Home Podcasts Learning for Good | L&D Solutions and Leadership Development for Nonprofits
Learning for Good | L&D Solutions and Leadership Development for Nonprofits

Learning for Good | L&D Solutions and Leadership Development for Nonprofits

Heather Burright, Learning and Development Leader, Leadership Development Consultant, Instructional Designer. 200 Episodes Sep 14, 2026

This podcast is designed for learning and development leaders in the nonprofit sector who want to become true business partners within their organizations. It explores instructional design, leadership development, change management, belonging, and influence, helping listeners build compelling cases for the learning solutions their organizations need. The host, Heather Burright, shares her experience as a consultant and former nonprofit L&D leader, offering practical advice for showing up confidently in conversations with senior leaders, subject matter experts, staff, and partners. Listeners can expect strategies to develop staff effectively and navigate organizational dynamics to drive meaningful results.

Episodes

3 Small Shifts that Increase Your Credibility as a Learning Designer
3 Small Shifts that Increase Your Credibility as a Learning Designer Sep 14, 2026 807 In this episode of Learning for Good, I break down three practical shifts nonprofit learning designers can make to build credibility and grow their influence.Many competent learning and development professionals feel like their recommendations don't carry weight. It's frustrating to know you understand a problem and can offer a better solution, only to have that expertise go unheard. Tha
How Nonprofit Leaders Can Lead Under Pressure with Jay Abbasi
How Nonprofit Leaders Can Lead Under Pressure with Jay Abbasi Sep 7, 2026 2074 What do you do when the pressure at work never seems to let up?In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with peak performance coach Jay Abbasi to talk about what it takes to lead under pressure and how nonprofit L&D leaders can build resilience into how they lead themselves and others.Nonprofit leaders carry a heavy load, with tight resources, shifting priorities, and a mission that ne
The Biggest Mistakes We Make When Measuring Learning
The Biggest Mistakes We Make When Measuring Learning Aug 31, 2026 1147 Do you actually know if your training worked, or are you just hoping it did?In this episode of Learning for Good, I break down the five biggest mistakes nonprofit learning and development professionals make when measuring training impact.Most of us know we should be measuring our training, and we want to measure it, but somewhere between good intentions and actual practice, we get stuck. We settle
200 Lessons from 200 Episodes. Just Kidding. Here are the Top 5 Ideas that Changed My Career in Learning and Development.
200 Lessons from 200 Episodes. Just Kidding. Here are the Top 5 Ideas that Changed My Career in Learning and Development. Aug 24, 2026 837 In this episode of Learning for Good, I celebrate 200 episodes and share the five biggest lessons that have shaped my approach to nonprofit learning and development and nonprofit leadership development.Two hundred episodes in, I have interviewed nearly a hundred guests, built a summit, and grown a community, and along the way, my thinking about staff training and development has shifted in ways I
Should You Retire Your Training?
Should You Retire Your Training? Aug 17, 2026 645 How do you decide which trainings in your library still deserve a spot, and which ones are just taking up space?In this episode of Learning for Good, I walk through five strategic questions nonprofit leaders can use to decide when to retire a training program. Many nonprofits build a training toolbox one request at a time, until the toolbox is packed with tools nobody stops to evaluate. That toolb
The Hidden Cost of Reactive Learning in Nonprofits
The Hidden Cost of Reactive Learning in Nonprofits Aug 10, 2026 1983 Does your learning and development team spend more time responding to requests than shaping where your organization is headed?In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with L&D leaders Kamaria Scott, Rachel Platt, and  Yogi Mueller for a conversation on why nonprofit learning and development teams stay reactive and what it takes to build stronger learning and development strategies.Too
When to Choose Coaching as Your Leadership Development Solution with Melody Lam
When to Choose Coaching as Your Leadership Development Solution with Melody Lam Aug 3, 2026 1788 In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with nonprofit leader Melody Lam to explore how she built a coaching culture by training first-time managers to coach.Coaching sounds like the obvious solution when new managers struggle to have hard conversations with their teams, but it often gets treated as a perk reserved for executives, and the cost of outside coaches can make the whole idea fe
How to Make Learning Last: Designing for Workplace Behavior Change
How to Make Learning Last: Designing for Workplace Behavior Change Jul 27, 2026 883 Why does your team go right back to their old habits the week after training ends?In this episode of Learning for Good, I break down how nonprofit leaders can design training that leads to lasting workplace behavior change instead of a short-lived bump in knowledge. Most training ends the same way. People show up, they learn something new, and within a few weeks it is like the training never happe
Learning IS Strategy but Some Learning Teams Stay Stuck in Reactive Mode. Here's Why.
Learning IS Strategy but Some Learning Teams Stay Stuck in Reactive Mode. Here's Why. Jul 20, 2026 2001 Does your L&D team spend most of its time responding to urgent training requests instead of shaping strategy?In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with Mark Nilles and Scot Vessell, two experienced learning and development leaders, to discuss what it actually takes for nonprofit L&D to operate as a strategic lever.We argue that becoming a strategic partner starts with an interna
How to Align Learning with Data with Nonprofit HR Leader Wilson Kirkpatrick
How to Align Learning with Data with Nonprofit HR Leader Wilson Kirkpatrick Jul 13, 2026 1327 Do you have employee engagement data sitting in a survey report with no plan for turning it into action?In this episode of Learning for Good, I sit down with Wilson Kirkpatrick, Director of People Operations at Waterford.org, to talk about how they used employee engagement data to design a coaching program that strengthened leadership trust and psychological safety.Many nonprofit leaders collect e
Trying to Change Behavior? One Missing Element from Your Training
Trying to Change Behavior? One Missing Element from Your Training Jul 6, 2026 818 Your staff already know what to do and how to do it. So why are they still not doing it?In this episode of Learning for Good, I break down why explaining the why is one of the simplest and most overlooked workplace behavior change strategies nonprofit leaders have available.Nonprofit leaders pour energy into teaching their teams what to do and how to do it, then feel baffled when the new behavior
10 Questions Every Strategic Learning Leader Should Be Asking
10 Questions Every Strategic Learning Leader Should Be Asking Jun 29, 2026 865 In this episode of Learning for Good, I share 10 questions strategic learning leaders can ask to move beyond content creation and into real organizational impact, using learning and development strategies rooted in behavior change and performance.Most nonprofit L&D professionals know that training alone does not create change. But without the right questions, it is easy to build solutions that

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