#185 | Leading with Heart: Resilience, Storytelling, and Impact with Claire Masikewich

#185 | Leading with Heart: Resilience, Storytelling, and Impact with Claire Masikewich

In this episode of Contagious Culture, Kyle S. King sits down with Claire Masikewich [https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairemasikewich/], founder of the Strong Like Sloan Foundation, [https://www.linkedin.com/company/strong-like-sloane-foundation/] for a powerful conversation about purpose, adversity, storytelling, community, and turning pain into impact. After her daughter Sloan was diagnosed with stage four cancer at five and a half years old, Claire’s life and work shifted. What started as a way to cope became a foundation raising money, awareness, and advocacy for pediatric cancer research. Claire shares how her family navigated treatment, relapse, remission, and hope while building a nonprofit that has raised nearly $400,000 in less than three years. This episode is for nonprofit leaders, parents, founders, and changemakers who are trying to build something meaningful while carrying the weight of real life. Episode Highlights 00:00 — Welcome to the Contagious Culture Podcast 01:00 — Claire Masikewich’s background in marketing and communications 02:30 — Sloan’s diagnosis and the start of Strong Like Sloan 05:00 — Finding purpose without forcing purpose 07:00 — The vision: a world where pediatric cancer is cured 09:30 — Why nonprofits should focus on solving root problems 12:00 — The challenge of funding pediatric cancer research 14:30 — Raising nearly $400,000 through community and storytelling 17:00 — How to tell powerful stories when the story is not your own 19:00 — Turning adversity into action 21:00 — “What if it all works out?” 23:00 — What kept Claire going during the hardest seasons 25:00 — The lesson of capability: we are stronger than we think 27:00 — The role of community in survival and impact 29:00 — Letting go of what you cannot control 30:30 — Boundaries, balance, and learning to say no 31:30 — Claire’s message to leaders and changemakers 32:00 — Closing: What type of culture are you spreading? Connect with Claire Strong Like Sloan Foundation Instagram: @stronglikesloane Claire Masikewich Instagram: @therealclairem -- Learn More About the Contagious Culture Conference [https://spreadcontagiousculture.com/] Subscribe & Leave a Review to The Contagious Culture Podcast Subscribe to Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/contagious-culture/id1829207363] 📞 Schedule Your Call Here [https://links.theculturelab.org/widget/booking/DmipbO4FF6aXtbSgzwlQ] 🖥️ Join the #1 Community for Leaders and Change Makers [https://the-growth-lab-community.lovable.app/] 👉🏽 Apply to Be in the Growth Alliance [https://growth-alliance-2026.lovable.app/] 👉🏽Connect with Kyle S. King [https://meet-kyle-s-king.lovable.app/]

#184 | Scaling Impact Without Losing Your Culture with Lauren Riley

In this episode of the Contagious Culture Podcast, Kyle King sits down with Lauren Riley [https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenreilly12/], Executive Director of Gratitude Network [https://www.gratitude-network.org/], to talk about nonprofit leadership, culture, sustainability, and scaling impact. Lauren shares why passion alone is not enough to grow an organization. Nonprofits need clear systems, aligned messaging, strong leadership, and a value proposition that everyone on the team can communicate. Kyle and Lauren also discuss why values are not culture, why organizations cannot scale what is not sustainable, and how nonprofit leaders can build systems that outlast the founder or executive director. Episode Highlights 00:00 — Introduction 01:16 — What keeps Lauren’s fire burning 02:00 — What Gratitude Network does 03:10 — What nonprofits often get wrong 04:44 — Building systems beyond the leader 06:18 — Why behaviors define culture 10:32 — Coaching, mentorship, and performance 13:15 — Recovering from disruption and defeat 15:48 — Moving beyond grants and donor dependency 18:26 — Training your team to communicate value 28:36 — Product, distribution, and financial sustainability 30:03 — Closing reflections -- Learn More About the Contagious Culture Conference [https://spreadcontagiousculture.com/] Subscribe & Leave a Review to The Contagious Culture Podcast Subscribe to Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/contagious-culture/id1829207363] 📞 Schedule Your Call Here [https://links.theculturelab.org/widget/booking/DmipbO4FF6aXtbSgzwlQ] 🖥️ Join the #1 Community for Leaders and Change Makers [https://the-growth-lab-community.lovable.app/] 👉🏽 Apply to Be in the Growth Alliance [https://growth-alliance-2026.lovable.app/] 👉🏽Connect with Kyle S. King [https://meet-kyle-s-king.lovable.app/]

