Square Pizza Podcast #134 - Erica Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer - United Way of Greater Nashville
Subscribe on:
Apple Podcasts · Spotify · Stitcher · iHeart
The Square Pizza podcast focuses on the intersection of education, innovation, and diversity. We host and interview leaders doing incredible work around the country to ensure all students have access to an equitable education. The Square Pizza podcast is hosted by SchermCo, a social-impact implementation firm that offers strategic implementation and project management services to schools and education-focused organizations across the country.
In this episode of the Square Pizza Pod, Greg welcomes Erica Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer of United Way of Greater Nashville, for a candid conversation about leading regional change at the intersection of poverty, philanthropy, and community power.
From what was supposed to be a two-year stop at United Way to more than fifteen years of growing responsibility, Erica reflects on how the work has evolved as Nashville has exploded in size and complexity. She shares how her team is moving beyond traditional workplace giving to focus on workforce pathways, neighborhood-based partnerships, and efforts like the Fifth Third Neighborhood Initiative in North Nashville that are designed with, not just for, community members.
In this episode, you will hear:
How a short-term role at United Way became a long-term calling to serve the region
What it really takes to prevent and alleviate poverty in a fast-growing city
Lessons from navigating multiple nonprofit mergers—and what leaders often underestimate
How the merger with Hands On Nashville is reshaping volunteer engagement and community response
Why affordable child care sits at the center of economic mobility for families
How Erica approaches leading a one-hundred-person team and a forty-plus-member board
Why she is cautiously optimistic about artificial intelligence and what questions leaders should be asking now
If you care about community, equity, or building stronger cities through real partnership, this is an episode you will not want to miss.
