Escape into a Cause

We're excited to welcome Melina Cantu, Co-Chief Program Officer, to the conversation! 🎙️ The SAFE Alliance brings together Austin Children's Shelter and SafePlace to support survivors of child abuse, sexual assault and exploitation, and domestic violence. Their mission is to interrupt the cycle of abuse by cultivating safety, healing, and just outcomes for those impacted while working toward a com...

We're excited to welcome founders Karan Mishra and Deandre Blackwell to the conversation! 🎙️ Kindr is an upcoming app designed to make volunteering and giving back easier to find, more engaging, and something everyone can take part in. Karan and Deandre share what inspired Kindr, how the app connects people with volunteer opportunities, and how features like gamification, a social-style feed, and...

We're excited to welcome Jonathan "Chaka" Mahone, Founder and Creative Director of DAWA, to the conversation!  🎙️ DAWA is a nonprofit organization that honors, celebrates, and empowers BIPOC community frontliners through direct financial support and culturally relevant, health-centered programming. Since 2019, DAWA's mission of "giving to the givers" has been creating meaningful social and economi...

We're excited to welcome Sandra Chavez, interim co-executive director of ASHwell, to the conversation!  🎙️ ASHwell is a nonprofit that has been empowering Central Texans since 1988 through sexual health and wellness services that care for the body, mind, and spirit. As demand for services like PrEP, gender-affirming care, and infectious disease treatment continues to grow, ASHwell has continued to...

We're excited to welcome Will Mattingly, the Austin, TX (Zilker) leader for Tango Charities, to the conversation! 🎙️ Tango Charities is a hunger-focused nonprofit that works to feed, educate, and empower communities through healthy and nutritious food initiatives. Since officially becoming a nonprofit in 2020, the organization has continued to expand its impact, helping provide more than 7 million...

We're excited to welcome Jenna Medford, Chapter Director of the Greater Austin Chapter at Breakthrough T1D , to the conversation!  🎙️ Founded in 1970, Breakthrough T1D was started by families who refused to accept a type 1 diabetes diagnosis as the end of the story. Today, it has grown into a global movement focused on funding research, advocating for policy change, and connecting communities to b...

Connection between a mother and child does not have to be lost, even from a distance. We're excited to welcome Jill Gonzalez, Executive Director at Women's Storybook Project, to the conversation 🎙️ Women's Storybook Project helps incarcerated mothers stay connected with their children by recording stories and messages of love and sending them alongside books. These recordings allow children to hea...

The next 25 years are going to change the way we give. Are nonprofits ready for women and younger generations who care more about causes than organizations? We're excited to welcome  Meagan Anderson Longley, Chief Impact Officer at Austin Community Foundation , to the conversation! 🎙️ Often described as a charitable bank, Austin Community Foundation partners with individuals, families, and busines...

Happy New Year! Do you have any goals for 2026 to connect and give back more? If not, we share some tips. Then we sit down with Marcus Cantu, Executive Director at Pop-Up Birthday to talk about why celebration matters, how birthdays can create a sense of belonging for children in CPS care, and how small, intentional moments can make a lasting impact. Pop-Up Birthday provides personalized birthday...

Join us as we escape into the  Ronald McDonald House of Central Texas! In this episode, we explore why people are skeptical of large donations and the wealthy individuals behind them. We discuss the role of influence, tax write-offs, and "strings attached" gifts, and why nonprofits often earn more trust than big donors. We also sat down with Kristin Coulter, Chief Operating Officer at Ronald McDon...

Join us as we escape into Family Eldercare ! We're excited to welcome Dr. Aaron Alarcon, Chief Executive Officer at Family Eldercare , to the conversation!   In this episode, we dive into the power of community and why collective care matters more than ever. We discuss how investing in the people around us builds connection, trust, and a sense of belonging that gives back when it matters most. Fam...

Join us as we escape into Project Schoolhouse ! We're excited to welcome Selina Serna, Executive Director, and Shannon Fohn, Board VP, at Project Schoolhouse to the conversation!   First we explore how technology can help mission-driven organizations do more with less. We discuss how AI, automation, and smarter tools can support small teams, strengthen messaging, and expand impact without expandin...

