Josh Goldberg, CEO of Boulder Crest Foundation, shares his journey from corporate executive to suicidal crisis to leading an organization that served 43,000 people last year through post-traumatic growth programs.

In this raw conversation, you'll learn:
✅ The exact moment Josh realized he'd built "a false existence" despite external success
✅ How helping others became the path out of his own suicidal ideation
✅ The three-year wilderness period between crisis and clarity—and what he learned
✅ How Boulder Crest grew from serving 700 to 43,000 people annually without losing culture
✅ Why "unfuck yourself" became the turning point for sustainable service
✅ Scaling nonprofit impact from 35 to 86 staff while maintaining mission-driven culture

This episode is perfect for nonprofit leaders, executive directors, and mission-driven professionals navigating burnout, organizational growth, or questioning their own career path.

📊 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

- Scale without sacrifice: Boulder Crest grew from 700 to 43,000 people served annually while maintaining tight-knit culture through intentional PKC3 values (Passionate, Kind, Competence, Curiosity, Courage)

- The "unfuck yourself" principle: Sustainable service requires self-care first—Josh's daily routine of meditation, gratitude, and movement enables him to show up for 86 staff and 43,000 clients

- Post-traumatic growth over PTSD: Boulder Crest shifted the paradigm from pathologizing struggle to finding meaning in it, inspired by Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning"

- Service as self-rescue: Josh's path out of suicidal crisis came through helping veteran families—proving that purpose can be found by stepping outside your own suffering

- The three-year rule: Major life pivots take 3 months to 3 years (Josh's mentor predicted this timeline with eerie accuracy)

- "Be a pilot light, not a firecracker": Civil rights leader John Lewis's wisdom on sustainable activism applies to nonprofit leadership—daily practices prevent burnout

👤 ABOUT JOSH GOLDBERG:

Josh Goldberg is the CEO of Boulder Crest Foundation, a nonprofit serving military veterans, first responders, and their families through post-traumatic growth programs. After a successful corporate career that left him in existential crisis, Josh pivoted to nonprofit leadership in 2014. Under his leadership, Boulder Crest has grown to operate four retreat centers (Virginia, Arizona, Texas, Wyoming) and serves over 43,000 people annually. Josh's personal journey from suicidal ideation to leading large-scale mission impact makes him a powerful voice on mental health, sustainable leadership, and organizational culture in the nonprofit sector.

Josh's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmgoldberg55/
Boulder Crest Foundation: https://www.bouldercrest.org

What happens when a clinical mental health professional trades direct patient care for executive leadership—and discovers she can make an even bigger impact? In this powerful conversation, Caitlin Summers-Motta, VP of Business Development at First Children's Services, reveals the raw truth about mission-driven leadership in behavioral health.

In This Episode:

• Why waking up at 5:30 AM became Caitlin's secret weapon for maintaining balance between three kids and leading organizational growth
• The unexpected journey from clinical mental health counselor to executive strategist—and the imposter syndrome that came with it
• How COVID-19 changed the conversation around mental health (and why we still have work to do)
• The adoption story that transformed how Caitlin approaches family services
• Why she tells parents: "Put your oxygen mask on first" isn't just airplane advice—it's survival
• The truth about burnout in behavioral health that nobody talks about in job interviews
• How First Children's Services is tackling New Jersey's massive waitlists with innovative programs like "Bridge" for students with Level 2-3 autism

Key Insights: ✅ The mental health workforce crisis: Why talented professionals are leaving the field—and what organizations can do to stop the exodus ✅ Seasonal Affective Disorder is real: How weather impacts mental health and why it's okay to say "today's not a good day" ✅ The power of saying "I'm not okay": Breaking down the walls that keep people from asking for help ✅ AI in behavioral health: When ChatGPT can help—and when you absolutely need a human professional ✅ Collaboration over competition: Why behavioral health organizations need to work together, not against each other

Perfect For: Nonprofit leaders, behavioral health professionals, parents navigating special needs services, anyone interested in mission-driven innovation, and leaders struggling with imposter syndrome.

Guest Bio: Caitlin Summers-Motta is the VP of Business Development at First Children's Services, where she's spent nearly 10 years building programs that serve youth and families across New Jersey and Pennsylvania. From autism clinics to school refusal programs, Caitlin bridges the gap between clinical excellence and strategic growth—proving you can be both a mission-driven professional and an exceptional parent.

🎧 Subscribe to Hart & Hustle for more conversations with mission-based leaders who are transforming how nonprofits and healthcare organizations serve their communities.

Topics: #BehavioralHealth #MentalHealth #NonprofitLeadership #AutismServices #MissionDriven #WorkLifeBalance #ImposterSyndrome #PediatricCare #NewJersey #ExecutiveLeadership

Episode Length: ~45 minutes

Hart & Hustle is hosted by Efrain Lozada and explores the intersection of leadership, innovation, and human-centered technology in mission-based organizations.

Kevin Martone, President and CEO of Bay Cove Human Services, shares what he's learned leading a mental health organization serving 25,000 people annually with 2,000 employees and a $190 million budget—from navigating federal funding cuts to changing how communities think about mental illness.

In this conversation, you'll learn:
✅ How to scale mental health services from 300 to 25,000 people without losing human connection
✅ Why the biggest barrier to mental health treatment isn't clinical—it's housing, employment, and communication access
✅ Strategies for nonprofits navigating federal funding cuts and state budget challenges in 2025
✅ How to shift public narrative around mental health, homelessness, and substance use disorders
✅ Kevin's 30-year journey from wanting to join the FBI to leading one of Boston's largest human services organizations
✅ The role of AI in mental health (and why guardrails matter more than innovation)
✅ What really fills a nonprofit leader's cup after decades in this work

This episode is perfect for nonprofit executive directors, operations leaders, and anyone managing large-scale mental health, behavioral health, or human services programs.