In this enlightening episode, host Dr. Laura Scherck Wittcoff talks with Christine Buckley, the Executive Director and Board President of the Brain Aneurysm Foundation. The episode delves into the complexities and risks associated with brain aneurysms, highlighting the critical nature of early diagnosis and proper treatment.

**Key Discussion Points:**

1. **Understanding Brain Aneurysms:**
- The brain's intricate role as an organ and the devastating impacts when an aneurysm occurs.
- Statistical insights into the prevalence and rupture rates of brain aneurysms.

2. **Personal Stories and Advocacy:**
- Christine shares touching personal stories of individuals affected by brain aneurysms, emphasizing the unpredictability and severity of the condition.
- The importance of self-advocacy in healthcare.

3. **Advancements in Treatment:**
- How modern advancements have made treatments less invasive and more efficient.
- The ongoing challenge of misdiagnosis and delayed treatment.

4. **Foundation Initiatives:**
- The Brain Aneurysm Foundation's role in research, advocacy, and education.
- The "Scan to Save" initiative is designed to improve early detection and healthcare provider education.

5. **Impact of Education and Awareness:**
- Strategies to increase awareness and understanding of brain aneurysms among the public and healthcare professionals.
- The importance of sharing information through social media and community outreach.

6. **Challenges and Future Goals:**
- The need for more widespread awareness and support to prevent rupture-related fatalities and disabilities.
- Christine’s vision for a world free from the dangers of brain aneurysms and the continuous effort to secure research funding.

**Call to Action:**
Listeners are encouraged to share the podcast episode, follow the Brain Aneurysm Foundation on social media, and help spread awareness about the signs, symptoms, and importance of early detection of brain aneurysms.

**Links and Resources:**
- [Brain Aneurysm Foundation Website](www.bafound.org)
- Social Media:
[Facebook](www.facebook.com/bafound),
[X](x.com/BAFOUND),
[Instagram](www.instagram.com/bafound),
[LinkedIn] (www.linkedin.com/company/the-brain-aneurysm-foundation)
[YouTube](www.youtube.com/user/brainaneurysmfound

For more Small & Gutsy episodes: https://smallandgutsy.org/episodes/

I’ve spent decades working in, around, and now leading a small nonprofit called Small & Gutsy. And if there’s one thing I’ve consistently seen across the nonprofit sector, it’s this: a profound need for resources.

Sure, financial resources are always a challenge — that doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out. But what often surprises people is how limited the resource toolbox is for many organizations — not just the small ones.

In smaller nonprofits, staff are laser-focused on their mission and the direct work of serving clients. They’re stretched thin, wearing multiple hats, which leaves little time for long-term sustainability planning. But even larger nonprofits, segmented into departments, can lose sight of the bigger picture — missing opportunities to collaborate, streamline, or grow.

That’s why accessible, centralized, and free resources are so critical.

Enter: The Nonprofit Cooperative.

A nonprofit in its own right, The Nonprofit Cooperative operates with a powerful business model — one that gives back to the nonprofit community every single day, completely free of charge.

Their website is a true one-stop shop, offering:

• Human resources guidance

• Fundraising tools

• Insurance insights

• Grant and proposal writing support

• Webinars and workshops

• Networking opportunities

• Business-community vetted partnerships

• And… our very own Small & Gutsy podcast page!

Any nonprofit can sign up and record their own interview, adding their voice to our growing family and sharing their impact stories with the world.

In this way, Small & Gutsy isn’t just telling nonprofit stories — we’re partnering with The Nonprofit Cooperative to support those very organizations with the tools and visibility they deserve.

And I couldn’t be more excited to introduce today’s guest:
Danette O’Connell, Founder and Executive Director of The Nonprofit Cooperative.

Danette is a seasoned professional whose career has focused on helping nonprofits not just survive, but transform. She brings deep experience from the business world and a passion for equipping mission-driven organizations with practical, scalable solutions.

So, let’s get started.

Danette, welcome to Small & Gutsy. You have a significant business background — what inspired you to pivot and pour your energy into the nonprofit sector?

For more information, check out their website: www.thenonprofitcooperative.org

For more podcasts: www.smallandgutsy.org

Episode: AMBITION - Transforming Lives Through Power Not Pity

Guest: Nancy Gale - Founder of AMBITION and JAMAH Luxury Handbags

Episode Description:
A powerful conversation about transforming lives through entrepreneurship, mentorship, and the unique approach of "power not pity." Nancy Gale shares how she integrated cause and commerce through her luxury handbag brand JAMAH and nonprofit AMBITION, creating opportunities for disadvantaged youth.

