Speaking of Purpose

In this special episode of Speaking of Purpose, Sona Khosla, Chief Impact Officer at Benevity, is joined by Andrea Wood, President and CEO of the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals, for a conversation on corporate leadership during moments of crisis. Drawing from her experience living in Minneapolis, Andrea shares what it was like to witness her community navigate a period of unres...

A company's values are what truly drive its value. In this episode of Speaking of Purpose, Maya Colombani, Chief Sustainability, Human Rights and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer at L’ORÉAL Canada, shares how her company’s sustainability strategy drives innovation, talent development and financial growth. From integrating sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion and social impact i...

Shareholder, consumer and employee activism are top of mind for CEOs. Some companies are bending under pressure, while others are doubling down. So who really holds the power? In this episode of Speaking of Purpose , we sit down with Andrew Jones of the Conference Board to explore how today’s most resilient companies are embracing their communities and harnessing stakeholder influence to better na...

Trust-based philanthropy has been a growing movement for the past five years, but it hasn’t come without its fair share of naysayers and skeptics. In this episode of Speaking of Purpose , we talk to Shaady Salehi, Co-Founder & Executive Director at the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project as the initiative enters its next phase of growth. In this conversation, we tackle the myths, the benefits, th...

In this rare episode of Speaking of Purpose by Benevity, host Sona Khosla sits down with the new CEO of Benevity, Soraya Alexander. They talk about everything from building community and connection through giving, obsessing about unlocking more generosity, the role of technology and the opportunity for AI to make us intentional about being human, and the need to protect corporate purpose in this m...

Nonprofits are facing a turning point. As government funding shifts and donor behavior evolves, the sector stands at a fork in the road. Forced to rethink how it stays financially healthy and mission-focused. In this episode of Speaking of Purpose, we’ll unpack the growing strain on nonprofit budgets, the risks of relying solely on private philanthropy, and the rise of community-led giving models....

The way you think about goal-setting in business is about to change. In this episode of Speaking of Purpose by Benevity, we're joined by Charu Adesnik, Executive Director of Cisco Foundation and Director of Social Impact and Innovation for Cisco Systems. We deconstruct the company’s audacious goal to positively impact one billion lives within 10 years, which they exceeded ahead of schedule. Tune i...

In this episode of Speaking of Purpose by Benevity, Rose Marcario, former CEO of Patagonia, joined us on stage at Benevity Live! for a leadership masterclass. Rose shares how bold, values-driven decisions and business strategy can coexist—and succeed.   Hear how this iconic CEO made decisions under pressure, how courageous leadership starts with small steps, and how nature is a perfect meta...

What if purpose wasn’t just a buzzword, but the key to resilience in business, life, and leadership? Speaking of Purpose is where we sit with the big questions, challenge the old narratives, and uncover the deeper forces shaping the way we work and lead. Each episode features candid conversations with inspiring changemakers—unpacking insights that matter, breaking down the research, and sharing re...

In a time when division is drowning out connection, could the key to unity be… a simple conversation? In this episode of Speaking of Purpose, host Sona Khosla sits down with Sandra Clark, CEO of StoryCorps, to explore the contact hypothesis — a psychology-backed idea showing how meaningful dialogue builds understanding across differences. Sona and Sandra unpack how StoryCorps’ One Small Step progr...

In this episode of Speaking of Purpose, host Sona Khosla sits down with Carolyn Berkowitz, former President and CEO of ACCP (Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals), to unpack the shifting dynamics in corporate purpose that have accelerated beyond imagination in just the last few years. With more than three decades in the field, Carolyn reflects on how corporate social responsibility h...

In this episode of Speaking of Purpose, host Sona Khosla sits down with two remarkable changemakers: AJ Jordan, Head of Community Stewardship and President of the Vanguard Group Foundation, and Jenny Bogoni, Chief of Community Engagement and Public Programs at the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation. Together, they explore how long-term, relationship-based partnerships can create sustained imp...

In this episode of Speaking of Purpose, host Sona Khosla sits down with Joelle Emerson, CEO and co-founder of Paradigm, to unpack the hot topic of DEI. They explore what the charged acronym really means, who is driving the debate, what the data says about it, and how companies have shifted course from 2020's reckoning to today's retrenchment. And they look at practical ways that companies can adap...

