Topic: Equity and inclusion

NationSwell op-ed: Predicting the Future of Work

Posted on Jacob Lepiarz and Allie Mahler

We are currently living through one of the most profound shifts in the history of work. As AI, automation, and other emerging technologies redefine jobs, skills, and career pathways wholesale, leaders across sectors are being called to meet these industry-wide undulations head-on and help shape what comes next.

That imperative is at the heart of NationSwell’s new Workforce Innovation Collaborative — a cross-sector effort designed to help leaders explore emerging workforce trends and co-design scalable solutions for a more future-ready and inclusive economy. Through shared learning, strategic dialogue, and collective action, the Collaborative aims to create the kind of trusted space leaders need to navigate uncertainty and create a future-ready workforce where every person has the skills, opportunities, and support to succeed.

To mark the launch of that work, NationSwell invited leaders from the Collaborative to respond to a shared prompt:

Which emerging signals are giving you the most optimism about the future of work right now? And where do you currently see the greatest opportunity to build a system that is more responsive to where work is headed next?

Although their responses reflect different vantage points, they converge around the common belief that the future of work will be shaped by how well leaders connect learning to real opportunity, pair innovation with inclusion, and design workforce systems that can adapt as quickly as the world around them changes.

Prompt: Which emerging signals are giving you the most optimism about the future of work right now? Where do you currently see the greatest opportunity to build a workforce system that is more responsive to where work is headed next?

“We are at an inflection point in the future of work, and I believe the greatest source of optimism and opportunity is in mastering the art and science of building truly responsive workforce systems.

The science is the strategic leveraging of predictive labor market intelligence. By shifting away from reactive measures, we can now leverage data and insights to anticipate skill demands driven by global trends. Our data provides the scientific rigor needed to pinpoint future talent shortages, standardize risk indicators, and replace guesswork with reliable, real-time insights, allowing us to accelerate our workforce investments across the globe.

However, the true opportunity — the art — lies in translating those insights and data into hyper-local execution that allows us to co-create with the communities we work in. This essential human-centered approach ensures our work doesn’t just fill a business gap, but actively builds equitable, transparent systems that deliver a net-positive impact in local communities. We achieve this by cultivating bespoke, long-term partnerships with community leaders, educational institutions, and nonprofits. 

Linking our global data-driven approach to local trust and co-creation is the systemic approach necessary to ensure our interventions foster equity and accessibility, building the sustainable, resilient workforce the future demands.”

— Courtney Williams, Global Workforce Development & Labor Market Intelligence, Google

“Across the Design and Make industries, I’m seeing promising workforce solutions that connect access, applied skills, and real hiring pathways. It’s no longer enough to train people on tools in isolation — what’s emerging now are integrated models that build capability in real workflows, validate those skills through industry recognized credentials, and link learners directly to opportunity. That’s how we ensure both students and experienced professionals can adapt and thrive as technology reshapes the future of work.”

— Kate Buchanan, Workforce Innovation & Investment Lead, Autodesk Foundation

“Right now, what gives me the most optimism about the future of work is the growing consensus that, as AI reshapes roles, human-centric skills — critical thinking, communication, and creativity — matter more, not less. It’s really important that optimism is matched with action in this moment, and through Barclays LifeSkills, our programs are helping people to develop these skills in order to differentiate themselves for current and future roles.

As we look at the workforce development sector, the greatest opportunity is to build a system that keeps pace with change by connecting learning to work earlier and more often, and by updating training as employer needs evolve faster. That means scaling employer-aligned earn-and-learn pathways — apprenticeships, fellowships, internships and project-based work — so learners graduate with an increased level of experience. It also means widening access to growth sectors, including AI-enabled roles and the skilled trades, where we continue to see strong demand. Through Barclays LifeSkills, we’re working across our partnerships to turn demand into clear routes to good jobs.”

— Deborah Goldfarb, Global Head of Citizenship, Barclays

“What gives me optimism is how clearly manufacturing and industrial skills are being redefined as both high-tech and people-driven. Advances in automation, digital tools and connected systems are changing work on the factory floor and at job sites. Realizing the full value of those advances depends on sustained investment in our people through skills-building, learning and clear career pathways. I’m also encouraged by how employers are engaging more intentionally with collaborators beyond their organizations. We’re witnessing stronger coordination among educators, workforce systems and local communities to ensure training keeps pace with technological advancement. This alignment — of innovation, skills and purpose — is a compelling signal that manufacturing can provide meaningful, fulfilling careers in a dynamic industry.

