From Tragedy to Transformation: How One Family Built a National School Safety Movement, with John-Michael Keyes

John-Michael Keyes, founder of the I Love You Guys Foundation, joins Mike Spear to share how the devastating loss of his 16-year-old daughter Emily during a 2006 school hostage crisis became the catalyst for a national movement that has reshaped how schools, first responders, and communities prepare for and respond to crises. Through the development of the Standard Response Protocol and Standard Reunification Method—now used in over 60,000 schools, districts, and agencies worldwide—John-Michael reveals how simple, plain-language frameworks have replaced the patchwork of confusing codes and inconsistent procedures that once defined school safety, while fostering unprecedented collaboration between educators, law enforcement, emergency managers, and families who might otherwise never sit at the same table. The conversation explores the Foundation's evolution from a small memorial fund to a lean, mission-driven organization with a sustainable fee-for-service model, its trauma-informed approach to preparedness, and its ambitious next chapter: Bold Impact, a new social impact framework designed to formalize the cross-sector community resilience that has long been the "side effect" of their work.

In this powerful episode, Jocelyn Wyatt, CEO of Alight, shares her 25-year journey transforming humanitarian aid through human-centered design. From her early days recognizing the disconnect between DC-based decisions and on-the-ground needs in Bolivia, to co-founding IDEO.org and now leading a $90 million organization serving 4 million displaced people annually, Jocelyn reveals what it really means to center refugees as customers, not beneficiaries.Discover how Alight maintains operations in Sudan through three different countries despite ongoing conflict, why "choosing optimism" is a strategic imperative when serving those in crisis, and how pop-up nail salons became the breakthrough for adolescent reproductive health programs in Africa. Jocelyn discusses navigating massive foreign aid cuts, the critical role of grassroots donors giving $20 at a time, and why proximity to problems leads to better solutions.With 25 million people requiring humanitarian assistance in Sudan alone, this conversation challenges fundamental assumptions about how aid should work in the 21st century. Learn why treating refugees with dignity isn't just morally right—it's more effective.Key Topics: Human-centered design in humanitarian work, refugee crisis response, Sudan emergency operations, funding challenges in foreign aid, innovation in displacement services, local leadership empowermentLearn more at: wearealight.org | causeandpurpose.org

In this thought-provoking episode of Cause & Purpose, data scientist and impact strategist Andrew Means joins Mike Spear to expose critical gaps in how the social sector uses data and evaluation. Drawing from his vast experience in the sector, Andrew reveals how many nonprofits are "flying blind"—lacking even basic data infrastructure to make strategic decisions. He shares practical frameworks like the "data hierarchy of needs" and emphasizes that data democratization, not expensive consultants, is the key to transformation. The discussion evolves into a broader critique of traditional philanthropy and a vision for evidence-based giving. Andrew explains why he joined Altruous as an advisor, seeing it as uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between oversimplified ratings and inaccessible academic research. He emphasizes that with potential government funding cuts ahead, organizations that can prove their impact through data will thrive while others struggle. Throughout, both hosts challenge the sector's resistance to general operating support, overhead myth, and top-down funding approaches. The episode concludes with Andrew's compelling case for transparency, acknowledging uncertainty in evaluations, and focusing on the only metric that truly matters: whether beneficiaries are actually better off.

In this episode of Cause & Purpose, host Mike Spear sits down with Jim Carter III, a technologist and philanthropist who has spent over a decade bridging the gap between cutting-edge technology and social impact. Jim shares compelling stories from his journey, including how he helped Pencils of Promise receive a $1 million Bitcoin donation from the anonymous Pineapple Fund, and his current work building AI-powered digital clones that allow organizations to engage thousands of supporters simultaneously. The conversation provides practical guidance for nonprofits hesitant about AI adoption, featuring Jim's three-question framework for identifying AI opportunities: what takes too long, what costs too much, and what good work could you do more of?Throughout the discussion, Jim and Mike challenge the social sector's resistance to innovation, arguing that adaptation to AI isn't optional but rather a moral imperative for organizations serious about their missions. Jim demonstrates how AI serves as a "thinking partner" rather than a replacement for human judgment, sharing examples from his own work including building an autonomous podcast network with 100,000+ downloads and creating a DocuSign alternative in hours. Mike reveals how Altruous leverages sophisticated AI to generate 25-page program evaluations in seconds, combining automation with human expertise to help funders find high-impact opportunities they'd never discover otherwise. The episode concludes with Jim's perspective on preparing the next generation for an AI-integrated future and his belief that AI will ultimately create more opportunities than it eliminates.

In this episode of Cause & Purpose, we sit down with the CEO of Native Forward, Angelique Albert. Angelique shares insights from her life growing up on tribal lands in Montana, talks about some of the historical context that shapes the way Native Americans relate to Education, and shares insights from scaling Native Forward to serve more Native American scholars.

In this episode of Cause & Purpose, we sit down with the COO of Elemental Excelerator, Avra van der Zee.Avra's dedication to combatting climate change has spanned her entire career. From e-bikes, to sustainable pre-fabricated construction materials, to the 150+ startups in Elemental Excelerator's portfolio, Avra has worked, across her career, to help build and scale the innovative climate solutions that will help shape our environment for generations to come. A litigation attorney turned social entrepreneur, Avra has tons of great insights to share about everything from working with government programs, to storytelling, to climate justice issues, to storytelling, and building performance measurement and evaluation frameworks that empower organizations to maximize their impact.Join us as we learn a bit about Avra's background, and the way she, and Elemental Excelerator, are tackling global climate change at a massive scale.

In this episode of Cause & Purpose, we sit down with Sarah Gardner, a trailblazer in the fight against child sexual abuse material (CSAM) through her work with the Heat Initiative. Sarah's commitment to creating a safer internet landscape for children is not just a mission — it's a calling. Under Sarah's guidance, the Heat Initiative aims to elevate internet safety standards, advocating for robust protections that shield children from the dangers lurking within the digital realm.Her current campaign is a bold move to hold industry giants like Apple accountable, urging them to fulfill their promises to identify and flag content that exploits children. This initiative sets a precedent, challenging tech companies to prioritize child safety and establish rigorous online standards. Join us as we learn a bit about Sarah’s background, the significant changes she's championing, and how each of us can play a role in safeguarding the innocence of children online.

Introduction two Season 3 of Cause & Purpose.

In this episode, we welcome Heidi Kershaw, the CEO of Multiple, a nonprofit organization focused on funding and incubating transformative tech solutions for people with autism. Rather than focusing on cure research or direct service to families, Multiple operates as a technology incubator, supporting scalable for-profit solutions. The conversation explores Heidi's personal journey as a mother of a neurodivergent child and how that led her to her work at Multiple. The episode highlights the importance of connectivity and acceptance for individuals with autism and how technology can play a role in enhancing their lives. Tune in to learn more about Multiple's innovative approach to addressing the challenges faced by the autism community.“If we did a better job at trying to trust one another, that we have good intentions, I think the world would look a lot different."Topics covered:[00:04:18] Relationship with autism mourned.[00:08:25] Parenting a child with autism.[00:12:23] Autism education and understanding.[00:18:10] Nonprofits and mission-driven work.[00:20:10] Creating a product for autism.[00:27:09] Bringing tech products to market.[00:32:55] Wearable for understanding communication.[00:36:05] Safety concerns for those with autism.[00:39:08] Receptive language development.[00:44:05] Job programs and economic growth.[00:47:32] Corporations supporting neurodivergent individuals.[00:55:14] Long waitlists for autism services.[00:59:13] Wearing a suit for acceptance.Links mentioned:https://www.multiplehub.org/https://www.valencevibrations.com/https://www.socialciphergame.com/https://cogniable.tech/https://altruous.orgGuest links:https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidikershaw/

In this episode of Cause & Purpose, we hear from Jared Walker, the founder and CEO of Dollar For. Dollar For is a nonprofit organization that helps tackle the issue of medical debt in the United States by advocating for patients and using patient data to drive policy change. Inspired by personal experience, Jared shares how Dollar For began as Dollar for Portland, crowdfunding money to support people with unexpected medical expenses. Now, they help eligible patients take advantage of charity care, a provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires nonprofit hospitals to waive fees for low-income patients. With medical debt being a significant cause of bankruptcies in the U.S., Dollar For is making a massive impact and aims to eliminate as much medical debt as possible. Tune in to learn more about Jared's journey and the work of Dollar For."Being able to buy the repair for the wheelchair accessible van, or buy the medical equipment that they can't afford, or pay the hospital bill that's gone to collections, is a pretty freaking big deal for people."Topics covered:[00:04:35] Healthcare system frustrations.[00:07:53] Inspiration for action.[00:14:48] Community response to launch.][00:22:09] Discovering Charity Care.[00:23:52] Frustration with the healthcare system.[00:32:06] Pursuing forgiveness of medical fees.[00:35:27] Childbirth as ineligible elective procedure.[00:41:14] Key metrics for impact.[00:44:14] Opportunities from the program.[00:56:08] Mental health organizations.Links mentioned:https://dollarfor.org/https://altruous.orgGuest links:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jared-walker-b6865397/