launched in late 2024, we’ve brought nonprofits together to share how they’re using AI, what questions they have, and where they see opportunity. A recurring theme has been the need for funding that supports both the right tools and the training required to use them responsibly. And research from the IBM Institute for Business Value shows that skills are evolving rapidly — 57% of executives surveyed expect today’s skills to become outdated by 2030. That pressure is even more acute in the social sector, where resources are already stretched.

The funders making the biggest difference are supporting AI readiness, not just adoption — investing in training, shared standards, and giving teams time to learn and adapt, not just deliver. I’d also encourage funders to make their grantees aware of programs like AI for Impact. Many of these resources are free and can help organizations and their leaders build the knowledge and confidence they need to prepare for what’s ahead.

NationSwell: If responsible AI adoption truly takes root, what might wild success look like for the sector five years from now?

Link, IBM: The vision of success, to me, is that AI makes work easier and fairer — not more stressful or confusing. If we can eliminate that sense of overwhelm and instead empower people to use their skills more fully, that would be a meaningful outcome.

In that future, people would understand the tools they’re using and feel confident explaining the decisions those tools inform. AI would help nonprofits do more good without eroding trust or weakening human connection. Most importantly, technology would support organizations in serving communities better — not get in the way.

That’s what wild success looks like: better outcomes for communities, more efficient pathways to get there, and trust and connection preserved throughout the process.

NationSwell: What have you personally learned or found inspiring as you’ve helped lead this work around AI? How has this journey informed your broader leadership in the corporate impact space?

Link, IBM: For a long time, I’ve focused on capacity building for nonprofits and on how the corporate sector and funders can partner more closely with them, providing the right level of support so they can better serve their communities.

What’s been most inspiring lately is the openness I’ve seen when nonprofits come together — the willingness to share ideas, build relationships, and solve challenges collaboratively. There’s a real energy in the room when leaders from across sectors are learning from one another and exploring what’s possible.

I saw that firsthand at a recent conference after speaking on this topic: A healthcare employee approached me and shared that she and her colleagues had been experimenting with AI tools to solve internal challenges, and they were eager to bring leadership into the conversation to explore the potential more formally. She ended up connecting with another healthcare system that was further along, helping to broker a conversation between them.

That kind of openness — being curious about what’s out there and willing to imagine what could be possible — is what excites me most. It’s that spirit of shared learning and forward momentum that will ultimately drive meaningful change.

NationSwell: Is there anything else from the report — or from your leadership perspective — that you’d like to share?

Link, IBM: As someone who doesn’t necessarily have an engineering or a technical background, what’s been especially inspiring to me is realizing that you don’t need deep technical expertise to ask the right questions or to begin this journey of continuous learning. You don’t have to be an engineer to engage meaningfully with AI.

Personally, this experience has shown me how much further we can take our work by building our skills, staying curious, and asking thoughtful questions. When we approach AI as a tool for strengthening connections and building stronger partnerships — rather than something intimidating or purely technical — it becomes incredibly energizing. That mindset has been one of the most exciting parts of this journey for me.

Five Minutes with… Goodstack’s Aylin Oncel

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

As corporate impact programs grow more ambitious, they’re also becoming more complex. Employee engagement, grants, foundations, and product-led giving often evolve in parallel — built by different teams, on different systems, at different moments in time. The intent is strong — but without shared infrastructure, friction sets in: fragmented data, inconsistent governance, duplicated nonprofit relationships, and rising operational costs.

Enter Goodstack, which was built to address that disconnect. As expectations around transparency, compliance, and measurable impact continue to rise, the need for connective infrastructure has become more important than ever. Rather than layering new initiatives onto old systems, Goodstack helps organizations unify nonprofit verification, donation rails, governance, and reporting into a cohesive impact operating system — allowing distinct programs to remain purposeful while connected in execution.

For this installment of Five Minutes with…, NationSwell spoke with Aylin Oncel — VP of Social Impact at Goodstack — about what breaks down when social impact efforts remain siloed, why infrastructure is emerging as the next frontier of corporate impact, and what becomes possible when programs evolve from ad hoc initiatives into a connected, compounding strategy.

Here’s what she had to say:

NationSwell: How would you describe the core problem Goodstack is trying to solve for in corporate social impact — what tends to break down inside companies when CSR programs, employee engagement, and product-led giving aren’t connected to each other?

Aylin Oncel, VP of Social Impact, Goodstack: In my role as VP of Social Impact at Goodstack, I spend a lot of time talking with companies that are deeply committed to doing good, but are navigating increasingly complex impact ecosystems. What I see consistently is not a lack of intent, but a lack of connective infrastructure.

Many impact efforts across an organization start off siloed. Employee engagement, grants, and product-led giving are usually built at different moments, by different teams, in response to different needs. That’s a realistic and often effective starting point. The challenge emerges as those programs scale.

As organizations grow, disconnected systems begin to create friction. Impact data fragments, experiences become inconsistent, and strategic alignment becomes harder to sustain, both internally and for the nonprofits on the receiving end. We often see the same nonprofit relationships managed across multiple tools, different verification standards applied across programs, and teams spending significant time reconciling data rather than learning from it. Operational costs increase, global rollouts slow down, and risk rises when governance and tracking are inconsistent.

Goodstack helps by providing shared infrastructure that allows these efforts to remain distinct in purpose, but connected in execution. By standardizing nonprofit verification, donation flows, governance, and reporting across programs, we help company impact evolve from standalone initiatives into a coherent, resilient impact operating system.

NationSwell: How do you define the role Goodstack is actually seeking to play for companies, and why does that distinction matter in the current CSR landscape?

Oncel, Goodstack: We think of Goodstack as infrastructure for corporate impact, and also as a strategic partner helping companies bring their impact efforts together in a way that’s sustainable over time.

Our role is to provide the core systems companies and nonprofits can rely on, including nonprofit verification, donation rails, governance frameworks, and shared visibility across employee programs, customer experiences, foundations, and grants. Our partnership shows up in helping teams see and operate those efforts as part of a single impact strategy, rather than as separate initiatives competing for attention or resources.

That distinction matters because impact work today is inherently cross-functional, while expectations around trust, compliance, and measurement continue to rise. Companies need flexibility in how they activate and scale giving, but they also need a partner who understands the full ecosystem and can help connect programs into a cohesive strategy. When that foundation is in place, teams spend less time rebuilding systems and more time focusing on outcomes, engagement, and long-term impact.

NationSwell: You’ve identified a gap between different internal CSR stakeholders — HR, foundations, product, sales — who often aren’t talking to each other. What’s lost when that fragmentation persists, and what becomes possible when those efforts are connected?

Oncel, Goodstack: When CSR efforts stay fragmented, the biggest thing that’s lost is momentum.

Each team may be doing meaningful work in isolation, but those efforts rarely reinforce one another. Employees don’t always see how their time or giving fits into a broader narrative. Impact data lives in disconnected spreadsheets. Leaders miss opportunities to understand what’s resonating, what’s scaling, and where real outcomes are being created.

When efforts are connected through shared infrastructure and standards, participation tends to increase because experiences are simpler and more transparent. Insights improve because impact is measured consistently. Companies move from one-off campaigns to an always-on strategy that scales across teams and geographies. Impact shifts from episodic to compounding.

NationSwell: Without getting into proprietary details, can you share an example of a moment when things really clicked — when a company started to see its impact efforts as one connected system, and changed how they worked or thought about CSR?

Oncel, Goodstack: One of the clearest “click” moments I’ve seen is when a company realizes it no longer needs separate systems for nonprofit programs, employee giving, and grants. Once the underlying infrastructure is standardized across nonprofit verification, donation flows, and shared reporting, impact stops feeling like a collection of disconnected initiatives and starts functioning as part of the company’s operating system.

Teams spend less time managing logistics and more time thinking strategically. Reporting cycles that once took weeks begin to happen in near real time, and moments like GivingTuesday shift from one-off obligations into genuine opportunities to accelerate engagement. Volunteer initiatives spark interest in giving, giving data surfaces the causes employees care about, and those insights inform grantmaking nominations and company-wide campaigns. Product-led programs reveal new opportunities to engage customers more meaningfully. Instead of running ad hoc initiatives, teams learn from patterns, adapt faster, and move forward with a shared sense of purpose.

NationSwell: How would you describe the next evolution of CSR, and what signals tell you whether or not we’re already moving in that direction?

Oncel, Goodstack: I see the next evolution of CSR unfolding across three dimensions.

First, expanding stakeholder engagement by embedding giving into products and everyday experiences. Thoughtful design makes participation intuitive and expands who gets to be part of impact.

Second, meet employees where they already are. Atlassian, a Goodstack partner, exemplifies this approach in its employee engagement program. As Atlassian employees volunteer and donate, they earn rewards for themselves and nonprofits they care about directly on the platform – with high-impact activities unlocking bigger rewards. It recognizes a wide range of giving behaviors and gives people a clear, flexible path to increasing their impact.

Third, connecting efforts across teams so impact isn’t experienced as a series of disconnected programs, but as a cohesive narrative that demonstrates compounding progress over time.

The signals are already here. More leaders are asking not just how much was given, but who it reached, what changed, and how programs influence behavior and outcomes. That shift in questioning reflects a maturing field.

NationSwell: Goodstack sits at a unique intersection of data, infrastructure, and ecosystem visibility. How do you think about using that vantage point to not just report on impact, but to help shape better decisions?

Oncel, Goodstack: We’re thoughtful about how we use data and AI, because visibility alone doesn’t drive better decisions. It has to be paired with strong infrastructure, clear standards, and human judgment.

Where AI becomes powerful for us is in reducing friction and surfacing patterns that are difficult to see across large, complex impact programs. That can include revealing where engagement drops off, where interest clusters around specific causes, or where programs unintentionally overlap. These insights help teams act with greater confidence and intention.

