12/20/2024

Dear all, It’s here: another year-end and the holiday season fast approaching. Rather than sharing how proud I am of my team (though I certainly am!) or how excited I am for the year ahead, I want to reflect on the past 12 months. One word has stood…

12/12/2024

Jacqueline Ackerman is the Interim Director of the Women's Philanthropy Institute at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, where she leads an ambitious research agenda focused on gender and philanthropy…

12/6/2024

American volunteering and charitable giving have been declining in recent years—but did you know that helping others may set up a positive feedback loop? Because doing good feels good, altruism can beget more…

11/28/2024

Susan McPherson is a serial connector, angel investor, and corporate responsibility expert. She is the founder and CEO of McPherson Strategies, a communications consultancy focused on the intersection of brands and social impact. She is the author…

11/22/2024

One of my favorite ice-breakers is “what was your favorite food as a child?” This simple question can tell us so much about each other, our families, our cultural heritage, the memories that shape…

11/14/2024

Jarrid Green co-designs and implements programmatic efforts for the Center for Business and Social Justice, an initiative of BSR which seeks to mobilize companies to take systemic and intersectional approaches to their social impact efforts…

10/31/2024

Brooke Baldwin is a TV host, award-winning journalist and bestselling author of Huddle: How Women Unlock Their Collective Power. This year, Brooke hosted The Trust, a social experiment show on Netflix. For more than a decade…

10/25/2024

All eyes are on the election, but I must confess that I have one other fairly big milestone that will hit BEFORE Election Day and that is my 60th birthday (on Halloween). As you can imagine, I’m filled with…

10/17/2024

Michele Malejki is the Global Head of Social Impact for HP and Director of the HP Foundation. At HP Inc. and HP Foundation, she strives to accelerate digital equity for the organization through business as well as philanthropy.

10/11/2024

Excited to share that McPherson Strategies turns 11 this week and to celebrate we have launched our new website, with a refreshing new logo! It’s centered on our passion for connecting and finding all the ways we can support...

10/03/2024

Ambika Gautam Pai is the head of brand at TIAA and the host of Corner Office Breakdowns, a podcast that reconciles humanity and workplace. Prior to TIAA, she was the Chief Strategy Officer at Mekanism...

09/14/2024

Lisa Sun is the founder and CEO of GRAVITAS, a company on a mission to catalyze confidence. GRAVITAS offers innovative size-inclusive apparel, styling solutions, and content designed to make over women from the inside out.

09/13/2024

Campaigns, and movements, need constant injections of energy and excitement to thrive. As impact communicators, keeping up that steady drumbeat of engagement is at heart of so much of the work we do...

09/05/2024

Jacqueline Novogratz is the founder and CEO of Acumen, a global nonprofit impact investment fund. She is a member of The B Team and serves on the boards of KawiSafi Ventures and Species Unite...

08/30/2024

Labor Day is a time of transition between summer and fall, a chance to rest and recharge for the season ahead. But it’s also a time to reflect on what it takes to create change, and a reminder of the power of workers...

08/23/2024

Zara Mirza is an award winning visionary marketer, skilled at transforming the way brands go to market across a variety of categories. Zara is currently the Chief Brand Officer at TIAA, as well as a member of the Advertising Council Diversity Board and a strategic advisor for The WIE Suite...

08/16/2024

As we gear up for the busy fall, we are excited to share the McPherson Strategies Climate/UNGA week Event Tracker. For those who work in social impact, the third week of September is essentially our annual homecoming...

08/08/2024

Susanna Pollack is a cross-sector leader known for advancing ambitious social impact goals through traditional and interactive media. Susanna is the President of Games for Change, a global nonprofit and community...

08/02/2024

What a difference two weeks has made. Everything seems a wee bit lighter and, dare I say, filled with hope and optimism. We have a historic new candidate, Kamala Harris. A Black and Indian woman running at the top of the Democratic ticket...

07/25/2024

Geraldine Chin Moody GAICD is the Executive Director of One Blue Dot Advisory and the Non Executive Director at Future Group. In addition to her Senior Executive positions held at ASX-listed companies...

07/19/2024

We are mid-summer and hopefully many of you are taking much-deserved holidays away or staycations. I hope that you are maximizing those days off, as rest, relaxation and joy are absolutely mandatory for our health, our happiness and our professional success...

07/11/2024

Alison Taylor is a clinical associate professor at NYU Stern School of Business and the executive director of Ethical Systems.Alison is the author of Higher Ground: How Business Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World...

07/03/2024

In the U.S., as we gather to celebrate the 4th of July, let us draw inspiration from the incredible courage and determination of the suffragettes, brought to life in the Tony award-winning Broadway sensation Suffs...

