My guest today is Alan Mucatel. Alan has been the Executive Director of Rising Ground since 2009. Under his leadership and direction, the agency has more than doubled in size, impact, and budget with a steady expansion of existing programs and services and ventures into new fields. Alan is a change agent who in less than a decade transformed Rising Ground from a shrinking nonprofit agency, with 80% of its programs in corrective action, to the Gold winner in Overall Management of the New York Community Trust’s Nonprofit Excellence Awards in 2014.  Rising Ground currently supports more than 25,000 children, adults, and family members across New York City and Westchester County with programs that range from foster care, family services, and intimate partner violence prevention and survivor support, to special education, intellectual and developmental disabilities services, and a sanctuary for unaccompanied migrant youth. Beyond Rising Ground, Alan is Chair and Founder of the Collaborative for Children and Families, which provides Children’s Health Home services to 30 human service organizations. He has served as a Board Member of  New York advocacy collectives for human services, the Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies, and currently is on the board of the Human Services Council.  Prior to joining Rising Ground, Alan was the Executive Director of Cerebral Palsy of North Jersey (CPNJ) where he oversaw operations and planning for the multi-faceted agency providing educational, residential, therapeutic and other supports to infants, children and adults with a range of physical and cognitive disabilities, and their families. There he managed a growing operation with 400 - plus staff, an annual budget exceeding $22 million, and programs serving more than 900 individuals and families each week. Before that, he served the Coalition for the Homeless as Deputy Director and Development Director.  He has an MBA and MA in Politics from New York University and a BA in Government from Wesleyan University. Here’s what to expect during the episode: Acknowledging the need to adjust the way we do business in this unprecedented time. Infusing equity in the treatment of the people you serve, including your staff. How virtual tools like Zoom and FaceTime can be very effective and efficient for telecare and other welfare services. Improving engagement and encouragement for your staff is valuable. Your people want to hear from you. Recognizing that healthy communication and emergency preparedness are essential assets to the success of an organization. ~ You can see Alan on his website (https://www.risingground.org/), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/RisingGroundNY/), and Twitter (https://twitter.com/risinggroundny)  Get Mary’s free guide, Six Steps You Must Know to Unleash the Potential of Your Nonprofit Board, by downloading it on https://hilandconsulting.org  Be sure to subscribe to Inspired Nonprofit Leadership so that you don’t miss a single episode, and while you’re at it, won’t you take a moment to write a short review and rate our show? It would be greatly appreciated!   Let us know the topics or questions you would like to hear about in a future episode. You can do that, and follow us, on Facebook. Connect with Mary! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryhiland Inspired Nonprofit Leadership Facebook Group: https://tinyurl.com/inspirednonprofitleadership Company Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hilandconsulting Website: Hiland Consulting