In this episode of the Contagious Culture Podcast, Kyle King sits down with Dara Ashley, founding executive director of the Dara Ashley Foundation, researcher, and nonprofit leader working to close the access and exposure gap for underrepresented college students.

Dara shares how her own experiences, mentorship, and time at Howard University shaped her passion for helping students see what is possible. She explains why exposure matters, why students cannot pursue opportunities they have never seen, and how mentorship can change the trajectory of a young person’s life.

Kyle and Dara also discuss the difference between access and ability, the power of one-on-one mentorship, data-driven program design, Leadership U, and what it means to build an organization that helps students gain the skills, networks, and confidence they need for life after college.

Episode History

00:00 — Introduction 00:40 — Meet Dara Ashley 01:00 — Dara’s mission and infectious spirit 01:30 — Closing the access and exposure gap 02:30 — Helping students identify what they do not know 03:15 — The power of exposure 04:00 — Dara’s origin story and early mentorship experience 05:00 — Where to start if you want to serve your community 06:00 — Former mentees returning as mentors 07:15 — Access versus ability 08:45 — Why exposure also shows students what they do not want 10:00 — Dara’s path into research 11:00 — Why leaders must mentor and reach back 12:00 — Staying connected to the audience you serve 13:00 — What Dara saw missing in the system 14:30 — What leaders get wrong about mentorship 15:30 — The power of one-on-one mentorship 16:00 — What success looks like for Dara 17:00 — The ten-year vision for the Dara Ashley Foundation 18:00 — Growing into 42 states and going deeper locally 19:00 — Leadership U and student-centered program design 20:00 — Using data to measure and build impact 21:00 — Turning vision into systems and deliverables

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In this episode of the Contagious Culture Podcast, Kyle King sits down with Pedro Jose Rivera, a nonprofit fundraising strategist working at the intersection of law, philanthropy, wealth management, and nonprofit leadership.

Pedro shares how Latino-led nonprofits can move from grant dependency to deeper financial independence by building diversified fundraising systems. He explains why organizations need to focus on individual giving, planned giving, corporate support, board engagement, and community-based fundraising instead of relying only on restricted grants.

Kyle and Pedro also discuss the role of faith, family, generosity, board responsibility, peer-to-peer fundraising, and why asking for support is not begging. It is inviting people to invest in the mission.

Episode History

00:00 — Introduction 00:45 — Meet Pedro Jose Rivera 01:30 — Pedro’s Puerto Rican roots, family, faith, and education 03:40 — How generosity was modeled in Pedro’s childhood 06:00 — What Pedro hopes to give through his work 06:45 — Moving Latino-led nonprofits beyond grant dependency 07:40 — Understanding individual giving, planned giving, grants, and events 09:15 — Where new nonprofits should start fundraising 10:15 — Why nonprofits must think like entrepreneurs 11:30 — Why organizations become grant dependent 13:30 — Creative funding strategies and peer-to-peer fundraising 15:30 — What executive directors often overlook 16:50 — The role of the board in fundraising 18:45 — Why passion without systems is dangerous 20:30 — The fundraising truth leaders need to hear

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In this episode of the Contagious Culture Podcast, Kyle King sits down with Whitney Siders, executive team advisor, coach, speaker, offsite facilitator, and founder of The Modern Inc.

Whitney helps leaders and teams get beneath the surface of what is really happening so they can strengthen alignment, accelerate action, and lead with greater clarity. She shares why fear, resistance, avoided conversations, and unclear first steps often keep leaders and teams stuck.

Kyle and Whitney also discuss emotional intelligence, leadership awareness, hard conversations, team patterns, real alignment, and why creating space to pause can help teams move forward with more honesty and effectiveness.

Episode History

00:00 — Introduction 00:18 — Meet Whitney Siders 01:10 — Why Whitney does not love being called fearless 02:15 — Fear, resistance, and clarity 03:20 — Avoiding hard conversations 05:00 — Solving symptoms instead of root issues 06:10 — Awareness, clarity, and emotional intelligence 08:45 — Looking at patterns under pressure 09:30 — Caretaker leadership and avoided feedback 10:50 — Creating space to pause 12:45 — Why teams solve surface-level problems 13:20 — The problem with fake alignment 14:30 — Building tools, language, and accountability 16:15 — Whitney’s slingshot moment 17:00 — The accident that changed her life 20:30 — Recovery, mindset, and small goals 22:45 — Choosing work that helps people show up fully

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In this episode of the Contagious Culture Podcast, Kyle King sits down with Andrea Mancuso, trauma-informed leadership and emotional intelligence coach, licensed mental health counselor, and founder of Intentional Healing and Wellness.