One of the greatest opportunities lies in modernizing workforce systems to evolve alongside the technologies shaping manufacturing. High schools, community colleges and regional training providers are critical anchors in this system, and we need to align more closely and dynamically with them, given that roles and skill requirements are changing faster than traditional training cycles can keep pace.

That means co‑designing training pathways that blend hands‑on experience with digital and technology‑enabled learning. It also means creating opportunities for continuous upskilling throughout a career. When workforce systems are built to adapt — rather than react — they not only prepare people for today’s manufacturing roles, but also for the future. They also help ensure the industry can remain innovative, competitive, and resilient over the long term.”

— Asha Varghese, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Caterpillar Inc. and President of the Caterpillar Foundation

“We are seeing a historic surge in systems readiness work at the local, state, and national levels. Stakeholders in the workforce ecosystem sometimes work in silos, but I’m seeing sustained interest in collaboration, especially across sectors. We are collectively examining what worked in the past to determine what must evolve for the future. 

There’s also growing consensus that career journeys of the future will be less linear. We know upskilling isn’t one-dimensional. It might mean deepening expertise to grow within an existing career trajectory, diversifying skills to transition into an adjacent role, or pivoting into an entirely new profession. A big opportunity right now is to reimagine our support systems to recognize this full spectrum of movement, ensuring that our infrastructure is as flexible as the workers it serves.”

— Diana Fischer, Senior Director, Workday Foundation

Impact Next: An interview with the International Youth Foundation’s Christina Sass

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 2026, 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 Christina Sass, President & CEO of the International Youth Foundation.

Greg Behrman, founder and CEO, 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?

Christina Sass, President & CEO, International Youth Foundation: The short version is that I’m obsessed with youth employment. I genuinely believe it’s one of the most sustainable ways to get and keep people out of poverty. That’s why I focus on jobs for young people — I don’t want them to need things they can’t afford for themselves. When we help young people build skills they can take anywhere, we create change that lasts across generations.

That’s why this is my issue area, and why I tell people all the time: if you have a dollar or an hour to give, give a young person a chance who wouldn’t otherwise get one. Yes, you can do that through a charity like IYF, but honestly, if you have a job to offer in your own organization, that may be the most powerful thing you can do.

The reason this is so deeply personal is that it tracks closely with my father’s story: He immigrated to the U.S. from Germany at 22 with a suitcase and a couple hundred dollars to join his older brother. He was born in 1942, so you can imagine that his childhood was characterized by World War II, a devastated society, a family separated for years. His father was a prisoner of war for the first six years of his life; their family was internally displaced. His brother, my uncle, found a path forward through the brick masons, then volunteered for the U.S. Army as a way to stay in the country. My dad got a chance to build his career by coming over to live with his older brother. They were both hungry for opportunities.

His first job in the U.S. was picking up trash in a park while he barely spoke English. His second was moving boxes in an IBM warehouse — back when IBM was probably building typewriters, long before computers. But my dad was a true lifelong learner. He noticed that the most expensive machine parts were going missing, and he spent all night practicing enough English to ask his boss a question: why not keep the most valuable parts in one place and require people to check them out? His boss said, “Why don’t you build it?” And he did.

My dad retired after 32 years at IBM. Along the way, he kept leaving to get more education, kept pushing for opportunities, and was also lucky enough to have people take a chance on him — on someone who barely spoke English. That changed everything for our family. My dad is the reason my brother and I had the life we had; somebody gave him a chance. He passed away when I was a sophomore in college, and it was devastating for all of us, but his story still looms large for me.

So yes, this work is deeply personal, and it also happens to align with something I genuinely love. I stay so focused on youth employment because I’ve seen what it can unlock: in my own family, in my brother’s life, and in so many other young people’s lives.

I’ve taken multiple swings at the same question: How do we get young people into jobs at scale? Because I think we’ve failed badly at this. Educators say young people are ready for work; employers say they need two to three years of experience. And for the most at-risk young people, that gap is rarely merit-based. We can do so much better at opening doors early — and giving young people the chance to realize their full potential.