#183 |The Science of Gratitude, Healing, and Human Connection W/ Peggy DeLong

In this episode of the Contagious Culture Podcast, Kyle King sits down with Peggy Doherty DeLong, Psy.D. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/drpeggydelongthegratitudepsychologist/], a psychologist, speaker, and educator who teaches practical tools for gratitude, well-being, and personal fulfillment. Peggy shares how gratitude helped her through deep grief after losing her fiancé and father within weeks of each other. She explains the science behind gratitude, why it is most powerful on our hardest days, and how simple daily practices can improve our mental health, relationships, and sense of meaning.   Kyle and Peggy also discuss the power of handwritten notes, awe, nature, human connection, the PEACE Method, and how high achievers can redefine success without burning out. Episode Highlights 00:00 — Introduction 00:55 — Peggy’s story and work with gratitude 02:35 — The science behind gratitude 04:29 — Daily gratitude practices 06:20 — The power of handwritten letters 08:00 — Gratitude, simplicity, and emotional blocks 10:21 — Starting the day with simple practices 11:21 — Finding awe in everyday life 13:14 — Nature, healing, and mental health 15:00 — Man’s Search for Meaning and resilience 16:48 — Defining meaning through connection 17:16 — The PEACE Method 20:08 — Redefining achievement 21:36 — The three P’s: pleasure, present, purpose -- Learn More About the Contagious Culture Conference [https://spreadcontagiousculture.com/] Subscribe & Leave a Review to The Contagious Culture Podcast Subscribe to Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/contagious-culture/id1829207363] 📞 Schedule Your Call Here [https://links.theculturelab.org/widget/booking/DmipbO4FF6aXtbSgzwlQ] 🖥️ Join the #1 Community for Leaders and Change Makers [https://the-growth-lab-community.lovable.app/] 👉🏽 Apply to Be in the Growth Alliance [https://growth-alliance-2026.lovable.app/] 👉🏽Connect with Kyle S. King [https://meet-kyle-s-king.lovable.app/]

#182 | Clean Data, Clear Mission: How Smart Systems Fuel Nonprofit Impact

In this episode of Contagious Culture, Kyle sits down with nonprofit technology expert Christine Robertson [https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-robertsonky/] to explore a topic that often gets overlooked, but quietly drives everything: data and systems. With over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit space, Christine shares how organizations can better align their mission with the way they manage information, relationships, and internal processes. From her early days as a database manager to her work as a consultant, she’s seen firsthand how clean data isn’t just about organization it’s about trust, stewardship, and impact. Together, they unpack what it really means to build a healthy data culture, why messy systems can hold organizations back, and how leaders can begin making simple shifts that lead to stronger relationships with supporters and more sustainable growth. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by your systems, unsure about your data, or curious how technology can better serve your mission, this conversation will challenge and equip you. Because at the end of the day, behind every data point is a person and how you manage that information says everything about your culture. -- Learn More About the Contagious Culture Conference [https://spreadcontagiousculture.com/] Subscribe & Leave a Review to The Contagious Culture Podcast Subscribe to Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/contagious-culture/id1829207363] 📞 Schedule Your Call Here [https://links.theculturelab.org/widget/booking/DmipbO4FF6aXtbSgzwlQ] 🖥️ Join the #1 Community for Leaders and Change Makers [https://the-growth-lab-community.lovable.app/] 👉🏽 Apply to Be in the Growth Alliance [https://growth-alliance-2026.lovable.app/] 👉🏽Connect with Kyle S. King [https://meet-kyle-s-king.lovable.app/]

#181 | Start Where You Stand: The Truth About Power, Safety, and Women’s Rights

In this episode of the Contagious Culture Podcast, we sit down with Lina AbiRafeh [https://www.linkedin.com/in/linaabirafeh/], a global women’s rights leader, author, and humanitarian who has spent over 30 years working across more than 20 countries to advance equity, safety, and dignity for women. This is a powerful and unfiltered conversation about what’s really happening in the world and what too many leaders are unwilling to say out loud. Lina challenges the idea that progress is happening fast enough and reframes the conversation around women’s rights by asking a deeper question: before we talk about equality, are women even safe? We explore the realities of power, accountability, and systemic inequity, from conflict zones to corporate spaces and what it truly takes to move from awareness to action. Lina brings both urgency and clarity, pushing leaders to move beyond performative support and toward meaningful, sustained change. This episode will challenge your perspective, stretch your thinking, and remind you that building a better world doesn’t start “out there” it starts exactly where you stand. -- Learn More About the Contagious Culture Conference [https://spreadcontagiousculture.com/] Subscribe & Leave a Review to The Contagious Culture Podcast Subscribe to Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/contagious-culture/id1829207363] 📞 Schedule Your Call Here [https://links.theculturelab.org/widget/booking/DmipbO4FF6aXtbSgzwlQ] 🖥️ Join the #1 Community for Leaders and Change Makers [https://the-growth-lab-community.lovable.app/] 👉🏽 Apply to Be in the Growth Alliance [https://growth-alliance-2026.lovable.app/] 👉🏽Connect with Kyle S. King [https://meet-kyle-s-king.lovable.app/]