Mission Forward with Carrie Fox

It's election season. The air crackles – a strange cocktail of anticipation and apprehension. We’re drowning in pronouncements, predictions, and the ever-present din of commentary. But what if the key to navigating this volatile landscape isn’t about shouting louder but listening deeper? On this episode of Mission Forward, we explore that very question with Jennifer Brandel, a process innovator an...

In a world drowning in information, where every click and scroll can lead us further down a rabbit hole of misinformation, what is our cultural and intellectual lifeline? This week on Mission Forward, Carrie Fox swims the turbulent waters of local news with Michael D. Bolden . He serves as the Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer at the American Press Institute, and he's not here to ta...

In this rebroadcast, we ask a difficult question: Is civil war inevitable, or can we talk our way back from the brink? In a world increasingly fractured, whispers of civil unrest grow louder. Dr. John Paul Lederach, a veteran peacebuilder with decades of experience in global conflict zones, offers a stark yet hopeful message: the antidote to escalating tensions lies not in grand pronouncements but...

In this rebroadcast, we address the Supreme Court's decision on affirmative action which sent shockwaves through institutions across America, leaving many wondering about the future of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Is DEI dead? Or is it simply evolving? On this episode of Mission Forward, Carrie Fox dives into this complex landscape with communications experts Nimra Haroon an...

In this rebroadcast from season 9, Carrie Fox sits down with Dana Snyder, a digital strategist for nonprofits and the CEO and founder of Positive Equation . Snyder, who has supported organizations like Movember, Dress for Success, and American Idol, shares her insights on how nonprofits can effectively reach new audiences in the ever-evolving digital landscape. Consider, for example, the importanc...

What if the most powerful lesson of leadership isn’t taught in a seminar, but whispered between breaths of reflection? What if the path forward isn’t paved in bold declarations, but in quieter questions — the kind that disarm the default and ask, instead, “How’s your heart?” This week, we close the chapter that was Season 10 of Mission Forward . And with it, we offer a mosaic — not of data or doct...

What does it mean to lead with conviction in a time of crumbling certainties? This week, Carrie sits down with Dr. Erica Brown, Vice Provost for Values and Leadership at Yeshiva University and a scholar whose work resides at the intersection of ancient wisdom and modern workplace complexity. At first glance, this conversation seems to orbit around the familiar themes of leadership and purpose—but...

Earlier this week, I asked my colleagues at Mission Partners, “What song do you put on repeat when you need some calm, comfort, or renewed energy?” The responses were fabulous and included everything from A to Z—literally, ABBA to The Zombies. I collected the songs into a Spotify Playlist and shared it back with the team, with a simple request: Take 10 minutes today with this playlist. Sit on the...

Imagine you’re running a nonprofit. You’ve got a mission that matters, a staff that believes in it, and a community that depends on you. And then, without warning, a key piece of funding evaporates. Not because of anything you did—or didn’t do—but because the world shifted, policy changed, or a budget line disappeared in Washington. The grant is gone, the plan is upended, and suddenly the future i...

These days are hard, for all of us, in many different ways. The best we can do is hold the light we have up for others. Because I promise you this: when you hold your light up for others, you will also feel the benefit of its glow. This short-form episode is part of the Finding The Words column, a series published every Wednesday that delivers a dose of communication insights directly to your inbo...

We love sharing good finds with you, our listeners. And today, we’re super excited to bring you this bonus episode from our friends at the Chronicle of Philanthropy, who have just launched their own podcast called Nonprofits Now—Leading Today . We want to give you a listen to their first episode, which features Tim Dixon, co-founder of More in Common, who joins our friend and colleague Stacey Palm...

Let’s begin with a middle school stage play in Detroit. The lights are dim, the demerits are high, and a boy named Leonard has just been kicked off the production. Enter Miss Liggins, a teacher with a different script. She doesn’t erase the consequences—she rewrites the role. “You’ll be our stage manager,” she says. And with that, a seed is planted: that someone’s belief in you, especially when yo...

