NGO Soul + Strategy

090. Technology, Land Rights, and Leadership: A Conversation with Amy Coughenour Betancourt, CEO of Cadasta

• Tosca Bruno-van Vijfeijken • Season 6 • Episode 90

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Show Notes

Summary

Land rights are at the heart of building a sustainable and equitable future. Yet securing these rights—especially for marginalized communities—remains a profound global challenge.

In this episode of NGO Soul + Strategy, I sit down with Amy Coughenour Betancourt, President and CEO of Cadasta, a global social innovation organization dedicated to advancing affordable, accessible land rights documentation.

Drawing on her leadership at the intersection of technology, social innovation, and global nonprofit management, Amy and I explore the unique opportunities and challenges Cadasta faces as a technology-forward organization working closely with Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and governments.

We also address a timely leadership question: how nonprofits can respond to increasingly challenging funding landscapes while staying aligned with mission and values.

Guest's Bio

  • President and CEO of Cadasta, a leading social innovation organization
  • Global Advisor, How Women Lead
  • Advisory Board Member, Geospatial World
  • Board Member, InterAction
  • Former COO, National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA CLUSA), International
  • Former Deputy Executive Director, Pan American Development Foundation

We Discuss

  • What the integration of technology unlocks for advancing land rights—and the risks and limitations it brings
  • How Cadasta approaches its role as an ally-organization to Indigenous Peoples and locally-led land tenure groups
  • The leadership challenge of navigating downward trends in nonprofit funding across Europe and the US
  • How leaders can respond strategically to funding shifts while identifying new opportunities for mission-driven impact
  • What it means to balance innovation with the grounded realities of community-driven change
  • Lessons from Cadasta's hybrid model as both a technology provider and a global NGO

Quotes

“We need to be technology-forward but always community-centered.”

"Responding to a changing funding landscape requires not just resilience—but also creativity and adaptability.”

Resources


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Have a challenge or opportunity in your nonprofit or philanthropic organization that you'd like to explore? Feel free to reach out to Tosca directly at tosca(at)5oaksconsulting(dot)org.

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