This past month on The Discovery Pod, we sat down with five remarkable leaders whose organizations span international humanitarian aid, mental health research, healthcare philanthropy, and leadership development: Sana Beg of MSF Canada, Akela Peoples of Mental Health Research Canada, Mary McPherson of Oakville Hospital Foundation, Paul Rossmann of Calgary Health Foundation, and Ian Chisholm, Author of Quiet Champions: A Way Forward for Mentors in Turbulent Times. Across five very different mandates and five very different challenges, the same questions kept surfacing. What does responsible nonprofit growth look like? How do you build an organization that performs and endures? And what does it mean to lead well when the world keeps shifting beneath your feet?
Rethinking Growth
One moment in our conversation with Sana Beg came up that challenges a persistent assumption: that growth is, by definition, the goal. She told us that MSF Canada is actively challenging the idea that more always means better. In a global humanitarian ecosystem under real strain, the more important question is where an organization can make the most meaningful contribution, not how big it can get. For Sana, that means examining the role of locally rooted partners, being honest about organizational limits, and finding new ways to define what success looks like.
Paul Rossmann at Calgary Health Foundation is dealing with a related tension. He stepped into the CEO role at an organization with bold fundraising ambitions, but also with a philanthropy program that needed significant development before those ambitions could be realized. His focus has been on building the internal culture and the donor relationships that make nonprofit growth possible, not just headline numbers. In our conversation, he also reminds us that growth has to be earned.
Culture Is a Strategy
Mary McPherson at Oakville Hospital Foundation has grown the organization’s annual revenue from roughly $9 million to nearly $23 million, and she is direct about why: the culture came first. When she arrived, she reorganized the team, had frank conversations about fit and performance, and articulated a clear philosophy. “We decided to build the office we wished we had worked in when we were 25,” she told us. Her all-in, all-win approach to major gift fundraising is not just a guiding idea. It is reflected in how roles are structured, how success is measured, and how people are developed and recognized.
Akela Peoples took a different yet equally deliberate approach when she closed Mental Health Research Canada’s physical office in 2025, going fully virtual. Rather than announcing a decision, she brought her board along gradually, keeping the conversation alive over many months and ensuring there were no surprises. The result is a high-performing, highly engaged team that works flexibly and delivers results. Her advice to leaders: if you want your board to support a significant change, make it part of an ongoing conversation long before it becomes a formal proposal.
Authentic Collaboration
Akela introduced us to a phrase that has stayed with us since: “authentic points of intersection.” In a mental health sector crowded with organizations doing overlapping work, she argues that real collaboration requires more than goodwill, and that it requires discipline. Organizations need to be clear on what they bring to the table, stay in their lane, and find the specific moments where working together will genuinely advance the mission for everyone involved. That is a higher bar than most collaborations actually meet.
Sana Beg echoed this from a global perspective. When USAID funding contracted and the network of humanitarian actors thinned out, MSF’s ability to operate effectively became dependent on the strength of the broader ecosystem. Collaboration becomes foundational when the environment gets complex enough to demand it.
Mentorship as Leadership Practice
Ian Chisholm, Author of Quiet Champions: A Way Forward for Mentors in Turbulent Times, makes the case that mentorship is not a stage of leadership; it is a practice. It is one that becomes more valuable the more turbulent the world becomes. In the conversation, Ian described the most effective mentors as the ones who create space for others to find their own way, grounded enough in themselves to lead without needing to dominate the room.
For social profit leaders navigating burnout, succession challenges, and sector-wide disruption, Ian’s argument is a timely one. Investing in the people around you is some of the most important work a leader can do.
To Close Off
From rethinking nonprofit growth to building team culture, and from authentic collaboration to the quiet work of mentorship, our April guests on The Discovery Pod offered perspectives that stay with you. What connects these conversations is a shared commitment to leading with intention, asking tough questions, and building organizations designed to serve their communities over the long run.
Subscribe on Your Favourite Podcast Platform
Explore conversations with sector leaders across Canada. Each episode is packed with real-world insight, strategy, and leadership:
- Listen on Apple Podcasts
- Listen onSpotify
- Listen onCastbox
Ready to strengthen your organization’s leadership, fundraising, or strategy? Connect with our team to explore how we can support your next chapter of growth.