Leadership Insights Podcast

“Love is a verb. It’s not what we say, it’s what we do that matters.” – Mark Bergel Few business conversations center on love, but love is exactly what drives Dr. Mark Bergel every moment of every day.  His mission is “simply” to end poverty. It may seem like a lofty goal but when you hear this amazing interview, you’ll know that if anyone can end poverty, it’s Mark and his extraordinary team! In 2001, Mark, then teaching at American University, volunteered along with his students to deliver food to families living in need in the D.C region. He found himself in homes with no beds, no dressers and no living room furniture at all. As a result, Mark p rofoundly changed his life along with the lives of thousands of children and adults living in need. With no seed money, but a strong conviction that we could do better for those living in poverty, he converted his living room into a nonprofit office and founded A Wider Circle. Today the organization is housed in a 25,000 square-foot facility and is planning to expand! To date, A Wider Circle has served more than 125,000 individuals, with more than 10,000 volunteers coming each year to support the effort. What You'll Learn

• What is the difference between living a small and a big life (I know, it got deep!)
• What inspired Mark to leave his job in academia and give up the life he was planning in Sedona to tirelessly pursue his mission to end poverty
• What drives mark to work 14-16 hours a day 365 a year and wake up energized after 4 hours of sleep (kids, don't try this at home!)
• How to create an organizational culture centered on love and find staff who both have the heart and the skills to get the job done
• How to leverage others’ talents to balance out your strengths and weaknesses as a leader
• What is enlightened selfishness?
• Why Mark's believes that we can end poverty in 20 years and how we can do it
• How to do seemingly impossible (beyond ending poverty) - get others to care and to instill a sense of possibility in skeptical people
• How do we get others to engage in your cause
• This and so much more you’ll learn in this incredible conversation with Mark!

Links & Resources

• A Wider Circle – the amazing organization that will end poverty.  If you live outside of the D.C. area please Google “poverty / community service / volunteering to find an organization that needs you in your region

• The Alchemist, Paolo Coelho – one of Mark’s favorite books (and mine)
• American University Sociology Program – Mark refers to it in his interview, if you’re fascinated please check it out! 

About Mark Bergel Dr. Bergel founded A Wider Circle in 2001 and has emerged as a leader in the movement to end poverty. He is a nationally acclaimed speaker in the fields of poverty, health, and social connection and has been featured on national television and radio programs. Mark earned a B.A. from Northwestern University and went on to receive both Masters and Doctoral degrees from American University. In 2014, Mark was selected as a CNN Hero, bringing much-needed attention to the movement to end poverty in our nation. The result of this honor has been to bring many more people from across the country to our efforts - and to help us answer the call to help our neighbors in need. Mark has also been voted one of People Magazine and Major League Baseball's "All Stars Among Us" and he has received the Dr. Augustus White III Award for Civic Engagement and Service, the Andrea Jolly President's Award, the Essence of Leadership Award at the Greater DC Cares Business and Nonprofit Philanthropy Summit, and the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region's Linowes Leadership Award.  

“Unless you know where you're from you don't have that anchor as a leader, you really can't move forward” – Lidia Soto-Harmon Lidia has spent a great deal of her life in the “hyphen” of being a Cuban-American: that is between her Cuban roots and American life as an adult. Her Cuban missionary parents moved from Tennessee to El Salvador to Ecuador back to the U.S. during Lidia’s formative years, deeply instilling in her love of family, service and travel. In this incredibly open, authentic, heart-warming interview Lidia shares wonderful stories of her family – from her uncle’s MacGyver-like ingenuity forced by scarcity of communist Cuba to her father’s magic touch with people (that Lidia clearly inherited) to the moving recent trip with her children back to Cuba. Lidia also talks about the importance of sharing your struggles and not just successes as a leader; how she "translates" her international background and earlier career successes to making impact locally with the Girl Scouts; her struggles with balance and making time for self-care; and some fun stories about her family’s fascination with everything Alexander Hamilton (and not just the musical!) What You'll Learn

• About Lidia’s amazing journey as the daughter of Cuban missionary parents from TN to El Salvador and Ecuador back to the U.S.
• Why Lidia considers the question "where are you from?" a complicated one
• How living in Latin America and witnessing extreme poverty and injustice influenced Lidia's path as a leader
• Ways leaders can systemically impact community and have a ripple effect at multiple levels of change
• Some heartwarming personal stories of young women Lidia has mentored and what she has learned from them (and her children) in return
• What Lidia most struggles with at this point of her life and career
• The challenges and gifts of being an “empty nester”
• Why Lidia’s personal mission in elevators is to make people laugh at least ones
• Secrets of the Woo (Winning Over Others) she learned from her father
• What Lidia and her family find fascinating and inspiring about Alexander Hamilton

  Links & Resources

• The Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital – Lidia’s organization
• Encuentro – Girl Scouts’ conference to empower Latina girls
• TED talks – one of Lidia’s (and mine) sources of inspiration
• Hamilton the Musical – Tony Award-winning musical by Lin-Manual Miranda Lidia references in the interview
• Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow – book Lidia recommends about Alexander Hamilton (you may be seeing a pattern, she is a huge Hamilton fan as you’ll hear about in this interview!)

