49. Morgan DeNicola on the Philanthropy of Everyday Action & Dialogue Across Divides

“You don’t change the world. You change the way one person views the world—and then you’ve changed the world for that person.”

What if true strength lies not in certainty, but in listening with respect? In this episode, Morgan DeNicola, Executive Director of the DeNicola Family Foundation, shares how dialogue across divides, cultural diplomacy and everyday acts of humanity redefine what philanthropy can mean. From working with to fostering cross-cultural understanding worldwide, Morgan shows how compassion, curiosity and calm self-control can build bridges in even the most polarized spaces.

Connect with Morgan

• Facebook – Morgan DeNicola
• Instagram – @morgan.slikerdenicola
• LinkedIn – Morgan DeNicola
• TikTok – @morganslikerdenicola

Topics we cover

 ✔︎ The 360-degree value of diverse viewpoints
 ✔︎ Philanthropy as “love of humanity” beyond financial giving
 ✔︎ Finding common ground across ideological divides
 ✔︎ Diplomacy as an everyday superpower of relationship-building
 ✔︎ Practical mental health strategies for service-driven work
 ✔︎ Why self-control and calm are ultimate strengths in dialogue
 ✔︎ The four pillars of the DeNicola Family Foundation: conservation, world health, humanitarian recognition, cultural diplomacy

Resources & further reading

• Humpty Dumpty Institute – Fostering dialogue with Congress, UN and global partners
• DeNicola Family Foundation – Supporting world health, conservation, diplomacy and recognition initiatives
• Amitofo Care Centre – Orphan and education programmes in Africa
• American Thoracic Society – Global conference supporting medical research in lung health
• Elmwood Park Zoo - Inspiring appreciation for wildlife, the environment & active participation in conservation
• Morgan's "Six or Nine" Cartoon T-Shirt

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Morgan DeNicola
• 2:18 The Value of Diverse Viewpoints
• 5:00 The Elasticity of Growth
• 8:41 Cross-Cultural Understanding and Respect
• 10:57 Redefining Strength from Certainty to Self-Control
• 12:05 Leading by Example
• 15:11 DeNicola Family Foundation Projects
• 20:53 True Meaning of Philanthropy
• 25:08 Mental Health in Humanitarian Work
• 31:03 The Four Pillars of DeNicola's Work
• 34:25 Diplomacy as an Everyday Superpower
• 37:26 Changing Minds on Certainty on Convictions

Transcript

James Hodgson: 0:01

Welcome to Humanism Now. I'm your host, James Hodgson, on Humanism Now. We often explore how humanist values such as reason, compassion and cooperation are applied in real world contexts. Our guest today, morgan DeNicola, embodies initiatives in cultural diplomacy, world health, humanitarian recognition and conversation. In her role as Vice Chairman of the Humpty Dumpty Institute in New York, she has collaborated with US Congress, the State Department, the United Nations and international embassies, fostering dialogue across divides that promote humanitarian programs and cross-cultural understanding. Morgan De Nicola, thank you so much for joining us on Humanism Now.

Morgan DeNicola: 0:53

Thank you for having me. I am really excited.

James Hodgson: 0:57

Wonderful. Well, to begin with, would you mind just introducing yourself, your work and share a little bit about the values that have guided you to this place?

Morgan DeNicola: 1:06

Absolutely. I was brought up in a family of serial entrepreneurs, so I spent a lot of time kind of witnessing the business world. I started in marketing, actually for a few of my family's companies, and decided it wasn't for me. I was really not good at marketing or sales or anything like that and luckily, through a few experiences I realized that I wanted to work with people and I was able to sit down with my family and we then were able to form our first, a small charity called Cosmo Cares that over time evolved into the Denicola Family Foundation that I now am the executive director of. But I also sit on several boards with the Elmwood Park Zoo as well, as I am vice chair of the Humpty Dumpty Institute. So we focus on all kinds of things from conservation, humanitarian recognition, global health and cultural diplomacy, which is my personal favorite. But I started out in business and then I was able to just grow into my roles now.

James Hodgson: 2:15

Wonderful and, as mentioned in the intro, you focus quite a lot on fostering conversations and allowing people space to share different opinions. I guess this isn't something we usually think about when we think either in terms of business or in terms of charity and giving. So why was that an important area for you to foster and can you give some examples of where you've seen this work have a positive impact?