Andrea shares why healthy, high-performing teams cannot exist if leaders have not done their own internal work. She explains how burnout, avoidance, people-pleasing, hustle culture, and emotional disconnection show up in leaders, teams, schools, and organizations.

Kyle and Andrea also discuss trauma-informed leadership, psychological safety, emotional capacity, rest, self-awareness, and why leaders must learn to slow down, disconnect, and lead from a healthier place.

Episode History

00:00 — Introduction 00:15 — Meet Andrea Mancuso 01:15 — Andrea’s work and mission 02:00 — Who Andrea is beyond the titles 03:30 — Mental health, trauma, and what leaders misunderstand 04:45 — Why society is navigating a mental health crisis 06:30 — Technology, overstimulation, and exposure 07:00 — What trauma-informed leadership really requires 08:00 — The power of awareness 09:30 — Patterns that lead to burnout 10:00 — Busyness and the inability to slow down 11:30 — Avoidance and why healing matters 13:00 — People-pleasing as a leadership pattern 14:30 — Unsubscribing from hustle culture 16:30 — Rest, fear, and trust 18:30 — Why there are no real emergencies in most businesses 20:30 — Scheduling focused time and creating boundaries 23:00 — Competent leaders versus emotionally equipped leaders

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In this episode of the Contagious Culture Podcast, Kyle King sits down with Dayana Kiblids, strategist, speaker, co-author of Mailed It, and higher education communication expert.

Dayana shares why simplicity is one of the most powerful tools leaders can use to help people take action. She explains how complex language, unclear systems, and academic jargon often create barriers for students, families, and communities, especially in higher education.

Kyle and Dayana also discuss portfolio careers, saying yes to new opportunities, writing a memoir, translating complicated systems into clear steps, and why spoken language can help leaders communicate in a more human and accessible way.

Episode History

00:00 — Introduction 00:15 — Meet Dayana Kiblids 01:00 — What is giving Dayana energy right now 02:00 — Writing a memoir and building a keynote 03:00 — Saying yes to unexpected opportunities 03:45 — Discovering the idea of a portfolio career 05:30 — Balancing employment and entrepreneurship 06:30 — Knowing what action to take next 07:30 — Getting unstuck through new conversations 09:30 — Who Dayana is beyond her job title 10:30 — Living as a chameleon across cultures 11:00 — Translating complex systems into simple steps 12:00 — Dayana’s framework for strategy and translation 14:30 — Why language becomes a barrier in higher education 16:00 — Academic language, privilege, and access 18:30 — Where leaders should begin simplifying communication 19:00 — Using spoken language as a clarity tool 20:30 — Why simplicity creates more access 21:30 — The danger of editing simplicity out of the message

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In this episode of the Contagious Culture Podcast, Kyle King sits down with Brad Ton, a nonprofit technology leader, former rapper, father of six, and someone who brings honesty, humor, and heart into every room.

Brad shares his journey from working in professional sports, to pursuing hip-hop, to finding purpose in nonprofit technology. He opens up about reinvention, anxiety, recovery, fatherhood, and learning how to live with more honesty, presence, and purpose.

Kyle and Brad also discuss what it means to bet on yourself, let go of outside validation, pursue your “infinite why,” and build a life aligned with who you really are.

Episode History

00:00 — Introduction 00:24 — Meet Brad Ton 01:15 — Leading with heart and honesty 02:15 — From sports management to hip-hop 04:20 — Betting on himself and learning through the process 05:15 — Performing with major artists and building confidence 06:10 — Goals versus an infinite why 08:15 — Choosing passion, joy, and alignment 09:30 — Fatherhood, anxiety, and life transitions 10:35 — Recovery, addiction, and getting help 12:00 — Finding purpose in nonprofit technology 14:20 — How life experiences shape leadership 15:20 — Presence as the key to life 18:20 — Letting go, growth, and subtraction 19:00 — Honesty, accountability, and self-confidence

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In this episode of the Contagious Culture Podcast, Kyle King sits down with Jaimi Cortes, philanthropic strategist with COR Philanthropic Strategies, who has spent more than 20 years helping individuals, families, foundations, and organizations move resources in thoughtful, values-aligned, and community-centered ways.