Behrman, NationSwell: Tell us a little bit about your current role and how you came to it.

Sass, IYF: International Youth Foundation is currently in its 35th year of operation, and I am the fourth CEO. All of the CEOs are around and super supportive of the work, which is a really cool legacy to have. IYF was founded by Rick Little, who was really ahead of his time in recognizing that young people face a distinct set of challenges in the transition from school to work, especially when there isn’t a clear path into employment.

I came to IYF in 2024, after spending 10 years building Andela, a platform connecting global companies with developer talent, especially in Africa. Bill Reese, IYF’s longtime second CEO, had been a mentor of mine for years, so when he reached out and said, “This is your issue area, would you consider it?”, it was a pretty extraordinary invitation.

What drew me in was the chance to work at a different order of scale. At Andela, we were intentionally building outside the system. At IYF, we’re working inside it — which comes with more constraints, but also a much bigger opportunity to create lasting change.

At its core, IYF focuses on youth economic opportunity, especially through training and job placement. We think broadly about who we serve: young people, of course, but also employers, school system leaders, and the funders who make this work possible. Our programs are strong, our outcomes are strong, and the work now is about growing awareness, expanding our reach, and continuing to evolve to meet young people where they are in a very complicated moment.

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?

Sass, IYF: One great example is a program we run with FedEx in Mexico and Colombia called Jóvenes con Entrega, which roughly translates to “youth who deliver,” both literally and in life.

The idea is simple: we look at where there are real hiring gaps, then work backward with employers to build training directly into the school day. In this case, FedEx had a huge need for entry-level logistics workers, especially as nearshoring accelerated across the region. So we worked directly with their HR and logistics teams to map the skills they needed, build a curriculum around those requirements, connect Fedex mentors to program participants, and integrate into technical high schools. We initially trained teachers ourselves, then transitioned that ownership to the school systems.

Since 2018, that program has served more than 50,000 young people, with job placement rates more than double what they would be otherwise. Nearly half of participants are young women, which is especially meaningful because many were initially being steered toward “safe” roles like secretarial work. We had to make the case that logistics was not only viable, but safe, respected, and far better paying, and once families saw the first graduates succeed, the momentum really took off.

Another example I love is our work with the banking sector in Mexico. For years, you needed a four-year economics degree to become an entry-level bank teller, which made no sense for the role and excluded a huge amount of talent. We worked with banks to rethink the job around skills instead of credentials, and helped create a pathway for technical high school graduates to move directly into those roles. We’re now on our third cohort, and it’s been transformative for the young people involved (and a much better talent match for the banks, too).

Behrman, NationSwell: What is unique or differentiated about the approach that you’re taking? Can you walk us through a couple different facets of the work you’re leading that are particularly exciting to you right now?

Sass, IYF: We work with about 50,000 young people a year in what I’d call a high-touch way, meaning they’re getting the full curriculum in a classroom setting, often through technical high schools or school systems. The number is actually higher if you include lighter-touch engagement, like online learning, but 50,000 is the number we use when we’re talking about deeper transformation.

In 2025, 90% of young people who started an IYF program completed it, and 75% went on to a better economic outcome, whether that was job placement, enrolling in higher education, advancing in their current path, or starting something entrepreneurial. Overall, about 87% are connected to work in some meaningful way: employed, in education that leads to employment, or in training that improves their economic prospects. We also have very high net promoter scores with young people, and our partners tend to stay with us for the long term — on average about seven years, with some partnerships lasting 14 years or more. That matters, because systems change is almost always a multi-year effort.

I think the reason young people rate our programs so highly is simple: we design them with young people, not just for them. That “nothing about us without us” mindset is core to how we work. Our life skills curriculum, Passport to Success, is a great example: it’s active, relevant, and grounded in the real pressures young people are navigating, from anger management to gender norms to workplace expectations. Then we build the technical training on top of that. So the real secret sauce is strong systems-level partnerships combined with program design that is genuinely responsive to young people and accountable to them.

Behrman, NationSwell: Of the socially motivated leaders you consider your peers, are there any whom you hold in particularly high esteem, and how has their approach shaped your own leadership?

