Hart & Hustle Podcast
Hart & Hustle delivers real conversations with nonprofit and healthcare leaders who are scaling mission-driven impact through strategic innovation. Hosted by Efrain Lozada, each 45-minute episode explores leadership, operations, technology adoption, and practical strategies for mission-based organizations. Learn from executives who've transformed accessibility, efficiency, and community engagement while staying true to their values. For nonprofit directors, operations leaders, and healthcare innovators who hustle with heart. New episodes weekly.
Episodes
363 episodes
The Critical Gap in Youth Development: Filling the 18-24 Age Void with Community & Care | Chicago Youth Boxing Club
Unlock the transformative power of community and resilience with Noah Pickens from Chicago Youth Boxing Club. Noah shares how he transitioned from an educator obsessively focused on individual impact to leading a boxing gym that serves hundreds...
Why Building More Housing Won’t End Veteran Homelessness—And What Will | We Soldier On
Veteran homelessness is a complex challenge—yet organizations like Soldier On show us it's solvable. Casey DiCicco, Communications Director, and Bruce Buckley, CEO/President of Soldier On, share how their mission-driven work over the past 30 ye...
Why Supporting Kids During Critical Hours Can Change Their Entire Future | Sue Gabriel
Unlock the transformative power of youth programs with Sue Gabriel, director of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Salem. She shares how a safe, engaging environment for kids isn’t just about after-school fun—it sets the foundation for resilien...
Mission-Driven Leadership in Higher Education: How Doane University Grows Through Relationships
John Frost, VP of Enrollment Management at Doane University, shares how one conversation — and one person who believed in a student before she believed in herself — sparked a ripple effect that changed three generations and an entire workplace....
He Chose Missions Over Easy Paychecks for 15 Years. Here's What It's Built. | Tymon Graham
Tymon Graham, VP of Student Affairs at Florida Memorial University, shares how he's spent 15 years building student access, institutional trust, and mission-driven leadership across three cities — and why he keeps choosing the hard institutions...
Your Trauma Isn't Baggage. It Might Be Your Greatest Leadership Asset. | Mollie Rockafellow
Mollie Rockafellow, VP of Student Affairs at Eastern Oregon University, shares how the adversity she survived became the leadership framework she now teaches — and how mission-driven leaders can stop fixing deficits and start building on the st...
The Students Everyone Gave Up On Are Now Doctors and Dentists — Here's Why | Chris Powers
Chris Powers, VP for Enrollment at Mount St. Joseph University, shares what 25 years of servant leadership in higher education teaches you about mission, access, and who really deserves a chance. In this conversation, you'll learn:&...
She Rebuilt a 120-Year-Old Brand to Survive the Enrollment Cliff | Lauran Hundshamer
Lauran Hundshamer, VP of Marketing & Enrollment at St. Catherine University, shares how she rebuilt a 120-year-old brand strategy to compete—and grow—during the enrollment cliff crisis threatening universities nationwide.In this con...
"This Is a Calling, Not a Job" — 25 Years in Mission-Driven Leadership | Heath Einstein, TCU
Heath Einstein, Vice Provost for Enrollment Management at Texas Christian University, shares how his team uses data, AI, and radical hospitality to reach the communities most institutions have forgotten — and what 25 years of mission-driven lea...
He Manages 22,000 Applications with a Small Team — Here's the System | Todd Rinehart
Todd Rinehart from the University of Denver shares how he manages 22,000 applications a year with a small team — and the outreach, AI, and relationship-building systems that keep people from falling through the cracks. In this conve...
High Touch, High Tech: Reaching More People Without Losing the Human Connection | LeAnn Hughes
LeAnn Hughes, Senior VP of Enrollment & Marketing at Valparaiso University, shares how she built a human-centered leadership philosophy after losing her father at 15 — and how that personal journey shapes the way she leads teams, reaches pe...