Jaimi shares how her early experiences in philanthropy shaped her belief that giving should begin with community, trust, and listening. She explains why philanthropy must move beyond traditional check-writing and toward more collaborative, strategic, and equity-centered approaches.

Kyle and Jaimi also discuss donor intent versus meaningful impact, giving circles, collaborative philanthropy, donor-advised funds, impact investing, nonprofit relationship-building, and how both donors and nonprofit leaders can build stronger partnerships that lead to real transformation.

Key Topics:

• How Jaimi found her way into philanthropy
• Why community should come first in giving
• The evolution of philanthropy over the last 20 years
• Moving from charitable intent to meaningful impact
• How donors can give more strategically
• The power of collaborative philanthropy and giving circles
• Using the five T’s of philanthropy
• Why values alignment matters before giving
• How donors can build trust with nonprofits
• Why impact conversations should happen at the beginning
• How nonprofits can build relationships with donor advisors
• Why capital campaign relationships should start years before the ask
• Impact investing and using money for double good

00:00 — Introduction 00:20 — Meet Jaimi Cortes 01:00 — Moving from good intentions to meaningful impact 01:45 — Jaimi’s entry point into philanthropy 02:30 — Learning community-first philanthropy 03:00 — What Jaimi believed early in her career 03:45 — Corporate social responsibility and early inspiration 04:45 — Working directly with donors 05:30 — Gender lens, race equity lens, and equity frameworks 06:00 — Collaborative philanthropy and giving circles 06:45 — Where new donors should begin 07:00 — The five T’s of philanthropy 08:00 — Volunteering, social capital, and family giving 09:00 — Strategic giving for donors with significant wealth 09:45 — Charitable intent versus meaningful impact 10:30 — Why donors get stuck after setting aside money 11:00 — Building impact conversations at the beginning 12:00 — Trust-based giving and nonprofit relationships 13:00 — How organizations can showcase impact up front 14:00 — Making an impact inside large organizations 15:00 — Case managers, mental health, and targeted giving 16:00 — Questions donors should ask themselves before giving 17:00 — Values alignment and philanthropic priorities 18:00 — Impact investing and donor-advised funds 19:30 — How nonprofits can build relationships with donors and advisors 20:30 — Donor-advised funds and philanthropic advisors 21:30 — Why capital campaign relationships must start early

Jaimi Cortes is a philanthropic strategist with COR Philanthropic Strategies, where she helps individuals, families, foundations, and organizations move resources in ways that are thoughtful, values-aligned, and community-centered. With more than 20 years of experience in philanthropy, Jaimi has helped facilitate over $200 million in charitable gifts, manage major philanthropic portfolios, design grant-making models, support impact investing opportunities, and guide donors from good intentions to meaningful impact.

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In this episode of the Contagious Culture Podcast, Kyle King sits down with Vu Le, writer, speaker, nonprofit thought leader, and author of Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy.

Vu brings his signature honesty, humor, and boldness to a conversation about power, philanthropy, donor dynamics, systemic change, and what the nonprofit sector must be willing to confront. He challenges traditional ideas around fundraising, donor-centered models, wealth, gratitude, and why nonprofits often focus on treating symptoms instead of solving root problems.

Kyle and Vu also discuss what real impact looks like, why philanthropy must be reimagined, how funders shape nonprofit priorities, and why leaders with privilege must be willing to use their voice, even when it costs them.

Episode Highlights

00:00 — Introduction 00:15 — Meet Vu Le 01:00 — Holding joy during difficult times 02:30 — Vu describes himself as a rabble-rouser 03:30 — Writing boldly about the nonprofit sector 04:15 — The problem with donor-centered fundraising 05:30 — Is philanthropy helping or maintaining control? 06:00 — Redefining philanthropy as love of humanity 07:00 — How wealth can distort giving 08:00 — Who holds power in the nonprofit ecosystem 09:15 — What nonprofit leaders should do differently 10:00 — Solving root causes instead of managing symptoms 11:30 — Why organizations should aim to solve themselves out of existence 12:00 — Advocacy, politics, and systems change 13:00 — Defining true impact 14:00 — What progressive movements can learn from conservative strategy 15:00 — Building institutions and funding long-term work 17:00 — White moderation and nonprofit ineffectiveness 18:30 — The cost of being bold 20:00 — Using privilege to speak up 21:00 — Vu’s journey into nonprofit leadership and social work

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Learn More About the Contagious Culture Conference

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