Sass, IYF: I think my superpower as a leader is that I’m wired to empower other people. My instinct is not to hold power tightly, it’s to give it away. I’m pretty vulnerable as a leader, and I talk openly about what I’ve learned about myself and how I work. I want to build a true team of rivals: extraordinary people with different strengths, fully unlocked to do their best work.

At the center of my leadership is not power or control, but the opposite: If we’re going to scale, we have to align people around the mission, bring in incredible talent, and then trust them.

That mindset was also shaped by an extraordinary executive coach I’ve worked with since my second year at Andela, Jeff Hunter of Talentism. His core methodology is based on the idea that leaders, particularly founders and entrepreneurs, have to see themselves clearly and design around what they actually are best in class at, and that framework has had a huge impact on me. To use myself as an example, I am a great individual contributor, but I am not a good day-to-day clarity manager. That tells me that I need to hire those people, and they need to manage those facets of the work. So I relentlessly try to see myself clearly and design well around myself, and then I hire people with high mission-alignment in mind. I believe that the best teams out there have a lot of psychological safety, so I try to start with vulnerability, lead with vulnerability, and really mean it when I say that I’m handing the reins over.

Impact Next: An interview with One Mind’s Kathy Pike

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 2026, 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 Kathy Pike, President and CEO of One Mind. Here’s what she had to say:

Ray Hutchison, Vice President of Community Engagement, NationSwell: What brought you to the field that you’re in now? Was there an early moment or a formative experience that helped shape how you arrived at this role, or your leadership?

Dr. Kathy Pike, President and CEO of One Mind: Before I became CEO of One Mind, I spent 35 years as an academic, as a professor at Columbia University in the Department of Psychiatry and the School of Public Health. Academia is a kind of priesthood, and moving from a full-time faculty role into leading a nonprofit is not a transition most academics make. So something had to shift for me, and it really came down to a couple of moments.

About ten years ago, I was invited by a large multinational company in New York to give a talk on mental health and well-being. I went in for an in-person prep meeting, and they told me there was one condition: I couldn’t say “mental health” or “mental illness.” Those terms were considered too alienating, too stigmatizing. They wanted the talk framed entirely around stress, coping, and resilience.

That stayed with me. The discomfort around even naming mental health felt incredibly restrictive, and I remember giving those kinds of talks and feeling like progress was painfully slow.

Then, a few years ago, after COVID, I was invited back to that same company to give a similar talk. When I walked in, there was a large sign on the door that read something like: “Feeling anxious? Depressed? Want to talk? I’m a mental health ambassador.”

That was a crystallizing moment for me. It was clear we had entered a genuinely new era, one where people were paying real attention to mental health and well-being. And with that shift came a huge opportunity to bridge what we know from rigorous science with what is actually happening in workplaces and communities.

I have always been deeply committed to translational science, to the question of how we take what we know and get it into the hands of people who can use it. That moment made it clear to me that the bridge between science and practice needed to be stronger, and that I wanted to lean fully into building it. When the opportunity came to join One Mind, it felt like exactly the right place to focus that work, to help ensure that what reaches people is grounded in strong science and actually makes a difference in their lives.

Hutchison, NationSwell: What is the “North Star” of your leadership style, and how has it changed over time? What is it about the way that you lead in the space that makes you an effective leader?

Pike, OneMind: Early in my leadership career, I was very focused on building a team that could deliver the work with excellence. I approached leadership in a very task-oriented way. When I thought about hiring or bringing people onto a team, it was largely about finding the right people to get the job done.

And that’s still essential. The work does need to get done, and it needs to be done well. But over time, my thinking about leadership has evolved, and I now see leadership as much more about leading with people. It’s about understanding who individuals are so that they can do the work they’re best suited for. The work they approach with energy and passion, and that allows them to operate at their highest level.

So the question becomes: How do you create the right match between the work that needs to be done and the person who’s doing it? Because when someone is working in an area where they feel alive, engaged, and capable of excellence, they’re simply going to do better work. It’s a subtle shift; the goal of delivering the work doesn’t change, but it changes how I think about leadership, especially when something isn’t working. It changes the questions I ask and the adjustments I consider.

