Episode 121: Morgan DeNicola

Morgan DeNicola

Intro: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Pretty powerful podcast where powerful women are interviewed every week to share real inspiring stories. And incredible insight to help women or anyone break the barriers, be a part of innovation, shatter the glass ceiling, and dominate to the top of their sport industry, or life's mission.

Join us as we celebrate exceptional women and step into our power. And now here's your host, Angela Gennari.

Angela Gennari: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Pretty Powerful podcast. My name is Angela Gennari, and today I'm here with Morgan DeNicola. Hi Morgan.

Morgan DeNicola: Hi, how are you doing?

Angela Gennari: I am doing so good, and I hope I didn't butcher your last name

Both: you did great.

Angela Gennari: Okay. Okay. So Morgan Dana is the daughter of serial entrepreneurs who found her passion is. Philanthropy and diplomacy. I love that. So she believes that we all have incredible abilities that if harnessed can [00:01:00] change the world around us and make us better global citizens. Very cool.

And you are with the Cola Family Foundation. So let's start talking about, um, your parents being serial entrepreneurs. So you did not wanna go that particular path.

Morgan DeNicola: No, um, my, my parents were very, very successful. Continued to be very su successful serial entrepreneurs and, um, uh, with that comes so much stress and anxiety.

Um, so originally I said no, went in the complete and total different direction. Uh, went to school to become a teacher and, uh, came back to Pennsylvania and decided I would just temporarily do some marketing for my. My parents, different companies, and I realized I hated it. I absolutely hated doing marketing and being in the same office as my parents.

I was like, I don't, I don't think I can do this. [00:02:00] Um, so I left for a while, went back to school to become a vet tech, and my parents were, were asking me that question is What, what is it that you want to do? And I feel like that's such a loaded question. Yes. Uh, I was like, I don't know. Save the world. A loaded answer.

Um, so I sat down with my family and luckily they're incredibly supportive of me and my brother, and they were like, okay, let's, let's help you figure out how to save the world. And that then became the birth of the, the Dan Family Foundation that I am now lucky enough to get to run. But I do work very closely with my father, so.

Long story short, I am still working with my parents,

Angela Gennari: but you're, you're heading up your own thing and you're, you're following your dream, which is very cool.

Morgan DeNicola: Yes, I, I do branch off a little bit, but it, it is very nice to also work hand in hand with my father because we [00:03:00] come at problems from different perspectives.

I'm more philanthropic and he's more business, but the merging of the two, uh, makes for a very interesting work environment. We're able to kind of take on really unique tasks.

Angela Gennari: That's very cool. So tell me about some of those tasks. Like what kind of things do you, uh, do you support?

Morgan DeNicola: Um, well, I, I also work with the Elmwood Park Zoo, uh, which they focus on conservation and education, but it is also still in a way a business.

So you then, again, merge business and that philanthropic want to educate and to help. So we, we work a lot with that. We also work a lot with the Papal Foundation. My dad is, uh, Catholic, but I am not. Um, it's very interesting to be able to work with that group and for us to kind of come together. And the funny thing with philanthropy is any successful charitable organization or program, [00:04:00] you need to have a kind of that business way of looking at it for it to be sustainable and for it to kind of really be successful.

So the, the merging of the two is really, really great. Where right now we're building a community center. In the village in Italy my grandfather grew up in.

Angela Gennari: That's pretty cool.

Morgan DeNicola: A little, a little unique. Very cool. And we're doing a lot of local programs here with, um, helping with different religious institutions, but also pantry programs and all different types of schools to, to try to combat a little bit of hunger, food insecurity, as well as jackets, shoes, you know, your.

Basic needs that kind of fall by the wayside. So we're doing a lot of little programs, but working on some really large ones and some more humanitarian recognition awards and sciences. So it's that merging of philanthropy and, and business and, uh, a lot of fun.

Angela Gennari: That is really cool. So. [00:05:00] When you started with the philanthropy, um, I know like with, with my church and different organizations, um, a lot of them will go to those already existing charities and community organizations because it's just they already have the infrastructure.

Right. So is that kind of the, the same mindset of like, let's go where there's infrastructure, where our dollars are gonna go further?