Key Topics Discussed:

• The integration of cause and commerce in business
• AMBITION's signature "You Don't Know About Me" program
• The power of storytelling in transformation
• Access and exposure as key game changers for youth
• Breaking down barriers between different socioeconomic groups
• The importance of hard work and passion in achievement
• Teaching marketing and entrepreneurship to youth
• The story behind acquiring the AMBITION.org domain name

Notable Quote:
"If you can show how the angst and anger are going to help us solve the problem, I will out-angst and out-anger you any day." - Nancy Gale

Key Highlights:

1. AMBITION's unique approach combining entrepreneurship education with personal development
2. The two-semester program structure: personal narrative development followed by marketing skills
3. Success stories of students' transformations
4. The integration of JAMAH luxury handbags with AMBITION's mission
5. The importance of teaching youth to present challenges with "power not pity"

Resources Mentioned:

• Website: AMBITION.org
• Program: "You Don't Know About Me" initiative

Impact Metrics:

• The program serves primarily juniors and seniors in high school
• 16 years of operation
• Expanding through partnerships with Boys & Girls Clubs

Guest Bio:
Nancy Gale is the founder of AMBITION, a nonprofit organization providing entrepreneurial education to disadvantaged youth, and JAMAH, a luxury handbag brand. With 25+ years in the fashion industry, she pioneered an innovative business model integrating cause and commerce. Her approach focuses on empowering youth through access, exposure, and real-world business experience.

Contact Information:

• Website: AMBITION.org
• Email: info@ambition.org

Call to Action:

• Visit AMBITION.org to learn more about the program
• Consider volunteering as a mentor
• Support through donations or purchasing merchandise

For more podcast episodes, please visit: https://smallandgutsy.org/episodes/

• Change from Within: We believe that the most enduring and meaningful transformations arise from the people most impacted—those who live within the system and carry its deepest insights.

• Embedded Transformation: Change is not an external imposition. It becomes intrinsic—woven into the identity of the individual, group, or organization. It’s not just what they do differently; it’s who they become.

• Unlocking Capacity: Our role is to help unlock the door to internal wisdom. When systems are open and safe enough to explore their own truths, remarkable growth becomes possible.

• Inside-Outside Strategy: This approach may take more time, but it yields outcomes that are more just, more fair, and more permanent. It’s not about quick fixes—it’s about cultivating sustainable evolution.

• Collaborative Discovery: We don’t bring answers—we help uncover them. Our work is grounded in trust, curiosity, and the belief that every system holds the seeds of its own renewal.

🔄 Reimagining Justice Through Inclusion and Education

1. Centering Lived Experience

• Formerly incarcerated individuals and their families could become educators, facilitators, and policy advocates.

• Their insights would inform alternatives to incarceration—like restorative justice circles, community accountability processes, and trauma-informed care.

2. Ownership and Responsibility

• Programs could focus on personal accountability not as punishment, but as a path to healing and growth.

• Participants might co-create curricula on conflict resolution, emotional literacy, and civic engagement.

3. Advocacy and Policy Innovation

• The organization could train impacted individuals to become policy advocates, speaking directly to lawmakers and the public.

• Campaigns might push for sentencing reform, abolition of cash bail, or investment in community-based safety initiatives.

4. Community Healing and Reconciliation

• Families of incarcerated people could lead healing dialogues between communities and institutions.

• These conversations could address harm, foster empathy, and build bridges between victims, offenders, and society.

5. Economic and Social Empowerment

• • The organization might offer job training, entrepreneurship support, and education tailored to those reentering society.

  • This would shift the narrative from “ex-offender” to “community leader.”

For more information: www.initiatejustice.org

For more Small & Gutsy podcasts: www.smallandgutsy.org

We live in a world where opportunities often come through connections — but not just any connections. The ones that matter most are built on trust, generosity, and shared purpose. Networking isn't just about knowing the right people. It's about being the right kind of person. Let me say that again; It’s about being the right kind of person

The world changes one connection at a time — and that connection can start with you & Moving Worlds

MovingWorlds operates a global platform that convenes partners from all sectors to build a more equitable, just, and sustainable economy by empowering social enterprises and the people working with — and within — them.