Importantly, AI isn’t replacing decision-making. It’s supporting it. By pairing intelligent systems with verified nonprofit data, consistent governance, and transparent reporting, we help leaders spend less time reconciling information and more time designing impact strategies that are intentional, equitable, and resilient over time.

NationSwell: For CSR leaders who feel stuck repeating the same campaigns year after year, what’s one question they should be asking themselves if they want to unlock a more integrated, strategic approach to impact?

I’d encourage leaders to step back and ask, what problem are we actually trying to solve?

It’s easy to default to familiar formats and moments on the calendar without reassessing whether they’re still aligned with today’s challenges. Instead of starting with what you’ve always done, it can be more powerful to focus on how you might unlock new impact in service of your goals and overall mission.

That might mean pulling different levers, such as engaging customers in giving, designing employee programs that drive meaningful behavior change, or increasing access to funding and visibility for nonprofits that are often overlooked. When infrastructure is stable, leaders have the freedom to think creatively, test new approaches thoughtfully, and learn from what works.

The shift isn’t about reinventing the wheel. It’s about being clearer on the outcomes you want and more strategic in how you get there.

Five Minutes with… the Center for Audit Quality

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

At a moment when the accounting profession faces both a shrinking talent pipeline and an urgent need to diversify who enters the field, the Center for Audit Quality’s Accounting+ program is reshaping perceptions of what a career in accounting could look like. 

Launched as a profession-wide response to longstanding recruiting challenges, Accounting+ meets students where they are to spotlight the dynamic, impactful opportunities that exist within the accounting profession. Now in its fifth year, CAQ’s 2025 Annual Report shows that Accounting+ has strengthened awareness and engagement with accounting careers through data-driven content, strategic partnerships, and sustained outreach that reflects real student interests and aspirations. 

For this installment of 5 Minutes With, NationSwell sat down with Liz Barentzen — Vice President of Operations and Talent Initiatives at the Center for Audit Quality — to talk about how, against a backdrop of declining accounting graduates and broader enrollment pressures, Accounting+ is not just raising visibility for the profession but also helping to rewrite its narrative for the next generation of talent.

Here’s what she had to say:

NationSwell: What specific gap have you identified in the types of applicants the accounting profession typically attracts that made a broad, student-facing awareness campaign feel necessary? How has the Accounting+ program sought to address that gap?

Liz Barentzen, CAQ: The accounting profession was facing a dual challenge: a shrinking talent pipeline overall and persistent underrepresentation of Black, Latino, and other students of color. But what made a broad, student-facing campaign feel necessary — rather than just more targeted recruitment — was the data on awareness. Many students, particularly those without family connections to business or professional services, simply didn’t have accounting on their radar as a viable, appealing career path. They associated it with tax prep or number-crunching, not with the strategic advisory work, global mobility, or earning potential the profession actually offers.

So Accounting+ was designed to intervene earlier and more broadly — to shift perceptions before students make decisions about majors or career tracks. We’re working to widen who even considers accounting, not just compete for students already headed toward business fields.

NationSwell: You’ve described Accounting+ as working in two major buckets: large-scale brand awareness and in-classroom activation. How do those two strategies reinforce each other in practice, and where have you seen the strongest shifts in student perception?

Liz Barentzen, CAQ: The large-scale brand awareness work — think digital campaigns, influencer partnerships, broad-reach content — creates cultural receptivity. It plants the seed that accounting is something worth paying attention to. But awareness alone doesn’t give students the information or confidence to actually pursue it.

That’s where the in-classroom activation comes in, primarily through our partnership with EVERFI. We’ve reached nearly 260,000 students across thousands of high schools with a curriculum that goes deeper — explaining what accountants actually do, the variety of career paths, the earning potential and stability.

And critically, it doesn’t stop at awareness. When these previously primed students come to the Accounting+ website, they’re offered concrete next steps — internships, scholarships, programs that help them continue the journey. So we’re not just inspiring interest and then leaving students to figure it out on their own. We’re building a pathway from “I didn’t know this was an option” to “here’s how I actually get there.”

Some of the strongest perception shifts we’ve seen are around long-term earning potential and career stability. Students are starting to see accounting as a path to financial security — not just a boring desk job that requires advanced mathematics.

NationSwell: What has your research revealed about how students’ priorities are changing over time, and how has Accounting+ — and your messaging strategy — adapted in response?

Liz Barentzen, CAQ: Our longitudinal research has tracked a real shift. When we first launched the campaign, the messages that resonated most were about accounting as a pathway to starting your own business or giving back to your community. Students were drawn to the autonomy and purpose narratives.

Now, what’s landing is stability and long-term security. When we ask high school students what matters most in a career, long-term earning potential outranks starting salary — 68.5% prioritize it. They’re thinking about financial trajectory, not just what they’d make in year one.

That shift likely reflects the broader environment these students are coming of age in — economic uncertainty, headlines about layoffs and AI disruption, watching their families navigate instability.

So, our messaging has adapted accordingly. We’re still telling the full story of what accounting offers, but we’re leading with the durability of the career path, the flexibility it provides, and the financial foundation it builds. We’re meeting students where their priorities actually are, not where we assumed they’d be.

NationSwell: Accounting+ has been explicit about reaching students with the least exposure to accounting; what are the mechanics you employ to ensure that the campaign is widening the funnel rather than simply reaching students already on a professional track?

Liz Barentzen, CAQ: This is something we’re deliberate about. The mechanics include: partnering with 38+ state CPA societies to reach schools in communities with less exposure to professional services; working through EVERFI to deploy curriculum in Title I schools and districts we wouldn’t otherwise access; and ensuring our digital content doesn’t just target business-oriented students but reaches broader interest categories.

We also track who we’re reaching. If our data showed we were just preaching to the choir—students already in AP Economics or DECA — we’d know something was off. What we’re seeing instead is engagement from students who didn’t have accounting anywhere in their consideration set before encountering our content. The goal is exposure equity: giving students the same information about this career that kids with accountant parents or professional networks get at the dinner table.

NationSwell: As AI reshapes the accounting profession and companies rethink entry-level hiring, how are you reframing the value proposition of accounting for students today?

Liz Barentzen, CAQ: This is the live tension right now. Students are hearing headlines about AI replacing jobs and firms pulling back on entry-level hiring. If we’re not careful, the narrative becomes “why would I pursue a profession that’s automating itself out of existence?”

Our reframe is this: accounting skills are foundational to understanding how any organization works—financially, operationally, strategically. AI will change how accountants work, but it increases the need for people who can interpret, advise, and exercise judgment. The profession is shifting from compliance and data processing toward analysis and strategy.

We’re also honest with students that the entry-level landscape is evolving, and we’re working with firms and educators to ensure there are clear pathways in. But the core value proposition — financial literacy, career stability, multiple exit options, strong earning trajectory — remains sound. We just have to tell that story with more nuance now.

NationSwell: Your annual report shows accounting enrollments growing significantly faster than overall college enrollment, driven largely by Black and Latino students. What does that data tell you about what’s working — and what still needs to change to sustain this momentum long-term?

Liz Barentzen, CAQ: The headline is striking: accounting enrollments grew 13.9% while overall undergraduate enrollment grew just 5.2% — and that growth was driven disproportionately by Black and Latino students. Accounting programs are outperforming national trends across all demographic groups.

What does that tell us? First, that the awareness investment is working. When students know about a career path and see people like them succeeding in it, they pursue it. Second, that the profession’s efforts on diversity and inclusion — however imperfect — are registering with students. They’re voting with their enrollment decisions.

But to sustain this? We need to ensure students don’t just enroll — they persist, they pass the CPA exam, they get hired, they advance. That’s where the ecosystem needs to keep evolving. The pipeline is widening, but the profession has to be ready to receive and develop this talent. That’s the next chapter.

Liz Barentzen, CAQ: Is there anything else that feels important to mention?

First, Accounting+ is a coalition effort — major firms, state societies, educators, NABA Inc., AICPA, and more. That’s unusual in professional pipeline work, and it’s been essential to our scale and credibility. When students see the whole profession showing up, not just one firm recruiting for itself, it signals something different.

Second, we’re at the five-year mark, and we’ve seen meaningful movement. But this isn’t a problem you solve in five years. The question now is how we sustain momentum, continue adapting to a changing landscape, and ensure this generation of students has the support they need all the way through — from awareness to enrollment to career success.

Impact Next: An interview with Deloitte’s Dana O’Donovan

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

In moments of challenge and opportunity, who is advancing the vanguard of economic and social progress? Whose work is fostering growth that helps to ensure individuals thrive? Who will set the ambitious standards that mobilize whole industries, challenging their peers to reach new altitudes of social impact? 

In 2026, Impact Next — an editorial flagship series from NationSwell — will spotlight the standard-bearing impact leaders, entrepreneurs, experts, and philanthropists whose catalytic work has the potential to shape the landscape of progress.

For this installment, NationSwell interviewed Dana O’Donovan, US Purpose leader at Deloitte.

NationSwell: What brought you to the field that you’re in right now? Was there an early moment, a relationship, or an experience that galvanized your commitment to driving bold action?

Dana O’Donovan, Deloitte: I didn’t realize it at the time, but the genesis of my work really began when I was adopted at three weeks old, which completely changed the trajectory of my life. I was adopted by wonderful parents and given every opportunity to fulfill my potential and succeed.

As I got older, that personal experience became deeply formative; it drove a passion in me around the belief that every child deserves the opportunity to thrive, regardless of their background or the circumstances of their birth. I’m very aware that my life could have turned out very differently — that I could just as easily have been someone the nonprofit sector exists to serve; that awareness has stayed with me.

When I first started my career, I was focused almost entirely on client service. I came from corporate and business unit strategy, worked in strategy consulting, and then shifted into client service work for nonprofits and foundations (I used to joke that my two jobs were horse camp counselor and consultant).