About Lidia Soto Harmon Lidia Soto Harmon became the CEO of the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital in 2010 after serving six years as the organization’s Chief Operating Officer. The Girl Scout Council is the area’s preeminent leadership organization for girls, serving 90,000 girl and adult members (girls in grades K-12). Lidia has developed an annual conference, Encuentro de Chicas Latinas de las Girl Scouts , which reaches young Latina girls, inspiring leadership and academic success. She also developed the DC Step Showcase to celebrate the rich history of African-Americans. Today, the annual event is enjoyed by Girl Scouts throughout the region. Prior to joining the Council, Lidia served as Senior Vice President of Community Development for First Book, a national children’s literacy organization dedicated to getting new books into the hands of children from low-income families. She served as the Deputy Director of the President’s Interagency Council on Women, chaired by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, at the U.S. Department of State, where she represented the United States at various United Nations’ conferences including the annual Commission on the Status of Women. Lidia was the Senior Director of the Fannie Mae Foundation’s Targeted Outreach Department, designing the first corporate nationwide multilingual strategy to reach new immigrants to promote homeownership in the United States in the late 1990s. She was a 2000 Fellow for the National Hispana Leadership Institute and participated with her NHLI Class in the Executive Seminar at Harvard’s Kennedy School. Lidia was named one of Nation’s Top 90 Women , Mentoring Leaders by Women of Wealth Magazine 2011, Notimujer of the Week , by CNN en Español for her work to reach young Latinas, and a Woman Who Means Business by the Washington Business Journal in 2012. She received the Regional Mujer Award (Woman of the Year) by the National Hispana Leadership Institute in 2012, and the Woman of Vision Award from the Junior League of Northern Virginia 2012. In 2013, Lidia was named one of DC’s most influential leaders in the Power Issue of Capitol File Magazine and she received the Wayne T. Anderson Award for Distinguished Public Service from George Mason University in 2014. Lidia is Vice Chair of the Migration Policy Institute, serves on the board of directors for the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington and chairs the Governance Committee for the Meyer Foundation. She was honored to throw out the first pitch at a Washington Nationals Major League baseball game in 2014, in honor of Girl Scout Weekend in the Greater Washington Region. Lidia grew up in Latin America and the United States. She earned her Master’s in Public Administration from George Mason University and B.A. from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. She is married and has two bilingual adult children.  

"It's hard to take a hit for your decisions, but this is the path I've chosen as a leader and a journalist - to make Washington a better place to live " – Doug Fruehling It’s not every day that you get to interview a leading journalist in Washington DC and especially not to have such a frank, authentic conversation caught on tape! In this revealing, insightful interview Doug Fruehling, the editor of the Washington Business Journal, opens up about what it’s like to be a leader who doesn’t always feel like he has all the answers. Doug admits he periodically struggles with self-doubt, shyness, decision-making and confidence, but yet chooses to make bold, sometimes unpopular decisions anyway and stick with his principles! What You'll Learn

• How living in Japan as a child informed Doug's perspective on the world and leadership
• Importance of learning from diverse people we meet through all walks of life
• How Doug’s deals with criticism, including for his bold decision to exclude football team’s name “Redskins” from print in the Washington Business Journal
• Importance of being an authentic, sincere and honest leader with staff and readers (or other constituents if you’re not a journalist)
• Greatest challenges of leading a news room and being a journalist today
• How to bring heart and humanity to interactions with others and balance journalistic truth and empathy
• How to keep employees positive and motivated when they have to do so much more with much less
• What Mid-West farmers and DC CEOs have in common
• What it’s been like for Doug to be a gay man in the professional world and constantly decide how to navigate questions about his personal life
• Super fun responses to my WBJ-style questions about Doug's guilty pleasures, favorite pet and what he'd do if he weren't the editor of the WBJ! 

