Tag: Impact Next

Impact Next: An interview with Wells Fargo Foundation’s Darlene Goins

Posted on by NationSwell Team

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

For this installment, NationSwell interviewed Darlene Goins, President of the Wells Fargo Foundation.

Greg Behrman, CEO and founder, NationSwell: What brought you to this field? Was there a moment in your life that galvanized your commitment to driving bold action in the impact space?

Darlene Goins, President, Wells Fargo Foundation: I grew up the daughter of a minister and seeing the service to others and community that my father provided instilled in me a need to provide service to others. As I entered my adult life and career, I became fascinated by the idea of decision analysis — making decisions through data. When I was in graduate school, and then later when I was at FICO, I realized there was a ton of consumer confusion around credit scores. I knew I wanted to help demystify credit scores for people and provide financial education with it — to help people improve their scores and chart the path forward — so I created a program that allowed financial institutions to share FICO scores for free. Seeing the impact that program had unlocked passion in me to do more, beyond the credit space. I came to Wells Fargo excited to scale relationships that can be used to further financial capability, and to create lasting community impact on the lives of underserved, underestimated families and businesses. 

Behrman, NationSwell: As a leader in the space, how are you sense-making when it comes to this moment, and how are you thinking about the unique opportunities and challenges inherent to it?

Goins, Wells Fargo Foundation: It’s clear that we’ve made meaningful progress, but we still have a long way to go. We are seeing that some of society’s toughest problems are still widely prevalent — the housing crisis, an unmanageable cost of living, the difficulties so many people face in getting ahead. But at the same time, I’m encouraged by the collective effort I’m seeing from so many organizations to drive change and move us in the right direction. That’s one of the reasons I feel so blessed to be in this role, to have the ability to leverage philanthropy as a catalyst and test new and innovative ideas at scale. 

Behrman, NationSwell: Are there any trends we’re seeing in the current moment that make you feel particularly optimistic?

Goins, Wells Fargo Foundation: From a philanthropy perspective, one of the changes I’ve seen over the course of the last nine years has been the general attitude shift I’ve seen around really integrating a community’s lived experience and wisdom into investment decisions. Historically speaking, the traditionally held attitude of philanthropy was that you could come into communities and you automatically knew what would work best. These days, I’m seeking more of an orientation toward community co-design — leveraging the experience of the people you’re trying to help. This trend around community-led design gives me real optimism for the future. 

Behrman, NationSwell: What are two or three facets of the work you are leading that you think are particularly special or differentiated in the field — what feels important to lift up?

Goins, Wells Fargo Foundation: One of the things I really like to think about is how we can leverage the full breadth of our resources. As a financial institution, Wells Fargo Foundation has four primary funding priorities: affordable housing, sustainability, small business growth, and financial health. Bringing the full resources of the bank to bear is critical to the work of strengthening marginalized communities, and that intentional approach allows us to go deeper on societal issues.

One example of this multi-pronged approach can be found in Minneapolis, where we invested in the development of a mixed-use, multi-income housing development in the commercial corridor that was destroyed in wake of George Floyd’s murder. After a period of intentional and highly engaged community outreach, the finished development will feature 100 new affordable housing units, a Wells Fargo branch, and a community meeting space — the combination of commercial and corporate properties that can create a lasting impact.

I’m also very proud of the work we’re doing in the small business growth space, particularly with the Open for Business Fund. When the pandemic hit, our CEO decided to take the gross processing fees the government issued for administering the PPP loans — equivalent to around $420 million — and put that back into a fund to deliver urgent capital and expertise to racially and ethnically diverse small business owners. Fast forward four years, and we’ve been able to serve 336,000 small businesses, which has helped to generate or preserve more than 461,000 jobs. 

Behrman, NationSwell: What are some of the resources that have really inspired you as a leader? 

Goins, Wells Fargo Foundation: One resource that’s really helped shape my thinking on how to position the work is an article that McKinsey published on the business case for financial inclusion, which looked at Black and white Americans and access to financial products and the racial wealth gap. It concluded that if Black Americans had the same access to financial services that white Americans have, companies could realize up to $60 billion in additional revenue each year. That is something I’ve really come back to over and over again, and it has helped me with positioning this work on numerous occasions.

As a leader, I also love the book More than Ready by Cecilia Muñoz. I have dealt with imposter syndrome in the past, and her book helped me to recognize that I am ready for the seat that I occupy. It’s also been helpful in providing strategies for dealing with microaggressions and unconscious bias, and just generally reminding me that I’m not alone in this work.

There’s a quote I come back to often: “Never accept criticism from someone from whom you wouldn’t seek advice.” I think that pretty much speaks for itself.

