OUR UNKNOWN SELVES

What keeps you going on the hard days?

Traci Donnelly sits down with Rudy Espinoza, CEO of Inclusive Action, for a conversation that opens with an Irish poet and lands somewhere most nonprofit leaders rarely go out loud. They talk about the unknown self beneath the work, what it means to fight for communities that deserve dignity and resources, and why the best funders don't just write a check. They show up.

Rudy's organization has deployed over $10 million in microloans and grants to street vendors, home-based businesses, and immigrant entrepreneurs in Los Angeles. But this episode isn't really about the numbers. It's about why the work matters, and what it takes to keep showing up even when you're running on empty.