Links & Resources

• Washington Business Journal -www.bizjournals.com/washington/ 
• Leadership Greater Washington - lgwdc.org

About Doug Fruehling Doug has been the Editor-in-Chief of the Washington Business Journal since 2009. He oversees all editorial content and leads a 20-person newsroom at the WBJ, which produces daily online news coverage of the local D.C. business scene and a weekly print publication. Prior to the WBJ, Doug was the managing editor of Roll Call and before that the managing editor of the WBJ (yes, it’s his second time around!) He began his career at Peoria Journal Star that you’ll hear about in the interview. Doug has a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Ohio University and went to high school in Japan. Doug is quite involved in the DC community and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Leadership Greater Washington.  

“It’s all about being genuine, doing what you say you'll do and treating people with humanity no matter what” – Glen O’Gilvie “Failure is not an option and neither is complaining.” This - and how to do more with less - is what Glen O’Gilvie learned from his Jamaican immigrant parents. So when he became an “accidental” leader at a young age, Glen had to figure out how to gain credibility and trust, lead people of all ages and backgrounds and make a transformational impact on the organizations and communities he has served. In this dynamic interview Glen shares his personal story and insights on empowering people (even when you let them go); transforming organizations; current trends in strengths and growing edges of nonprofit leaders and how to address the gaps; and the importance of ongoing reflection and coaching as a leader. What You'll Learn

• What Glen has learned about life, positive attitude and doing more with less from his Jamaican immigrant parents
• How Glen's first few no-go jobs and an unexpectedly engaging one shaped his career path
• How to overcome barriers of being a young (and/or accidental) leader
• Strategies and capacities necessary to transform a struggling organization
• What it means to hire slow and fire fast
• What it takes to leave employees empowered even when letting them go (it has to do with Glen’s 3 Rs – Redirect, Retrain and Release)
• Current trends in non-profit leadership challenges and how to get the right support
• How coaching and ongoing reflection can support executives to even greater growth and development. I know what you’re thinking but I promise, I didn’t plant this conversation despite my obvious bias on the topic – it was all Glen!

Links & Resources

• Center for Non-Profit Advancement - nonprofitadvancement.org
• Leadership Greater Washington - lgwdc.org
• Race movie - focusfeatures.com/race
• Rotary Club - rotary.org
• Earth Conservation Corps - earthconservationcorps.org
• Community Foundation - https://thecommunityfoundation.org
• Robert F. Kennedy Memorial’s RFK Fellows Program - http://rfkcenter.org

About Glen O’Gilvie Glen O’Gilvie, CAE was named chief executive officer of the Center for Nonprofit Advancement on June 5, 2008. A leader with more than 15 years of experience in the Metropolitan Washington nonprofit sector, Glen is passionate about addressing the issues affecting communities throughout the region. Before joining the Center, Glen served as president and CEO of Earth Conservation Corps. During his tenure from 2004 to 2008, he strengthened the organization’s programmatic infrastructure and forged partnerships with nonprofits, public officials, foundations and corporations throughout the region to advance the organization’s work. He developed structured environmental workforce development, leadership and service programs for disconnected youth in Washington, D.C., and built staff, board and organizational capacity with a focus on long-term sustainability. Prior to Earth Conservation Corps, Glen worked as a program officer for the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region. While at the Community Foundation, he was responsible for growing the organization’s youth development grant program, which builds the capacity of nonprofit organizations throughout the region. Previously, Glen served as the national coordinator for the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial’s RFK Fellows program. While there, he strengthened and developed youth training and leadership program model that placed young people within nonprofit organizations in Washington, D.C., and California to support their innovative efforts. Glen holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology; a master’s of education in guidance and counseling and has completed various nonprofit management and leadership training and certification programs. He resides in Prince George’s County, Maryland, with his wife and two children.  

Tony Cancelosi is an unusual leader in the non-profit field. He made – what some might consider - a huge leap from corporate to entrepreneurial to nonprofit worlds, all with tremendous success. As it turns out there are many similarities in leading these different types of organizations including the importance of financial management, being clear about the organization’s mission and goals, building the organization’s and leader’s reputation in the community and listening and empowering staff. Tony’s recommended “leadership” book may surprise some at first glance since it’s now one of his little granddaughter’s favorites as well. Listen to this episode (or see the show notes) for the name of the book and other tools, tips and resources from Tony Cancelosi, the President and CEO of the Columbia Lighthouse for the blind. What You'll Learn

• The differences and similarities of leading a commercial vs. a non profit organization
• Importance of financial and business focus in non profits
• Why listening, humility and empowering others is important as a leader
• Focusing on your market as a non profit just as if you were a business
• Building your reputation in the community and ways to achieve that