About 18 years ago, I took an in-house role at a nonprofit, and that experience fundamentally changed my perspective. It gave me a deep appreciation for how hard day-to-day operations are, especially in the nonprofit space. Strategy, I realized, is often the easy part — implementation and operations are where the real challenges live.

When I returned to client service after that, it changed how I worked. Strategy still mattered, but I became much more focused on how it connected to what teams actually do every day, and that mindset has guided me ever since. I’ve held hybrid roles since then, never fully leaving client service but adding management and leadership responsibilities over time.

That blend of experiences ultimately led me to my current role, and it’s what energizes me most today: drawing on that full arc of experience to lead with both vision and practicality.

NationSwell: What are some touchstones that you have for yourself from that past experience that you’re bringing into how you’re leading now?

O’Donovan, Deloitte: I think one of the core roles of any leader is shaping vision and strategy — but it’s just as important to understand the operational reality your team is living in. You have to stay close enough to the day-to-day to help remove obstacles, spot opportunities, and keep the work moving as effectively and efficiently as possible. We often underestimate how much time and energy it takes just to keep the trains running on time; that’s something I learned very clearly during my nonprofit experience, and it’s stayed with me.

I also believe deeply in the power of communication. It’s almost impossible to over-communicate with your team — about what’s exciting you, what you’re seeing in the broader landscape, and where you think things are headed, both externally and inside the organization. We actually have a standing agenda item in our team meetings called “Dana’s downloads,” where I share those reflections. It’s a good reminder for me to keep doing that consistently.

There’s no denying how much is happening in the world right now, but I also see this moment as one of extraordinary opportunity. New technologies and capabilities are opening up possibilities we couldn’t imagine before, and I’m seeing a growing willingness to engage in bolder, more meaningful collaboration to drive impact.

On the corporate side, purpose is increasingly a market driver — it’s no longer something adjacent or optional; it’s core. At Deloitte, we see growth and purpose as deeply linked, and that connection helps us stay relevant in a world that’s moving incredibly fast.

I feel fortunate to have a front-row seat to this moment — through my role at Deloitte, through our client work across industries, and through conversations with leaders across the NationSwell community. I’m encouraged by how many organizations are finding new ways to make purpose central to their strategies and to collaborate beyond what any one organization could do alone. That kind of creativity and collaboration is really the only way we’re going to meet this moment — and it’s where I see real possibility for lasting impact.

NationSwell: Is there a particular lever you’re pulling or an approach that you have to that work that you think sets it up for success? 

O’Donovan, Deloitte: I do think we’re seeing more meaningful multi-sector collaboration than in the past. We’ve talked about collaboration for years, but it hasn’t always been as common or as effective as it needs to be. The reality is that the challenges trying to be solved are far too complex for any single organization — even one as large as Deloitte — to tackle alone.

That’s why focus matters. Organizations need clarity on the issue areas they’re committed to. But the real power of corporate purpose lies in how we show up. It’s not funding alone, which will always be modest compared to large foundations; it’s not talent engagement, pro bono work, or skills-based volunteering on their own. Impact comes from intentionally combining those assets.

At Deloitte, that “how” is grounded in place-based, issue-driven ecosystems. A strong example is the Yes San Francisco urban sustainability challenge, launched in 2023 as a collaboration among Deloitte, Salesforce, the World Economic Forum, and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. The aim was to support local urban sustainability innovators in developing solutions to help revitalize the city post-COVID, and in doing so build a more resilient economy.

That work has since evolved into a broader blueprint called Yes/Cities, focused on using cross-sector collaboration to drive sustainable change in cities globally. We’re not creating the solutions — we’re creating the conditions to help local innovators succeed.

One key lesson from San Francisco: Strong ecosystems require collaborators across sectors, each bringing distinct skills, resources, and networks. Place-based work also has to be community-centered — designed by, for, and with the people closest to the challenges. That means leading with questions, listening deeply, and building alongside communities rather than arriving with answers.

NationSwell: What’s defining the current social and economic environment that we’re in — what are the trends that you’re currently seeing, and what’s giving you hope?

O’Donovan, Deloitte: I think we still need to push ourselves to think about innovation not just for what’s required right now, but for what nonprofits will need five or ten years down the road. That’s especially true as we think about the commitments we’re making to help the social sector meet this moment from a technology perspective.

We’ve spoken with dozens of nonprofit leaders about their technology challenges and opportunities, and what’s clear is that they’re not naïve about the potential of tools like AI or integrated systems to help transform their work. The challenge isn’t awareness — it’s capacity. It’s not just about access to a platform; it’s about having the technical talent and resources to customize, maintain, and continually adapt those systems to their specific models.

As a result, technology takes up an enormous amount of nonprofit leaders’ mindshare — often at the expense of their core mission. I would love to help lower that burden so leaders can spend more time focused on impact. This is where Deloitte can play a valuable role. We bring deep experience in the social impact space alongside the scale and sophistication of our broader technology capabilities — the same kinds of platforms and support we provide to corporate clients.

Talking about innovation and potential isn’t enough if we can’t translate it into something usable and practical. The real opportunity is connecting technology to day-to-day operations in a way that helps organizations work more effectively, more efficiently, and stay deeply mission-focused. That’s the gap I’m most excited to help close.

NationSwell: What advice do you have for others about how they can lean in and use their superpowers to help the nonprofit sector?

O’Donovan, Deloitte: One thing I believe very deeply — and anyone on my team will tell you I say this all the time — is that Deloitte can do almost anything. But the real question isn’t what we can do — it’s what we should uniquely do to be most helpful.

I think we’re past the era of check-the-box corporate philanthropy: writing a check, running employee giving campaigns, and calling it a day. That work mattered, but we’ve learned so much more about the real superpowers corporations can bring to the table. When you do deep listening — when you talk to communities, engage people on the ground, and really understand what’s needed — you get fundamentally different answers.

That’s when you’re able to focus on what your organization is uniquely positioned to contribute. Because while you can do a lot of things, not all of them add up to the kind of change this moment actually demands.

NationSwell: How do you cultivate purpose within your team? How do you help people understand their purpose and feel guided by that?

O’Donovan, Deloitte: I think the good news about Deloitte is that we’ve cared about impact for more than 180 years. We’re starting from a place of real strength. For me, my role is about continuing to evolve that purpose in line with the moment we’re in.

A big part of that is making sure there’s as little daylight as possible between our ambitions and how we actually show up. When I think about our investments, commitments, and social impact work, we’re focused on sustainability, opportunity, and trust — areas aimed at creating positive impact in our organization and in our communities genuinely make sense for us. My work has been about sharpening that focus: aligning our portfolio with those priorities and doing the work with communities, not for them, and never alone.

Our senior leaders share this commitment and believe deeply in strengthening local efforts, convening decision-makers, and facilitating collaboration across sectors. That’s really shaped our approach — not just what we focus on, but how we show up. It’s about working alongside organizations closest to the issues, supporting strategic initiatives, and driving collective action. We started from a strong place; the work now is about raising our game and focusing on what we can uniquely do to create long-term impact — building access to opportunity, family-sustaining jobs, and more resilient communities.

I also want to be clear that leading with purpose isn’t limited to my role. I get to focus on this every day, and we empower our people to lead with purpose in how they show up with their teams and respond to opportunities including our client service professionals that can help think through the impact of their work on people and communities.

Part of my role is making that easier — helping our professionals and leaders embed purpose into their team and client engagements. Many of our clients care deeply about this too, which creates real opportunity. Whether it’s co-investing in communities, showing up together on Impact Day, our annual day of collective service, or building purpose into long-term client relationships, there are so many ways we can demonstrate what it looks like to lead with purpose as an organization.

NationSwell: Of the socially motivated leaders you consider your peers, are there any whose work inspired you and whom you hold in high esteem?

O’Donovan, Deloitte: First, I get a lot of energy from people and community — meeting new people, reconnecting with trusted peers, and talking through how we’re seeing the world. Those conversations often spark new or unexpected ideas. That’s why I value spaces like NationSwell so much. There’s real power in community building, especially when it’s a group you trust. I’ve always had what I call a “kitchen cabinet” — a personal board of directors. They’re not all in similar roles, but they’ve known me at different stages of my life, and when I’m facing a big decision, their perspectives are invaluable.

Second, I’m very intentional about continuing to invest in my own leadership. I love a good podcast or audiobook — especially thinkers who combine data with practical, human-centered insights. That blend of rigor and applicability really resonates with me and helps shape how I think about leading in complex environments.

And finally, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to learn from some exceptional mentors over the course of my career. A few former managers are still part of my kitchen cabinet today. One mentor, in particular, taught me so much about leadership—especially how to support people through different seasons of their careers. She helped me see possibilities for myself long before I could see them on my own. Watching her do that shaped how I lead today and how I think about developing others on my team.

Seeing people grow over time — and helping them prepare for what’s next — is one of the most fulfilling parts of leadership for me.

NationSwell: Are there any resources you’d recommend — books, podcasts, Ted talks — that have influenced your thinking that might influence others as well?

O’Donovan, Deloitte: I just finished the audiobook of Strong Ground, Brené Brown’s new book, and I found it incredibly insightful — especially in how it talks about leadership, transformation, and what’s actually required of leaders in this moment. I don’t think I’ve fully processed all of it yet, but it’s already prompting me to reflect on where some of my default settings might need an upgrade. It’s the kind of book that stays with you, and I know I’ll be carrying those questions with me as I think about 2026.

For people who want to come into this space, one thing I’ve found to be profoundly important is the combination of two kinds of experience and knowledge. First, deep industry knowledge in the social impact space — really understanding what it takes to create change, which for me and my team has come from decades of working closely with nonprofits, foundations, and communities. And second, a strong understanding of how change actually happens inside a corporate environment.