Morgan DeNicola: 2:41

Yeah, absolutely so.

Morgan DeNicola: 2:43

Even starting out in business, I noticed and was taught by my family that the kinds of people you surround yourself with dictate your success, and so my father and my mother always had a very interesting group of people around them with completely and totally different experiences and different viewpoints them with completely and totally different experiences and different viewpoints and that was able to resolve a lot of issues that their businesses came up against, because people were able to foresee issues or come at issues from different places, and I noticed that and started to incorporate that in my everyday life.

Morgan DeNicola: 3:21

But then even on the boards that I'm lucky enough to sit on, even at the zoo, the Elmwood Park Zoo you wouldn't think that differences of opinions is so important, but it really is.

Morgan DeNicola: 3:32

We have an incredibly diverse group of board members and, again, whenever there is an issue or we all see things a little bit different, we're able to come together and have this group think on what problems are, what potential problems can be and how we can resolve them.

Morgan DeNicola: 3:49

And then we go into the Humpty Dumpty Institute where we foster these dialogues and we bring different members from different parts of the world together to sit down and discuss either something that has happened or could happen and ways that they solve them, and they ping pong these ideas or solutions off of one another and again that brings that 360 degree view to any situation and I think that a lot of people forget the importance of bringing in these different viewpoints and different opinions and it actually strengthens potential problem solving and it prevents that concrete thinking that can be dangerous when you surround yourself with yes men or people that think exactly as you do, you're going to come at a problem the same way or you're not going to see potential issues. So it was something that I was lucky enough to start to see my early 20s and now I pull it into my everyday life and everything that I do to make sure that I always have people around me that see things a little different.

James Hodgson: 5:01

I think this is a fascinating way, particularly in approaching boards or any kind of organizational structure where there will need to be these decisions made or leadership to get that, to encourage that diversity. And I wonder what your process is or any techniques that you can share when you're trying to bring in as many diverse viewpoints or experiences as possible to, on the one hand, overcome the inherent bias that we all have, because we're all going to have blind spots. We're going to come at things from our own perspective, so a version of diversity might look different to someone else who's still affected by the same subject. So how do you overcome that sort of inherent bias? And also, how do you make sure that, whilst you're getting a range of opinions, range of views, they're also very relevant to the topic at hand.

Morgan DeNicola: 5:46

I think the most important thing is to gauge people's emotion in a situation, and I'm not saying not to have emotion. Emotion is so important with everything that we do. That is our heart, but sometimes emotion can cause us to react and not respond and not to take that second, and I think when you surround yourself with people that have an opinion, that have an emotion about things but don't let it dictate their response it gives you this idea of okay, this is a person that's willing to listen. These are people that are willing to collaborate. Yes, they have their own viewpoint, but they maintain a calm and can continue to have these back and forths without getting too hard on their standpoint.

Morgan DeNicola: 6:33

Because I think that everything needs to have this flexibility right, Because we all, depending on our circumstances, are going to come at things differently and our life experiences. I know me when I'm approaching a project that I want to do and I want to pull in different people. I want to make sure that they're passionate, but willing to listen and really willing to engage with all different types of people. And so I might ask a question how do you feel about this? Are you willing to work with people that believe this and have those conversations, engage that emotional response and that willingness to be a little bit more flexible.

James Hodgson: 7:18

So we often talk about the importance of just staying curious here and just being not, I guess, not open-minded for the sake of it, but knowing your point of view, knowing your perspective, having your reasons, but allowing that space for curiosity to have that challenged and to see from a different point of view.

Morgan DeNicola: 7:36

Yeah, we like to say it's a. It's that elasticity of growth. Yeah, you need to allow people to learn on their own and grow on their own, and that doesn't happen when you're a super aggressive, when you come at a situation that this is the way it should be solved. This is the right way. It doesn't give other people a chance at the table to learn, to grow, to figure out their own way, because you're stopping them from doing it. But that also prevents you from having that elasticity of growth and learning from the other people that you pull into a project or to a table, because you are going to continue to grow depending on your experiences, the people you talk to, the things you see. So you have to also allow that in yourself. Even though you're like I feel this way, give yourself an opportunity to say is there somebody that could come along, that could show me a little different, that could make me feel a different way? Because the more you're open to that, the more of an opportunity of growth there is.