Impact Next: An interview with Kyndryl’s Pam Hacker

Posted on by NationSwell Team

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

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

For this installment, NationSwell interviewed Pam Hacker, Vice President of Social Impact at Kyndryl.

AiLun Ku, Senior Strategic Advisor, NationSwell: What brought you to this field? Was there a moment in your life that galvanized your commitment to driving bold action on social and economic progress?

Pam Hacker, Vice President of Social Impact at Kyndryl: I think I was born to do good in the world. I remember volunteering at the local hospital as a kid, and teaching theater to kids with special needs — I always had this passion for giving back. 

I was lucky enough to land in the PR department at Sesame Street’s nonprofit, Sesame Workshop, and I knew right away that I had found my people (and my Muppets). Slowly but surely, I found myself leading our outreach efforts — everything from creating resources for how to talk to kids about an incarcerated parent to eating healthy on a budget. Throughout it all, the essence of the work was about giving back to under-resourced communities. 

From there I was able to make a very organic transition to HBO, where I used my skills as a communicator and a storyteller to help build out their social impact work. I loved that era, and I loved creating resources and PSAs to help communities — everything from how to get access and talk about the vaccine, to Black Lives Matter, to Stop Asian Hate, and more.

Just as I was starting to ask myself what was next, a recruiter found me on LinkedIn and told me about Kyndryl. Over a year in, it has been the most incredible experience for me. I’m learning more about the space and how we can use tech for good, and how we can better allow our 80,000 employees to take time off to volunteer in the communities where we live and operate. 

Ku, NationSwell: How are you making sense of the current trends we’re seeing in social impact? What are you concerned about, what are you optimistic about, and what should we be paying more attention to?

Hacker, Kyndryl: Honestly, I’m a huge optimist — I always see hope in any scenario, in any community, in any issue we’re tackling, in any theme. If there’s one thing that still ails me, it’s the fact that diversity, equity, and inclusion is still something that we have to even have these conversations around, that there is still so much work to be done in terms of ensuring that all people have a seat at the table.

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

Hacker, Kyndryl: I’m continuing to grow as a leader. At Kyndryl, being a global organization, this is the biggest team that I’ve led. But even when I’ve had small teams, I am a people centric leader.The work is as important, I should say, but I go back to the people. I care deeply about the next generation of humans and I care deeply about people having the opportunity to grow at a company and stay on their journey. Nothing makes me happier than mentoring people inside and outside of my team. I lead with my heart. 

Ku, NationSwell: Is there any particular initiative at Kyndryl you want to highlight that really kind of brings into focus your unique brand of leadership and what’s coming ahead in the work that you’re doing?

Hacker, Kyndryl: The beauty of a global company is that there’s so much happening on the ground that sometimes it’s hard to keep up. We are just in our first year of foundation grants, and we’ve given 11 of those grants out in seven different countries. We’re about to meet with our board and talk about the next round, so to be part of building something because the company is so young, that is something I’m grateful to be able to do.

I really see and feel the pride in working at Kyndryl: Employees wear our colors, they wear the logo — there’s a sense of pride, and it’s so exciting to have the platform to show that pride and to help build it. We’re building the culture, we’re transforming as we’re here, and you truly see them care about the people. 

Ku, NationSwell: It’s clear that you bring a very values-centered approach to leadership. How do some of those values show up — what’s the North Star of your leadership?

Hacker, Kyndryl:  Honestly, it’s people. When you have great people on your team, you end up doing great work together, and I got really lucky with the team I’ve gotten to work with. Kyndryl attracts really great people in general — smart, high performers, creative, strategic individuals. I don’t think I’ve ever worked harder in my life, and yet I simultaneously feel myself stretching and learning and growing almost every day because the work is so inspiring.

Ku, NationSwell: What does winning in social impact look like to you?

Hacker, Kyndryl: I think the more lives we could impact and change, that’s winning, right? And there’s small wins, right? For every student that walks into our office who’s never been in an office before, that’s a win for me. For being able to train almost 50,000 women in India around cybersecurity, that’s a win. And on a larger scale, being so young as a company, there’s so much opportunity to grow, to impact more. 

As the brand grows, we’re part of that brand growth. Social impact is embedded into the DNA of the company. It’s not something that is an afterthought. It’s really built from the ground up.

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

Hacker, Kyndryl:  My relationships in the impact space are my best resources. Whether it’s other colleagues, friends, a mentor — impact leaders want each other to succeed. My peers in this space are my go-to, and it’s so comforting to know that I have experts or advisors that I could call about any issue throughout the years, no matter where I’ve been in my career.

Ku, NationSwell: Do you have any words of wisdom to share with those working in the social impact space?

