What if the secret to a thriving nonprofit was not a bigger budget, but a braver culture? Henriette Recny, President of People and Organizational Strategy at The Literacy Lab, has spent over 15 years building workplaces where purpose does not cost people their wellbeing. A former career teacher turned organisational architect, Henriette brings a radical yet grounded philosophy to nonprofit leadership, one that dares to say: growing organisations do not have to burn their people down to build something great.
📖 The Literacy Crisis No One Is Talking About Inside Nonprofits
🌱 The Gardener Framework: Leading Teams Without Burning Them Out
🔄 Adaptive Leadership and the Art of the Pivot Under Pressure
🧭 Start Where You Are: The Onboarding Blueprint That Changes Everything
If you lead a mission driven team, manage people in a high pressure environment, or are building nonprofit culture from the ground up, this episode will shift how you think about sustainable leadership, staff retention, and human centred operations.

You can get in touch with Henriette Recny here on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henriette-recny/
Website: https://theliteracylab.org

We hope you enjoyed this episode of What Works!
- Marla and the What Works Podcast team :)

Are you a Leader who would benefit from Leaders encouraging Leaders, Leave a comment where we can find you of go over to https://www.skool.com/value-based-leadership-8377 and join the community there.

Connect with me:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachingwithmarla/

#whatworkspodcast #nonprofitleadership #missiondriven #operations #scalingimpact #nonprofitmanagement #leadershipthatinspires #nonprofitexcellence #socialimpact #teambuilding #burnoutprevention

#whatworkspodcast #nonprofitleadership #missiondriven #operations #scalingimpact #nonprofitmanagement #leadershipthatinspires #nonprofitexcellence #socialimpact #teambuilding #burnoutprevention
WhatWorks is a bold and insightful podcast for non-profit leaders who want to go deeper than surface-level conversations. Hosted by Marla Moody, a seasoned operations executive with decades of global experience, the show uncovers what truly makes mission-driven organizations thrive. From scaling systems to building resilient teams and fighting burnout, WhatWorks goes behind the scenes of the world’s most impactful non-profits.

What if the antidote to a fractured, algorithmically poisoned society was already broadcasting 60 years ago?
David Fischer, President and General Manager of KNKX Public Radio, walked away from a 35 year performing arts career, picked up a ringing phone on a beach, and said yes to the most urgent mission in media today.

🎙 From Burnout to Broadcast: A Career Reinvented Against All Odds
📡 The KNKX Blueprint: How Dual Format Radio Rewires Divided Communities
🧠 Solutions Journalism vs Breaking News: The Model That Actually Heals
⚖️ Nonprofit Accountability in a Trust Deficit World: The Standard We Must Hold
When profit driven algorithms deliberately deepen division, public media without paywalls, without advertisers, without selling your data becomes the most radical act of civic courage alive. David unpacks why community convening through jazz, blues, and fearless local news is not nostalgia. It is the future.

Connect with David Fischer here on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-fischer-5975876/
Website: https://www.knkx.org/

We hope you enjoyed this episode of What Works!
- Marla and the What Works Podcast team :)

Are you a Leader who would benefit from Leaders encouraging Leaders, Leave a comment where we can find you of go over to https://www.skool.com/value-based-leadership-8377 and join the community there.

Connect with me:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachingwithmarla/

#whatworkspodcast #nonprofitleadership #missiondriven #operations #scalingimpact #nonprofitmanagement #leadershipthatinspires #nonprofitexcellence #socialimpact #teambuilding #burnoutprevention

#whatworkspodcast #nonprofitleadership #missiondriven #operations #scalingimpact #nonprofitmanagement #leadershipthatinspires #nonprofitexcellence #socialimpact #teambuilding #burnoutprevention
WhatWorks is a bold and insightful podcast for non-profit leaders who want to go deeper than surface-level conversations. Hosted by Marla Moody, a seasoned operations executive with decades of global experience, the show uncovers what truly makes mission-driven organizations thrive. From scaling systems to building resilient teams and fighting burnout, WhatWorks goes behind the scenes of the world’s most impactful non-profits.

She walked into nonprofit leadership with zero nonprofit experience and built one of the most purposeful equine welfare movements in America. Melissa Kitchen, President of the Equine Network Foundation, is proving that rescued horses do not just need humans. Humans desperately need them too.
🎬 What You Will Explore in This Episode
🐴 The Rescue Crisis Nobody Talks About
200,000 horses in transition at any moment and rescues at 95% capacity
🧠 Horses as Mental Health Healers
Veterans, autistic children and trauma survivors are finding breakthroughs no therapy room could offer
🎯 The One Thing First Framework
How Melissa leads an entire foundation solo by doing less and achieving far more
🌿 Building Your Herd
Why community, not burnout, is the real infrastructure of every thriving nonprofit
If you lead a nonprofit, run a rescue, work in equine welfare, or simply carry more than you should every single day, this episode will reset you. Melissa's story is proof that intentional leadership, radical focus, and a rescued horse can change what you thought was possible.

You can get in touch with Melissa Kitchen here on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissasauerkitchen/
Website: https://equinenetworkfoundation.org

We hope you enjoyed this episode of What Works!
- Marla and the What Works Podcast team :)

Are you a Leader who would benefit from Leaders encouraging Leaders, Leave a comment where we can find you of go over to https://www.skool.com/value-based-leadership-8377 and join the community there.

Connect with me:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachingwithmarla/

#whatworkspodcast #nonprofitleadership #missiondriven #operations #scalingimpact #nonprofitmanagement #leadershipthatinspires #nonprofitexcellence #socialimpact #teambuilding #burnoutprevention

#whatworkspodcast #nonprofitleadership #missiondriven #operations #scalingimpact #nonprofitmanagement #leadershipthatinspires #nonprofitexcellence #socialimpact #teambuilding #burnoutprevention
WhatWorks is a bold and insightful podcast for non-profit leaders who want to go deeper than surface-level conversations. Hosted by Marla Moody, a seasoned operations executive with decades of global experience, the show uncovers what truly makes mission-driven organizations thrive. From scaling systems to building resilient teams and fighting burnout, WhatWorks goes behind the scenes of the world’s most impactful non-profits.