Aspiring Altruists

This episode features a guest that’s a bit of a unique one, Kathrine Morris. Kathrine is a Relationship Manager at NeighborWorks America. The reason she’s a unique guest is that she hosts a podcast of her own, Nine Lives with Kat. Through our conversation, we explore the vast journey across the nonprofit sector that she’s been on since undergrad, learn more about her podcast, hear how her master’s degree has impacted her early care...

This episode features someone who has gone from the political world to the non-profit sector, back to politics, and now back once again to the non-profit sector, Dennis Barrett. Dennis is an Advocacy Campaign Manager at The Trevor Project. As you can guess, he has a broad range of experience from his early career adventures, and he shares with us about that journey as well as how he lives out his passion through his work daily, alo...

Today’s episode is a special one because it features a guest who both, until very recently, worked for a non-profit organization as well as having founded his own, Don Abram. At the time of our conversation, Don was a program manager for Interfaith America, an organization that aims to inspire, equip, and connect individuals and institutions to unlock the potential of America’s religious diversity. But, Don is also the founder and ...

This episode features a young woman with a passion for working with conflict-affected populations, Karenna Öner. Karenna is a first-generation American with a long-standing interest in conflict studies and human security. While she has recently moved on from this role, in this episode she shares about her work as a caseworker for the International Rescue Committee. She’s lived abroad and applies her wide-ranging background experien...

With the midterm elections having just happened and a major issue of them seemingly being the integrity of our democracy, I decided to speak with a guy who works to improve our democracy and make our elections fairer, Matt Oberstaedt. Matt is a social media associate at FairVote. He graduated last year from George Washington University, having studied political science, and has worked on political campaigns before ending up in the ...

This second episode of the second season features a young woman named Brooke Allison. Brooke is a program manager at MAP International, a Christian nonprofit organization that works to provide medicines and health supplies to those in need around the world. She shares with us what led to her working in the nonprofit sector, how her earning an MPA has impacted her career, and much more.

You can contact Brooke via email or ...

We are officially live for season 2! After a year off to focus on other projects, I'm back for another 20 episodes.

Our first guest this season is an optimistic young woman who has a real heart for helping people, Libby McClayton. Libby is a volunteer engagement specialist at the National MS Society. She worked as an Americorps member for two years and has worked for a couple of other organizations before landing whe...

On this, the 20th episode of Aspiring Altruists, you’ll hear from a young woman with a passion for working for animal welfare, Jessica Simpson. Jessica is a Public Policy Specialist at The Humane Society of the United States. Her early career has taken her across the US, working as a park ranger in North Carolina, for both a smaller Humane Society and an animal hospital in Colorado, to now working in the policy space here in DC. Sh...

This episode features a young woman who has always had an interest in environmental issues, Catherine Pollack. Catherine, who also goes by Kitty, is a Program Associate with the Energy and Environment Program at The Aspen Institute. She has moved around a bit in her early career, having an internship in the Bahamas, studying undergrad in Vermont, and then getting her start with Aspen out in Colorado before moving to the DC area. On...

This episode features a guy who has had a wide variety of early career experiences but has a passion for mission-focused work, Joshua Gilstein. Josh is a Strategic Process Improvement Analyst at the American Red Cross. He’s an experienced project manager and has a strong desire to solve problems so that important work can get done more efficiently and effectively. Josh is passionate about social justice with a focus on LGBT equalit...

This episode features a young woman who is focused on environmental impact in a non-traditional way, Stephanie Piperno. Stephanie is the Trails Coalition Manager at the Washington Area Bicyclist Association. Thus far in her early career, she has moved from working with a government agency, the National Park Service, to working in a more corporate environment at REI, to now being here in the non-profit sector. Having earned her mast...

This episode features someone who has a true passion for creating healthy and sustainable places for all people, Becca Buthe. Becca is a Research Analyst for Smart Growth America where she works on projects relating to economic development, land use, and transportation. She studied civil engineering in undergrad before earning her master's in urban and regional planning followed by taking her skills and heart for refugees and ...

This episode features a young woman with a passion for doing impact-focused work, Rachel Botos. Rachel is a Senior Program Associate with the Business & Society Program at the Aspen Institute. She’s done work in higher education, public health, and has even been an intern for a few powerful political figures. She shares with us about how her volunteer experience has shaped her career, the impact earning her MPA has had, and get...

On this episode, you’ll hear from a young woman with an international background and a passion for sustainability, Khyati Rathore. Khyati is the special projects manager for Defend our Future, a division of the Environmental Defense Fund. Through her work at EDF, she aims to support systemic change for climate action across sectors and strengthen the youth-led climate movement. She is also an active youth advocate for climate chang...

On this episode, you'll hear from a young woman who has a passion for equity in food systems, Eilish Zembilci. Eilish is the Program Manager for Global Food Security at the Center for Strategic & International Studies. She’s a systems-based-thinker who values wholistic, interdisciplinary approaches to complex challenges. In her role, she works with grants and fundraising, writes and edits content, works with interns, and b...

This episode features Stephanie Aaronson, the Community Development Manager at the Stroum Jewish Community Center of Greater Seattle. Stephanie is an accomplished non-profit professional with demonstrated experience leading new program development, relationship building, budget administration, project management, and partner management. She’s based in Seattle and has spent over 8 years spearheading leadership development and fundra...

This episode features a young woman who has worked in bipartisan policy work for a few years now, Tiffany Jones. Tiffany is the Chief of Staff to the Development department at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank in DC that actively works across the political spectrum on the current political issues of the day. She’s a nonprofit professional with a passion for impact-focused organizations and bringing stakeholders together to...

On this 10th episode of the podcast, we feature a young woman who is dedicated to housing and food security, Rose Osburn. Rose is a Volunteer and In-Kind Coordinator at Thrive DC, an organization that works to prevent and end homelessness in Washington, DC by providing vulnerable people with a wide range of services. She has worked with food in many forms over her early career and loves interacting with others and learning about th...

On this episode, you'll hear from a guy who has quite the story and is someone I've known for a decade, Austin Lee. Austin is a senior associate in people operations at ideas42, a non-profit design and consulting firm that uses insights from the behavioral sciences to address complex social problems. Austin lives his life as an experiment, having gone from giving the commencement speech at his graduation to having a high-...