James Hodgson: 8:45

And given that you've been central or your foundation has really promoted fostering dialogue between different cultures, I'm just wondering what you've learned from this cross-cultural understanding. Are there any practical takeaways or key learnings that you've taken from engaging in these cross-cultural dialogues?

Morgan DeNicola: 9:04

yes, I learned that I, again, again, I'm ever evolving, ever growing and I don't ever truly know what I like or I don't like, because when I can go to a different place that I haven't been before and I open myself up to the food, the music, the people, the conversation, I realize we're all sponges and we all have this potential to absorb everything around us and to continue that process of learning who we are.

Morgan DeNicola: 9:30

And when you allow that, you're able to maintain a calm in any situation that kind of comes at you or opinion or your opposition, because every time it happens and you maintain that calm and you listen and you show that respect, you become a much stronger person, because that self-control and that ability to actively listen, to have that curiosity to be welcoming, makes you a better version of yourself.

Morgan DeNicola: 10:00

It's not a weakness and for me, every time I face somebody that is on the other side of whatever it is that I believe and I come out still me, even though I've shown the respect and I've given that other person that dignity, I realized that just because you're respectful and just because you listen and just because you put another seat at the table, it doesn't make you weaker and it doesn't change or have to change who you are, and I think that we forget that. We think the more seats we put at the table or the more people we listen to then goes against our beliefs structure and that's not true at all, and every time I do these cultural programs I realize it doesn't have to be that way. It's not that black and white.

James Hodgson: 10:51

Do you find there's still a challenge of overcoming that, in either the business world or perhaps in your diplomacy work or in charity? That there is still that view of strength comes from being certain and not having your mind changed.

Morgan DeNicola: 11:04

Yes, you still see that and it does become difficult, especially if you view yourself as a strong person, woman or man, or a leader. You fight yourself on that, but I think that, again, that you gain that strength. I still see it on a regular basis. It still is tough, you still. I like to say that sometimes I bite the inside of my cheek and try to reground myself and say do not explode, do not lose it, because sometimes people will take things a little personal and come at you. But again, with every practice of that self-control, with every practice of that, I'm in control of this situation because I'm in control of myself. You are a stronger, more empathetic, more compassion, more respectful, more respectful global citizen.

James Hodgson: 11:58

How do you also pitch it to people that being able to listen to differences of opinion, being able to change one's mind or evolve their position over time, is a strength, both individually and collectively to groups? How are you able to pitch that to people potentially, as you say, people in positions of power maybe who've got that role through showing leadership and certainty? Yeah, what are some of the tactics that you've used to change their mind there?

Morgan DeNicola: 12:24

Being an example. That is what I absolutely love to be and love to do, because words are wonderful and we have a ton of them, but when you start to incorporate other beliefs and other parts of the world, words get tricky. Certain phrases, certain like I might say something that I think is funny and somebody else might be like that is not funny, that's actually offensive, and so words aren't really doing it. You have to lead by examples. So whenever I come into a situation that I do say this is a great way to be, and then I use examples of why this benefits you, because you have to make it personal and explain to somebody this isn't just about the other person, this is something that will benefit you. You then have to be an example of it. I constantly pride myself on working with people that I do not agree with and finding that common ground and that common goal that we can do together, and then using those as an example to anybody else that is like I don't think you really do that or how could you do that, and I'm like ah, here's an example. To anybody else that is like I don't think you really do that or how could you do that, and I'm like, ah, here's an example of how I did it and I'm going to continue to do it. And then people love to test your resolve on that. So they'll come at you with a ton of examples and if you can again listen, maintain that calm, have that respect for another individual and be that example, it's amazing because people will let their guard down and relax and be more honest with you and be more respectful of where you're coming from, because somebody has to be the person that starts this.

Morgan DeNicola: 14:09

And I think that a lot of people think, again, that's weak, or your morals or your beliefs are then a little bit more shook. But I think that it does the opposite. It's not weakness, it's saying that you can't really shake me. So I'm okay with you trying to shake me and my belief structures and you know what, even if you do cause me to look at something a little different or reflect on my own stuff, why is that a bad thing? I don't think that's a bad thing. I think we should constantly reevaluate where we stand and our beliefs and how we view the world, because, again, that's the evolution of people, that's the evolution of society, is to continue to question, and that should start at home, so I love to bring other people in and to be challenged and be that example by maintaining that calm and continuing to give that respect.