Hacker, Kyndryl: For newcomers to the work, I say often that if you are at a company that you’re happy at, start a social impact team there. One of my old bosses at Sesame Street always used to say, “change is good,” and that’s been true for me — it was good for me to leave Sesame and go to HBO, and it was even better for me to leave HBO and come to Kyndryl. So I’d say the same to a more seasoned professional, or anyone experiencing a moment of uncertainty, that I would to anyone just starting out: Change is good.

Impact Next: An interview with New York Life Foundation’s Heather Nesle

Posted on by NationSwell Team

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Impact Next: An interview with LinkedIn’s Meg Garlinghouse

Posted on by NationSwell Team

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

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

For this installment, NationSwell interviewed Meg Garlinghouse, Vice President of Social Impact at LinkedIn.

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

Meg Garlinghouse, Vice President of Social Impact, LinkedIn: I grew up in Topeka, Kansas, in a very middle class community. I went to an average public high school, where it was very uncommon for kids to go to college out of state, but my parents were adamant that we did. They had the resources and the determination to make that happen — they drove me to Kansas City to take the SAT and they took me out of state for college visits. Their guidance and support every step of the way helped me to excel in high school and get into college.

I’ve always been hyper aware of this privilege and believe I’m ultimately a product of my circumstance because of the family I was born into. This belief and experience has fueled my motivation to help enable social and economic mobility for others.

Behrman, NationSwell: Looking back at the scope of your career, how have your thinking, your strategies, your leadership style, or your philosophies evolved over time?

Garlinghouse, LinkedIn: One of the ways my impact philosophy has evolved over the years is focusing our vision and strategy much more “up river”. This means broadening our focus to address the root causes of social issues in addition to the symptoms, and we have several initiatives underway at LinkedIn to move this work forward.  

First, we work closely with our data scientists and engineers to ensure that the technology powering our platform and products is inclusive of all members of the global workforce. Second, thanks to one of my team members, Kavell Brown, we kicked off the LinkedIn Social Impact Global Root Causes Fund, which we started in Brazil and are expanding to other countries. The Fund focuses on root causes of inequality and includes a participatory process for grant-making that supports the organizations doing the direct service work.

Today my greatest conviction is making sure that LinkedIn is truly a place for everyone to find opportunity, connect with new people with diverse perspectives and learn the skills they need to be successful in the evolving workplaces. We have a responsibility to ensure that this new world of work, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), is truly building a better world of work for everyone.  

Behrman, NationSwell: Which trends define the current societal and economic moment? Which fill you with optimism, which ones give you pause, and which aren’t getting enough attention?

Garlinghouse, LinkedIn: I think networks are overlooked as critical pillars of economic mobility. Networks are much more than how you get a job — they often determine whether or not you even know that there is a job available in the first place.

We can build a more equitable labor market based on skills. It’s equally important, though, to consider the critical role networks play and apply them in a way that unlocks their value — ensuring that they serve as avenues to connect people to other perspectives, individuals, and experiences.

One way we do this at LinkedIn is through our signature social impact program, LinkedIn Coaches, where LinkedIn employees connect with professionals overcoming barriers to review best practices for LinkedIn profiles, learn how to network and practice interviews, either in 1:1 sessions or group settings. This program helps to build networks through career conversations with mentors and LinkedIn platform training, and it ends up being really impactful — not just for the jobseekers, but also for employees to learn and get a sense of what job seekers are actually facing. We also encourage members to reach outside of their networks with LinkedIn’s Plus One Pledge to help level the playing field and close the network gap.

Finally, when we’re looking at access to economic opportunity, a conversation that’s now more urgent than ever is the one happening around generative AI. Innovation is happening so quickly, and I’m spending a lot of time thinking about how we are meeting this pace of change. It’s important to have strong data foundations so we can measure as we go and maintain a consistent focus on ensuring that our products and platform support all members of the global workforce, in partnership with our engineering teams. It’s also important to ensure we are making critical decisions based on an established set of principles. 

Behrman, NationSwell: Can you elaborate on your specific role in spearheading social or economic progress within your organizational framework? How does your role stand out from other social or economic impact leadership functions, and what is the North Star of your leadership? 

Garlinghouse, LinkedIn: By far the most important attribute in a leader is being able to identify and develop extraordinary talent. If you get the right people on the proverbial bus who have clarity on the “why?” and conviction on the “how,” then work becomes both meaningful and effective.

The other important piece of my leadership style is helping to connect people to their purpose. Linkedin’s vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce — not just the people who were born into economic opportunity, but every member. To make this vision a reality, we really need every employee to join us on this journey to ensure that the products and features we are building are benefitting professionals of all backgrounds and experiences.   