More recently, when we think about building teams, I’ve come to see it less like assembling pieces of a pre-made puzzle and more like building with Legos. You may have an idea of what you’re trying to build, but people bring different strengths and perspectives, and the organization becomes stronger when you build around those differences. When people feel fulfilled and are working in areas they care about and feel strong in, the quality of the work improves as well.

Hutchison, NationSwell: What are some of the programs, signature initiatives, or some facets of the work that you’re doing at One Mind that feel particularly cut-through?

Pike, OneMind: I knew I wanted to lead an organization focused on translating science into practice, and One Mind felt like the right fit for a couple of reasons. For one thing, there’s a deep commitment to grounding the organization in science, which aligns closely with how I believe the mental health field needs to move forward. But there’s also a more personal reason: My paternal uncle was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was around 20 years old, before I was born. As a child, I used to visit him with my father on Sundays at Rockland State Psychiatric Hospital, where he lived as a ward of the state for most of his adult life. But more than living there, he languished there. It wasn’t because people didn’t care. There were many deeply committed professionals working at the hospital, but the treatments and the understanding of serious mental illness at the time were very limited. I remember riding home after those visits thinking, we have to be able to do better than this. I’m sure that experience shaped my path toward becoming a clinical psychologist, and ultimately joining One Mind.

One Mind was founded by Shari and Garen Staglin after their son, Brandon, was diagnosed with schizophrenia. In contrast to my uncle’s experience, Brandon is thriving today. He serves as our Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer, and the opportunity to work alongside him was an important part of my decision to join the organization. In a certain poetic way, it feels like being able to say, we’re doing better now, Uncle Henry. 

Of course, a diagnosis like schizophrenia is not unlike other serious health conditions where you can do everything right and still face difficult outcomes, but we can do far more now than we once could to help people thrive. One Mind’s commitment to integrating people with lived experience in all our programming under Brandon’s leadership, is enormously valuable and meaningful and ensures that the priorities and perspectives of those we aim to serve shape what we do.

What excites me every day is the way our work pushes the field forward across three core pillars: The One Mind Rising Star Academy supports researchers pursuing bold, breakthrough ideas in neuroscience to better understand the brain and develop new interventions; the One Mind Accelerator brings investment, technology, and innovation into mental health to build scalable, sustainable solutions; and One Mind at Work takes those insights into workplaces, helping organizations rethink how work itself supports mental health and well-being.

Across all three, the goal is the same: to demonstrate that better is possible, and to help make that future real.

Hutchison, NationSwell: What are the trends that you’re currently seeing that are giving you hope?

Pike, One Mind: Mental health is definitely having a moment. For a long time, nobody wanted to talk about it. Now everyone does. The advances in science and technology, the innovation, and the level of investment coming into this space fill me with genuine hope and make me deeply optimistic about what lies ahead.

But I’ll be honest about what keeps me up at night. All of this attention may not translate into real impact. There’s a real risk that good intentions don’t actually achieve their aims, and if that happens, the naysayers will say: we invested in mental health, we funded research, we built workplace programs, and nothing changed. They’ll throw up their hands and walk away. That concerns me deeply, because I believe we have a genuine opportunity right now, and I don’t want to see us squander it.

Here’s the challenge: too much of the work in mental health is underdosed. Think about strep throat. A doctor prescribes a very specific antibiotic at a very specific dose for a very specific number of days, because that is what produces results. In mental health, we have evidence-based strategies that similarly require a certain level of frequency and intensity to work. But too often we are asked to make do with less. It’s like telling a doctor to cut the prescription in half and then wondering why the patient isn’t getting better.

At One Mind, we think about this constantly. Good intentions are not enough. We are committed to translating science into programs that are designed and scaled for real impact.

And here is what I keep coming back to: we are living in a moment of extraordinary possibility. The science is stronger than it has ever been. The cultural openness is wider than it has ever been. The investment is growing. If we do this right, if we stay grounded in evidence and committed to reaching the people who need it most, I believe mental health will lead the way to a broader and more expansive understanding of what it means to be healthy. Not just mentally healthy, but fully, wholly healthy. That future is within reach, and that is what drives me every single day.

Hutchison, NationSwell: How are you thinking about AI in this moment? Is there a future where it’s a force for good? And if so, what does that look like? How do we get there?