James Hodgson: 15:05

And speaking of examples, could you share some of the projects that your foundations have supported, the humanitarian and sustainable projects that you've been involved with?

Morgan DeNicola: 15:14

Oh yeah, we've teamed up with a lot of different groups and I always love to use this one as an example. We work with a pretty well-known Catholic group and I myself am not Catholic, but we've worked with them a few times on producing different movies that showed the Mother Cabrini. But I love that movie because it's about an empowering woman and kind of teaching to not give up on your goals. But we've done a lot of other little projects with them and a lot of people are like how can you work with this group? Because I am married to a woman. So I get a lot of like how can you do that?

Morgan DeNicola: 15:55

And I love to share the story of the first time I got together with this group. There were a lot of them and I was there with my father and he's very active with this group because he is Catholic and I overheard a conversation only between four people about really negatively commenting on the gay community and again biting the inside of my cheek. But I was like you know what, let me just hear this out. And I was listening and as time went on I learned about these individuals and the incredible work they've done building schools and feeding families and building homes and continuing education for a lot of individuals around the world. So then you have this dilemma of is that a good person, is that a bad person? And as the week went on, I continued to listen and learn and be respectful and by the end I had spent a week with this group. By the end I was asked in front of them oh, how's your husband doing? You've been gone for a week. I said, oh, my wife's fine, she's holding down the fort, just fine, she's great, she doesn't mind when I take these trips and there's this moment of quiet and I'm like this will be very interesting. These people have spent a week with me, they've gotten to know me, I've been respectful and at the end of the day I heard 90% of them did not care, completely respected me, completely respected the work that I was doing. And I continue to have a relationship with this group and we continue to work together with funding different projects around the world of schools and feeding programs.

Morgan DeNicola: 17:38

So that's one of the groups that I love to use as an example of. We have this mutual respect and understanding of one another and we overcame that moment that could have been a moment for us to be combative with one another and say I don't want to work with you and lost that ability to do something greater than ourselves, or we moved forward and found the respect for one another and built, continue to build, these really beautiful things for different individuals. So I love using that as an example. I also am building a community center in the town, tiny town in Italy, where my grandfather grew up, and it is an old school town, old school Italy, in the mountains. And I go again blonde, white, american in a sense with my wife and they are so respectful and so loving. And again, that's a moment where you could have this preconceived notion of oh, are they gonna be okay with who I am as a person? And now I have to say that's my home away from home.

Morgan DeNicola: 18:45

I love them they love us and it's really wonderful to give back to that community that needs a few things, some help. So there's that. And then I've done programs in china, where at the time I was smoking cigarettes and that's a no-no for women, but there was this kind of respect for one another, so that we do a ton of projects around the world where you have those preconceived notions of how is this gonna go, and you'll always be surprised that if you can quiet those and just be respectful yourself, open to other cultures and other opinions, you will for the most part be incredibly well-received. We're all human right.

James Hodgson: 19:32

Absolutely 100%, and it sounds like it's this, allowing this time and space to get to know one another individually and as groups, find those, as you mentioned, shared humanity, where the areas that we have shared interests, shared passion, and then the things that divide us, of the differences of opinion, or perhaps the misapprehensions that we may be under, they drift away. Because I think once you establish rapport and you realize that perhaps the party is not a threat, then those things that were important before are not important anymore.

Morgan DeNicola: 20:04

Yes, yeah, you get back to the root of everything, which is what I stand for. I'm in the world of philanthropy, and that is remembering that we're all human and that we all rely on the success of one another. It's a necessity for the progress of us as humans it's not just us solo and I think also that human connection reminds us of what we're all doing and that we all have made mistakes, that our opinions have changed over the years. Tell me you think exactly the same as you did five years ago? I really doubt that.

James Hodgson: 20:43

I don't think I think the same as I did five minutes ago, so that's why I know you've spoken a lot about the meaning of philanthropy before that it's not just about financial giving. Could you please draw out a little bit what true philanthropy means to you?

Morgan DeNicola: 21:01

Yes, so I love the word philanthropy, right? It comes from the Greek words for love of humanity and you have to get back at that. It's the love of your fellow man and it's for the benefit of the public good for the progress.