28 Years Fighting for Education Access — What Every Mission Leader Needs to Hear | Ethan Logan
Ethan Logan, VP of Enrollment Management at the University of Hartford, shares how 28 years of mission-driven leadership in higher education has shaped his approach to breaking down barriers, sustaining institutions that serve underserved commu...
From Failing College to Becoming VP: How Jeremy Taylor Is Opening Doors for First-Gen Students
Dr. Jeremy Taylor, VP of Enrollment Management at Defiance College, shares how he reversed 10 years of declining enrollment — growing 78% in Year 1 and 20% in Year 2 — without industry experience, a big budget, or the "way it's always been done...
Real Leaders Go to Therapy First, Then Lead Their Teams Through It | David Cooper
David Cooper, Director of Community Outreach at Central Community House, shares how he left a corporate career, took a major pay cut, moved back to the neighborhood that raised him, and built one of Columbus's most powerful community mentorship...
She Never Wanted the CEO Title — And That's Why She's One of the Best
Jamie Merrill — President & CEO of Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida — walked across her college graduation stage six months pregnant, on Medicaid, living paycheck to paycheck. Today she leads 15,500 kids across 40 clubs in five coun...
What Happens to Your People at 2 AM? This VP Built a System So No One Falls Through the Cracks
Chris Thomas, VP for Student Affairs at West Texas A&M University, shares how he built a culture of mentorship, belonging, and authentic leadership — sustaining 26 years of mission-driven service without burning out.In this conversa...
The Mission Is the Strategy: First-Gen Leadership, Access, and the Power of Showing Up
Katie Condon, VP of Enrollment Management at Eastern Michigan University, shares how a first-generation college student with no family roadmap climbed from temp admissions counselor to vice president — and built a division focused on access, be...
First-Gen Leader, First-Gen Mission: Building Organizations That Meet People Where They Are
Meaghan Arena, VP of Enrollment Management at the University of Southern Maine, shares how she grew enrollment year-over-year while institutions nationally are losing ground — and the leadership philosophy that made it possible.In this ...
Mental Health at Scale: Serving 12 Sites Without Losing Your Clinical Soul | Pete Vernig, RCA
Pete Vernig, VP of Mental Health Services at Recovery Centers of America, breaks down how his team maintains a unified clinical culture across 12 inpatient programs and 14 outpatient locations — and what every mission
Why Purpose-Driven Leaders Outlast Everyone Else | David Barron, UT Tyler
David Barron, VP of Enrollment Management at the University of Texas at Tyler, has spent 26 years doing what every mission-driven leader is trying to figure out: how do you reach the people who need you most, remove the barriers standing betwee...
Why 70% Graduation Rates Are Failing Higher Ed | Dean Kahler
Is your institution — or organization — measuring the wrong definition of success?Dean Kahler, enrollment leader at the University of Idaho, has spent his career challenging one uncomfortable truth: most institutions celebrate outcomes ...
From First-Gen to VP: The Mentorship Model That Retains Mission-Driven Staff | Javier Flores
What if the key to retaining your best people wasn't a better benefits package — but whether they feel truly seen? Javier Flores has spent 30+ years in higher education investing in students others overlooked. As VP of Enrollment Management at ...
Growing from 1 Clinic to 20: What No One Tells You About Healthcare Leadership | David Harris
David Harris, CEO of Pro-PT Physical Therapy, built a 20-clinic healthcare organization across California's Central Valley — and he'll tell you the growth almost never happened.In this conversation, David shares the leadership philosoph...
He Built a Marketing Team Inside a Nonprofit That Banned the Word "Marketing" | Christopher Lloyd
VP of Marketing at a nonprofit that didn't believe in marketing — here's what he built.Christopher Lloyd is the Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Aspire Indiana Health, one of Indiana's largest nonprofit health sys...
"You Are Never Ever Alone": A Message for Every First Responder | Dennis Carradin
Dennis Carradin has been on the ground at 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Sandy Hook, and post-Columbine for 30 years — as a trauma therapist specializing in first responders and healthcare workers. In this conversation, he shares how a single encount...