Pike, One Mind: It’s not a future where AI becomes a force for good; it’s already here. AI is power, and it is potential. In many ways, it’s like water or money: what matters is how you use it.

In mental health and well-being, AI offers tremendous opportunity. Population-level data show that the burden of untreated mental health conditions is enormous, one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. And the vast majority of people with these conditions, whether in high-income countries like the United States or in lower-income countries and communities in the US, are not receiving treatment.

There are many reasons for that. Stigma remains a barrier, access to care is limited, and AI can help address both. It can expand access to information and support in ways that feel more private for people who are hesitant to seek care openly; it can help standardize aspects of care and reduce administrative burdens, like documentation and record-keeping, that take time away from clinicians. In those ways, AI has the potential to dramatically increase access and improve how mental health care is delivered.

But there is also real risk. We’ve already seen cases where people turn to tools like ChatGPT or other AI systems for mental health support, even though those systems aren’t trained to manage clinical risk. There have been tragic outcomes, which underscores how important it is to approach this thoughtfully.

We are addressing the issue of AI and mental health across all our programs. What is ethical use of AI for our One Mind Rising Star Award researchers? How can we responsibly support companies that are creating AI-enabled interventions in our One Mind Accelerator? How do we bring best practices to this new world of work for the companies we work with through One Mind at Work. Workplaces are all grappling with what AI means for their industries and their workforces. Jobs will change. Some roles may disappear, and new ones will emerge. All of us will be working differently in the years ahead.

So from my perspective, AI brings enormous opportunity and enormous risk. Our future will be shaped by the choices we make now. We need to be intentional about building AI in ways that advance our shared aspirations: improving the human condition and strengthening people’s health and well-being. And if we see risks emerging, we have a responsibility to act in ways that reduce harm and optimize good outcomes.

When there is choice, there is risk. But there is also the possibility of getting it right.

Hutchison, NationSwell: What are some peer leaders out there that you admire, particularly leaders in roles at other organizations, or companies, or nonprofits whose work you hold in high esteem? Is there anybody else out there that we should be pointing a finger in the direction of as another great example of a human being or an organization?

Pike, OneMind:  One organization that serves as a North Star for me is the Kennedy Forum, founded by Patrick J. Kennedy. I believe Patrick is the most important and effective national spokesperson on mental health today when it comes to advocacy, parity, and advancing solutions that matter for society as a whole. The organization’s CEO, Rebecca Bagley, is also an incredibly thoughtful, strategic, and compassionate leader who is helping carry that mission forward.

Patrick’s leadership was especially top of mind for me recently. This past Monday, he convened a major gathering at the National Press Club that brought together mental health leaders and policymakers. The event opened with an interview featuring his cousin, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Patrick and Secretary Kennedy have very little in common politically, and Patrick acknowledged that directly. As he closed his opening remarks, he said many people were probably wondering how he could stand on that stage and introduce someone whose political views he often disagrees with. But he explained that he was there because the Secretary will help shape the national agenda on mental health and addiction. And those issues matter to everyone. Patrick spoke about how both of them understand, through their own family experiences, what mental illness and addiction can do to individuals and families. He said, essentially, that they may sit in different political camps, but on this issue they share a mission.

For me, that moment captured something powerful. Patrick doesn’t just say that mental health is bipartisan, he treats it as a universal issue and leads accordingly. He’s willing to partner with people he may disagree with in other arenas because the mission matters more. One of my mentors used to say, “Keep your eye on the prize.” That’s exactly what Patrick is doing.

Because of that leadership, he and Rebecca and their team have helped drive real progress, including the Action for Progress on Mental Health and Substance Use — a framework that, if fully implemented, could have tremendous benefits for people across the country. I have enormous respect and admiration for Patrick’s ability to lead with that kind of focus and commitment.

Hutchison, NationSwell: What is the North Star of your leadership?

Pike, OneMind: I think about the North Star of my leadership as a three-legged stool of values: dignity, purpose, and joy.

As I make decisions about where to spend my energy, whether in my leadership, my social life, or my philanthropic work, those three values are the ones that guide me. I want to feel a sense of dignity, purpose, and joy in the way I engage in the world. If something lacks those things, if it doesn’t feel purposeful, if it doesn’t bring joy, or if there’s an indignity in it for myself or for others, then I know it’s not where I belong.