Morgan DeNicola: 21:19

So it's what you as a human being can contribute to the progress of your fellow man. So that's not always money. For some people that is money, and I'm not going to lie. Money is a wonderful tool and really can help you get a lot of things done. But it's so much more than that. It's time. It is views on how to solve issues and coming together and giving those opinions on how an issue can be solved. So it's also your ability to see other people.

Morgan DeNicola: 21:54

I think we forget that is a huge thing is we all want to be seen, we all want to be heard and feel like we're a part of this team. And if we feel invisible, if we feel like we're not being seen or heard, we're going to be disconnected. We're not going to really care about our neighbor. We're not being seen or heard. We're going to be disconnected. We're not going to really care about our neighbor. We're not really going to care about something that's going on halfway across the world. Because what can I do to make that better?

Morgan DeNicola: 22:25

And I think that people need to remember just seeing one another, acknowledging one another, no matter how different, no matter how polar opposites, or to acknowledge and to see, resolves a lot of the issues that I think we have in this disconnect, because, as much as I do use the internet, love the internet and social media, I think that there still continues to be this disconnect. And just because you like something or something somebody said or re-shared, it doesn't mean that person necessarily feels seen and heard. It really comes down to smiling at somebody, saying hi, picking them up, holding a door. These are things that do contribute to us feeling good and continuing to want to be a part of the world around us.

James Hodgson: 23:19

It's a really interesting way to look at it and they're really interesting to learn about the origin of the word as well, Because I think in modern culture, when we think of philanthropy, where it's generally either an individual or an institution who has a lot of money who is choosing to gift that money to a good cause. But it sounds like from what you're saying, philanthropy should be viewed more as a day-to-day practice that we can all engage in.

Morgan DeNicola: 23:47

Absolutely. It is an everyday thing and every person thing.

Morgan DeNicola: 23:50

It's not these big corporations, it's not it Any person. I like to say we all want to change the world, right? It's such a cliche to say I want to change the world. I say it all the time, I still do. But the world as a whole is something that is very hard to change, because there are billions of people with billions of ideas and perspectives and opinions.

Morgan DeNicola: 24:13

You don't change the world. You change the way one person views the world and then you've changed the world for that person. And when you break it down and you make it something tangible and that's achievable, we all can be a really big part of changing the world and it becomes something that's more bite-sized rather than getting overwhelmed of. I am never going to change the world, because I feel like that is a problem we do face in the world of charity and philanthropy, is you get overwhelmed and have that thought. But when you can say I don't need to change the world. I need to change the world for one person or the way that person is experiencing the world, it becomes something that we really can do.

James Hodgson: 25:02

And you mentioned that it can be quite overwhelming as a practice, and I know you've spoken a lot about mental health and it comes up frequently in your work, given that you work in a lot of very emotionally demanding areas. How do you personally protect and sustain your own mental health and it comes up frequently in your work, given that you work in a lot of very emotionally demanding areas how do you personally protect and sustain your own mental health while staying engaged in these what can be quite emotionally demanding topics?

Morgan DeNicola: 25:24

I call it the swinging pendulum. So you can have these high highs of helping people and, oh, you're wonderful, you help so many people and you feel great about yourself. And then the next day that can swing right back down because you continue to see very much the same issues all around the world. It is not just in one place, it's similar issues everywhere. And you come back down and you again get overwhelmed and incredibly depressed. I definitely personally deal with depression a lot and I know a lot of people in any industry that's a service industry deals with depression a lot, and I don't think it should be a taboo thing. I think that we definitely need to have the right people around us to talk to when we are feeling that way, but we also need a sense of honesty and to know ourselves. So we need to know when that pendulum is swinging back down. But we also need a sense of honesty and to know ourselves. So we need to know when that pendulum is swinging back down, when we're getting drained, and we need to find the things that help us.

Morgan DeNicola: 26:21

For me, it's. I do disconnect and that's not a bad thing. For me, I need to, so I'll disconnect and then I have the right groups of friends. I was in therapy for a very long time, so that was very important to me. But I also have the right groups of friends. I was in therapy for a very long time, so that was very important to me. But I also have the right groups of friends for knowing what I need. Do I need a friend that will just make me laugh and we won't talk about it? Have those friends. Do I need friends that I can talk to about it? I have those friends.

Morgan DeNicola: 26:47

But there's also that experimental time where you have to figure out what helps you as a person. For me, it's cooking. I love to cook because it shuts my brain off. I love to cook and bake and then I have to focus on what I'm doing or I'm going to catch something on fire, so I like to be able to disconnect and do that. I love bubble baths and I love to walk around in nature and be around my animals.

