In the final episode of Season 2, Anne Hancock Toomey interviews Cynthia Brandt, PhD.
Brandt is CEO of the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health and a deeply respected leader in the world of philanthropy. In this conversation, she reflects on growing up in the Midwest in a minister’s family, early lessons in authenticity from a difficult camping experience and the teacher who led the excursion, and how receiving scholarships didn’t just make higher education for her but also sparked her belief that philanthropy can change lives.
Before joining the foundation that helps power Stanford Children’s Health, Brandt built her career through a series of impressive roles. After work in banking and nonprofit roles, she pursued sociology in graduate school, worked at Stanford, moved to a profoundly meaningful role at Mills College, and later led a record-breaking Smithsonian campaign that exceeded its $1.5B goal by educating the public through grassroots storytelling.
Additionally, she discusses…
- Her CEO learning curve through the pandemic
- A stewardship mistake that reshaped her approach
- Leadership traits like culture, humility, and clarity
- Her focus on joy and purpose at work
Episode Highlights
- 1:40 Midwest Roots
- 4:22 A Lesson from Camping
- 6:44 Scholarships Changed Everything
- 10:52 Finding Sociology
- 12:18 Stanford And Mills
- 16:57 The Smithsonian and Storytelling At Scale
- 22:38 From the Smithsonian To Children’s Health
- 26:10 First Time CEO Lessons…and Mistakes
- 31:46 Traits Of Great Leaders
- 34:52 Lightning Round
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