06/27/2024

Baratunde Thurston an Emmy-nominated host, producer, writer, and public speaker who tells a better story of us, weaving together threads of technology, democracy and climate.

06/21/2024

When I opened McPherson Strategies almost 11 years ago at the age of 48, I thought it was a placeholder until I found my next job. I never imagined that it would grow to what it is today—a B-corp certified social impact strategy...

06/07/2024

By this time, it's quite apparent that there is an increasing assault on women’s rights in the U.S. Since Dobbs dismantled the constitutional right to abortion, we’ve seen state after state make access impossible....

05/30/2024

"My leadership approach is rooted in human connection and service first. Early in my career, someone told me the key to success is always remembering that ‘it ain’t about you.’.."

05/24/2024

As those of us in the U.S. head into the Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of summer, I will keep today's opening note light. I just want to share a note of gratitude for the colleagues and clients we have the enormous privilege to work alongside...

05/16/2024

"During the times when progress seems slow, or when leaders seem to be distracted, I count on my “core connections” to be a source of encouragement and accountability..."

05/10/2024

t’s that time of the year again, Mother’s Day. Whether you are a mom, have a mom, have lost your mom, or have faced any of the challenges associated with motherhood or lack thereof, my heart goes out to you...

05/02/2024

"I try to bring a conscious intention to the spaces I walk into that offer the opportunity to make new relationships. Sometimes the people sitting around the edges of a circle are the most interesting people there..."

04/26/2024

As we near the end of April, aka Earth Month, I wanted to spread a bit of positive news. Here are three times in the past 50 years humanity has made meaningful progress on global environmental issues — progress that seemed impossible just 10 years ago...

04/18/2024

"The word “proud” doesn’t resonate for me regarding communities I connect with. I have such a broad network and am involved with so many communities. But if I have to be specific, it’s all the communities of people working for equity and justice in climate, the economy and policy..."

04/12/2024

In the good news department, I wanted to share a film created and directed by my dear friend, Tanya Selvaratnam called Love to the Max. It highlights the Briggle family of northern Texas where Amber (a good friend) and Adam Briggle are raising their children Max, 14, and Lulu, 9...

04/04/2024

"Along the way, these relationships have provided me with rich and diverse insights into how others perceive the world and approach problem-solving. I've discovered there’s a certain kind of magic in how these insights can transcend fields or sectors..."

03/29/2024

Hard to believe that it has been three years since I published my first book, The Lost Art of Connecting. It was 2021 and we were in the midst of the global pandemic; not a very rewarding time to be launching a book...

03/21/2024

"Relationships bring the theoretical into the practical and test our commitment to our professed values. Each relationship is an opportunity to learn – what of someone else’s style we might want to try on, adopt, or be sure never to replicate?..."

03/15/2024

Sending greetings from the other side of the world as I make my way around the east coast of Australia, visiting dear friends, enjoying walks along the beach and attending a wedding in Melbourne...

03/07/2024

"I remember being at a conference of business women years ago, and the speaker asked how many people in the room made time for others when they reached out and asked for help; the majority of hands went up. And then she asked, “How many of you reach out and ask for the help you need?” Far fewer hands appeared..."

03/01/2024

I would like to start off by posing the question: What would it look like if we paused women’s work for one day?
In honor of Women’s History Month, Paid Leave for All and partners are planning an important nationwide action...

02/22/2024

"For me, trusted, meaningful relationships are at the heart of… well, pretty much everything. Their importance goes far beyond professional development or leadership. Relationships are the essence of human flourishing and a well-lived life!..."

02/16/2024

It can be hard to remember what life was like before the Internet. We use it at work to check emails, upload and download documents from the cloud, and read our news.

02/08/2024

"One of my deepest held beliefs, and the focus of my own career, is that everyone should have dignity at work. That, first and foremost, means seeing each worker as a full person with hopes and needs, a family and community, and a whole, rich life..."

02/02/2024

As we begin Black History Month, it’s important for those among us who benefit from white privilege to learn about and appreciate the history and cultural heritage of the Black community, abolish the whitewashed structural...

01/25/2024

"The true essence of She Pivots is to prove to women that we can redefine success for ourselves. It might not look the way we originally envisioned, and there may be difficult times, but each of our experiences and decisions build on one another to who we are now - and that is enough..."

01/19/2024

In the depths of January, I often find it challenging to experience joy and delight. Nevertheless, I wanted to share four upcoming books, each published by dear friends who I so respect...

01/12/2024

Congratulations — you've made it two weeks into 2024! This time of year, there’s much talk about commitments, rituals and resolutions, but I’m just grateful to be over the hump, and looking forward to new opportunities...

01/11/2024

"Build relationships based on shared action. If you do things together, you establish shared experiences and memories that endure, regardless of your location, stage in life, or job role..."