The Realities of Purpose-Driven Work:

Behind the Scenes of Nonprofit Leadership

In this honest conversation, Kaitlyn Rios and Kris Fanning explore the true realities of choosing impact over ease in the nonprofit world. From invisible labor to emotional resilience, they delve into the grit required to build meaningful change without a safety net.

Key Topics:

• The emotional and physical toll of nonprofit work and invisible labor
• The pivotal moments and mindset shifts that lead to impactful career changes
• The significance of purpose and how to recognize it in your life
• Strategies for managing imposter syndrome and maintaining self-belief
• The importance of small wins and self-acknowledgment during hard times
• Building organizational foundation with patience and grace
• The challenges and rewards of leading unpaid boards and volunteer teams
• Practical advice on balancing purpose-driven work with business acumen

Timestamps:

00:02 - The hidden struggles of choosing impact over ease
00:31 - Kris Fanning’s journey from healthcare to nonprofit leadership
02:05 - Sharing the lesser-known stories behind their public personas
03:05 - What it feels like when a system no longer fits
03:37 - Recognizing purpose as a guiding principle
04:53 - The power of vision books in goal-setting
06:17 - The catalyst moments that triggered career leaps
09:22 - The unseen labor and emotional weight of nonprofit leadership
11:28 - Managing the solitude and overwhelm of building impactful organizations
12:21 - Practical tips for mental resilience and self-care
14:33 - The importance of celebrating small wins amidst big challenges
15:23 - Leading without a traditional team — the nuances of influence and authority
17:02 - Navigating the dynamics of unpaid boards and volunteer leadership
18:38 - Overcoming imposter syndrome in high-stakes environments
19:59 - Moments of affirmation that reinforce impact-driven decisions
21:26 - Personal growth through purpose-driven work
22:39 - The importance of patience and strong foundation building
23:05 - Common misconceptions about purpose and impact work
24:25 - How to connect with Kris Fanning and Texas

Faced With Grace:

www.facedwithgrace.org

connect@facedwithgrace.org

TicKidsResources & Links:

• Texas TicKids - Learn more about Kris Fanning’s impactful organization

Connect with Kris Fanning:

• Facebook

These show notes aim to capture the raw, insightful dialogue on leadership, purpose, and resilience. Whether you're considering a leap into impact work or already navigating its challenges, this episode offers real-world wisdom to guide your journey.

Episode Description

We are living in heavy times.

Between personal challenges, constant news cycles, and the pressure to perform professionally, many of us are carrying more than we let on.

In this episode of The Grace Space Podcast, Kaitlyn Rios sits down with Jenn Farr — senior corporate leader, creator of The Treehouse Principle, and Crisis to Creation coach — for an honest and expansive conversation about what it means to show up while the world is heavy.

Jenn shares how personal crisis reshaped her identity, clarified her boundaries, and transformed her approach to leadership. Together, they explore how organizations respond when humanity interrupts productivity — and why crisis leadership cannot operate from rigid precedent in a world that is constantly evolving.

This episode is about:

• How crisis reveals culture

• The identity shift that follows survival

• Why “business as usual” doesn’t work after life changes

• The emotional weight of modern times

• Transforming hardship into intentional leadership

This conversation is not political.

It is human.

And it offers insight for anyone navigating personal hardship while still expected to perform professionally.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode

• How crisis exposes the truth of organizational culture

• The internal transformation that follows life-altering events

• Why precedent-driven crisis management falls short

• The emotional impact of living in a constant-news world

• How leaders can create psychologically safer environments

• What it means to move from crisis into creation

Reflection Prompts for Listeners

• What am I carrying right now that others may not see?

• How would my workplace respond if I needed real support tomorrow?

• Where might I be leading from policy instead of presence?

• How have hard seasons reshaped the leader I am becoming?

• What might “creation” look like on the other side of my current challenge?

Guest Spotlight

Jenn Farr is a senior corporate leader and a coach for Crisis to Creation, a coaching platform dedicated to helping individuals transform life’s most challenging seasons into clarity, strength, and intentional leadership.

Drawing from decades of corporate leadership experience and profound personal transformation, Jenn guides professionals through identity shifts, boundary recalibration, and purpose realignment after life-altering events.

Her work centers on the belief that crisis does not have to be the end of momentum — it can be the beginning of intentional creation.

Connect

• Kaitlyn Rios / Faced With Grace

Connect@facedwithgrace.org

www.facedwithgrace.org

• Jenn Farr

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenn-farr/

If This Episode Resonated

If this conversation resonated with you, consider this:

The world may feel heavy.

But heaviness does not disqualify you from leadership.

In fact, the leaders who acknowledge weight — instead of denying it — are often the ones who build cultures where people can survive, grow, and belong.

If this episode spoke to you, I invite you to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who might need permission to show up honestly — even when the world feels heavy.

Writing Your Confidence Resume with Karli Grove

Host: Kaitlyn Rios

Guest: Karli Grove

Book Referenced: Grit to Grace by Kaitlyn Rios

Episode Description

What happens when your confidence erodes—not because you lack ability, but because you spent too long in an environment that asked you to shrink?

In this episode of The Grace Space Podcast, Kaitlyn Rios is joined by Karli Grove, founder of Kantency Consulting Ltd., for a grounded, reflective conversation about rebuilding confidence after hard seasons of work, leadership, and life.

Together, they explore the concept of the Confidence Resume—a tool from Kaitlyn’s book Grit to Grace—designed to help people reclaim the evidence of who they are beyond job titles, performance reviews, or toxic narratives.

This episode invites listeners to slow down, tell the truth about what they’ve navigated, and remember the strength they’ve been carrying all along.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode

• Why confidence often fades quietly before we realize it
• How toxic or misaligned environments distort self-perception
• What a Confidence Resume is—and what it is not
• The power of naming strengths that went unseen or uncelebrated
• Why rebuilding confidence doesn’t require proving anything
• How grace creates space for reflection, integration, and self-trust

Key Topics & Moments

• Grace as an environment—not a performance
• The difference between lost confidence and reshaped confidence
• Strengths demonstrated under pressure
• Navigating complexity with integrity and restraint
• Wins that never made it into a review but mattered deeply
• Truth statements as anchors for self-trust

Reflection Prompts for Listeners

• What strengths did I demonstrate during a season that challenged me?
• What did I carry that was never acknowledged—but still mattered?
• What truth statement do I need to write for myself today?

Guest Spotlight

Karli Grove is the founder of Kantency Consulting Ltd., where she helps leaders and organizations slow down, see the full systems at play, and navigate transformation with intention and clarity. She is known for her curiosity about human behavior, her use of storytelling as a strategic tool, and her ability to help teams uncover what’s beneath the surface before reacting to symptoms.

Resources Mentioned

• Grit to Grace by Kaitlyn Rios
• The Confidence Resume (from Grit to Grace)

Connect

• Kaitlyn Rios / Faced With Grace
  facedwithgrace.org

  connect@facedwithgrace.org

• Karli Grove
  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karligrove/

  kantency.com

If This Episode Resonated

If this conversation stirred something in you, consider starting your own Confidence Resume—not as homework, but as an act of self-respect.

And if this episode spoke to you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who might also need to spend a little time in The Grace Space today.