Gregory J. Morris is joined by Maria Lizardo, Executive Director of NMIC and longtime human services leader, for a powerful and personal conversation about what it takes to lead with heart, humility, and impact in today’s nonprofit sector.

Maria reflects on her journey from organizing in Washington Heights to becoming NMIC’s first Latina Executive Director, sharing how her upbringing, early professional experiences, and personal conviction shaped her values-driven leadership style. 

Together, Greg and Maria confront one of the most avoided topics in the nonprofit world: failure. From funder pressures to cultural expectations, Maria lays out the invisible costs of perfectionism and, in particular, the toll it takes on women of color in leadership. They unpack why embracing failure is a critical function of innovation, healing, and sustainable systems change.

As the episode moves through leadership lessons, service delivery challenges, and broader calls to action for city and state leaders, Maria offers wisdom forged through decades of advocacy and organizing. Care is infrastructure, metrics must serve the mission (not the other way around), and systems must make room for truth, risk, and real transformation.

Stream the full episode and subscribe for future conversations with changemakers, industry leaders, and the voices shaping New York’s workforce future.

Published by: New York City Employment and Training Coalition (NYCETC)

Produced by: Manhattan Neighborhood Network
Topics: Nonprofit leadership, cultural stigma around failure, women of color in leadership, workforce equity, human services workforce, immigrant communities, Latina leadership, systemic advocacy, care infrastructure, NMIC, NYC public policy, trust-based funding, NYCETC