Morgan DeNicola: Yes, and we're also very hands on and boots on the ground, so we don't like to just write a check. That's, yeah, that's easy in a way. Mm-hmm. Um, and you're not able to really see your impact.

So I personally prefer to procure items. Mm-hmm. So I'll go to a group that already has, uh, that kind of connection with the community and say, what is it that you physically need? And find a way to. Procure that for them and bring it to them so they have it, rather than writing that check. And then that organization has to have another person go and find it.

So we're [00:06:00] also there to kind of alleviate some of that extra work. Work. I prefer to be there and hand it to the individual and kind of feel it and be a part of it. So we're not, we're not check writers. We are very much boots on the ground. I like to get my hands dirty. We've physically planted trees, cleaned up trash.

Um, I, I like to get. Yeah. So that, that's a big thing for us. But yes, we mostly partner with those, those groups that, you know, have those relationships and can kind of continue their success beyond you.

Angela Gennari: That's super cool. So I, I'm similar, I like to do the things that actually get me into the community. Um, every year I try to take on as many.

Volunteer initiatives as I can, whether it's, you know, feeling a homeless downtown through an organization or, you know, going and, and, uh, you know, working with the food pantries to help sort food and, you know, there's just such a need and so few people to be able [00:07:00] to do it. So it just goes really far when you can go there and just lend the hand

Morgan DeNicola: ab Absolutely.

And these groups also need sometimes a new perspective and an idea of,

Angela Gennari: mm-hmm.

Morgan DeNicola: Programs and it's, it's great to be able to come in and kind of help them. Spice it up or come up with some, some new thoughts.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. Well and you know, the business connection is really important because a lot of these nonprofits are, are run by people who just had a desire to help, but they don't necessarily have the business background to be able to understand how all the operations are gonna work.

And so they're kind of piecemealing it together with the limited experience that they have. And when somebody can come in with a business perspective and say, Hey. I think we can create some efficiencies here, or I think we can be more impactful if we do this, and I think we can make our money go further if we do this.

I think that's really, really valuable to a nonprofit.

Morgan DeNicola: Absolutely. That's what we love to do.

Angela Gennari: [00:08:00] Yeah. Yeah. So I love that you're coming from that business background and that your father is involved with that because there's, there's so much value. So that, that's amazing. So, um, it sounds like a lot of what you do is local or smaller organizations.

Is that right?

Morgan DeNicola: For our family foundation, yes, but I'm lucky enough, I'm also the vice chair of another group called the Humpty Dumpty Institute, and we work with embassies around the world. Okay. So, uh, that's more of our, our global. Stances is, I do a lot with them and sometimes we privately fund some of their more s smaller programs, but it's still at a global level.

Like we've brought music to different parts of the world. It's a music culture program. We've brought film students from all the world over the world here to study film, to go back and shoot stories about their culture and their experience to bring here. So a lot of. Our global stuff normally is hand in hand with, uh, the Humpty Dumpty Institute, but we are continuing to branch [00:09:00] out working with Temple, um, university in Rome.

Um, so we're, we're always trying to find a way to be local, but think globally.

Angela Gennari: Yeah, I love that because, um, you know, there's a book that I read, um, a long time, a long, long time ago, and it's an older book, but it's called Half the Sky. Have you ever heard of this?

Morgan DeNicola: Oh,

Angela Gennari: okay. So half the sky was written by a two journalists.

They were, uh, New York Times journalists and they were married. So, um, the wife was Chinese descent and the husband was American descent. And so they, uh, were, you know, they're married. They, they were traveling all around the globe, writing stories for the New York Times, and they would bring back these really powerful local stories of like, things that were happening around the world that we just didn't know about.

You know, things were really, really, really like. Disturb, like bride burning and you know, like there were. There were a lot of really challenging things that they saw, and they wanted the New York Times to pick it up so we could [00:10:00] make a difference, so we could do something about it. Right? Because you know what you, if you don't know, you don't, you can't impact it.

Right? And so they wanted to bring these stories to the New York Times. The New York Times wouldn't write about it because they said, you know, nobody really wants to hear all the negative things that are happening around the world. And so they wrote this book called Half the Sky, because it wasn't just about negativity, it was not, it was.

Of course they tell you, you know, this child trafficking is happening out of Thailand and you know, this bride burning is happening in Africa. And like, they were very, it's very, very poignant stories. But at the same time they were talking about the grassroots organizations that are there doing something about it.

And they were talking about how a lot of these bigger organizations that we immediately think of, you know, we default to, you know, American Red Cross and all these other, not that they're not doing a great job. But these smaller grassroots organizations have such a bigger impact because the community embraces them more [00:11:00] because they're one of them.

Right. So we That trust, yeah, that trust is built in. Whereas, you know, if you bring in some American organization that's a. You know, they're making, you know, CEOs making a million dollars and, you know, there's this distrust for them of like, they just wanna come here and it's a photo op and they're not gonna really do anything.

And, you know, and so there's an, an immediate like, um, pushback. You know, they'll take the free stuff, but they're not gonna embrace you in the community. They're not gonna open up their community to you. And with these other organizations, they really do. And these other organizations can be so much more impactful.

But the problem is, is they're so underfunded because nobody knows about 'em.

Morgan DeNicola: That I, I'm gonna have to grab that book and read it. Yeah. That, that sounds also a lot of what I do, so it sounds right up my alley. I I absolutely will have to pick that up.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. It's a great book. It was really life changing for me.

It opened my eyes to, you know, so much of what's going on because, you know, immediately you, you, you see things that are [00:12:00] happening that are. You know, devastating and you get out your checkbook and you immediately, you know, I gotta donate to this big organization. But you don't know how much of that's actually going to the, the effort on the ground level.

You know, like, you don't know how much is admin feeds and bureaucracy and, you know, marketing, you know, I used to, oh my gosh, I worked for a nonprofit and I'm not gonna say the name of it, but, um, I worked for a nonprofit earlier in my career and it was. Sad how much money is spent on marketing and not going to the families.

And I get it, you need to do marketing to get the funds, but at the same time, like these families are, you know, they have it in their heart that there's gonna be a cure and that there all these things are gonna happen. And when you see how much money is spent on marketing versus how much is actually getting to the families, it's it heart.

It breaks your heart.

Morgan DeNicola: Absolutely. And that's, you know, what we also worked very hard on, or I'm, I'm [00:13:00] working very hard on is regaining that, that trust, because you've seen a drastic decrease since 2016 in individual donors because of that lack of trust. So especially with. Our family foundation, we're a hundred percent transparent.

Nothing goes to overhead. We are a staff of three.

Both: Yeah. Um,

Morgan DeNicola: and I, me and my, my one coworker do everything. I'm the one answering the emails and, and literally everything. Um, and trying to gain that trust back to the individual donor and letting you know that. Your every single dollar will go directly towards the program that is specifically put in front of you.

Both: Yeah. So

Morgan DeNicola: I, I understand that challenge and, and hope that there's a lot of groups out there that are trying to, to bring people back to wanting to be more engaged and involved and, and that trust rebuilding that trust.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. 'cause I think it's, it's always in our heart to wanna do something, right? Like, we all wanna help, we all wanna figure out how do we, how do we make the biggest impact?

[00:14:00] And so even if it's something, you know, like I don't live far from North Carolina. I'm in, I'm in Georgia and so, you know, when every, when the hurricanes happen, North Carolina. You know, immediately, you wanna just go help, you know, you want to go serve, but they don't have the infrastructure to support the number of volunteers that were showing up, right?

Because, I mean, there's barely enough infrastructure for the people who are, you know, not, they've lost their homes, they've lost their, their belongings, and they, they can't find their families. And so while the need is great, it's also a need for stuff, you know, a need for generators, a need for RVs, a need for, you know, places to, uh, roof over your head, something.

And so, um. There really has to be an organized effort. You know, it just can't be a free for all. And so when you see these disaster sites and you immediately wanna help, you know, it's important to think through who's, who's on the ground and who can actually organize it and tell you what is needed, because maybe they don't need, you know, baby clothes, because right now they just need food.

Both: [00:15:00] So, yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. So, yeah. But it, it, it is, it. Interesting. It's a very, um, there's so much need out there, so I applaud you for what you're doing because, you know, just taking a stand and saying, I wanna be part of the solution. I wanna make sure that, you know, we're using our dollars for good.