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

Garlinghouse, LinkedIn: I deeply admire Erin (Baudo Felter, the Vice President of Social Impact and Sustainability) at Okta. She’s one of those people who got smart on issues quickly; she is impressive and has been taking bold steps to meet the moment we are in. For example, I love the work she’s doing around investing in tech executive talent for nonprofit boards.

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

Garlinghouse, LinkedIn: One book that has really helped to shape my thinking is From Generosity to Justice: A New Gospel of Wealth, by Darren Walker, which really challenges the reader to think about philanthropy as a tool for achieving economic, social, and political justice – and not a bandaid to cover or address the symptoms.

One of the best podcasts I’ve listened to recently is Kelly Corrigan Wonders’ conversation with David Brooks. It really has everything — leadership, how to make sense of the craziness in the world, how to think about individual responsibility. 

I also think everyone needs to spend time learning about advancements in Generative AI. Henry Timms has an article in the Harvard Business Review that has really evolved how I’m thinking about it, and Fei Fei Li is another leading voice — she’s brilliant, clear, pragmatic, and humble. We’re in this moment where AI can become a force for good, but it won’t happen by chance — it will only happen by design. 

Impact Next: An interview with PNC’s Sally McCrady

Posted on by NationSwell Team

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

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

For this installment, NationSwell interviewed Sally McCrady — Chair and President of the PNC Foundation.

Greg Behrman, CEO and Founder, NationSwell: What brought you to this field? Was there anything formative or foundational that galvanized your commitment to driving social and economic progress?

Sally McCrady, Chair and President of the PNC Foundation: Like anything, probably a little bit of luck and being in the right place at the right time. 

I’ve been at PNC for 26 years now, and I started right out of graduate school. I really wanted to work for a nonprofit, and never thought I would be saying someday I’ve been at a bank for 26 years. But I got a terrific opportunity at PNC to start doing research in support of our Community Development Banking group, which felt like a good first step, and I became really interested in the role that banks can play in terms of community development. 

From there, I went into our Compliance group where I did work for the Community Reinvestment Act, which I’m happy to say PNC has had an outstanding rating under for the last 40 years. In September of 2003, PNC announced a program called PNC Grow Up Great, and I was immediately drawn to its mission and the importance of early childhood education. Twenty years later and here I am — working not only on our Grow Up Great program, but also overseeing PNC’s charitable giving.

Behrman, NationSwell: What do you think is different about how PNC approaches its philanthropic work and community investment? 

McCrady, PNC: To me, the piece that’s always made our philanthropy impactful and interesting is that we are very committed to making decisions locally. To give some context, when PNC Grow Up Great launched in 2004, PNC operated in 12 markets — we had never really done anything where everybody had a similar focus. Fast forward 20 years, and we’re now in 54 markets. 

What’s been interesting, and what’s allowed Grow Up Great and our philanthropy in general to be successful, is that we have never stepped away from the local approach to philanthropy. So while Grow Up Great has a common mission, and we are all focused on supporting high-quality early childhood education, that looks a little bit different in each one of our markets because we know that our local markets and our employees there, know the needs; they know the nonprofits that can have the greatest impact, they really take the lead and make the decisions locally, and that’s been very successful for us.

Behrman, NationSwell: Is there a signature social or economic project or initiative you’re currently overseeing that you’d like to spotlight during our discussion?

McCrady, PNC:  One of the things I treasure most about Grow up Great is our strategic focus on one common social issue — early childhood education —. What that’s allowed us to do, not only at the corporate level, where we have a couple of partnerships that are national in scope, but also at the local level, is build relationships that, in many cases, have spanned the full 20 years. 

One of my favorite initiatives that we bring into all of our markets now is called Be My Neighbor Days. Across the country, we’re partnering with Fred Rogers Productions, a local PBS station, and a number of community partners for a community day with all sorts of different activities for families and their younger children to really think about how they can be great neighbors. They might be writing, they might be putting packages together for local senior communities, but everything is done with the importance of kindness in mind.

Another partnership that’s been amazing to work with is DonorsChoose, which is a platform where citizen donors can go online and help fulfill a teacher’s request, since we know they are still spending out of their own pockets for things they want to utilize in their classrooms. 

Several years ago, when we first worked with DonorsChoose, the platform was not open to Head Start programs, which are one of our biggest partners since the inception of Grow Up Great. We’ve been able to work with DonorsChoose to re-envision the platform. And, with our committed funding, DonorsChoose now serves Head Start programs across the country. We’re so proud of this investment, because I can’t think of any educators that need it more than our Head Start teachers.

Behrman, NationSwell: Is there anything else that you might want to lift up in terms of the ambition of your work, or things that you feel like are particularly innovative that you’re pushing on right now?

