I was drawn to social impact work because I love human beings
I believe every person on the planet deserves to live a whole, multidimensional life.
Everyone has unique spirit — one that’s worthy of expression and appreciation. I’ve always wanted my work to be about advancing that kind of human thriving by expanding access to the foundational needs that make it possible.
12+ years in social impact
I started my career working in policy advocacy, marketing, and fundraising at organizations like the International Rescue Committee, Breakthrough Collaborative, and Kiva. I learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to promoting social progress. I was especially inspired by programs organized around the simple practice of asking people what they need, and delivering it to them on their own terms.
In 2012 I cofounded Watsi, a non-profit crowdfunding platform that enables anyone to fund life-changing healthcare for patients around the world. Through donations of as little as $5, Watsi has funded more than $18M in care for 30K+ patients in 33 countries. We were named one of CNN's Top 10 Startups to Watch, one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies, and recognized by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BBC, and NPR for our work using technology and human connection to bridge gaps in access to healthcare.
I was Watsi’s COO for 8 years, managing people ops, internal processes, marketing, digital fundraising, and enterprise software implementations for Meso, an open source technology platform we built to help nonprofits and governments administer health coverage. I now serve on Watsi’s board of directors.
High highs and low lows
Building Watsi was an incredible, often euphoric experience. I felt grateful every day for the opportunity to work on something that deeply mattered to me, learn alongside people I loved and respected, and know that my efforts were contributing to better lives for thousands of people around the world.
At the same time, I struggled with feeling constantly outside my comfort zone, unable to distinguish between my needs and the organization’s needs, and like if the work was never done, I could never rest.
The more I talked with other social impact founders, the more I realized I wasn’t alone. Many of us were at risk of being overwhelmed by the particular flavor of burnout that often creeps up on social entrepreneurs. The sense that because your organization was born out of your values and experiences, it is you. The feeling that because the people you serve can’t take a break from their problems, you can’t take a break from trying to solve them. The idea that if you drive yourself harder and tighten your grip — whether or not you’re holding onto things you can control — you can create the outcomes you want through sheer force of will.
An ecosystem-level problem
Over time, I saw how this way of relating to our work was not only hurting us as individuals, but preventing our organizations from living up to their potential and depleting the health of the social innovation ecosystem.
My peers and I were so enmeshed with our startups that we didn’t give them space to become the dynamic entities they needed to be outside of us. We were so conditioned to see self-care as self-indulgence that we couldn’t accept it as a precondition for impact. We were so stuck in hero mindsets that we wasted time struggling against factors we couldn’t control, rather than investing our energy in what we could.
Eventually, with support from founder friends, mentors, and a great coach of my own, I began to reorient my approach. I started pursuing more joy and balance in my work. I started holding myself accountable to overarching personal and professional goals. I started seeing myself as a whole person — one who was allowed to strive for the same level of flourishing I advocated for others.
Moving toward a sense of aliveness
I became a social entrepreneur coach to support the full humanity of people who innovate for social change — for the good of themselves, their organizations, and all of us who stand to benefit from their efforts in the long run.
The best piece of advice I received as a founder came from Premal Shah, a mentor and cofounder of Kiva, who told me, “it may sound woo woo, but sense of aliveness is precious, and you need to follow that.” Today, the highlight of my work is helping leaders find authentic, sustainable ways of growing their sense of aliveness while growing their impact.
Informed by my years of experience in the social impact space, my training as a Hudson Institute of Coaching certified leadership coach, and my work as a mentor and advisor to social entrepreneurs from the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, Fast Forward Tech Nonprofit Accelerator, and TechStars Social Impact Accelerator, I’ve now coached dozens of amazing nonprofit and social enterprise founders — backed by Y Combinator, Fast Forward, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, Google.org, and others — working on everything from refugee healthcare to criminal justice reform to climate change.
It’s a joy to walk alongside these impact founders as they find their places in the world, as leaders and as human beings.
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