The Discovery Pod

Leadership moves. With this, many leaders often find themselves going from one organization or sector to another. For some, going through the motions of change can be quite difficult, especially on the aspects of adapting. Guest for this episode, Terry Kellam , is very familiar with this. From being at the University of British Columbia for seventeen years, Terry decided to move and become the exe...

Many typical or traditional hospital foundations are confined to the four walls of the hospital. The BC Women’s Health Foundation , however, has taken a different path. BC Women’s Health Foundation is British Columbia’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the full spectrum of women’s health. On today’s show, Douglas Nelson interviews its CEO, Genesa Greening, about the elements...

The Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion is a national charitable organization that helps the individuals and organizations they work with be inclusive and free of prejudice and discrimination. They also generate awareness, dialogue, and action for people to recognize diversity as an asset and not an obstacle. Michael Bach , the Founder of CCDI, represents a very important issue in the soci...

A lot of people who grow up professionally within an organization wonder at some time or another whether they need to leave the organization in order to advance their career. Saifa Koonar, however, chose to stay. Saifa is the CEO of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation in Calgary, Alberta. She’s been at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation for many years. Today, she joins Douglas Nelso...

Human trafficking is a crime that is quite overlooked sometimes as people do not think it is still happening in this day and age, but it does happen and is growing fast, especially when people do not pay much attention to this issue. In this episode, Douglas Nelson interviews musician and philanthropist  Paul Brandt  who spearheaded the #NotInMyCity movement under his Buckspring Foundati...

How do you tackle challenges head on when you have very big shoes to fill? In this episode, host Douglas Nelson talks with Jim Hickman , the Chief Executive Officer of Center for Youth Wellness , about his profound responsibility of stepping in for California’s first Surgeon General and continuing to build on the great work she started at the Center for Youth Wellness. Jim gets down on how their o...

A successful company is more than simply having a great CEO. A CEO needs to be backed up by an effective board as well. After leaving the commercial sector, Caroline Riseboro went to work for NGOs such as World Vision and The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health . Her experience in both foundations led her to become the CEO of Plan International Canada . In this episode, Caroline discusses the s...

Kevin Keohane, the CEO of  Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Foundation , talks about CHEO Foundation’s mandate and how they strive to serve the community and help CHEO deliver the care that children need. Kevin shares the fundraising strategies and activities that keep the Foundation moving forward, and discusses the importance of building a diverse foundation around the community it se...

Being the new guy has always been difficult, whether in your social circle, at school, or at work. Having one of the highest positions in an organization doesn’t make you immune from this. Instead, it mandates you to build healthy relationships early on. Mike Meldrum, the CEO of Calgary Health Trust , shares the story of how he got over this obstacle in his early days as CEO. He talks about the ve...

Bringing cultures together is one of the challenges a newly appointed leader experiences. Andrea Seale , the new CEO of the Canadian Cancer Society , is the right person to walk us through such encounters after being appointed as an Executive Director and then permanent CEO of CCS. As a top leader, being able to approach anyone and any issues is quintessential. Sharing how she handles the manageme...

All youth deserve an opportunity to improve their lives and explore their potential. In this episode, Douglas Nelson interviews the CEO of Take a Hike Foundation , Gordon Matchett , who provides some information about his wonderful and helpful program for the youth to help them work through whatever issues are holding them back. Reflecting on his own experiences, Gordon shares some wonderful advic...

Leading a large organization is a huge task and can be very daunting for most CEOs, particularly one that is a national health charity such as the MS Society of Canada. Pamela Valentine is a clinical researcher and a leader of innovation who is also currently the CEO of the MS Society. Pamela relates how she came through the door of the organization in the most opportune time just as they were wor...

Campaigning for capital to support a wonderful cause is a noble job, but regardless of what it brings, there will always be ups and downs. Today on the show we have Teri Nicholas , who is known as a transformative leader in children’s health circles, and has been the CEO of BC Children’s Hospital Foundation  since 2011. Seeing the success of the facility, you could say tha...

Most charity foundation CEOs are in the position where people put them in the ownership, but the good ones are those who try to avoid having their names be synonymous to the cause. In this episode, Eva Friesen , the CEO of the Calgary Foundation , talks about collaborative philanthropy and shares the highlights of her 14-year career as the CEO of three social profit organizations including YWCA. D...

Nothing beats a comeback more than becoming a CEO of an organization you used to work in. That is exactly what Jonny Morris’ story looks like. Having worked at the Canadian Mental Health Association for a number of years, Jonny left to work at the provincial government and came back as the CEO. He narrates his fascinating story of rising to the top while maintaining a heart that is passionate for...

Not so many people understand the value of foundations and community trusts. In this episode, Jason Baxendale , the Chief Development Officer of the Chicago Community Trust and the Co-Director of the We Are Chicago campaign, enlightens us about the wonders that the organization can do to everyone in the community. Jason shares his approaches to issues concerning their trust, his thoughts on their...

The awareness of philanthropy has changed over the past couple of years. There is a much greater general awareness and a higher level of sophistication now in the wealth environment with the available resources and the understanding that people have about being philanthropic. Philanthropic advisor Malcolm Burrows from Scotia Wealth Management says more and more people are showing up and saying, “I...

Fundraising has been a vital part of the social profit sector. That is why it is important to do it right, especially when you are the one leading it. President Emerita of the University of Calgary and officer of the Order of Canada, Elizabeth Cannon shares her wisdom about fundraisers. Having raised $1.3 billion in the Energize campaign, Elizabeth shows the important role of leaders in ensuring t...

Mental health is health, and it is a fact that many families have been touched by difficulties in this area in varying levels of severity. Thanks to mental health advocates like Deborah Gillis, the CEO of CAMH (Center for Addiction and Mental Health), more people have found a powerful meaning in their lives. In this episode, she shares what influenced her to be part of the organization and how adv...

When people think about hospice, they think about the end of life. However, for Margaret McNeil, the CEO of Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, they go beyond that and give as much opportunity for life to the children and their family as they possibly can. Margaret highlights the difference of Canuck Place from others – from the intimacy of their connection to the people there to the quality of care...

Many discovery-orientated types of research across the country make the headlines. However, most of these were breakthroughs from a scientific perspective and not from a clinical perspective. This means that the patients don’t benefit from it, and sometimes the discovery doesn’t get translated for quite a long time. This is what the Terry Fox Research Institute or TFRI is trying to solve with thei...

As the world offers more means for people to help, the social profit sector has come to adapt to it. Paul Nazareth, the Vice President of Education and Development for the Canadian Association of Gift Planners, opens up the doors to take us into the perspectives on change and innovation in social profit. With the rise of crowdfunding, the sector has undeniably been feeling the weight of competitio...

The social profit world is so big that no leadership and organization are the same. Taking us into the arts and cultural sector of social profit, Kim Gaynor, the General Director of the Vancouver Opera, sheds light to its differences against other kinds of organizations. Entailing a different type of leadership, Kim shares how she handles her team and board, and also talks about keeping organizati...

More and more unfortunate patients are spending their final weeks, days, and minutes of life hidden away from the people they love, and sometimes they are in significant amounts of pain. Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider, a physician and a palliative care activist, believes that a new day of medicine is coming where the end of life is not a medical issue to be solved, but rather something that all human be...

Many organizations are confounded with the problem of having their boards support them. Judy Savage, the CEO of Lions Gate Hospital Foundation, has successfully veered from that by building credibility through campaigns and letting the boards actively engage. The meteoric rise of Judy’s foundation over the last number of years shows this, and she lets us in on how they have nurtured the relationsh...