McCrady, PNC: I’ll highlight our employee volunteerism program also, which is a little bit different than other corporate programs out there. First, our employees receive 40 hours of paid time off each year to volunteer. So one of the programs we can volunteer for is Grow Up Great, and we’ve had 1.1 million hours in support of early childhood education through the program. Second, I think volunteers are the heart and soul of our program, and it’s awesome to see how engaged our employees get. It’s so rewarding to support our philanthropic giving with employee volunteerism, and to support our employee volunteerism with philanthropic giving.

Behrman, NationSwell: People often talk about integrating employee giving, and philanthropy more broadly, into their business strategies. Are there connection points there with the work that you’re doing?

McCrady, PNC: We have a dedicated skills-based volunteerism program where we work with a small group of nonprofits in several of our markets to help address a particular issue they’re hoping to solve. For about 16 weeks, our employees and nonprofit partners work together to focus on that one problem. We’ve helped organizations with IT, job descriptions and overall HR strategies, we’ve supported landscaping and marketing needs, and we’ve helped Head Start programs streamline enrollment and translate documents into multiple languages.

We also encourage our nonprofit partners to think broadly about how they can use the experience and different skill sets of thousands of PNC employees to make a difference. So every day, we have opportunities to make those connections and help create long-term success. 

The more we’ve learned about early childhood education and the positive impact it has on a child’s lifetime trajectory, the more we’re convinced it’s the place where we could really make a difference. And it wasn’t already crowded with a lot of voices — we felt like it was an area where we could really make a difference and, probably most importantly to who we are as a bank, there was a ton of economic research coming out that explained the value of long-term investment.

Behrman, NationSwell: Is there an approach to your leadership that you would say has allowed you to drive impact and be successful in the way you have?

McCrady, PNC: First and foremost, none of this would be possible without our executive leadership support and active engagement in driving the importance of our community work. 

Another approach that has served me well over time is just having the utmost respect for my colleagues across the markets, and being such a huge fan of what they’re doing and the organizations that they choose to support. The different work they’re doing might not seem like a fit with the project we’re trying to do at first, but then when you understand the local nuances, it makes sense. So I think it’s just being open to new ideas, how things might look a little different in every city where we operate. And that’s OK, because again, our colleagues understand the community and what they’re trying to accomplish.

Behrman, NationSwell: What are some of the defining trends you’re seeing right now in community impact or corporate philanthropy? 

McCrady, PNC: From a corporate philanthropy standpoint, one thing that’s really important in this moment is around employee engagement and just thinking about how all of our workplaces have changed dramatically over the last four or so years. One area we focus on a lot is making sure our employees understand what we’re doing in the community and have an opportunity to learn and engage in the impactful work we do. 

For the last several years, one of my favorite things that we do to engage our employees is provide a DonorsChoose gift code around the holidays and let them go online and choose a project to support that speaks to them. So I think a lot of it is the importance of creating and enforcing PNC’s culture — really just tying everything back to the employee experience.

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

McCrady, PNC: I’m following Mackenzie Scott and all of the decisions that she and her brilliant team have made in the last several years. It’s so interesting to see the nonprofits they select, and in so many cases they’re familiar organizations that we have worked with in a small way. I’m beyond excited to see the recognition and elevation into the national limelight, because in many cases they’re small local nonprofits that would never have these enormous resources to really take their mission to scale. 

I’ll also mention Cathe Dykstra, who runs an organization called Family Scholar House in Louisville, Kentucky. The program is basically a housing education program; the majority of the clients are single moms, but there are also some great dads that have been part of the program as well. The scholars are graduates of high school who want to go on and get higher education – two-year, four-year degrees – and the program provides the stable housing and everything their families need to allow them to achieve their educational goals. It truly breaks the cycle of poverty in one generation, and what’s been awesome to see is that while they have five campuses in Louisville, it’s now spreading across the country. 

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

McCrady, PNC: A podcast I love and just discovered in its second season is Wiser Than Me by Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Just this weekend, I listened to an episode featuring Diane von Furstenberg, and she also had Rhea Perlman and Bonnie Raitt as guests — it’s just amazing. The guests are women that are mostly in their 70s, talking about these remarkable careers and what they’ve done philanthropically. It’s just a ton of fun. She ends every podcast by calling her mom and telling her about who she’s just spoken to, and her mom has these wonderful anecdotes or insights that take you by surprise. It’s a wonderful array of women leaders that have accomplished so many things — I find it crazy inspirational every time I listen.

Impact Next: An interview with Adobe’s Amy White

Posted on by NationSwell Team

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

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

For this installment, NationSwell interviewed Amy White — Global Head of Corporate Social Responsibility & Communications at Adobe.

