"The chance to be with leaders of organizations of similar-sized budgets and working from a similar place has been really nice. As an ED, you’re in the middle of everything and also all alone."
Samantha Sencer-Mura, Executive Director, Mid-Continent Oceanographic Institute
"Sometimes being an executive director – and how I imagine it’s like being an artistic director – feels very lonely, especially in a small organization."
Dawn Bentley, Executive Director, Minnesota Fringe
"We’ve heard from patients that while medical expertise and technical skills of the provider are necessary, what really impacts patients’ experience of health and well-being is the relationship to the health care delivery overall and the experience each point along the way."
Alissa Light, Executive Director, Family Tree Clinic
"We’ve been training ourselves to think differently about how we save, manage debt in the most effective way, and plan for a surplus. It’s like moving from surviving to thriving… we have a different mindset, and the Equity Builder program has helped get us there."
Betsy Roder, Executive Director, New York Mills Regional Cultural Center
"For an organization like us still in a growth phase, if you don’t have support or the opportunity to apply for upfront loans like we were able to get from Propel, it can be hard to continue to grow."
Johnny Allen, Executive Director, JK Movement
"It was great to have Phil [Hatlie] actually drive up here, sit down with me, learn more about our organization, and really go to bat for us. That’s not something you always see in the world of finance."
Kristi Halvarson, Executive Director, Community Health Service Inc.
"The trajectory is long – it can take people a long time to get where they want to go. Part of that is getting kids on a journey that they’ll enjoy, and that they choose."
Paul Ramsour,
Executive Director, Elpis Enterprises
"Our business model uses electronics recycling and refurbishing as a laboratory for gaining work skills and experience."
Amanda LaGrange, CEO & Founding Board Member, Tech Dump/Tech Discount
"It's an equity issue. It’s not fair that kids who live half an hour away have the most beautiful facilities and space, and our students are crammed into a strip mall by a bus terminal with no green space."
Helen Fisk, Co-founder & Director, Global Academy