The Discovery Pod

Julia Staub-French  is the Executive Director of  Family Services of the North Shore , a nonprofit, community-based agency that has been providing support for families for over 60 years. Learn how Julia runs her business, especially during the pandemic. Discover their food delivery programs and outreaches to help people in this rough time. In this episode, she joins host Douglas Nelson t...

Your brand should represent your capability of being a leader. That means you have to undergo advanced research and provide innovative solutions to people. In this episode, Douglas Nelson sits down for a conversation with the CEO of Praxis Spinal Cord Institute , Bill Barrable . Bill leads a diverse and multidisciplinary team of experts focused on creating solutions for people with spinal cord inj...

The challenges of the COVID pandemic has changed how social organizations operate. In this episode, we learn how the  United Way of Greater Toronto  has risen to the challenge to provide social services to their community. Douglas Nelson speaks with the president and CEO of United Way,  Daniele Zanotti  on United Way’s response to the challenges of the pandemic. He discusses Un...

Leadership guidance is a fundamental key to effective board engagement. Douglas Nelson talks with Margaret McNeil about creating alignment in an organization. Clearly, during the pandemic, there were uncontrollable impacts on the management for board engagements. Margaret shares about significant guidelines and crafting the right solutions to develop great collaboration among a company’s members....

You can’t eliminate risks because some of them can help you reach your objectives, but you can minimize them. Douglas Nelson’s guest in this episode is Francis Liska , the CEO of OTUS Group . Francis discusses with Douglas about creating a risk-aware culture, where an organization can recognize the risk before it threatens, mitigate a risk when it arises, and recover from damages from risks that m...

YWCA Metro Vancouver’s mission is to help build bright futures for women and their families through advocacy and integrated services. The CEO for YWCA Metro Vancouver , Deb Bryant is right on the frontline and always has her pulse on the issues affecting the services they provide. On today’s episode, she joins Douglas Nelson to talk about how the pandemic has disproportionately affected women and...

No matter what industry you are in, you still belong in the relationship business. It is through the relationships you created that help you with your goals. With the University of Victoria, they want to have a more prominent public presence. The show's guest today is Chris Horbachewski , Vice President External Relations at the University of Victoria . In this episode, Christ talks with Douglas N...

Foundations and all kinds of charitable institutions are all purpose-driven, collectively moving towards a single goal. But what solidifies organizations like this is the community built upon and around it. Douglas Nelson is joined by Andrea Dicks , President of Community Foundations of Canada , to share how the government required them to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. She explains how they pu...

Great communities often have great universities at the heart of them. This has been proven true time and time again, as universities lead the way for development. Douglas Nelson sits down with the University of Calgary ’s Interim Vice-President for Development and the leader for the “Energize: The Campaign for Eyes High” campaign that raised $1.41 Billion, Andrea Morris . Andrea talks about philan...

Douglas Nelson , the Founder of The Discovery Group , lists down the essential roles of effective board members that help keep them aligned, engaged, and satisfied with their involvement in organizations. He notes that these roles make or break organizations as they ensure the success and alignment of the boards across the sector. Douglas also explains how these roles affect the whole organization...

No matter how much money you have, you won't be able to make the change you want in the world if you're unable to tap into the right communities that get impacted by the problem you wish to solve. Douglas Nelson's guest today is  Kris Putnam-Walkerly , founder of  Putnam Consulting Group . In this episode, Kris shares the experiences that led her to write her book  Delusional Altrui...

With all the facts around us in this age of information, have you ever wondered why we're still not any better at changing the world in terms of climate change, social equity, and the likes? Maybe facts are just not enough to nudge us to do the right thing. Maybe we need a different way to process this information.  Denise Withers , award-winning storyteller, filmmaker, author, and leadership...

The Museum of Vancouver is Canada's largest civic museum that runs in partnership with the City of Vancouver. It stewards a collection of artifacts and belongings on behalf of the city to tell stories about Vancouver through material culture and digital content. Douglas Nelson's guest is Mauro Vescera , the CEO at the Museum of Vancouver. In this episode, Douglas and Mauro discuss handling tension...

The Community-Based Research Centre  (CBRC) is a nonprofit charitable organization that promotes the health of the gay community through research and intervention development. Douglas Nelson’s guest for this episode is Jody Jollimore , the Executive Director at CBRC. Jody faced several challenges in taking over the organization and building it to scale, especially during the pandemic. What ke...

There is a better social profit representation in the government with  Niki Sharma's  election as the Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development and Non-Profits. If you're working for the non-profit sector and wish to be recognized more as a partner in the community with the government, then this episode is for you. Due to the increasing recognition of social profits in its indisp...

We have all felt the pandemic strip out human connection from all of us, but human connection has been in decline for a long time before social distancing made us painfully aware of it. If anything, COVID-19 merely intensified the loneliness pandemic that has been afflicting us for much longer. In his new book, broadcaster and philanthropist Riaz Meghji  goes deep into the five habits that we...

With the world slowed down because of the pandemic, the charity sector has been shedding light on a lot of issues, with tons of fundraising being held here and there. Though these are typically conducted with an admirable purpose, the conflict regarding disbarment quota seems to be neglected by the government. Douglas Nelson talks with Gail Picco to share her discoveries regarding this matter as t...

As technology continues to evolve according to the changing demands of users, organizations must learn to go with the flow to stay relevant and visible. And this boils down into two primary focuses: innovation and engagement. Douglas Nelson sits down with  Jan Kaderly  of A Line Strategy to discuss how organizations can utilize technology and the internet to cause significant shifts in t...

The Honourable Janet Austin  shares her views of the challenges and opportunities the pandemic brings to the global table. Ever the stalwart champion of reinforcing childcare policy and women’s equality, her position as Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia brings these two crucial issues to even greater emphasis now more than ever. The COVID-19 pandemic offers a unique opportunity for glob...

One good thing about the pandemic is that it paved the way for giving more importance to health care services for families and communities. In this episode, Douglas Nelson interviews the CEO of Surrey Hospitals Foundation TM , Jane Adams. Jane has been named one of Canada's most influential CEOs, and she's been a great builder of organizations throughout her career. Today, she shares her leadershi...

Constructing a new public gallery covers considerable funding and solid credibility of the people involved in the development. Joining Douglas Nelson in this episode is the Curator and Director of The Polygon Gallery , Reid Shier . Shier explains what The Polygon Gallery is all about and the purpose of the facility. He also talks about its history and the journey in planning the new gallery in Nor...

What happens when you put the minds of 20 CEOs in one space together? The amount of wisdom would be mind-blowing. Letting you in, Senior Associate of  The Discovery Group  and respected leadership coach  Margaret McNeil,  joins Douglas Nelson in sharing some of the thoughts and inspirational ideas from 20 CEOs during their recently led Roundtables just this January 2021. They e...

While people in the community have been doing their part to stay home during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is still important to seek health care when necessary. As President & CEO of the  Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research  (MSFHR),  Dr. Bev Holmes  is focused on the funding, production, and uptake of health research and healthcare-related evidence in British Columbi...

In the social profit sector, trust is the biggest thing that mediates relationships between boards and leadership teams, but it’s not always easy to measure. At the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation , Scott Elliott  believes that the starting point for trust building is authenticity and integrity. Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Scott and his team of silent warriors are waging a softer fi...

Even though many people struggle to make ends meet during these trying times, especially on the financial side, today's chaotic situation revealed one unique character of humans: the desire to connect through giving. Jenny Marsh  of the Vancouver Public Library Foundation  proved this to be true when they launched a fundraising campaign to improve their building and support their transit...