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

Amy White, Global Head of Corporate Social Responsibility & Communications, Adobe: It might sound sort of cliché, but my career in community service really starts with my parents. They were both career public servants, my mom in education and my dad working for the National Soil and Water Conservation Service and earning his BS and Masters Degree by leveraging the GI Bill. My love for the environment and concern about climate change and climate justice came from my dad and my belief that economic opportunities were unlocked through education came from my mom. There was never a doubt in her mind that we would all go to college, but I didn’t really anticipate getting a degree in forestry that I don’t use very often now. 

I’d say the other formative moments in my career that have brought me to social impact work have been working with direct service organizations. My early career began in direct service with the YMCA and the Girl Scouts, running resident camps and helping all kids realize their full potential. That evolved into the understanding that some communities were not reaching their potential either because not everyone was able to participate, or because there were systems in place that limited their power and mobility. These realizations motivated me to move into a career that is focused on advocacy, communications, and eventually philanthropy, all in service of trying to level the playing field. 

Behrman, NationSwell: Looking back at the scope of your career, how have your thinking, your strategies, leadership style, or philosophies evolved?

White, Adobe: If you were to ask some of my closest friends or former bosses, they might tell you that I am deeply principled, and that sometimes gets in the way of getting what I want. I think my principles and style haven’t changed, but my ability to see that there is often more than one way to get to my desired outcome — and that shared success with other business leaders or community organizations or folks in positions of policy or advocacy can be shared — has. I think some of that is maturity and understanding the context of the systems and problems we are working to change or improve, and some is getting smarter at building allies “across the aisle” to support my goals 

Philosophically, I have always believed that we are stronger and better together. Through collaboration and leveraging the best of our collective resources, listening, strategy, and thinking, we come up with better solutions and usually a more sustainable and lasting change.

Behrman, NationSwell: In your mind, what defines this present societal and economic moment? Which trends fill you with optimism, and which ones give you pause?

White, Adobe: Two topics that I spend time thinking and worrying about, particularly in the U.S., are polarization and isolation. To my earlier point, I think we are better as a collective, but the political polarization and isolation that has endured in a post-Covid world has resulted in less of the community-based living that humans are meant to have. 

I think that has big implications for our mental health and well-being, and that our empathy has taken a beating as we have forgotten how to be curious about others and care for our neighbors — which is exacerbated when it comes to and how we care for the folks who are the most disenfranchised. I think it’s deeply concerning that the topics where Americans have historically been united, or at least willing to have a civil debate, are no longer even on the table for Thanksgiving dinner. We seem to have lost the ability to have a classy conversation and respect the dialogue because we have to win, and because we’re entrenched in our positions.

I also don’t know that social media is necessarily helping us. I think some of the gains we saw in the earlier era of community building, organizing, and information-sharing that social media enabled are now being lost to echo chambers of folks with the same ideas, and replacing our in-person relationships with technology. 

Not to be discouraging — all that being said, I do have a lot of optimism and hope. I’m really encouraged by the idea that an entire generation of social activists are coming into their own as the executive directors or CEOs of change, creating movements as community organizers and advocates who are now in leadership positions and able to swing resources and attention toward issues that matter.

Behrman, NationSwell: What’s not getting enough attention?

White, Adobe: Education. As I shared earlier, I’m a firm believer that education unlocks enormous opportunity — but actually being able to unlock those opportunities starts with ensuring equal access to education. 

It’s going to be really important that we make this education accessible to everyone: in schools, in workplaces, and through non-traditional pathways and local community-based settings. 

I also believe that increasing attention to education means increasing attention to the unique educational needs of the current generation, Gen-Z. We know that Gen-Zers are uniquely creative, ambitious, and vocal, so we also have an opportunity to reframe the skills we’re able to provide them with so that they can truly feel empowered to shape the future. 

Behrman, NationSwell: What makes the impact strategies or initiatives you’re championing within your organization unique? Can you walk us through the steps you’ve taken?

White, Adobe: Adobe’s overall mission — which our CSR work is obviously hyper-focused on — is to do the right thing by focusing on people, purpose, and community. I think these three ideas really come together through the employee community engagement work we do right in our own backyard of San José, California. This has been a focus of ours for as long as we’ve been in San José — which is a long time, since 1994! — but we really ramped it up in 2023 when we launched our Hometown Commitment. The Hometown Commitment is Adobe’s promise to San José — a promise to give back to the community that we call home and a promise to help support the institutions, organizations, and people who work to make it a better place. And for San Jose specifically, we believe through strategic partnerships and funding we can help revitalize the downtown community that still is recovering and reinventing itself after COVID.  We think we can support community based organizations and social service providers to activate public spaces and care for the most vulnerable folks in that community so we can all thrive together. 