We live in a world with a frenetic energy that can pull people away from what they care about most. It’s easy to become disconnected, to drift from your center without even noticing it’s happened. But when we are intentional about keeping our values close, we actually have tremendous power to shape the world around us. It shows up in the decisions we make every single day, the small ones as much as the large ones.

So for me, dignity, purpose, and joy are not abstract ideals. They are the stars I use to navigate my leadership and to choose the work that is worthy of my time and energy.

Beyond the Map: Rethinking How We Invest in Rural Communities

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

Rural communities across the U.S. are too often framed by what they lack rather than in terms of the deep assets, leadership, and innovation they already hold. They also face persistent gaps in philanthropic investment, infrastructure, and long-term capital, even as they are critical to the nation’s economic, cultural, and civic future

During a March 19 virtual Leader Roundtable, NationSwell, the Walton Family Foundation, the Delta Philanthropy Forum, and a great group of cross-sector leaders gathered to explore what effective, community-centered rural investment actually looks like in practice. Drawing on insights from the Mississippi-Arkansas Delta — a region that reflects both the challenges and the promise of rural America — the conversation highlighted how place-based strategies rooted in trust, listening, and long-term commitment can unlock opportunity.

Some of the most salient takeaways from the discussion appear below:

Key takeaways:

Rural isn’t just a geography, it’s a cultural context. Rural communities are often discussed as sparse populations or hard-to-reach places, but in practice they function as distinct cultural ecosystems with their own histories, norms, and relationship structures. That shift in framing matters: Once rural is understood as a culture and context rather than a category, the equity implications become harder to ignore.

Let the people closest to the challenge shape the solution. Across the conversation, one principle kept resurfacing: the most durable ideas tend to come from the people already living and working in the place. Funders can play an important and catalytic role, but the work is strongest when capital flows from local wisdom rather than overriding it. Experimentation matters — but it matters most when communities help define what success looks like.

Redefine scale in percentage points, not raw volume. Traditional philanthropic metrics tend to privilege large urban markets because outputs are easier to maximize there, but in rural communities, impact often shows up more meaningfully as share of need met, not total number served. A smaller absolute number can represent a far deeper level of transformation.

Partner with rural communities as “test kitchens”, but also fund them beyond the pilot. Rural places can serve as ideal proving grounds for innovation because interventions can be tested at smaller scale, with lower upfront capital and clearer community feedback loops. But too often, philanthropy treats rural communities as places to experiment on rather than places to invest with. If a model works in a rural context, it may be more transferable than assumed — but only if funders stay long enough to support sustainability.

Invest in ecosystems rather than isolated projects. In rural regions, no single town or institution exists in a vacuum. What happens in one community often creates ripple effects across neighboring towns and regional networks, meaning that effective place-based investment requires thinking beyond individual grants or municipalities and designing for coordination across a broader ecosystem.

Pair data with lived experience to understand what a region actually needs. Quantitative indicators can identify where opportunity gaps exist, but can’t fully explain how those gaps are experienced on the ground. Stronger investment decisions emerge when funders use data as a starting point, then pressure-test it through direct conversation with local residents, practitioners, and community leaders. In rural communities especially, context is often the difference between a good strategy and a misfire.

Remove match requirements and other structural barriers that quietly exclude rural communities. Many rural and rural BIPOC communities are shut out not because they lack ideas or leadership, but because they lack the upfront capital required to meet standard philanthropic or public-sector thresholds. One-to-one matches often reproduce inequity under the guise of rigor; if funders want different outcomes, they need to revisit the rules that determine who can even get in the door.

Make communities of choice, not just communities of need. The goal is not simply to mitigate decline or address deprivation, but to build places where people want to stay, return, and invest their lives. That means activating local assets — including culture, recreation, history, civic pride, etc. — alongside economic fundamentals. Place-based investment becomes more durable when it supports belonging and aspiration, not just service delivery.

Rural communities of color sit at the sharpest edge of underinvestment. The most severe inequities often emerge where rural geography and race intersect. Rural Black communities, tribal communities, and colonias are places where the funding gap is especially stark, despite persistent poverty and strong local leadership. Any serious conversation about equitable place-based investment must confront that layered exclusion directly.