Join us as we escape into  We Are Blood! In this episode, we explore why purpose-driven work deserves more respect, recognition, and investment. We discuss how teachers, social workers, and nonprofit professionals shape our communities and why their impact is often undervalued. We also sit down with  Nick Canedo, Vice President of Community Engagement at We Are Blood , the nonprofit dedicated to s...

Join us as we escape into Special Olympics San Marcos Wolverines ! We're excited to welcome the the Special Olympics San Marcos Wolverines Soccer Team  to the conversation! The Wolverines have been selected to represent Team Texas at the Special Olympics USA Games next year in Minnesota! For these athletes, this is more than a game. It's about growth, courage, teamwork, and the joy of pushing them...

Join us as we escape into Mike & Sherry Project!  We're excited to welcome  Sam Hellman-Mass, restaurant industry veteran, owner of East Austin favorite Suerte, and founder of Mike & Sherry Project, to the conversation!  Founded in 2019, the Mike & Sherry Project partners with Capital Area Counseling (CAC) to provide affordable, accessible mental health care for Austin's restaurant and bar industr...

Join us as we escape into Level! We're excited to welcome Alex Wright, Executive Director of Level , to the conversation! Level creates and distributes educational and job training content for people in prison, helping them thrive after release and break the cycle of incarceration. Their programs focus on the unique needs of incarcerated learners  and their supporters on the outside, believing in...

Join us as we escape into LifeWorks! We're excited to welcome Liz Schoenfeld, the Chief Executive Officer of LifeWorks , to the conversation!  Every young person deserves safety, stability, and the chance to shape their own future. Yet in Central Texas, more than 1,000 youth, many aging out of foster care or supporting a child, do not have a safe place to sleep. LifeWorks is changing that by provi...

Join us as we escape into GirlForward! We're excited to welcome Johanna Hosking-Pulido , the executive director for GirlForward, to the conversation! GirlForward is a community of support dedicated to creating and enhancing opportunities for girls who have been displaced globally by conflict and persecution. GirlForward supports girls in grades 9-12 who are refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers...

Join us as we escape into NAMI Central Texas! We're excited to welcome Colleen Gallion, executive director for NAMI Central Texas, to the conversation!  NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization, dedicated to improving the lives of millions of Americans affected by mental illness. What began in 1979 as a small group of families gat...

Join us as we escape into The Church Lab / BridgeBuilders Lab! We're excited to welcome Reverend Carrie Graham of The Church Lab / BridgeBuilders Lab to the conversation!    Stephanie and Courtney also dive into a topic that matters - The "I can't make a difference" dilemma that people may face when deciding whether to give back to nonprofits or their community.     The Church Lab (TCL) was founde...

Join us as we escape into Zilker 351! We're excited to welcome Fleetwood Jacobs, Executive Director of Zilker 351, to the conversation.   Zilker 351 is a nonprofit dedicated to making Zilker sustainably greener and accessible for all. They care for the park's natural habitats, restore native plants, protect the springs, and uncover its full history, from indigenous roots to the harder stories of e...

Join us as we escape into Austin Parks Foundation! We sat down with Caitlyn Denham , Senior Events & Partnerships Manager, and Katie Kennedy , VP of Marketing & Communications at Austin Parks Foundation! Austin Parks Foundation partners with the community to enhance people's lives by improving public parks, trails, and green spaces through volunteerism, innovative programming, advocacy, and financ...

Join us as sit down with Dick Rathgeber!  We sat down with Dick Rathgeber , one of Austin's most remarkable philanthropists and community builders! For more than 40 years, Dick and his wife, Sara, have given away half of their annual income to charity, $200 million, over his lifetime. His generosity has fueled projects across the city, including the  Rathgeber Center for Families with the Salvatio...

Join us as we escape into Keep Austin Fed!  And Steph and Courtney talk about a topic that matters: nonprofit and 501(c)(3) terminology.  Listen in as Lisa Barden, Executive Director for Keep Austin Fed  shares ther mission and ways you can show up.   Keep Austin Fed began in 2004, when founder Randy Rosens saved high-quality catered food from an Austin Museum of Art fundraising event that was hea...

Join us as we escape into Austin Creative Reuse and celebrate our 25th interview! We sat down with Madison Knapp, Community Programs Manager for Austin Creative Reuse!   Austin Creative Reuse was founded in 2009 to foster conservation and reuse through creativity, education, and community building. Their mission is to inspire a community that consciously consumes and chooses reuse first when evalu...