A recent and especially fun example of this work can be found directly on the pavement in San Pedro Square in San Jose. Adobe collaborated with two of our hometown grantees — the San Jose Downtown Association (SJDA) and Local Color — to paint a beautiful pavement mural, “Threads Woven.” Created by local artist Jim Fonseca, the mural is inspired by Mexican sarape blankets and aims to showcase the vibrancy and color of San Jose. It isa huge mural (over 12,000 square feet!) and we were able to offer up some of our programs like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe Fresco to help with the design. It is the largest public artwork of its kind in San Jose — and it’s so colorful that you won’t be able to miss it. 

I think this particular project stands out as a great example of our impact strategies at Adobe and how they really span from inside our company to our community. Our community and impact work is expansive and optimistic, but we also take the time to focus on smaller projects that can make a difference in individual communities. 

Behrman, NationSwell: That’s very cool – can’t wait! Can you elaborate on your specific role in spearheading social or economic progress within your organizational framework? Where does your function sit, and how does your role stand out from other social or economic impact leadership functions? 

White, Adobe: What I love most about my role is that I have a unique perspective on where our people, our products, and our philanthropy intersect to really impact social progress. We’re a creative company. How do we use our creative tools to make a difference? I see my role as bringing together Adobe’s resources to solve problems and support the communities of people we serve.

An important component of the resource we bring to bear is Adobe’s platform. Our CSR team sits within our Global Marketing Organization and that means that we view storytelling about our grantees and partners as integral to how we raise awareness and introduce our audiences to organizations doing amazing work. 

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

White, Adobe: One thing I’ve read recently that’s stuck with me is this supplement to the Stanford Social Innovation Review sponsored by the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project. It covers a number of really important issues — trust-based philanthropy, racial justice in philanthropy, how philanthropic founders can remain accountable, and more — and a big takeaway for me is how trust-based philanthropy can help inform the future. 

A trust-based approach to philanthropy means a more equitable relationship between foundations and their grantees. It means instilling more trust in local organizations, letting grantees and partners take the lead, and focusing strongly on relationship building — and consequently, trust-building. I really believe that centering community is key to making the biggest impact — and to do that, philanthropic organizations and philanthropists themselves have to lead with trust. But I also think that too often, corporate funders do not choose this approach. There is often a quid-pro-quo approach with nonprofit partners.  And while there may be less reporting that private or government funding, there is a push for NGOs to support brand building versus focusing on their strategic programmatic priorities and corporate funders have a lot to learn and reflect on in the learnings relating to trust-based funding approaches.

Impact Next: An interview with Salesforce Foundation’s Becky Ferguson

Posted on by NationSwell Team

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

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

For this installment, NationSwell interviewed Becky Ferguson — Senior Vice President of Philanthropy at Salesforce and CEO of Salesforce Foundation.

Greg Behrman, CEO and Founder, NationSwell: Tell us a little bit about your journey into leadership in this field. Were there any defining moments, experiences, or mentors that helped you to get here? 

Becky Ferguson, Salesforce: For me, a really foundational experience was my first job out of college back at a small, community-based nonprofit in the community where I grew up. 

When I look back, I appreciate it for a number of reasons. First, the support services we provided across the entire county made me appreciate just how interconnected so many social issues are — I learned to look at things holistically and try to get beneath the surface and understand the root causes. 

It also gave me an appreciation for every single dollar. When I look back, I realize how much we made happen as a small organization with a limited budget. And through my career, as I’ve worked with larger organizations, partnerships, and budgets, I still try to think about the power of every dollar. 

And then the other thing I really took from that experience was that when you work at a startup or a small nonprofit, you wear a lot of hats. One of the hats I wore in that period of time was running the hotline — making sure that any day of the week, any hour, if someone called, there was someone on the other end to pick up that phone. I learned that oftentimes what people really needed in that moment was someone on the other end to listen. There is so much power and importance that comes with presence and listening. 

Behrman, NationSwell: What makes your approach to your work differentiated or sets it apart in the field?

Ferguson, Salesforce: At Salesforce, we’re celebrating our 25th year anniversary as a company this year, and one thing that has grown with us over the years is what we like to call the 1-1-1 model. Early on, we made a pledge to look at how we could give back our financial contributions, our time, and our product, and the ways in which we have been able to watch and see those contributions grow over time is really remarkable. As we look back over the years and see things like over nine million volunteer hours from our employees, thousands of nonprofits that now use Salesforce technology to help power their missions out in the world, and much more. The layering of that impact over time is really powerful. We’ve also always really believed in the power of partnerships and it has been so inspiring to see other companies adopt the 1-1-1 model and make it their own with now over 18,000 companies joining the Pledge 1% global movement. 