Links & Resources

• Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind – Non-profit organization that Tony Cancelosi leads
• The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstien – Tony’s recommended leadership (and grand-daughter) book
• Getting Innovation Right by Seth Kahn – book authored by one of the talented CLB board members
• Good to Great by Jim Collins – a business classic recommended by Tony

About Tony Cancelosi  Tony Cancelosi, K.M. was appointed president and CEO of Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind (CLB) in September 2005. Under his leadership, CLB is refocusing its priorities to better serve the needs of the residents living in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia who are blind or visually impaired. To accomplish this goal, Mr. Cancelosi is expanding CLB’s strategic partnerships within the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and forging alliances with other blindness and disability organizations, both regionally and nationally. Mr. Cancelosi represents CLB on the Montgomery County Workforce Investment Board and the Northern Virginia Workforce Investment Board. As CLB increases the depth and outreach of its local programs, Mr. Cancelosi is working to identify and cultivate new sources of private and government funding, reduce administrative expenses, and bring an increased level of fiscal accountability to the organization. Prior to joining the nonprofit organization, he was President of ICL, an international software company, and the CEO of several for-profit technology companies including iBrite, Inc., eStara, and Source Digital. He also served as COO for Kee Systems (now Sylvan Learning). Early in his career, Mr. Cancelosi worked in sales for Control Data Corporation. His nonprofit experience includes involvement with the International Center for the Disabled, National Kidney Foundation, and the Special Olympics. He is the former chairman of ServiceSource and is now a trustee of the ServiceSource foundation. In addition to serving on CLB’s Board of Directors, Mr. Cancelosi serves on the boards of directors of the DC Police Foundation, Providence Health Foundation, and VISTA Technology Services, Inc. and is president emeritus of the Association for Corporate Growth. He is a member of the Wharton Club, Leadership of Greater Washington Class of 2007, the Potomac Officers Club, and the Rotary Club. Recently, Mr. Cancelosi became a Knight of Malta as well as graduated from the FBI’s Citizen’s Academy. Mr. Cancelosi remains a partner at Human Capital Advisors. In 2010, Mr. Cancelosi wrote a book called Santa’s Secret, and all book sales benefit Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind. Mr. Cancelosi completed the Executive Finance Program at the Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia and received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from St. Joseph’s University, also in Philadelphia.  

“There is nothing better than getting things done on behalf of the people that you serve and making their lives better”  - Doug Duncan The Washington Post called Doug Duncan the best County Executive in Montgomery County history.  But then what was splashed all over the media was Doug withdrawing from the Maryland governor race due to severe depression. What followed Doug calls “two years of living in hell.” In this frank, revealing interview you’ll hear about Doug’s struggle with depression – from denial of its existence to coming to terms and asking for help to making it his mission to help others suffering from this debilitating mental illness. We also discuss how Doug’s family, faith, leadership philosophy and passion for public service have shaped his life and journey as a leader. What You'll Learn

• How Doug Duncan transformed a mental health crisis that forced him out of the MD Governor race into an even bigger opportunity to serve the public
• What might be the early signs of depression vs. high stress (and see the link below for more symptoms of depression)
• How Doug overcomes shyness by focusing on his passion for public service
• Why it’s crucial for leaders to be transparent and tell the truth even under the toughest of circumstances
• Differences between leadership as a politician vs. of a non-profit like LGW
• What is Doug’s “Secret Handshake” club and who should join
• The importance of sharing your vision as a leader
• Tips and strategies to combat “loneliness at the top” and make friends at any stage of life
• How Leadership Greater Washington and other professional organizations can help leaders connect and grow

Links & Resources

• Leadership Greater Washington - http://www.lgwdc.org
• Mental Health Association of Montgomery County - http://www.mhamc.org/html/index.html
• Checklist of depression symptoms - http://depressionhurts.ca/en/checklist/
• Study about importance of friendship - http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/good-friends-are-good-for-you
• Rotary Club - https://www.rotary.org
• Kiwanis - http://www.kiwanis.org
• Knights of Columbus - http://www.kofc.org/en//index.html
• Lion’s Club - http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/index.php

