The importance of giving back to build stronger communities has never been more important. This is particularly true in Northern Virginia, Marland and the District of Columbia as economic uncertainty and federal job losses have hit hard these communities hard this year.

For organizations providing counseling and mental health support systems, these uncertain times place extra pressure on already limited resources. The Women’s Center, one organization that provides mental health and counseling services to women, children, and men throughout the region, these pressures are top of mind. To help offset the costs of caring for the community, The Women’s Center holds an auction and gala each November.

To help spread the word about this event, but also to shine a spotlight on corporate philanthropy and the spiriting of giving back we invited Rachna Krishnan, CEO and Executive Director of The Women’s Center and Jasmin el Kordi, CEO at MBlueLabs to join me on the Modern Marketing Today podcast. We had a lively conversation about corporate philanthropy, mental health, and the importance of giving back and investing in the community, not only because of the support it lends during times of stress, but also because of the resilience it can build for when better times return.

Inspiring the teams we lead, the organizations we work for, or even ourselves in our daily lives to new heights can be difficult at the best of times. What often helps is doing something new and different that pushes us outside our comfort zone and introduces us to new people and new ideas.

In this episode of the Modern Marketing Today podcast we have the pleasure of speaking with Rachna Krishnan, CEO of The Women’s Center and Kathy Ditto who leads public sector marketing at Juniper Networks to learn more about The Women’s Center 2025 Leadership Summit, which is coming up on March 29, 2025. The Summit offers participants the opportunity to listen to inspiring speakers who have excelled in a variety of fields, from behavioral health to children’s literacy and entrepreneurship, but it also offers the opportunity to connect with fellow attendees over breakfast, lunch, and an evening networking event.

Ditto shared what inspired this year’s theme, “this year we selected ‘ignite passion' and it's about finding that spark that inspiration, that motivation to help you pursue what's going to drive you. It's really finding your sense of purpose and helping to realize what your passion might be.”

In this episode, we sit down with Rachna Krishnan, CEO of The Women’s Center, to discuss how The Center is empowering the community through the delivery of mental health and professional development services.