Articles

The phone rings in the middle of the night with the news that your longtime executive director has been in an accident.

People love gnomes. Or so Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy discovered last summer when the accredited New York land trust hosted a Summer Hike-a-thon Scavenger Hunt. More than 530 Capital Region residents searched the land trust’s 19 preserves for hidden gnomes affixed to trees and other landmarks. Hikers who sent selfies with the gnomes were rewarded with ice cream from event sponsor Stewart’s Shops.

Nonprofit work can be exceptionally challenging and stressful, and now it is more important than ever to invest deeply in cultures of care and support — for all staff, board, volunteers and participants — but especially for directors and leaders who often carry the lion’s share of stress.

Ellen Gass is conservation director at the