Um, we need more of that.

Morgan DeNicola: Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, we're, we're gonna continue to just keep educating and, and trying to get as many people involved in the ways that they can, so everyone can still feel good and we can help our neighbors and feel that trust and, and that's a very, very big, big part of my life and, and our family's lives.

Angela Gennari: Yeah, that's so important. Um, so when you're talking about being philanthro philanthropic, what does that mean? Tell me what philanthropic means.

Morgan DeNicola: Philanthropy for me, it it's your lifestyle. It, it absolutely is. In everything I do from the moment I wake up to the moment that I go to sleep, it's how can [00:16:00] I help every person I come across today?

And that's not always giving money or items. Sometimes for me it's, it's. Seeing, letting people feel seen is such a big thing and letting people have a place that they can come and talk to me about potential programs. Like, I want to see this.

Both: Yeah.

Morgan DeNicola: And really being a hand, being a hand, being a, a sound board for your community, for people you agree with, for people you don't agree with, um, is a big one for me and, and a topic that I speak about a lot.

It's. Being an inclu inclusive place for anybody to be able to go to vocalize a need and, um, for you to figure out how you can make it a just a little bit better for that individual and their community.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. And you know, you touched on an important point here because I think a lot of organizations will align with those that agree with them, and that can get really, that's a slippery slope because at then, then at some [00:17:00] point you're, you're excluding people who desperately need help.

And, you know, just because they may not have the same background, the same, you know, belief system, it doesn't make them a horrible person. You know, we, we all have our own. Opinions and beliefs and, and a lot of that is ingrained from childhood or culture and there's so much to be said for, you know, somebody who can come in and put all of that aside and just help where help is needed.

Morgan DeNicola: A absolutely, and that's a, a large part of, of who I am and what I've learned throughout my upbringing and through my travels and every single person that I've been, I, I wanna say blessed to even have a conversation with. Yeah. Helped. Continue to, to create, uh, new ways of always looking at every problem and every situation.

And you're able to kind of take your yourself out of the equation because you know that you could meet a person tomorrow that might change that opinion or that perspective. So you allow yourself that elasticity [00:18:00] of, of growth. Um, so it, it's, it's definitely a very. Another huge part of who I am and who our family foundation is, and the groups that I work with to just be inclusive and welcoming to everyone.

Angela Gennari: Mm-hmm. Because, I mean, they, being human is our common denominator. You know, at the end of the day, we're all human. We all hurt, we all, you know, feel things, we all, and, and to exclude anyone because they don't have the same belief system is just, you know, it's just wrong. So, um. You wanna make sure that you are, you're seeing people for the humanity in them and not the beliefs system that they have.

Morgan DeNicola: Absolutely. And like you said, at everyone struggles at, at some point in their life and everybody hurts the same and everybody feels very similar, um, in their experience. So it, it shouldn't a lot of these, these smaller things really. Especially if you wanna help the world and [00:19:00] you wanna help people and you wanna connect and say you're empathetic and sympathetic and compassionate, then there's no discrimination.

If, if you say you are those things, then you should not discriminate against somebody that disagrees with you and you need that, that self-control. And to be able to kind of, I like to say some people don't like the saying, but I like to say kind of put yourself for a second in the backseat. Yeah. You know, you're there and you can get back to you and you know everything.

You already know you, if you're confident in you. So sometimes I, I put myself in the backseat and I'm like, clean slate, talk to me. Yeah. Yeah. And I believe, I believe, but it's. Incorporated in, in trying to help an individual know

Angela Gennari: Exactly. Well, and you know, there's, I, even with running my company, I always say I, if I wanted everybody to agree with me, why do I need you?

Like, I need you to give me a different perspective. I need you to open my eyes to things that I can't see right now. And you know, so much of that just comes from differing opinions. Like, I love it [00:20:00] when people will respectfully argue, you know, like. Please tell me why I am wrong. I wanna know, like, I want to know how I can see something in a different way, and that's a hundred percent okay with me.

Morgan DeNicola: Absolutely. Same way I mm-hmm. I love making friends with everyone. I, it really doesn't matter to me.