You need both. If you only have industry knowledge, your options can be limited if you don’t know how to galvanize people and move work forward in your organization. And if you only understand corporate systems without the depth of issue-area knowledge, the impact may not be meaningful. I certainly had to build that second muscle when I came to Deloitte 13 years ago — learning how things get done here to match my external experience.

When you bring those two together, the opportunity set expands exponentially. It’s incredibly energizing, because you start to see what’s actually possible. But it’s also complex work. This space can look appealing from the outside — and it is rewarding — but it requires a lot of reps, learning, and humility. That’s why I often tell junior professionals: go deep on one side first, build real experience, and then start layering in the other. Purpose alone isn’t enough — you need the skills and capabilities to turn it into lasting impact.

Impact Next: An interview with Results for America’s Michele Jolin

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

At a moment of inequality and division, who is advancing the vanguard of economic and social progress to bolster under-served 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 2025, Impact Next — an 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 Michele Jolin, CEO and Co-Founder of Results for America. 

NationSwell: What brought you to the field that you’re in right now? Was there an early moment, a relationship, or an experience that galvanized your commitment to driving bold action?

Michele Jolin, CEO and Co-Founder of Results for America: I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin that was really battered in the 1980s by the decline of manufacturing. A lot of people were losing their jobs, families were out of work — it was a hard time. At the same time, I came from a family of Irish immigrants who deeply loved America, and that shaped me just as much.

There was this incredible optimism in my upbringing about the promise of the American dream. My grandmother met my grandfather on the Fourth of July, married him a year later on the Fourth of July, and even had a ring with a red, white, and blue stone, which I still wear. It sounds a little hokey, but that sense of pride and belief in this country was real and deeply ingrained.

That optimism was paired with a clear-eyed understanding that we could — and should — do better. My mother was always an activist, involved in civil rights and anti-war movements, so there was this constant tension between believing in America’s potential and needing to push America to constantly improve itself to reach its potential, including supporting workers like those in my hometown transition to new jobs. I was growing up in a place where the government wasn’t stepping in the way it needed to — retraining workers, improving education, or creating pathways to new jobs. Seeing that gap early on really shaped how I think about economic mobility and the role systems can play in helping people move forward.

NationSwell: What would you say is the North Star of your current leadership?

Jolin, Results for America: One of our core organizational values is empathy, and that’s very much my North Star. By empathy, I mean truly understanding people’s lived experiences and what motivates them. When you’re trying to drive social change, especially within government, that understanding matters more than anything else. People act for complex reasons, and meaningful change only happens when you design solutions with those realities in mind.

At Results for America, our work is focused on helping government deliver better results and improve economic mobility. We know more than ever about what works — clear pathways that help children born into poverty reach the middle class — yet government hasn’t consistently funded or implemented those solutions. The issue isn’t a lack of intention; most public leaders are deeply mission-driven. It’s the complexity of systems, information overload, and structural barriers that make action difficult.

Our role is to simplify that landscape and remove those barriers. We help governments access proven solutions, learn from peers, and implement change more effectively, then recognize and celebrate progress when it happens. That combination of clarity, peer learning, and recognition is powerful. It reflects our values and how I think about leadership: understand what motivates people, meet them where they are, and create the conditions for sustained impact.

NationSwell: Is there a particular program, signature initiative, or some facet of the work that you would like to spotlight for us that is driving outcomes for the work?

Jolin, Results for America: When we first started Results for America, our focus was at the federal level, shaped by my experience in the Obama administration helping launch the Social Innovation Fund and the White House Office of Social Innovation. The idea was simple: Governments should invest in solutions that work, using evidence and data to guide funding. But when I took that idea to Congress, the response was often resistance. Even though the Social Innovation Fund was small relative to the trillions spent on economic mobility, it was meant to model a better way, and the pushback was deeply frustrating.

That frustration ultimately led me to start Results for America. The goal wasn’t just to fund a program, but to create the conditions where investing in what works became the norm. It’s common sense — and bipartisan — to say government dollars should go toward proven solutions that help kids and families move up. So we set out to remove the barriers that prevented governments from acting that way.

We began at the federal level, then expanded to cities with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies through What Works Cities, and later to states. Across all levels, we focus on the funding lever — budgets, grants, and procurement — because that’s where real change happens. By embedding evidence and outcome requirements into those processes, we help dollars flow to what works. Over time, we also realized governments needed help finding and implementing proven solutions, so we built tools like our Economic Mobility Catalog and Solution Sprints to pair funding with action. That combination — funding, solutions, and peer learning — is what now drives our impact.

NationSwell: What’s defining the current social and economic environment that we’re in — what are the trends that you’re currently seeing, and what’s giving you hope?

Jolin, Results for America: One of the most notable dynamics right now is the renewed focus on government efficiency, effectiveness, and state capacity. This isn’t new or partisan — spending public dollars more effectively has always resonated across red, blue, and purple states — but recent attention, including the DOGE moment, has put a sharper spotlight on the question of how government actually improves performance. Even as that moment fades, the underlying question remains: what truly works to fix government?

We’re part of a broader field tackling that challenge, alongside organizations like Code for America, the Government Performance Lab, and Work for America. What’s exciting is the growing momentum across this ecosystem. Where we play a distinct role is by starting with results and outcomes first, and then working backward to the “plumbing” of government — budgets, grants, procurement, and systems. That results-first approach is critical. Some leaders are motivated by efficiency alone, but many, especially elected officials, are driven by outcomes like cutting child poverty or improving economic mobility. We meet them there and then help translate those goals into smarter funding and proven solutions.

That focus feels especially important at this moment, as local governments face tightening budgets and growing pressure from affordability crises, workforce disruption, and rapid technological change. Resources will be more constrained, not less. Our role is to help governments do better with what they have — to become stronger problem-solvers, more adaptive, and more capable of delivering results despite volatility. The next decade will demand that kind of capacity, and that’s where we’re focused.

NationSwell: What is unique or differentiated about the approach that you’re taking? Can you walk us through what excites you most about the work that you’re leading?

Jolin, Results for America: I think it’s worth reiterating that funding is a powerful lever — something governments can actually shape — but it works best when it’s paired with information about solutions that’s easier to access and stronger support for implementation. That’s something we’ve learned over time through testing and piloting, and our reach is big: we work with 350 local governments, in 48 states, at the federal level, and with both Republicans and Democrats.

Another learning is that partnering with community organizations — especially place-based partnerships — can speed government delivery and results. Over the last five years, we’ve worked much more closely with networks like StriveTogether, the William Julius Wilson Institute, Purpose Built Communities, Partners for Rural Impact, and others. When a community is already aligned around outcomes, it can help drive faster uptake of solutions and faster results for residents. That’s something I see us leaning into even more over the next decade.

One example is in Dallas, where we worked with the city alongside the Commit Partnership (part of the Strive network) and CPAL (Children’s Poverty Action Lab). We identified an agency that funds many of the social service programs tied to key outcomes, but it wasn’t transparent what was being funded or how much of it was evidence-based. So we helped create an inventory of what they’re funding, what has evidence behind it, and where the gaps are — so leaders can make better decisions. We also worked to incorporate language into city processes that encourages funding programs with an evidence base. It’s a two-part approach: transparency about what’s happening, and incentives to fund what works.

NationSwell: Of the socially motivated leaders you consider your peers, who are 2-3 whose work inspired you and whom you hold in high esteem?

Jolin, Results for America: The first is Janet Yellen. I was her chief of staff at the Council of Economic Advisers during the Clinton administration, and I’ve worked closely with her over the years, including helping her stand up the Treasury Department when she became Secretary. She leads with a deep commitment to excellence, rigor, and evidence. The CEA is essentially the White House’s internal think tank, and that experience — grounding policy decisions in what actually works, whether on climate, welfare reform, or economic policy — was incredibly formative for me. She’s also been a pathbreaking woman in a deeply male-dominated field, and her courage, discipline, and integrity have inspired generations of leaders.

Another major influence is Bill Drayton, the founder of Ashoka. After leaving the Clinton administration, I worked there and saw firsthand how he built a global network of social entrepreneurs — people applying entrepreneurial thinking to social problems with extraordinary impact. What struck me was how universal that spirit is: you see it in India, Kenya, Germany, Colombia. Working with Bill helped crystallize the idea that innovation and entrepreneurship are just as powerful in the social sector as they are in the private sector, and that locally rooted solutions can drive change at scale.

The third is Rosanne Haggerty, who leads Community Solutions. Her work on homelessness — especially the concept of “functional zero,” where communities know exactly who is unhoused and can move people quickly into housing — has deeply influenced my thinking. It gets to the root of what results-driven government looks like: building the systems, habits, and problem-solving capacity to respond effectively to whatever challenge comes next. That mindset — helping governments build durable capacity to solve problems again and again — is exactly what excites me about the work we do today.

NationSwell: Are there any resources you’d recommend — books, podcasts, Ted talks — that have influenced your thinking that might influence others as well?

Jolin, Results for America: My go-to podcasts are Masters of Scale and Possible. I love how optimistic they are, and how practical they are about building organizations, shaping culture, and making big things happen at scale. There’s always something in there that sparks a new way of thinking.

Books are a huge part of my life — I read constantly. The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein and The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson were especially formative for me. Both trace how government policies — sometimes intentionally, sometimes not — have created and reinforced racial disparities. They make clear that reducing inequality requires changing the “plumbing” of government: how laws are written, applied, and administered.

Another book that really stayed with me is Evicted by Matthew Desmond. Set in Wisconsin, it powerfully shows how housing policy and government systems leave families — especially children — extraordinarily vulnerable to displacement. That book deeply influenced how I think about fairness in government processes, and it makes me especially proud that Results for America is actively working with governments to adopt solutions that prevent displacement and improve housing stability.

Impact Next: An interview with Tata Consultancy Services’ Lina Klebanov

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

At a moment of inequality and division, who is advancing the vanguard of economic and social progress to bolster under-served 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 2025, Impact Next — an editorial flagship series from NationSwell — is spotlighting 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 Lina Klebanov — Head of Corporate Social Responsibility for Tata Consultancy Services, North America.

