find your cause

Steven Muncy was 23 years old, had never left the US, and couldn't speak a foreign language. He bought a ticket to the Philippines anyway. Forty-six years later, he leads Community and Family Services International, a 500-person organization working with hundreds of thousands of displaced people each year across Southeast Asia. In this conversation, Steven talks about the lessons that only come fr...

Illinois has already lost between 80% and 91% of its wetlands over the last 200 years. Most of that land is now farmland, and most people have no idea it happened. Peter Goodspeed, Restoration Program Director at The Wetlands Initiative, has spent his career working to reverse that loss, one acre at a time. In this conversation he explains what a wetland actually is (it is more than standing water...

Lesley de Jonge is the founder and executive director of Let's Keep the Ball Flying, a nonprofit connecting the global volleyball community to spread access to the sport. In this conversation he and Joseph Smalzer get into the moment in Nepal that started it all, why a jersey can be a bridge into belonging, how the organization teaches coaches in rural areas to build a volleyball from plastic bags...

Bill Crouch spent two decades as a college president before founding BrightDot, a consulting firm that has worked with over 150 nonprofits to fix the one problem most of them refuse to name: they do not know how to talk to the people who have the money. In this episode, Bill and Joseph dig into why fundraising staff turn over every 16 months, what a funeral home owner taught Bill about donor psych...

Brian Wenke has spent over a decade as Executive Director of It Gets Better, one of the most recognized LGBTQ+ youth organizations in the world. What started in 2010 as a single video response to a wave of youth suicides became a global storytelling movement reaching young queer people across 19 countries. But Brian is not interested in staying relevant forever. His goal is to put the organization...

Sponsorship Inquiries: https://calendly.com/gtzp/gtzp-impact-alignment When a crime happens, the system focuses on putting the perpetrator away. The victim testifies, helps the prosecution, and then gets forgotten. There are no programs, no financial support, and no path forward for people whose lives have been completely upended. David Thiruselvam saw that gap and built a law firm around it. Vict...

Sponsor inquiries: https://calendly.com/gtzp/gtzp-impact-alignment/ In May 2020, Adam Mizel was yelling at his television. His wife turned to him and said, "You've been screaming at the TV about the Yankees for thirty years and they never hear you. If you feel this way, what are you going to do?" He stood up, walked away from private equity, and spent the next five years building a movement to reu...

She was 15 years old and in the hospital for five months when she made a promise to herself. When she got better, she would pour that same love back out into the world. She kept that promise. Now she runs the Gladys Giving Foundation, bringing inclusive holiday celebrations, essential resources, and a new youth workshop to communities that other systems have already turned away. No ID required. No...

He grew up in a railroad town in a single-parent household, channeled his anger into football and grades, got into Johns Hopkins, failed at stockbroking, and lived out of a conversion van. Two years into the insurance business, making $124,000 a year, buying Corvettes and getting magazine features, a 12-year-old kid drowned and Tony Holland had to process the death claim. That moment ended his ego...

Sponsorship Inquiries: https://calendly.com/gtzp/gtzp-impact-alignment Tania Rempert has spent her career inside nonprofits that are doing real work but cannot prove it. As founder and board president of Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation Org (P.I.E.), she helps mission-driven organizations identify what they are actually changing, measure it, and tell that story to funders with confidence....

In this interview, Cynthia Manuel, executive director of Heavenly Cynt Youth Org, explains the organization’s mission to empower youth through mentorship, literacy, life skills, sports, and positive community connections, rooted in her brother’s 1998 death from street violence and her desire to protect and expand opportunities for youth in Chicago’s North Lawndale. She describes using exposure as...

Partner with us: https://calendly.com/gtzp/gtzp-impact-alignment Saaim Khan spent 20 years inside some of the world's largest cybersecurity consulting firms before stepping away to build something he could not find anywhere else. Not a bigger firm. Not a flashier one. Just an honest one. As Managing Director of Cyber Matters, Saaim built a company around radical transparency, a flat structure wher...

A shooting happened right next door to her youth center. She closed for one day. Then she opened back up on Monday. LaTanya Johnson is the Executive Director of LaTanya and the Youth of Englewood, a 501(c)3 that has been serving children ages five and up in Inglewood, Chicago since 2013. Recreational activities, educational programming, mentorship, entrepreneurship, community events, and family su...