Morgan DeNicola: 27:13

But there was a time that it was a lot of trial and error and I think a lot of people get very lost in that trial and error phase and they don't keep trying. But I think you need to keep trying to find those little things that make you feel better. And then with that you have to get to a point where you reprogram your brain, for every time you see something really bad or you're feeling really bad, force yourself to think about three good things. It's a forced practice and it's hard. At first You're like I don't care about this or I don't want to think about the good in the world. But the more you force this practice, the more it rewires your brain to do that instantaneously.

Morgan DeNicola: 27:57

So I've spent about I want to say, seven years doing this, and now when I face something really dark and I get really sad, my brain will instantaneously pull in three really good thoughts, and I had to learn to do that. But I think that you have to take that personal accountability for wanting to get yourself to a better place, because I know depression and that darkness is a warm, heavy blanket. It's familiar, it's something you're used to and you have to get uncomfortable to get out of that routine and that takes that personal accountability. You can't put it on a spouse, you can't put it on friends and say you should be there. It's.

Morgan DeNicola: 28:41

It really comes down to you figuring out what you need, what you like, and getting yourself into healthier habits. I cry on a treadmill hey, like I will just run it out and just cry, and then I'm exhausted but I actually feel better because I released endorphins. So again, it's that finding the right people, finding what works for you, sticking put on rose-colored glasses so what if I do so? What if I have to? It puts me in a better place and then I am able to contribute better to the world around me.

James Hodgson: 29:22

It sounds like there's a real theme in a lot of your work and the way you approach projects, in really actively engaging in thought and thinking about thinking, as people say, and really trying to have that active management, which again must be a stress over time as well. But it seems like there's a lot of benefits that come from that if you are willing to explore your own thoughts and try to get to the bottom of them yeah, it's I'm I'm a chronic overthinker.

Morgan DeNicola: 29:46

It's definitely something that I do, but it was something that was, years ago, brought to my attention by a counselor and he said you have this amazing ability to articulate things that people think and feel but can't put words to. And I realized that's such a compliment and then that's something that I can use to help other people. So I do think it's important to reflect and to think and to really dive deep into what it is that makes us feel a certain way, or what it is that makes us so we can understand it better. But I also do 100% have those periods of time where I'm like I am going to mentally disconnect.

Humanise Live: 30:29

Yeah.

Morgan DeNicola: 30:29

For three days I refuse. So I'll take off my watch and put my phone away, which drives my family crazy, because I run a family foundation and if I'm not responding to messages people go crazy. But there is that time that I do disconnect and I encourage people to disconnect and find things that make your brain a little bit quiet to recharge that battery.

James Hodgson: 30:54

Yeah, it's just as important absolutely and in terms of the Family Foundation, if anybody's listening to this is interested to get in touch. What are the things that you look for in projects that really appeal to you?

Morgan DeNicola: 31:06

It has to align with one of those four pillars that we do have. I would love to be engaged with everything, but that's just not possible, so we broke it down to these four pillars. Which is conservation that's the work I do with the zoo. We've also planted trees in different places around the world. We've worked with groups that dig fresh water wells, and that conservation is very important to me, but only a small portion of what we do. And then from that I like to say it's great to have a healthy world, but we ourselves need to be healthy. So then it's world health. We've worked with the American Thoracic Society in helping some of their students fund some of their projects. We've worked with several hospitals around the world. We're continuing to branch out to other hospitals around the world to see what kind of technologies we can make accessible to everyone. World health is very important to us, and mental health has been very much integrated into that. So, healthy world, healthy body, healthy mind. And then from there we do humanitarian recognition. I love this because we give out a humanitarian award with NFL players and front staff, and that's a whole lot of fun. They give back to their different communities. We like to acknowledge that. But now we integrated the Rising Star Award, which is for kids who are showing an interest in giving back to their community and doing little philanthropic endeavors. So we give them a little plaque and acknowledge this effort that they're showing at such a young age. And I love doing this because I think this will continue to encourage our youth to want to help, to want to be invested, and this we're actually starting to allow people to write into us and make suggestions. So if anybody has any suggestions, please reach out to me. And then from there we're going to branch out into the sciences as well and start acknowledging what different sciences should be recognized. So that's a really important one, the humanitarian recognition.