Greg Behrman, CEO and founder, NationSwell: Tell us a little bit about your leadership journey — was there an early moment, a relationship, or an experience that galvanized your commitment to driving bold action?

Lina Klebanov, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Tata Consultancy Services: More than any other influence, my career path was inspired by my parents. They immigrated to the U.S. from Ukraine when it was still part of the Soviet Union and left behind everything and everyone, they loved to build a new life in America. Suddenly in a country where they didn’t speak the language or understand the culture, and had few, if any friends, they relied on the kindness of strangers and charitable organizations to get started. Their deep gratitude for their new-immigrant experience became a lifelong family value of giving back, and that spirit of service has always been part of me.

I carried that value and interest into my career planning, always intending to serve, but, when I was young, corporate social responsibility, or CSR, was an occasional activity of some companies. It was neither a defined career path nor a fully integrated strategy for business, so my search led me in other directions.

My original plan was to become a social worker, but, once I started shadowing cases, it occurred to me that I could be even more powerful helping create systemic change around the causes of so much of the personal and family crises I witnessed. That became my goal and, once concepts like corporate citizenship, community engagement and social responsibility emerged in my grad school experience, I saw my path clearly. 

My first real exposure to the power of CSR occurred during grad school. As a student in the NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, I had the opportunity to intern with the Morgan Stanley Foundation. Working in its Community Affairs department, I saw how its efforts bridged business, community impact, and social good. From that moment on, there was no turning back. After a short time working at a nonprofit, I returned to Morgan Stanley and eventually led the company to the launch of its largest global volunteer initiative in the company’s history.

Behrman, NationSwell: What is the “North Star” of your leadership style? What is it about the way that you lead in the space that makes you an effective leader?

Klebanov, TCS: My leadership style is centered on empathy, humility, and a commitment to nurturing my team. It’s important to me to support each member’s potential growth and professional development. I make sure to always prioritize my reports’ well-being and work hard to ensure that, no matter how busy I may get, I am always actively listening and supporting both individual team members and collaborating teams.

I believe that effective leaders serve the needs of others first, but that might also be the mom in me. I do have three children, and I like to think that I separate the family and business nurturing that I do, but, at the end of the day, I’m not entirely sure they’re all that different.

Behrman, NationSwell: Is there a particular program, signature initiative, or some facet of the work that you would like to spotlight for us that is driving outcomes for the work?

Klebanov, TCS: One thing that’s really encouraged me lately is the growing emphasis on collaboration. Across every network and association, we’re part of, people are coming together to tackle big challenges at the local, national, and global levels. It’s been a through-line in our thought-leadership work and in our K–12 STEM programs.

Our Digital Empowers initiative in particular focuses on addressing digital inequity — the root barrier that keeps many people from accessing education, civic engagement, opportunity, and economic mobility. Through TCS Digital Empowers, we’ve built a large, cross-sector network of partners poised to work together to advance opportunities by addressing digital inclusion, STEM education, and workforce preparedness. 

Early on, the bulk of our CSR work centered on raising awareness of the need for high-quality STEM education — back when most people didn’t even know what “STEM” stood for. Over the years, our leadership expanded into include corporate volunteering, diversity and inclusion in leadership, and women’s representation in STEM. We were part of the Million Women Mentors Initiative and have continued evolving as technological transformation accelerates and disparities widen. Today, our focus is on leveling the digital playing field. Through Digital Empowers, we’re bringing together private, public, and nonprofit partners to ask: How can we collaborate to build transformational opportunities for the current and future workforce and for Society, in general? 

On the K–12 education side — which I’m particularly passionate about — the inequities tied to ZIP codes and other social influencers are heartbreaking and still too often overlooked. The pandemic exposed these gaps, but many under-resourced students and schools still haven’t recovered. At TCS, we believe that if you can’t see it, you can’t be it — and you often need to experience it to understand what’s possible. Our two flagship STEM programs give young people a chance to envision themselves in roles they never dreamed of before — as effective problem solvers, STEM prodigies and global changemakers. In those moments, they have the potential to positively impact students’ academic and professional trajectories.

Go Innovate Together, known as goIT, launched in 2009, gives K–12 students hands-on opportunities to consider how technology can solve real-world problems. Supported by former teachers, TCS volunteer mentors, public school systems and more, the program has expanded from its U.S.-based origin to a recognized global initiative that has reached more than 330,000 students and counting, something I am incredibly proud of.

As technology evolved faster than classroom instruction, we launched Ignite My Future, a professional-development program that approaches kids’ technology awareness and skills from another angle. It helps educators integrate computational thinking into core subjects, from math and science to social studies and even PE. Professional development programming for teachers helps them be more effective in teaching computational thinking and Ignite My Future classroom resources bring learning to life in an innovative way. It closes the gap for teachers who might lack access to up-to-date training and resources or those who just want to rise above. 

We intentionally focus on school districts with the greatest need, and weave mentorship into everything we do — it’s our secret sauce. Combined with Digital Empowers, these programs create a holistic, systemic approach to closing the digital gap.

Behrman, NationSwell: Is there a particular facet of the work that you are leading that you think is particularly noteworthy or exemplary?

Klebanov, TCS:  For me, what is exemplary is that, across all of this work, our goal remains the same: helping students — regardless of background or ZIP code — gain the confidence and digital fluency they need to succeed in any career, in any industry, in a world where every company is now, in some way, a tech company. If you’re asking about my favorite things, I have to tell you: it’s the sports connection!

We are constantly looking for creative ways to bring technology to life for students and have found a wonderful and exciting avenue for that through our sports partnerships. As the Title Sponsor of the TCS New York City Marathon and a major partner in Formula E, with Jaguar TCS Racing, we’ve created hands-on experiential moments for students associated with both of these high-visibility sports experiences. 

A few months ago, in Miami, we partnered with a local nonprofit to bring middle school girls to a Formula E race, where they explored the technology—and computational thinking—behind Jaguar TCS Racing. They met an all-women panel of professionals working in the racing world—another field where female representation is limited—and had the chance to interview them and discuss what these role models love about their careers and just what it took to get there. Our GoIT TCS NYC Marathon Student Challenge, another example of how we merge STEM learning with real-world excitement, gave area students a chance to innovate for social good and compete with one another from the Marathon’s Expo pavilion. Winners of the digital innovation competition got to hold the finish line tapes and welcome race winners and finishers to the final steps in their achievement. The excitement of these K-12 students at those moments is palpable and I love being a part of that. 

Behrman, NationSwell: Of the socially motivated leaders you consider your peers, are there any whose work inspires you and whom you hold in high esteem?

Klebanov, TCS: I have so much respect for people in the social sector who do this work every day. They’ve devoted their careers to purpose — not just for the communities they serve, but for their colleagues through employee engagement efforts. And honestly, employee volunteer engagement doesn’t get nearly the attention it deserves. There’s so much pressure in this field to deliver, to maintain integrity, to prioritize quality over quantity. It’s hard work, and so many people do it with such heart.

There are too many leaders, colleagues, and friends I admire to name them all — but as a fun fact, I will just mention that our Tata Group founder, Jamsetji N. Tata, was named Top Philanthropist of the last century, with donations worth $102 billion — ahead of Bill and Melinda Gates and many others!

Behrman, NationSwell: Are there any resources you’d recommend — books, podcasts, Ted talks — that have influenced your thinking that might influence others as well?

Klebanov, TCS: 

Generally, I follow the sources that align with my values, but I also push myself to take in a diverse range of viewpoints. It’s not because I’m uncertain about what I believe in. I’m very grounded in that — but because empathy and humility matter. Trying to understand where others are coming from helps me see the fuller picture, continue learning and navigate this very chaotic world a little more gracefully.

Impact Next: An interview with Wellthy’s Lindsay Jurist-Rosner

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

At a moment of inequality and division, who is advancing the vanguard of economic and social progress to bolster under-served 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 2025, Impact Next — an editorial flagship series from NationSwell — is spotlighting 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 Lindsay Jurist-Rosner, CEO of Wellthy. Here’s what she had to say:

Virginia Tenpenny, Chief Social Impact Officer, NationSwell: Tell us a little bit about what brought you into Wellthy — what galvanized the bold action you’re driving through the company?

Lindsay Jurist-Rosner, CEO, Wellthy: Wellthy was founded in 2014, and the idea came directly from my own caregiving journey with my mom. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when I was a kid — not the more common relapsing-remitting type, but the rarer, progressive form that causes a steady decline in mobility. Over the years, she gradually lost the ability to walk, then to use her arms, though she remained emotionally strong. She was my world, and caring for her shaped who I am.

After college, I moved home to take care of her while working full-time, which eventually led to burnout. When I finally moved out, I continued managing her care from afar, setting up systems, catching last-minute flights, handling the middle-of-the-night emergencies. In her final years, she was in hospice, and she passed away eight years ago.

That experience left me determined to make caregiving easier for other families. I kept thinking, if this was so hard for me — with every possible advantage — how do others do it? I started talking to families and realized how universal the struggle is. The healthcare system does a great job treating medical conditions but offers almost no support for the day-to-day realities of care. Families shoulder 90% of long-term care in this country, often at the expense of their own well-being.

Wellthy was born out of that realization — a desire to build the infrastructure and support I wish my family had. And honestly, that caregiving hasn’t stopped. After my mom passed, I helped care for my grandfather and mother-in-law — both of whom have since passed. I got married, had a child, and now navigate childcare in a blended family. Care is just part of my life from every direction, which keeps me close to our work at Wellthy. I’m not just leading the company — I’m also one of our customers. And living through these different chapters has shown me what so many families experience every day: care rarely fits into neat categories. It spans generations, moments of joy and loss, and every kind of need. That’s why Wellthy has evolved into a true birth-through-bereavement service, because families don’t live in siloes, and their care support shouldn’t either.