In this episode of Speaking of Purpose , host Sona Khosla speaks with Brian Tippens, Chief Social Impact and Inclusion Officer at Cisco, during Benevity Live! 2024, about the company’s $300 million commitment to social justice and what it looks like to lead with purpose inside a global tech giant. They explore how Cisco connects community impact to business value, how Brian's team developed a fram...

In this episode of Speaking of Purpose , host Sona Khosla sits down with Jason Saul, CEO of the Impact Genome Registry and Executive Director at the University of Chicago's Center for Impact Sciences. Together, they unpack the chaos behind how nonprofits measure success and reveal a bold new approach that could transform how billions in charitable giving gets allocated. From the hidden inefficienc...

Guest: Tricia Stevens, Former Charitable Giving and Ethical Campaigns Manager, Lush Cosmetics North America Wouldn’t it be nice to dig into a case study that shows how real companies — and the real people behind the scenes — have built relationships with Indigenous communities from the ground up? Enter Tricia Stevens, the former Charitable Giving and Ethical Campaigns Manager at Lush Cosmetics Nor...

Guest: Lourdes Inga, Executive Director of International Funders for Indigenous Peoples (IFIP) How deeply do you think about the way you give? How can we give in ways that are both impactful and respectful of Indigenous culture and experiences? Lourdes Inga, Executive Director of IFIP, helps us understand the complexities of Indigenous philanthropy. Indigenous Peoples constitute the largest minori...

Guest: Rukka Sombolinggi, Secretary General of AMAN (Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara/Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago). It’s no secret that relationships — both past and present — between Indigenous Peoples, governments and corporations all over the world are troubled. How did this happen? And what does this look like today? We asked Rukka Sombolinggi, the Secretary General of A...

Guest: Melissa K. Nelson, Ph. D., Indigenous Scholar, Professor of Sustainability, Leader at The Cultural Conservancy How should companies and individuals begin the process of reconciliation? Indigenous Scholar, Professor of Sustainability, and Leader at The Cultural Conservancy, Melissa Nelson, takes us through past colonization and settlement, residential schools, and how history continues to sh...

Welcome to Season 2 of Speaking of Purpose! Join host, Sona Khosla, as she gets curious about how we can do our part in driving change around the challenges Indigenous communities face across the world, and Indigenous ways of knowing. Tune in for a sneak peek of what’s to come this season as we share our learnings from speaking with four remarkable guests about exploring reconciliation with Indige...

Guest: Bryan de Lottinville, Founder and Executive Chairperson, Benevity. Business is now our most trusted institution. Employees look to their workplaces to address social issues, and consumers increasingly support brands based on their actions as much as their products. As the role of business in society changes, it takes genuine leaders to challenge the status quo. One such leader is Benevity’s...

Guest: Anil Soni, Chief Executive Officer, The WHO Foundation Anil Soni is passionate about vaccine equity. But as our conversation with the CEO of the WHO Foundation unfolds, we learn that vaccine equity is about much more than vaccines. The issue is a microcosm of systemic and generational injustice that continues to perpetuate today. Anil joins us to discuss why vaccinating the entire world is...

Guests: Allison Fary, Senior Program Manager and Stephanie Franco, Head of Corporate Giving and Volunteerism They say necessity is the mother of invention, and it holds true even when the topic is the changing face of volunteering. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and in-person volunteering was no longer possible, companies were forced to rethink the way they gave back to their communities during a...

Guest: Maya Chorengel, Co-Managing Partner, The Rise Fund The growing importance of corporate purpose and environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies are changing the way boardrooms operate. The past year has shown just how important it is for companies to lead the way, particularly on social issues. From protecting frontline workers to striving for racial justice, companies have the rea...

Guest: Whitney Dailey, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Research Insights, Porter Novelli We know the idea that companies should address and contribute to social change has taken hold. But this responsibility has put a new kind of stress on business leaders — the threat of getting canceled. As companies uphold their values and wade into difficult conversations, they are bound to be faced wit...