There’s been a lot of talk in recent weeks about cutting costs, building efficiencies, and reducing wasteful spending. Some extreme examples of this are playing out in real-time in the U.S. Administration, with the true impact of those actions yet to be realized. Which brings me to an article featured last week in The Guardian . It’s a tale of some eager beavers and the power of listening to those...

Two daughters. One orange. Conflict. Their mother, seeking peace, cuts it in half — a classic compromise. What mom doesn’t know? One wants the juice, the other the zest. Yet there they are: nobody gets what they need. It’s a parable that is often told in conflict resolution circles. But in the hands of Mariah Levison — CEO and President of the Convergence Center for Policy Resolution — it is an el...

As my wise teacher Don Foley reminded me this week, learning to be brave isn’t just in what we say; it’s also in how we listen. It's in what we take to heart. This short-form episode is part of the Finding The Words column, a series published every Wednesday that delivers a dose of communication insights directly to your inbox. If you like what you read, we hope you’ll subscribe to ensure you rece...

What if truth could speak? Not metaphorically, not through human interpretation, but as its own entity—indignant, unyielding, and, above all, betrayed? This week on Mission Forward , Carrie Fox sits down with bestselling author Mitch Albom in front of a live audience to examine the anatomy of truth—how it bends, how it breaks, and how, in the hands of history’s most cunning deceivers, it can be we...

We like to think of lies as small, inconsequential things. A white lie told to spare someone’s feelings. A harmless exaggeration to make a story more compelling. But what if the smallest lies weren’t so small after all? What if they were the building blocks of something far more dangerous—something that could shape history itself? Regardless of what you believe, where you live, and what you do, yo...

What happens when a single act of courage alters the trajectory of a life—not just for one person, but for an entire community? What if the stories we tell about ourselves—about our struggles, triumphs, and histories—aren’t just personal narratives but blueprints for something greater? In this, our premiere episode of season 10 of Mission Forward , Carrie sits down with Dianne Myles, a documentari...

In this week’s rebroadcast from Season 8, we ask an important question: How should your organization thoughtfully adopt artificial intelligence (AI) in ways that enhance instead of displace the human workforce? Carrie sits down with SHRM’s George Rivera, a person uniquely qualified to take on these questions as we look out on the horizon toward the future of work. “AI plus HI equals ROI,” says Geo...

Michael Gordon Voss is publisher at Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR), and in this week’s rebroadcast from Season 6, the conversation is all about trust. See, Micheal has spent the last few decades building relationships of trust between his publications and his reading public. That experience has made him an expert in a few key areas we're eager to explore this week. What is the role of cu...

If you’re a regular listener to this show, you know that our conversations run the gamut; from interpersonal communications to corporate communications, we’re interested in communications that change lives. In this rebroadcast from season six, we’re going even bigger. Jeff Caporizzo is Senior Partner and Executive Creative Director at ICF Next , an agency dedicated to “Next-level participation.” T...

Change. Enigmatic. Unpredictable. These days, it feels like the uninvited guest that overstays its welcome, disrupting our carefully constructed routines. But what if, hidden within the debris of the familiar, lies the seed of something truly remarkable? In this season finale of Mission Forward, Carrie explores the often-uncomfortable reality of transformation. She shares the story of a non-profit...

This episode is brought to you by Edgility Consulting . Imagine this: a workplace where every decision is transparent, every policy is fair, and every employee feels like they belong. Sounds utopian, doesn’t it? Yet, this isn’t a fiction—it’s a framework, one that Allison Wyatt is helping organizations build. This week, Carrie sits down with Allison for a journey through the mechanics of equity in...

It's the season for gratitude and reflection. But also, a day for taking stock. As we gather with loved ones, it's worth considering the subtle shifts happening beneath the surface of our communities. The connections that bind us, the acts of generosity that fuel positive change—these are the things that deserve our attention. Ten years ago, nonprofits, the tireless champions of our communities, b...

This week on the show, Carrie sits down with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tina Rosenberg for a third time to assess the surprising power of solutions journalism. Of course, it wouldn't be a conversation about the news media if it didn't discuss the curious patterns of polarization, exploring how our perceptions of division might be more amplified than reality indicates. Tina, co-founder of th...