The ‘Courageous Operating System’ for Nonprofit Leaders – with Eveline Shen, Author, Choosing to Lead Against the Current

How are you bringing courage and integrity to your leadership right now? What does it take to lead a nonprofit or social movement when the current is pushing hard in the opposite direction? In this inspiring and tactical episode, you’ll get lessons from more than two decades of leadership.

Host Rusty Stahl talks with longtime reproductive justice leader and author Eveline Shen about her book, Choosing to Lead Against the Current. You'll learn Eveline's “Courageous Operating System,” an approach to nonprofit leadership that brings purpose, values, integrity, strengths, success, failure, and other 'assets' into alignment. They explore the courage required to say no, set boundaries, claim power, support leaders, build healthier organizational cultures, resist burnout and despair, and move collectively rather than hunkering down in isolation. Eveline also shares four practices for navigating 'turbulent times': centering, connection, creativity, and change.

Download the transcript in .pdf format: https://drive.google.com/file/d/13kQohE3-PmKvcQPHVgjzO_NRRA67WUMt/view?usp=sharing

About Our Guest: Eveline Shen’s book is “Choosing to Lead Against the Current: The Courageous Operating System for Changemakers – Empowering Leaders to Transform the World with Integrity, Impact, and Purpose.” It was published in August 2025 by North Atlantic Books. A coach and consultant, Eveline primarily works with grassroots and philanthropic leaders of color to step into their power to make change in the social and reproductive justice movements. Shen offers leadership programs, keynotes, coaching, and team-building which include movement, breath, music and engaging activities. Eveline spent more than two decades as a nonprofit founder and Executive Director, helping to build and grow the reproductive justice movement.

Links to Resources:

Eveline's Book & Work:

Book Homepage: https://leadingcourageously.com/book/

Order the book on Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/choosing-to-lead-against-the-current-the-courageous-operating-system-for-changemakers-empowering-leaders-to-transform-the-world-with-integrity-impac/dd895a116aaaa608?ean=9798889842118&next=t&affiliate=2186

Eveline's professional website: https://leadingcourageously.com/

Eveline's Nonprofit Quarterly interview: https://nonprofitquarterly.org/leading-against-the-current-a-conversation-with-eveline-shen/

Organizations:

Forward Together (national reproductive justice nonprofit where Eveline was Executive Director): https://forwardtogether.org/

Choose 180 (youth-serving nonprofit that established $70,000 salary floor; discussed as example of courageous organizational leadership and going against the current): https://choose180.org/

Fund the People:

Fund the People: