What do 30 years in corporate travel have to do with running a homeless shelter? More than you'd think.
In this episode of the RKD Group: Chat podcast, host Nipa Eason talks with Susan Blouch, Executive Director of Lebanon Rescue Mission, about the nontraditional path that took her from owning a corporate travel business to leading an 81-year-old, faith-based nonprofit as its first woman executive director and first non-pastoral leader in its history.
Susan closed her business in 2010 with no job lined up, spent months in interviews, and was told outright by a friend: "They are never going to give this job to a woman." Seventeen years later, she's led two capital campaigns, relocated an entire men's campus, and is currently building a 25,000-square-foot facility to serve women with children and a fast-growing population almost no one is talking about: seniors experiencing homelessness.
In this conversation:
- Why nonprofit hiring managers should stop reading job titles and start reading skill sets
- How Susan navigated community pushback as a single woman leading a gospel rescue mission
- Walking into a capital campaign on Day 1, including a zoning board rejection and appeal
- Why 45% of Lebanon Rescue Mission's guests are now over 65, and what that changes about shelter design
- The shift from communal dorms to 40 private rooms, and why dignity matters for guests in their 70s and 80s
- The unexpected mentorship happening between senior and younger guests
- Practical strategies for preventing staff burnout and secondary trauma on the front lines
- What it means to actually live out "God, family, work" as an organizational value
Three takeaways for your nonprofit:
- Hire for skill sets, not titles. The best candidate for your open role may come from an industry that looks nothing like yours.
- You don't know what you don't know. Surround yourself with good counsel, put one foot in front of the other, and stay willing to change direction.
- Learn to tell the noise from the voice of truth. There will never be a shortage of people telling you how to do your job.
About Lebanon Rescue Mission: Founded more than 80 years ago in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Lebanon Rescue Mission provides emergency shelter, meals, and recovery programs for men, women, and children experiencing homelessness.
About RKD Group: Chat: RKD Group: Chat brings you behind the scenes of nonprofit life, spotlighting the compassion and purpose behind the individuals solving the world's most challenging problems. Hosted by Nipa Eason.