Tenpenny, NationSwell: In the 11 years you’ve been at Wellthy, what are some of the bright spots? What’s the moment that you find yourself in right now in terms of the progress that you’ve made and your ambition going forward? 

Jurist-Rosner, Wellthy: I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built — it’s been the most gratifying 11 years. We get to change people’s lives every day. Families tell us we “saved the day,” that their care coordinator was their angel; there’s nothing better than that.

Our original hypothesis was simple: if we could unburden families from the administrative and logistical chaos of caregiving, we could free them up to focus on what really matters: being present with their loved ones. That idea led us to pair every family with a dedicated care coordinator, much like a financial advisor, who helps them navigate complex care decisions. Most of our coordinators are social workers by training — an incredible, underutilized talent pool we’ve been able to elevate and empower.

We use technology to help those care teams work at the top of their degree and deliver a consistent, high-quality experience for families, now on a global scale. Wellthy partners with companies of all sizes that offer our services as an employee benefit, helping their teams balance work and care. We’ve also expanded into backup care and, most recently, acquired Patch — founded by two incredible women — whose team provides on-site and near-site childcare for frontline workforces.

At the end of the day, everything we do comes back to the same question: where are the gaps in care, and how can we step in to solve them?

Tenpenny, NationSwell: This is clearly an ongoing issue and gap in our society — how do you evolve Wellthy in order to make sure you’re meeting the needs on the ground?

Jurist-Rosner, Wellthy: We’re constantly evolving. One of our biggest pushes in the last two years has been building a better backup care program. Traditional providers like Bright Horizons and Care.com have been around for decades, but clients kept telling us they wanted something different. So we built our own from the ground up, including a full fintech system to process payments and an entirely new network of backup care providers offering drop-in care.

Global expansion has been another major focus. Many of our U.S. clients wanted to extend Wealthy’s services to their colleagues abroad, so we went market by market, country by country, studying healthcare, childcare, and eldercare systems to understand where we could add value. In late 2026, we launched with Cisco across 95 countries, building truly global caregiving support.

We’ve also been exploring the intersection of care and climate. When natural disasters strike — including wildfires, floods, hurricanes — we step in to support employees who can’t get to work or safely care for loved ones. After major storms in Houston, for example, we worked with Memorial Hermann Hospital to source generators and provide financial and logistical support for affected staff.

Our latest expansion is through our acquisition of Patch, an incredibly innovative company founded by two women who created on-site and near-site childcare for frontline and in-person workforces. They operate centers in places like UPS sorting facilities, hospital campuses, and manufacturing lines — high-intensity environments where flexible, affordable childcare can literally change lives. I met a worker at one of their sites who, because of a Patch room, was able to keep her job and care for her two-year-old after her husband was incarcerated.

Patch represents the future of childcare: nimble, accessible, and life-changing. Our next big focus is scaling that model: getting more Patch rooms in more places to support more families.

Tenpenny, NationSwell: As you think about the demands that you face as a CEO of this fast-growing company and all the demands outside of the job, how do you take care of yourself and also lead effectively? 

Jurist-Rosner, Wellthy: I don’t know that there’s a silver bullet; every day looks different. I’m actually training for the New York City Marathon right now, which might qualify as either self-care or self-torture, depending on the day. But over time, I’ve found a rhythm that works.

The real key, though, is partnership. My husband and I both have demanding jobs — he’s the CEO of a public company — and we make it work through constant communication and trade-offs. We’re really respectful of each other’s ambitions and commitments. If I have to travel or go to an event, he’ll adjust, and vice versa. We make sure we both get time for self-care, time with our kids, and time to focus on our work.

As for the personal side, I’ve just gotten better about the basics — prioritizing workouts, eating well, drinking less — all the things we all try to do. There’s no magic formula, but I’m always working on doing a little better each day.

Tenpenny, NationSwell: What is the North Star for your leadership style that makes you most effective?

Jurist-Rosner, Wellthy: Honestly, I think I have it easier than a lot of leaders because we’re a mission-driven company. We naturally attract people who are deeply connected to what we do, so the culture and my leadership style evolve pretty organically. I imagine it’s harder in more traditional organizations, where you have to work harder to manufacture that sense of purpose.

Our focus is always on reminding the team of the impact they’re having. The work can be intense, but the outcomes are so real. We make that visible every day — sharing real-time member feedback in Slack, highlighting family testimonials during our monthly “All Hearts” meetings, and playing videos that bring our members’ voices directly to the team. It keeps everyone connected to why we do this work.

At the end of the day, that mission is the fuel. It makes the tough days easier and the culture stronger.

Tenpenny, NationSwell: What are the trends you’re seeing right now that are giving you hope? 

Jurist-Rosner, Wellthy: I feel a lot of hope right now. In the early days of Wellthy, no one was really talking about caregiving — it just wasn’t on the radar. Now, it’s incredible to see how much that’s changed. Companies are thinking holistically about how to support their employees, not just through us but through broader policies, programs, and benefits. We work with dozens of large employers, and it’s inspiring to have a front-row seat to the way they’re building truly people-centered workplaces.

I’ve also been doing work in D.C. with the Bipartisan Policy Center, helping to make recommendations around the federal role in childcare. That’s been energizing, especially seeing recent progress in Congress, like the expansion of tax credits that will make a real difference for families.

It’s also the case that backup care needs a new era, and at Wellthy we see ourselves as part of that shift. So many organizations have had the same backup care benefit in place for years, sometimes decades, and now they’re taking a fresh look. We’re getting the chance to show them a program built for the modern and diverse realities of family life, one that tackles the pain points HR teams have wrestled with for so long. There’s real momentum right now — whether in companies putting their programs back out to bid or simply in the number of HR leaders who want to talk about what it looks like for backup care to truly work for both employees and employers.

And finally, I’m so inspired by what I see on business school campuses. Wellthy is now taught as a case study at Harvard Business School and Stanford GSB, and every time I visit, I’m struck by how aware and motivated these students are. A few years ago, no one even used the term “care economy.” Now, it’s part of the conversation — and students want to invest, build, and innovate in this space. The class at HBS that used to be a small seminar on social entrepreneurship and systems change now fills the largest lecture halls. That level of energy and purpose in the next generation gives me so much hope for what’s ahead.

Tenpenny, NationSwell: As you think about the socially motivated leaders that you consider your peers, are there two or three whose work has really inspired you and who you hold in high esteem? 

Jurist-Rosner, Wellthy: I’m very inspired by my husband. His leadership style is completely different from mine — he’s patient, measured, deliberate, and thoughtful, while I tend to be more reactive. I love learning from him and observing how he leads; he’s an incredible leader and does an amazing job at his company.

Before starting Wellthy, my mentor was Dave Morgan, who led the marketing tech company where I worked. Watching his leadership was hugely motivational. But honestly, I find inspiration everywhere — there are so many people whose approach to leading, thinking, and showing up continues to push me to grow.

Tenpenny, NationSwell: Are there any books, podcasts, or other resources that you’d recommend? What’s been your source of inspiration or influence lately? 

Jurist-Rosner, Wellthy: Right now, I’m listening to David Goggins’ book while training for the marathon — his story is incredible and definitely keeps me motivated during the long runs. I’m also a big fan of the Acquired and Science Vs podcasts; they’re great for learning how companies and leaders got their start and for diving into complex topics in a really engaging way.

Since I’m running so much, I’ve been consuming a lot of content lately. I’m reading Genesis by Henry Kissinger on AI, which has been fascinating, and recently revisited Ezra Klein’s book, Abundance. There’s no shortage of inspiration out there — I’m just trying to take it all in mile by mile.

Impact Next: An interview with PepsiCo Foundation’s C.D. Glin

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

At a moment of turmoil, who is advancing the vanguard of economic and social progress to bolster under-served communities? Whose work is fostering 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 2025, Impact Next — an 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 C.D. Glin, President of the PepsiCo Foundation and Global Head of Social Impact for PepsiCo.

NationSwell: What brought you to the role that you’re in right now? Was there a moment, a relationship, or an experience that galvanized your commitment to driving bold action?

C. D. Glin, President, PepsiCo Foundation: My journey really began in service. My dad spent nearly 30 years in the Air Force, my mom had a degree in social work, and I grew up with five siblings on military bases around the world — England, Italy, the Azores, Portugal. Service to family, community, and country was in our DNA.

The true inflection point for me came as a member of the first group of Peace Corps volunteers in South Africa. This was during the historic Presidency of Nelson Mandela. That experience shaped my worldview, teaching me humility, the power of proximity, and the importance of community-led solutions. Since then, whether in philanthropy, government, or now leading social impact and philanthropy at PepsiCo, I’ve been guided by the belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to thrive and that giving your time, talent, and resources is essential.

Achievement of goals big or small, most often occurs through participation — being a part of the change — through partnership, collaborating with others, and through purpose-driven leadership. These are principles I first learned not in a classroom or from a book, but while living in a South African village as a Peace Corps volunteer nearly 30 years ago.

NationSwell: What makes you a successful impact leader? What approaches, beliefs, and practices would you say are the hallmark of your leadership style?

Glin, PepsiCo Foundation: Looking back on my career, my leadership has evolved from direct service — being on the ground, listening, observing, learning and responding — to focusing on systems change and root-cause solutions. Today, I lead with a mindset of collective action for collective impact, wherein philanthropy, business, policy and community participation are aligned to help drive scalable, sustainable change. My style has become more collaborative, data-informed, and always rooted in empathy, equity and inclusion of those with lived experiences.

For me, empathy plus action is caring, and true caring means putting yourself in someone else’s situation and then doing something about it. That philosophy of “don’t just talk about it, be about it” has been central to how I lead and how I serve. Combined with collaboration and data, it has shaped my ability to contribute to durable, positive, lasting change.