Behrman, NationSwell: Salesforce has really built a reputation for being out in front and on the vanguard. Is there anything you can point to that has helped you to stay in alignment with those expectations over time?

Ferguson, Salesforce: To start, it is very much a part of the origin story of the company — it’s the fabric of who we are and our values. 

I think another element of it is that at Salesforce, we’ve really embraced a more distributed or integrated model of impact in the company — meaning it lives in different parts of the business; it’s not just one person or one team’s responsibility alone. At times that can be a little bit messy, but we’ve always felt that that is actually the most powerful way to make lasting change happen.

Behrman, NationSwell: There’s a lot of energy around employee engagement, volunteering, folks wanting to see how to push to the next level of impact, engagement, design. Is there anything you are particularly proud of that you might speak to?

Ferguson, Salesforce: A couple of years ago, we decided to shift away from just celebrating the number of hours people have volunteered — which is really impressive, and which we still have ambitious goals around — in favor of thinking about how we can also inspire and celebrate a deeper kind of giving back journey for employees. 

We dug in with our in-house design team and got a lot of feedback from employees to create a new impact journey. We now have a set of impact milestones people can earn that encourage them to not only volunteer, but to volunteer more than once with an organization, to volunteer and donate, to perhaps join a board — the ultimate goal is to build deeper and deeper engagement. And then as we reward, recognize, and celebrate those milestones over time, we’re able to connect employees with different opportunities that they can then use to continue to further their impact journeys. 

We’re hoping to reach over a million employee volunteer hours this year. The way in which Salesforce employees engage and give back, whether it’s individually or collectively with their teams, is really inspiring.

Behrman, NationSwell: I have this impression that you guys have a differentiated way of communicating, and using narrative, to further ingrain this work and inspire employees. Can you bring us into that a little bit more?

Ferguson, Salesforce: We are a company and a culture of storytellers, and we bring our work across the company to life through stories — be it stories about customers that we work with, stories about our employees, stories about our community partners. We often refer to the individuals in those stories as trailblazers — people who are forging a new path forward — and the idea is that any of us can be a trailblazer in all sorts of ways, from how you’re using new technology to how you’re inspiring teams. 

We’re also definitely intentional about the ways we create moments and avenues to share those stories. We were just at the company kickoff, and we ended the time together by recognizing three employee trailblazers who were rewarded with golden hoodies and recognition from the entire company. They were three really different employees, working in very different roles and parts of the company — making a unique impact not only in their day jobs, but also in their communities. 

At the end of the day, we are community builders: We think a lot about our ecosystem of partners and trailblazers and the ways we all come together in community. And people really feel that sense of community.

Behrman, NationSwell: What has helped you to be an effective leader in the space? Are there attributes or proclivities or parts of your philosophy of leadership that are central to your leadership

Ferguson, Salesforce: I’ve worked in a lot of different organizations, sectors, and settings. I’ve done work in the UN, research, corporate venture capital, private philanthropy, corporate philanthropy, and I think across all of those roles, I have gained an appreciation that there are many different ways and styles of leadership. I think there are two things that really resonate with me: first, trying to reorient my mindset around failure — this idea that to do hard things, you’ve got to take chances, you’ve got to make bets, and it’s not always going to work or go exactly as planned, and that’s okay. 

Behrman, NationSwell: I’d love to hear about a few things you might recommend that have been influential to you in your leadership journey or current state of mind.

Ferguson, Salesforce: There are a couple things that are on my book stand right now, and one of them is Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teaching of plants. What I love about it is it’s a blend of stories and science. Another is a book by Bob Sutton called Scaling Up Excellence that was recommended to me by another leader here at Salesforce. One thing about Bob Sutton’s work that has been sticking with me lately is he talks about this idea that in organizations and companies, things layer up over time and you need to step back and look at what is no longer adding value and strip those things away.

He refers to them as barnacles, and that is something I’ve been thinking about lately — what are the barnacles in the work, in the field I’m in, that have layered up over time and are no longer serving us? What do we need to chip away at or strip so that our ships can sail much faster to where we’re trying to go? 

Behrman, NationSwell: Who are some of the peer leaders you really admire — folks more or less in your role at other companies or organizations who you think are really great leaders doing great work?

Ferguson, Salesforce: I’ve met a lot of incredible people through the NationSwell community actually. Being around a table, sharing meals with folks. For instance, Alicia Vermaele, executive director of the Starbucks Foundation, is someone I love to run across town and have a cup of coffee with and hear what’s on her mind, what she’s working on and thinking about. And then Shamina Singh and the team at MasterCard, that’s another group I have come to know through the NationSwell community that I think are doing great things in the world.