Morgan DeNicola: 33:07

And then there's diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, regular diplomacy. This is my cup of tea. This is where I love to live, because I find it to be so challenging. So I love to hear about culture programs that are going on around the world and where we can team up to enlighten, to spread knowledge of the ways other people are doing things, and from art to film to to food, we pat our hand in all of that.

Morgan DeNicola: 33:35

Those are our four pillars and we're always just looking for something unique, something creative and where we can possibly contribute our time, our ideas. We love to give out items more than checks. So if somebody's I'm looking for 500 bags of rice, I that's where I step up and I'm like let me get creative and try to find you 500 bags of rice. So we're always looking for fun ideas and suggestions from people from the community. What do you want to see, rather than us assuming what you want to see? So, yeah, it's reach out and tell us what you would love to see in your community or other groups that are doing something similar that we can help do it.

James Hodgson: 34:18

And I love that you brought up diplomacy, because I know in a previous conversation you mentioned that diplomacy is a kind of superpower and, as you say, it's your forte, and I know you have lots of experience in this area. How can people develop the skills of diplomacy and how are they useful in everyday life, not just in your world of international relations and philanthropy? What's the everyday benefits of diplomacy?

Morgan DeNicola: 34:40

I love that people think diplomacy is just politics, because that that just goes to show people aren't really paying attention. Diplomacy is managing relationships. Diplomacy requires your ability to negotiate conversations, to compromise, to understand where somebody else is coming from, to be tactful. So, diplomacy I'm diplomatic with my wife. You pull diplomacy in with your friends, your coworkers, your business. It's how to resolve relationships, or how to cultivate relationships and resolve issues with people by finding compromise and a place of understanding. This is what we do every day.

Morgan DeNicola: 35:27

So being diplomatic is something that, if you really break it down, you should be doing on a regular basis. So I like to say that it is a superpower, because if you can do this on a regular basis, if anybody that you interact with you can listen to, be tactful, be strategic, be understanding and maintain that calm with all of these interactions, that is a superpower. Calm and self-control is almost the ultimate superpower, and this is something that we talk to children about oh, maintain your calm, listen, understand. That we talk to children about oh, maintain your calm, listen, understand. So if we're trying to teach children to do this basically be diplomatic we ourselves should be doing this. We ourselves should be maintaining a calm and listening to one another and having a little bit of an ability to negotiate and compromise.

Morgan DeNicola: 36:23

Compromise is a wonderful thing. It prevents a lot of tension and it prevents a lot of issues. Yes, I think that people need to reevaluate what they think being diplomatic is and what diplomacy is, and that it goes way beyond just these presidents or members of government. It's so much more than that. It's a boss, it's an employee, it's a significant other, it's a parent. So I really would love and that's why I love to talk about it, that's why I love to be involved in it, because I think that if we can shine a light on it from a different angle, people will realize that this is something that will make their life so much easier. They'll be so much stronger and they'll be so much more thoughtful in where they put their energy and in how they interact with the world around them.

James Hodgson: 37:19

And before we go, our standard closing question what's something you've changed your mind on recently and what inspired that change?

Morgan DeNicola: 37:26

I changed my mind on me, thinking that I know everything and that my way of being is the right way of being, because I realized, the more people I interact with and the more I travel and the more I listen to the worlds around me, things are not as simple as one answer. Things are not as simple as one way to comprehend things. That's what my shirt is these two guys arguing over what number this is. I love this because is it a six or is it a nine? It depends on where you're standing. So that's where I continue to evolve. And continue to change is going into everything with a clean slate, still knowing who I am, but allowing myself to try to see things from every point of view before I ultimately decide what it is.

Morgan DeNicola: 38:19

I'm going to do.

James Hodgson: 38:21

Morgan D Nicola, thank you so much for joining us on Humanism Now.

Humanise Live: 38:28

Thank you. Thank you for having me. Thanks for listening to Humanism Now. If you like the show, please leave us a review. It helps more people find us. Support us from just five pounds a month for exclusive content and to shape future episodes, and we'll plant a tree each month in your name. Follow us on all socials at Humanism Now Pod and help spread curiosity, compassion and human progress. Humanism Now is produced by Humanize Life, creating world-class podcasts, videos and events for purpose-led individuals and organizations. Learn more at humanizelive.