This emphasis on collective impact is also front of mind for our Social Impact team at Pepsico. At this year’s Summit, themed Together and Advance, we released an insights report highlighting models, case studies, and best practices for building stronger partnerships. The field is full of enthusiasm for collaboration, but there’s still a gap between intention and effective execution. Our goal is to equip and inspire others with actionable tools to close that gap and to reinforce the idea that we are stronger together.

NationSwell: Are there any facets of your work or leadership that you feel are particularly differentiated that you’d like to lift up? 

Glin, PepsiCo Foundation: At PepsiCo, we’ve honed in on our approach to social impact. As the largest U.S. food and beverage company, we believe we have a responsibility and an opportunity to help our communities thrive and be a force for good. Our strategy, PepsiCo Positive, positions social impact — the totality of the positive contributions we make with and for people and communities — not as a side initiative but as an enterprise-wide commitment embedded across our brands, supply chains, and global workforce.

Our framework focuses on access and advancement: helping ensure greater access to essentials like food and safe water, and then seeking to leverage that access to catalyze social and economic advancement, creating opportunities for education, jobs and increased income.  As a food and beverage company rooted in agriculture, we’re especially focused on food access solutions and farming. Programs like our Food for Good social enterprise, which sources, packs, and delivers meals to children and families in need after school, on weekends, and during the summer, address hunger locally. Separately, the She Feeds the World program, in partnership with CARE, invests in smallholder farmers who make up the backbone of global food systems. These initiatives allow us to meet people where they are, rather than suggest solutions from afar.

What makes this work powerful is its integration with PepsiCo’s core capabilities: how we grow, source, manufacture, transport, distribute, market and sell food and beverages; how our brands show up in the world; how we engage over 300,000 associates globally; and how we drive supply chain decisions, from regenerative agriculture to diverse sourcing. For me, leading social impact at PepsiCo is both pressure and privilege. The needs of communities where we live, operate and serve are immense, but the opportunity to align business growth with meaningful, scalable change — and to prove that business can be a positive force in creating thriving communities — is what drives me every day.

NationSwell: How are you making sense of this moment — what are the challenges and opportunities you’re seeing?

Glin, PepsiCo Foundation: Right now, I find myself doing a lot more listening. I’m trying to lean into curiosity and appreciative inquiry — being a guide on the side rather than a sage on the stage. The past five years have demanded constant response, whether to the pandemic, economic shocks, or injustice. 

Part of that reflection is recognizing that the challenges we face are deeply interconnected, and fatigue from being “always on” is real. I don’t believe today’s problems can be solved with yesterday’s approaches. We’ve long talked about the importance of local leadership, but now it’s a necessity. Too often, solutions are designed far from the communities they aim to serve. At PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation, we’ve emphasized community-rooted partnerships, and I’m centering my own listening on local voices — whether that’s farmers in Egypt, food-insecure families in the U.S., or communities needing access to safe water in Mexico.

The noise at the top can be distracting. Real impact happens closest to the challenges, so I’m choosing to listen, learn, and to be led by those at the local level. That’s where meaningful change must begin.

NationSwell: Of the socially motivated leaders you consider your peers, who are 2-3 whose work has inspired you and whom you hold in high esteem?

Glin, PepsiCo Foundation: Three leaders come to mind, and the first is Darren Walker. I’ve looked to his example at nearly every stage of my career, from his time at Abyssinian Development Corporation and the Rockefeller Foundation, where I first met him, to his bold, transformational leadership at the Ford Foundation. What I admire most is his unapologetic stance on equity, systems change, and social justice, paired with the humility of leading in service to others. Over the past few years, I’ve also had the opportunity to engage with him in new ways as he served on PepsiCo’s board, bringing a philanthropic mindset that resonates deeply in corporate spaces.

The second is Helene Gayle. Helene’s career spans medicine, global health, development, philanthropy, corporate boards, and most recently higher education leadership. What she embodies for me is multi-disciplinary leadership — the ability to connect gender, health, business, philanthropy, and education in ways that are both rigorous and inclusive. Where Darren’s example has been about passion and boldness, Helene’s has been about perspective and breadth, showing how multiple disciplines can come together in service of lasting change.

And finally, Graham Macmillan, now at the Visa Foundation. Our career paths have overlapped in private philanthropy and corporate social impact, and I admire the thoughtfulness and generosity he brings to this moment. Graham consistently pushes corporate foundations and those who support the sector toward collaboration rather than competition, encouraging leaders and organizations to focus on collective impact. He brings expertise, intellect and humility to every conversation, and his journey has been a personal reminder of what it means to carry your values across institutions while helping the field grow stronger together.

NationSwell: Are there any resources you’d recommend — books, podcasts, Ted talks — that have influenced your thinking that might influence others as well?

Glin, PepsiCo Foundation: Three books come to mind right away. The first is The Alchemist. I don’t think you can reread it enough, especially in moments of transition. For me, it’s a reminder that life is purpose-driven — that even when things feel tough, the universe is conspiring to put me in situations where I can grow and do more. It grounds me whenever I need perspective.

The second is Keith Ferrazzi’s Never Eat Alone. This book reframed my entire approach to relationships. Ferrazzi’s philosophy — that generosity, consistency, and meaningful connection are the true engines of success — has stayed with me.  It taught me that none of us advances alone, that leadership is as much about investing in others as it is about delivering results.  Whenever I get buried in work or am slow to respond, I remind myself of that core truth: relationships require attention, presence, and the humility to let others support you as much as you support them.


And the last one is The Autobiography of Malcolm X. To me, it’s one of the greatest stories of transformation ever told. Malcolm’s journey — from Malcolm Little to Malcolm X to El-Hajj Malik El Shabazz — reveals that reinvention isn’t just possible; it’s essential. His life story shows what it’s like to expand your thinking, deepen your convictions, and evolve your purpose. In my career, I’ve crossed industries, sectors and roles many times, and his story reminds me that what got me here won’t necessarily get me there. Growth demands courage, curiosity, and a willingness to become something new. That’s a lesson I carry with me every day. 

Five Minutes with… Niagara Cares’ Ann Canela

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

For this installment of Five Minutes With, NationSwell sat down with Ann Canela, director of Corporate Giving at Niagara Bottling and head of Niagara Cares, to talk about the new “Love Your Happy Place” campaign — a colorful, citywide initiative encouraging people to show love for the places they call home.

Rooted in behavioral science and built on empathy rather than guilt, the campaign aims to make environmental action feel joyful, personal, and contagious — proving that small, “too-small-to-fail” acts can add up to big community impact.

Here’s what Ann had to say:

NationSwell: What was the inspiration for this kind of community-focused coalition building? What are the main goals of the initiative? 

Ann Canela, head of Niagara Cares: The “Love Your Happy Place” campaign began as a national initiative but drew its real inspiration from local communities. The idea was to spark local “too-small-to-fail” actions — picking up litter, recycling, joining a cleanup — that collectively show love for where we live. Grounded in behavioral science, we studied why recycling rates stagnate, following people in their daily routines to understand their confidence, confusion, and barriers. What we found was that emotion — especially empathy and optimism — moves people more effectively than guilt or logic. This insight shaped a campaign that leaned into joy, play, and gamification in order to motivate environmental action.

Our first pilot in Austin wrapped the city in messages of love — from murals and bus wraps to community events—and boosted recycling confidence and civic pride by double digits. That success has since expanded to San Diego, where coalitions of partners are leading beach cleanups, park recycling competitions, and tree plantings, with activations culminating around Valentine’s Day and Earth Month. The model is spreading rapidly — next stops include Denver, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Oakland — and has already earned Keep America Beautiful’s award for Best Sustainable Communications. It’s a campaign powered by optimism, local pride, and the belief that love, expressed through small daily actions, can create measurable change.

NationSwell: What do you think it is about small coalitions that activates this optimism or civic pride lever in folks’ brains? 

Ann Canela: People see these huge signs that say love and it’s disruptive, it makes you stop and look, but it’s also universal. Love is something everyone understands; to me, it’s the purpose of everything. The challenge with many climate-related campaigns is that we often ask too much of individuals. But when you break it down into small, tangible actions — like picking up a piece of litter on a walk — and remind people that thousands of others are doing the same, the collective impact becomes visible and real.

Those simple acts connect people to a larger purpose. It’s not just about one person recycling or cleaning up; it’s about feeling part of a shared movement that turns small gestures into massive change. There’s a kind of magic in that: When people can see themselves reflected in the solution and recognize that love, expressed through everyday action, truly adds up.

NationSwell: What compelled you to get involved in sustainability in the first place? What galvanized your interest in piloting bold solutions? 

Canela, Niagara Cares: When I joined Niagara, there wasn’t a formal CSR platform, just a family fund rooted in decades of charitable giving. My career throughline has always been strategic philanthropy: using funding in ways that align with a company’s purpose, engage employees, and resonate with consumers. For Niagara, that meant mapping philanthropy to what we make — water — and investing in recycling, water restoration, and disaster relief. Rather than forcing climate work into our business, we’ve focused on making every dollar work smarter, advancing multiple goals at once: driving impact, supporting employee volunteerism, and shifting culture.

As a private, B2B company, we’re not a household name, but our products touch people’s lives daily. That’s why we hold ourselves accountable for every philanthropic investment — we want each dollar to serve both business and community. Beyond funding, we take an active role with grantees: fundraising alongside them, hosting events, and investing deeply in their success. My goal is to help move philanthropy forward — not just by what we fund, but by how we give, ensuring it’s collaborative, strategic, and built for lasting change.

NationSwell: What do you feel is the North Star of your leadership — the principle or ideal you look to in order to be the most effective leader possible? 

Canela, Niagara Cares: I’ve always believed that effective leadership, like strong branding, requires a balance between head and heart. To truly connect with people, you need both strategic clarity and emotional authenticity. I’m not afraid to show emotion; the issues we work on are real and deeply human. My approach is to pair a thoughtful, data-driven strategy with genuine empathy — to be both the mind and the soul of the business. That balance allows me to lead in a way that’s motivational, grounded, and real.