Sarah Albus was a college soccer player at Vanderbilt, a mom of four, and completely done with her first career when her daughter Hannah, born at 25 weeks with cerebral palsy and visual impairment, asked where her skis were. That question changed everything. In this episode, Sarah shares how she launched Open Door Sports in 2017 with no nonprofit experience, how six schools said yes before she had...

Is the Philippines actually "Gay Friendly," or is that just a myth? In this episode, Eljay Bernardo, Executive Director of Rainbow Rights Philippines, reveals the shocking legal reality for the LGBTQ+ community. From "gayness" being used as a legal ground to lose your property in annulment cases to archaic vagrancy laws used by police to target gay men, we pull back the curtain on why "being frien...

How does basketball shape confidence, identity, and leadership in young women around the world? In this episode of Find Your Cause, Joseph speaks with Angela R. Lewis, founder of Angela Lewis Basketball, about using sport as a platform to build confidence, character, and courage on and off the court. Angela shares lessons from her journey as a Division I athlete, coach, author, and global youth me...

As we step into a new year, we’re taking a moment to look back at some of the most meaningful conversations from 2025. This New Year reflection episode revisits standout moments from Find Your Cause, highlighting voices that challenged narratives, strengthened communities, and grounded hope in evidence, culture, and human connection. From rehumanizing youth through hip hop and building economic pa...

In this episode of Find Your Cause, Joseph talks with Dr Spencer Lalk , founder of Med Story Studio , about how evidence based medical stories can compete with fear based health influencers. Spencer shares the story of his mom’s cardiology scare, why she left a long awaited visit more confused than before, and how that moment led him to create clearer, more human health education. They dig into ru...

In this episode, Diana M. Canant, Executive Director of LifeSpheres, shares how people heal through presence, guided dialogue, and community support rather than advice or isolation. She explains the Peer Community Co Care Program, a process that helps individuals resolve trauma safely, rebuild resilience, and support one another through structured, one-on-one sessions. Diana breaks down the psycho...

What if music could break down racism? John Gardner, Executive Director of the World Music Foundation, has dedicated his life to proving that it can. In this episode, John shares how music creates real human connection across cultures, dissolves prejudice, and opens doors to understanding that conversations alone often cannot. From global touring to community work in Chicago, his mission is simple...

What if hip hop could heal communities? In this episode, Joseph sits down with Khafre Jay, Executive Director of Hip Hop For The Future, to explore how he’s using hip hop to tackle public health, misinformation, and systemic inequity across the Bay Area. From raising nearly $250,000 to fund grassroots health programs, to creating safe spaces like Flow Lounge where people use rap as therapy, Khafre...

Most people think human trafficking looks like the movie Taken. Dr. Kisha Roberts-Tabb says it’s often much closer to home. In this episode of Find Your Cause , host Joseph Smalzer talks with Dr. Kisha, community psychologist, founder of the Social Butterflies Foundation , and creator of Girls Night Out Chicago , about what trafficking really looks like in our neighborhoods, why victims rarely see...

In this episode of the Greater Than Zero Podcast, Joseph speaks with Marlon Richardson, Executive Director of Hip Hop For Change, Inc. Based in Oakland, this nonprofit uses grassroots activism and hip hop culture to educate about socio economic injustices and advocate solutions. For over 12 years, Hip Hop For Change has reclaimed hip hop as a vehicle for education, empowerment, and employment, rea...

What if generosity could be part of your daily life, not just a once-a-year act? In this episode, Joseph Smalzer speaks with the founders of Bgiving , a social impact platform designed to make giving simple, transparent, and personal. The team shares how they are using technology to connect donors, volunteers, and nonprofits in one seamless ecosystem where every contribution matters. From supporti...

What happens when housing, mental health, and employment come together under one mission? In this episode, Joseph Smalzer speaks with Patty Capouch and Vince Henigan of Impact Behavioral Health Partners, an organization helping people with mental illness live independently through safe housing, clinical care, and job support. Founded during the deinstitutionalization era, Impact has grown from a s...