This December on The Discovery Pod, we spoke with three leaders who are re-engineering what leadership looks like in Canada’s social profit sector. From healthcare to housing and national networks, Jennifer Molloy, Adam Starkman, and Djaka Blais each shared how they’re rebuilding institutions and trust in their communities. Their work reflects a common through-line: bold structural change built on empathy, intentionality, and care.
Building Successful Fundraising Models with Jennifer Molloy, Royal University Hospital Foundation
When Jennifer Molloy stepped into the CEO role at the Royal University Hospital Foundation, she made a daring move: retiring long-standing galas and golf tournaments to focus on major gifts. The decision wasn’t popular at first, but it worked. Within 18 months, her team recorded the Foundation’s best fundraising year since 1983.
Jennifer’s story is about trusting instinct and leading through uncertainty. She talks candidly about “staying on course” when results didn’t come right away and redefining what success looks like. Beyond numbers, she emphasizes a new approach to healthcare philanthropy. One that starts with genuine, emotional conversations about why health matters and where innovation can take root.
Her Women Leading Philanthropy program, a “Dragon’s Den-style” initiative that funds female-led health research, shows what happens when philanthropy becomes personal, participatory, and future-focused.
Transforming Philanthropy & Organizational Culture with Adam Starkman, Canada’s Children’s Hospital Foundations
As President and CEO of Canada’s Children’s Hospital Foundations (CCHF), Adam Starkman is redefining corporate philanthropy in Canada. His organization represents 13 children’s hospitals nationwide, uniting corporate partners and local communities under one simple principle: dollars raised locally stay local.
Adam believes the future of giving lies in authenticity and shared value, not box-checking or chasing the latest ESG framework. “When giving is sincere and aligned with a company’s values,” he says, “it really can make a difference.” His approach is methodical: stabilize systems, build culture, and grow partnerships only when the foundation is solid.
What stands out most is his perspective on leadership. Adam sees his role as connecting people to purpose, whether that’s employees on his team, corporate champions in boardrooms, or families whose lives are changed by the hospitals they support. It’s philanthropy as a network of trust, powered by collaboration rather than competition.
Place-Making & Purpose with Djaka Blais, Hogan’s Alley Society
For Djaka Blais, Executive Director of Vancouver’s Hogan’s Alley Society, rebuilding is literal. She’s leading the creation of a community land trust and the first culturally informed housing project for Black communities in B.C. which is set to be a 12-storey mixed-use development that will stand on the historic site where Vancouver’s original Black neighbourhood was erased in the name of “urban renewal.”
Djaka’s leadership blends structure with soul. She’s formalizing governance, securing resources, and cultivating what she calls a culture of care. Rooted in Afrocentric principles like Ubuntu (“I am because we are”), her organization is designing a governance model that prioritizes collective well-being over individual urgency.
Her reflections on leadership, including making room for mistakes, resisting burnout, and leading with grace resonate far beyond the Black community. They challenge the sector to rebuild its systems in ways that are inclusive, restorative, and humane.
Across these conversations, a pattern emerges: today’s social profit leaders aren’t just maintaining, they’re rebuilding them from the inside out. Whether it’s rethinking revenue models, redefining corporate collaboration, or reclaiming community space, Jennifer, Adam, and Djaka remind us that meaningful change begins with the courage to do things differently.
🎧 Catch Up on Past Episodes
Explore conversations with sector leaders across Canada—each episode packed with real-world insight, strategy, and leadership.
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