At the same time, none of this work happens alone. Behind every success is a team that inspires me daily, partners who share our vision, and nonprofits doing the hard work on the ground. It’s a collective effort — each part strengthening the other — and I couldn’t be prouder of the people I get to collaborate with. Together, we make each other better and turn strategy into meaningful, lasting impact.

NationSwell: What is exciting you right now? What is the next thing on the horizon that has you really excited? 

Canela, Niagara Cares: What’s exciting is that this is a new strategy for Niagara — we launched it at the start of 2024, so we’re only in our second year. The first year was about benchmarking: understanding what was possible and how to execute it. By year two, we established ambitious KPIs — feeding 150,000 people a month, planting a million trees, and restoring a billion gallons of water over five years. But we’ve already surpassed expectations: 400,000 trees planted this year alone, 70,000 people fed, and water goals we’ll likely reach within 18 months.

Now we’re asking ourselves what’s next — how we can stretch even further and scale our impact. Reevaluating and expanding these goals isn’t just a metric exercise; it’s a reflection of the legacy we want to leave in the world. Seeing how much we can accomplish in such a short time makes me incredibly proud and motivated for what’s ahead.

NationSwell: What, to your mind, is sort of defining the world of philanthropy right now? What are you seeing that is giving you the most hope? 

Canela, Niagara Cares: In corporate philanthropy, the shifting flow of money is redefining everything. Funding models are changing so quickly that many nonprofit leaders are struggling to adapt — but what I find hopeful is how many corporate peers are stepping up to help. Companies are working more closely with partners, offering flexible funding, and showing real empathy for the challenges nonprofits face. I recently joined a roundtable on the state of corporate giving where people were moved to tears — and to me, that emotion reflects deep commitment to sustaining impact in uncertain times.

Even as traditional funding sources dry up, I’m inspired by the innovation happening across the sector. Nonprofits are reorganizing, forming new partnerships, and finding creative ways to stay resilient. We may see more collaboration and consolidation, but not collapse — and that gives me tremendous hope. There’s a shared determination, both in business and philanthropy, to evolve together and continue supporting the work that matters most.

Impact Next: An interview with Partners for Rural Impact’s Dreama Gentry

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

At a moment of inequality and division, who is advancing the vanguard of economic and social progress to bolster under-served 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 2025, Impact Next — an 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 Dreama Gentry, president and CEO of Partners for Rural Impact.

NationSwell: What brought you to the field that you’re in right now? Was there a moment, a relationship, or an experience that galvanized your commitment to driving bold action?

Dreama Gentry, President and CEO, Partners for Rural Impact: I grew up in Appalachian Kentucky and have never wanted to live anywhere else. My home region is too often portrayed through a lens of deficit and stereotypes. What I see are people with deep connections to the land and to family. I see the people and the community and that shaped me and provided me with opportunity. No one in my family had gone to college, and while I grew up in a community that I now realize was poor, I never felt lacking. My Mom and Dad surrounded  me with love and opportunity. 

There are few pivotal folks that come to mind.  The first is Ma, my grandmother. She encouraged me to dream and was always there for me. From the time I was little she would take me to the public library when she was in town visiting her mother who was in a nursing home. The library opened the world to me. I was a voracious reader and I knew from an early age that I wanted to go to college. I planned to be either a teacher or an archaeologist.

Pat Hurt was my guidance counselor. With a caseload of 450 students, she made time to see the quiet girl from the part of the county that many discounted. My junior year, Ms. Hurt encouraged me to apply to the Governor’s Scholars Program and to Upward Bound, both were six-week summer programs on a college campus. Accepted into both, I attended Governor’s Scholars and that experience set me on a path to Berea College — where most students were low-income and first-generation — and then to law school at the University of Kentucky. Practicing law, though, I realized I was not my passion.

Education and connections to caring adults had changed my own trajectory, I returned to Berea College with a vision to raise aspirations and provide pathways to college in my home community. The work I do today started in an office in Rockcastle County High School thirty years ago. I worked alongside the guidance counselors, teachers and parents to build partnerships that encouraged kids and families to see college as an option. With the support of Larry Shinn a forward-thinking college president, I was able to grow that work from a direct service program in a single school to a regional initiative that served 50,000 children and youth across Appalachian Kentucky. In 2022 I created Partners for Rural Impact to create a movement of rural leaders across the nation committed to moving outcomes for rural youth. My team activates resources to support schools and communities, strengthens local capacity to implement what works and amplifies the bright spots in rural America.  My goal is a Nation where demographics do not determine destiny. And my contribution is to ensure that in rural communities there is the capacity to ensure that all rural young folks thrive.

NationSwell: When you look back on the scope of your career thus far, how have your thinking, your leadership style, or your philosophies changed over time?

Gentry, Partners for Rural Impact: My own life has been shaped by summer and out-of-school programs that gave me the chance to step onto a college campus. Coming from a small K–8 school where only six of eighteen classmates graduated high school, the few of us who made it to college all had that program experience in common. So, at first my work focused on creating and scaling strong programs that work across Appalachia — programs like Upward Bound, GEAR UP, Promise Neighborhood and Community Schools.

Over time, I saw that programs are essential and that they alone are not enough. Rural communities need a place-based approach where there is a backbone organization and someone that wakes up every morning thinking about aligning cross-sector partners, using data, and moving outcomes to ensure that every child in the community is getting the supports they need to thrive. It is only through this place based partnership approach that we can break the cycle of generational poverty and ensure all rural students are on a path to success.  

NationSwell: Is there a particular facet of your work, or the field more generally, that you think is not getting enough attention right now?

Gentry, Partners for Rural Impact: Since January, the focus has shifted dramatically. With so many safety nets and federal supports for children and families being dismantled, much of our energy is consumed by trying to slow or halt that erosion. That’s the elephant in the room right now. Before this moment, I might have answered differently, pointing instead to how often rural kids and families are left out of the equation — not by intent, but because decision-makers’ perspectives are shaped by urban and suburban experiences that overlook rural realities.

The challenge of the moment is supporting families and children during this moment. We must strengthen local capacity and support local organizations that are on the ground ensuring that families in rural places still have real paths to upward mobility. We must get serious about addressing poverty in America. I can focus my work on rural communities because I have colleagues leading organizations like StriveTogether, the William Julius Wilson Institute and Purpose Built communities that are primarily focusing on non-rural communities. 

NationSwell: There’s a stubborn narrative that rural communities are all the same, but rural America, like anywhere else, is complex and varied. What do you think people most misunderstand about rural places or the people who identify as rural? How does that misunderstanding impact policy, philanthropy, and the national conversation generally?

Gentry, Partners for Rural Impact: People often assume rural America is monolithic, when it’s as diverse as any city. Just as New Yorkers understand the differences between boroughs and neighborhoods, rural places vary widely in culture, history, and connection to land. That’s why Partners for Rural Impact refuses to define “rural” rigidly—if a community identifies as rural, they are part of the movement. 

Corporate and philanthropic leaders are often guided by policies or practices that limit giving to places where they have employees or where they have a presence. This results in limited giving to rural places. Only seven cents of every philanthropic dollar goes to rural areas—and even less to rural areas with the deepest need. These policies and practices are short sited and not designed for the world where we are now living. We all need this Nation to thrive. Each and every community is part of our ecosystem. What happens in Owsley County Kentucky impacts Washington, DC, New York City and Silicon Valley just as much as what happens there impacts Appalachia, the Delta, and our Native Lands.

NationSwell: Of the socially motivated leaders you consider your peers, are there any whose work has inspired you and whom you hold in high esteem?

Gentry, Partners for Rural Impact: I will focus on four who have supported me as I created Partners for Rural Impact. First, Geoffrey Canada has been a mentor since 2010. The way he created the Harlem Children’s Zone to focus on Harlem and the William Julius Wilson Institute to inform the nation informed Partners for Rural Impact’s structure.  At Partners for Rural Impact we focus intensively on three places — Appalachian Kentucky, East Texas, and Mexico, Missouri — and they are our places of learning that ensure we convene, coach and support rural places across the nation with a proximate lens.

Jim Shelton’s strategic thinking, tenacity, and trust impresses me. We met when Jim was leading a portfolio at the Department of Education that included Promise Neighborhoods. Now at Blue Meridian Partners, he is committed to a nation where all have a path to economic mobility. He invests deeply in the place based partnerships and trusts local leaders to chart their own solutions. Here in Appalachia, Jim King of FAHE showed me the power of a network to unite rural places across Appalachia and his thinking led to Partners for Rural Transformation which unites rural regions of persistent poverty. 

Another pivotal influence has been Jennifer Blatz of StriveTogether. After the 2016 election, most inquiries I received about rural America were focused on “what’s wrong” and “how to fix it.” Jennifer was the only person who asked how we could work together and StriveTogether could better serve rural communities. Her spirit of authentic partnership informed my decision to take Partners for Rural Impact national. Jennifer also shared her connections with philanthropy and took the time to introduce me and the work to others. Jennifer models what it looks like to enter the room with humility and true collaboration, and I try to bring that same approach into every partnership.

NationSwell: What is the North Star of your leadership?

Gentry, Partners for Rural Impact: The North Star of my work in general is creating a nation where all young people have a real path to upward mobility, with my organization focused specifically on ensuring that rural kids and communities aren’t left behind. In thinking about my leadership, I am often asked what my “superpower” is — because we all have superpowers, and I think real progress comes when superpowers are activated.

My superpower is seeing patterns and connections. I can listen across multiple conversations and places, then weave them together into a web of relationships and strategies that solve more than one problem at a time. I thrive when I have put the right people, at the right moment, in the right place, together with the right problem. My ability to connect and align has become my biggest contribution to the work.