They believe that social entrepreneurs are the on-the-ground heroes demonstrating that we can build a more just, equitable, and sustainable global economy. For more than a decade, they’ve been exploring how to best support them to grow revenues, create world-positive jobs, and scale up impact. Through their programs, partnerships, and ongoing research, social enterprises need more than just financial investment to achieve their world-changing potential, and this networked platform is an important component. They have: Over 1,000 professionals from companies, Social entrepreneurs from over 105 countries, and over 35 impact investor and accelerator partners.

For more information, check out: www.movingworlds.org

For more episodes, check out: www.smallandgutsy.org

How many times have I wished I could take those negative thoughts out of my head, those thoughts projecting a future that may not actually happen? This doesn’t mean that we don’t prepare for the worst, but do we want to live in that state or space where it virtually eliminates being in the present/ our present? How can we enjoy anything if we are always thinking about what might be? Conversely, thinking about what might be from a positive standpoint might actually be soothing, and yet again, it takes us out of the present, which is the only place that can drive our actions, as it is all we actually know. I remember sitting on my bathroom floor as a high schooler in hysterics, breaking up with my then boyfriend, and suffering because I couldn’t face hurting him, and the idea of loss was just overwhelming due to the early losses that I had experienced in my own family. How I would have benefitted from the comfort of knowing that others suffer too and perhaps if I had had our featured organization’s App, I would have certainly managed better or at least been in the great company of others who had experienced loss - my reaction may have been over exaggerated, but it was because I had experienced early losses - what I didn’t know then and know now is that often a previous loss can be triggered by a current loss although the two seem completely disconnected - that would have perhaps allowed me to grieve my relationship without feeling crazy.

Mental health is an incredibly complicated topic. So many of us have had experiences either personally or with our children; no one wants to see their children in pain, and emotional pain is often frightening, because it’s hard to find the source of the pain as compared to physical pain, and emotional or psychological injury is often invisible. We understand when someone is in physical pain, but we often blame the individual for being in emotional pain. Raising children is tough, all that goes into daily schedules, etc. now, let’s complicate the typical with a complex world, access to more information that can have negative impacts, biological changes and we can have tweens and teens in pain without the benefit of always knowing how to manage it or letting them know that they are not alone as so many others go through similar anguish. Why isn’t that taught in schools?

Mood’s goal is to put free, fast and effective mental health tools into the hands of every tween & teen, ages 9-17 and for the adults, teachers and providers in their world, enabling them to build skills and resilience through fun and engaging content - Where were you when I was a teen and even as a young adult and parent? Their website is fun and their mood tools are practical coping skills that are easy to understand and use. The Mood tools are proven stragteties designed to help tweens and teens bring their feelings into managageble bite-sized mood moments rather than gigantic, scary floods of emotion that feel never-ending. I am also incredibly impressed that Mood has an advisory board filled with tweens and teens who bring innovative, creative ideas that are inviting to their cohort.

For more information, go to: www.mood.org

And for additional information on all the podcasts: www.smallandgutsy.org

What happens when you mix the love of Jiu-Jitsu and the love for community? Guardian happens! This podcast recording offers insight into how learning to manage our emotions through martial arts, and specifically through Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has its own magical ingredients with real and lasting impact. Guardian was founded by Ben Kovacs and Joel Lunenfeld in 2015, initially starting as a single academy in Oakland, California. The original gym supported over 1,000 youth across the Bay Area by providing mentorship, free training, and a welcoming community. From the outset, they envisioned Guardian as more than just a physical space; they aimed for it to have a global impact. In 2020, they introduced the Guardian Scholarship. This initiative was designed to broaden their reach, offering support to children worldwide to engage in training. Leveraging their extensive network of friends and academy partners, they started integrating scholarships within their schools, ensuring that financial barriers would not prevent children from accessing their programs. Their goal is to enable more youth to experience the transformative benefits of Jiu-Jitsu. Ben is one of the founders of Guardian, where he has played a strong role in shaping the organization's branding and long-term strategy. His involvement in Jiu-Jitsu began in 2006 at Yamasaki Academy, and he earned a black belt in 2019. This experience inspired him to create a non-profit focused on making Jiu-Jitsu training accessible to all. Ben has a background in tech, having worked at Twitter, where he met Joel Lunenfeld, his co-founder. Both have been deeply committed to the sustainability & mission of Guardian.

For more information: www.guardiangym.org

For more Small & Gutsy episodes and information to refer an organization or to be on the podcast:

www.smallandgutsy.org