A Better Marketplace: Aligning Workforce Supply and Demand 

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

Despite historic investments in workforce development, America’s talent marketplace remains deeply fragmented – employers can’t find the skilled workers they need, while millions of workers remain underemployed or left out of opportunity altogether.

During a NationSwell roundtable on February 10, leaders from business, philanthropy, education, and policy came together to explore how we can better align the disparate pieces of the workforce ecosystem. Below are a few of the models that surfaced that are bridging the gap between training supply and employer demand, and driving real results for workers, businesses, and communities alike.

Key Takeaways:

Design workforce strategies for non-linear career journeys. Real-world careers rarely follow a straight path from education to employment. Adults cycle through transitions – career changes, skill updates, pauses, and reinvention. Yet, many workforce systems remain built on linear assumptions (train → place → exit) and risk excluding the learners they aim to serve.

The opportunity:

  • Design pathways that anticipate re-entry and reinvention
  • Normalize career cycling
  • Build systems that assume movement, not permanence

Extend support beyond initial job placement to enable sustained economic mobility. Entry into a role is only one milestone. Workers often stall after landing their first opportunity. The true test of alignment isn’t placement – it’s progression. Continued upskilling, advancement pathways, and alumni engagement are important to achieving long-term economic mobility. We need to be asking if workers are building durable mobility over time.

Sustained mobility requires:

  • Continued upskilling
  • Advancement pathways
  • Alumni engagement
  • Financial capability support
  • Clear progression toward a thriving wage (not just a living wage)

Close the communication gap between skills and courses. There is a fundamental disconnect between how employers articulate needs (skills, competencies, capabilities) and how education systems structure offerings (courses, credits, seat time). Translating between these frameworks, and moving toward skills-based validation, remains a critical alignment challenge. Research from WGU highlighted that employers struggle to evaluate skill sets beyond resumes. Employers prioritize critical thinking, adaptability, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence – but struggle to see those signals clearly. Translating between these frameworks – and moving toward credible, skills-based validation remains a central alignment challenge. 

Anchor curriculum development in employer-identified skill gaps. Effective training models are co-designed with employers, focusing on what companies are hiring for now and where talent shortages persist. Demand-driven alignment strengthens both learner outcomes and employer confidence in training pipelines. Hands-on training models reinforce the importance of foundational technical competency alongside durable human skills.

Build post-graduation ‘captive ecosystems’ that promote talent portability. In K-12 education, we have a captive ecosystem: learners are enrolled, connected to infrastructure, supported by shared tools, and guided through a structured progression. That system – while imperfect – creates continuity, accountability, and exposure to skill-building environments. After graduation, that ecosystem dissolves. For many workers – especially those who are low-income, career-changing, or not attached to a large employer – there is no comparable structure guiding ongoing development, skill validation, or mobility. Navigation becomes fragmented and self-directed in a system that is complex and rapidly evolving. 

The opportunity is to intentionally design post-secondary and workforce ecosystems that replicate the strengths of captive ecosystems: continuity of support, access to shared infrastructure and tools, structured exposure to experiential learning, ongoing skill validation, real-time labor market insight, and clear progression pathways.

Embed experiential learning as a core signal of readiness. Experience is increasingly the differentiator. Learners must be able to demonstrate capabilities in addition to acquiring knowledge. Simulations, project-based learning, real-world datasets, internships, and apprenticeships were framed as essential mechanisms for building confidence, validating skills, and meeting employer expectations for experience. Experiential learning lowers risk for employers, provides tangible evidence of capability, builds durable skills in real contexts, and supports transferable skill translation (especially for veterans or career changers).

Adapt to how AI is reshaping hiring patterns and skill expectations. AI is not eliminating talent demand – but it is reshaping it. Employer data indicates a shift toward mid-level talent, reduced entry-level hiring in certain sectors, and increased emphasis on AI fluency alongside durable human skills. This evolution heightens the importance of adaptable credentialing and experience-building pathways. Lagging data – often 12 months behind labor market realities, also limits responsiveness. Real-time data systems and better cross-platform integration are critical to staying aligned with demand.

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.