The Nonprofit Insider Podcast · Swim Karim

Nonprofit Leader Spotlight: Jenny Mitchell & her new book "Embracing Ambition"

·56 min·3 clips

Jenny Mitchell says 80% of Canada’s nonprofit workforce is women, but less than 10% of CEOs are women.

1. The Nonprofit Insider Podcast episode features Jenny Mitchell discussing her book Embracing Ambition and her work with nonprofit leaders. 2. Mitchell is Chief Visionary Officer of Chavender, host of the Underdog Leadership Podcast, and an executive coach focused on not-for-profit leadership. 3. The episode asks what it takes for women to step out, be seen, and lead in nonprofit and adjacent leadership roles. 4. Mitchell traces her leadership values to feeling excluded on the playground and deciding to include people who were left on the sidelines. 5. She says a 30-year career as a classical musician shaped her, even though she felt pulled toward organizing people rather than practicing alone. 6. Her first fundraising experience was raising money for pianos at a conservatory in New York City. 7. She says that committee work and fundraising felt like building something bigger than herself. 8. Mitchell describes Embracing Ambition as rooted in research from Dr. Megan Rabine at Douglas College, the college at Rutgers. 9. She says Rabine identified five barriers, or pillars, in the experiences of women aspiring to leadership. 10. The book includes stories from 12 women CEOs from North America, including Americans and Canadians. 11. Mitchell says the storytelling was designed so readers could recognize 'how it feels to lead.' 12. She describes a writing retreat in Toronto where 12 women gathered over one weekend to shape the book together. 13. She says the group had 12 opinions and 12 styles of writing, which made the process challenging and collaborative. 14. Mitchell says the full book project took about a year, from the March writing retreat to the November submission. 15. She argues that ambition and compassion should coexist because leaders need both accountability and care. 16. She says women are often told not to get too big for their britches and are held back by perfectionism. 17. Mitchell states that in Canada women make up 80% of the nonprofit sector, while less than 10% of CEOs are women. 18. She recommends mentorship, coaching, and sponsorship as different tools for developing emerging leaders. 19. The tone is conversational, direct, and reflective, with long answers and practical examples from fundraising, academia, and nonprofit life. 20. Women leaders in nonprofit, fundraising, and executive roles will get the most from it, while listeners wanting a light celebrity interview may skip it.

As heard by us

A grounded talk about ambition, leadership, and why nonprofit women still have to push to be seen at the top.

Jenny Mitchell's visit settles into a thoughtful conversation about ambition, women in nonprofit leadership, and the realities of fundraising work.

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Why you'd press play

If you want a candid take on ambition in nonprofit leadership, start here.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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