About Doug Duncan Doug Duncan has been a leader in the Greater Washington Region for over thirty years and today serves as President & CEO of Leadership Greater Washington, where he brings together regional leaders and regional challenges to foster positive community impact.  LGW is a thirty year organization with over fifteen hundred members who have gone through its Signature Program and who are among the top decision makers in the region. Mr. Duncan is best known for having served three terms as Montgomery County Executive, the top elected official in Maryland’s largest jurisdiction. The Washington Post has called him the best County Executive in Montgomery County history.  In his highly successful 12 years in office, he developed, coordinated and implemented a wide array of initiatives on the local, regional and state levels, in partnership with multiple constituencies including residents, civic groups, unions, non-profits, the business and education communities, and other elected officials. He led Montgomery County through its transformation from a suburban bedroom community into a thriving urban center recognized for visionary land planning, its global technology industry, and vast open spaces and parks. The results of Doug Duncan’s landmark initiatives have been hailed nationally as models for other communities across the country. He successfully revitalized downtown Silver Spring, now a national model for urban redevelopment.  He led the effort to fund and construct the Music Center at Strathmore, rated as one of the best concert halls in the country. And during an extraordinarily dangerous time in our region’s history, Mr. Duncan, along with Police Chief Charles Moose, helped lead this community through the DC area sniper shootings, where he earned the title of Chaplain for the region. In his career, Mr. Duncan also co-founded a continuous advisory services firm for state and local governments, was Vice President for Administrative Affairs at the University of Maryland College Park, was a National Account Manager for AT&T, and served as Mayor of Rockville, his hometown. Among numerous awards, Mr. Duncan has been named to the Washington Business Journal Power 100 and as a Washingtonian of the Year by Washingtonian Magazine.  

“If we’re not able to tell our story we’re not able to connect with other people who will truly benefit from it.” – Scott Jackson, CEO, Global Impact and the  Leadership Insights Podcast first guest

Brian Hawkins was told he wasn't smart enough to work as a hospital payroll technician. Urged by a mindset instilled by his family “You can do, you must do and you will do" and driven to change the medical system that treated his grandfather poorly Brian persisted to eventually to become the Director of the DC Veteran Affairs Medical Center. You’ll hear just how much Brian’s parents (and children) have taught him about leadership all throughout this interview. Brian believes that only by engaging employees is it possible to provide the excellent care the patients and their families deserve. The Hawk Eye program he initiated at DCVAMC empowers employees at all levels to actively observe customer service and immediately advocate for the patient if the service is sub-par. Employees also report their observations to Brian and his team and thanks to this program, numerous changes have been made at DCVAMC to better service the patients. One change resulting from this effort was a complete $900k redesign of the hospital atrium to make female veterans and employees more comfortable. Brian’s interview is filled with stories, examples and tips for creating engagement, diversity and excellence in any organization! What You'll Learn

• Tips and strategies to create a culture of excellence and diversity in any organization
• How employee engagement (or lack thereof) drastically impacts customer service
• Why it’s important to cultivate a strong organizational culture that that transcends whoever occupies the leader chair
• How Abraham Lincoln’s philosophy described in Team of Rivals has shaped Brian’s leadership approach
• Ways in which Brian’s perspective as a leader was shaped by his parents and being a parent
• Why it’s better to not reference the holidays as a new podcaster if you’re planning to launch the said podcast in the New year – yes, this interview was recorded Christmas week as will become quite evident when you listen ;)
• This and so much more you’ll enjoy hearing about in this episode of Leadership Insights!

Links & Resources

• DC VA Medical Center – Brian’s organization
• Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin – book Brian referenced in the interview
• Giovanni’s – fabulous Italian restaurant in DC for our local listeners’ enjoyment

About Brian Hawkins Brian A. Hawkins was appointed Medical Center Director, Washington DC VA Medical Center September 25, 2011. With more than 2,200 employees, over 90,000 Veterans enrolled for care and a budget of more than $450 million dollars, Mr. Hawkins leads one of the largest and highly visible medical centers in the nation. In addition to the main hospital, Mr. Hawkins is responsible for the Community Resource and Referral Center for Homeless and At-risk Veterans (CRRC) and five community based outpatient clinics in Washington, DC; Fort Belvoir, Virginia; and Greenbelt, Camp Springs and Charlotte Hall, Maryland. Brian began his career at Chicago's Hines VA Medical Center as a Clerk/Typist. His career demonstrates continuous advancement through leadership positions which include; Medical Center Director at the Jack C. Montgomery VA Medical Center in Muskogee, Oklahoma, Associate Director and Chief Operating Officer of the VA Maryland Healthcare System and Associate Director and Site Manager for the Perry Point VA Medical Center. He has also held positions of authority at the VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Atlanta VA Medical Center and Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. Brian holds a Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Sciences from Southern Illinois University and a Master of Health Administration from Governors State University. His unique leadership style was recognized by Veterans Health Administration (VHA) naming him 2012 "Communications Visionary of the Year". He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the Senior Executives Association, and the American Pilot and Aircraft Owners Association and has been an Adjunct Professor at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, OK. A Veteran himself, Mr. Hawkins served eight years in the Illinois Army National Guard.