Angela Gennari: Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. So, um, you know, you talk a a bit about diplomacy and the travel and the cultural diplomacy. So can you tell me a little bit about that experience?

Morgan DeNicola: It's a very unique experience, uh, especially being a, a woman in mm-hmm.

That world, because depending on where you go, a culture will react very different differently to you. Yeah. And especially having a name like Morgan, it gets really confusing. Um, a lot of the times people will think I'm a man before I show up somewhere. Mm-hmm. And then the shock, like my name tag will say, Mr.

Morgan and I, I always laugh at it, but it, it is difficult. In [00:21:00] a sense, because you are always, we have a lot of preconceived notions of different places in the world that from childhood is, is fed into us. And we initially believe, and a lot of the times you have to just go and see and be a part of, of things, even if you don't understand, even if, um, I'm sitting in a room with a lot of men, it's, it's primarily male dominant.

Um. It's very important for you to kind of listen and have an understanding of if you're in a country that thinks women should sit pretty and listen. I know that urge to want to scream and say, well, I have so much to contribute and, and that, that's so disrespectful. But in that culture, that's not disrespectful.

Um, and I think it's very important to kind of go anywhere in the world and really listen and learn. [00:22:00] And along the way when it is appropriate to have these open discussions calmly, uh, I like to say respond, don't react. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Um, it can be very, very difficult, but in that process of listening and being respectful, a lot of times the people you engage with start to get curiosity about like, okay, they're not just this.

White woman from America is not just immediately interjecting her opinion, she's listening and being respectful. And you know, what, what do you think or, or what do you, how do you feel? And that is when those communities, like you said, you earn that trust and they really start to open up and, and embrace you and, and tell you a little bit more about what is going on and how we can learn from one another.

But that comes with, um. I like to say the superpower of self-control. Uh, yeah. It's difficult at times, [00:23:00] especially, you know, my, my father loves to make jokes that he is like, you are the most opinionated person I have ever met in my life. Not, and, um, I like to say, because with each experience I learn more.

Both: Mm-hmm.

Morgan DeNicola: But it, it, it can be difficult and it's also very difficult when you see the needs globally and, and how it can cause some depression and angst. Um, especially when you want to help and you don't quite know how. But the more people I'm able to interact with and the more dots I like to say, I'm able to connect to try to help one another.

You kind of just hold on to those moments of. Okay. That's another dot I can connect. That's another community I heard and I was able to learn from and figure out how, not only to help their community, but how to bring that back for issues we have here. Um, there are a lot of parallels to issues around the world, and if we could just puzzle [00:24:00] piece it together and learn from one another, there's.

There's so much to learn from one another, um, that we can resolve a lot of, a lot of issues. Yeah. And have a lot more respect for, for our neighbors locally and globally.

Angela Gennari: Mm-hmm. Well, and you know, just taking the time to learn about the culture before you go into it, you know, that's really important because you may look at something and see it as a huge problem, but culturally it's an accepted norm.

And by going over there and saying, this is not right, we need to do it this way. Then you, they feel like you're just pushing your Western values on them and they're just, you know, it's, it's not gonna be received well. Whereas educating somebody about why maybe we do the same things we do and why this is important for our culture helps them to kind of understand a little bit.

Oh, that's interesting. I wonder if that would work here versus, you're doing it wrong and you should do it this way. Right, like there's something to be said for respecting a culture and [00:25:00] educating about why you do something you do, but not, not necessarily insisting that they do it your way.

Morgan DeNicola: And asking questions.

Mm-hmm. I, I feel like they, I have a really good friend of mine. He spends half of his time in Rwanda and half of his time here in the United States, and we are having this really great conversation actually about his family and, and, you know, his, his family and his culture, it's very common for women to hang out in the kitchen and, and be in the kitchen and the men are in.

Mm-hmm. The living room. And he, we were having this like really good conversation 'cause it even bothered him a little bit. And he was like talking to the women and, and his family. He's like, don't you feel like you, you wanna be in the living room? Or, or, and they were like, no, like that. They even don't mind that part.

And that's a part of their culture. But like if somebody said to us like, oh, the women need to be in the kitchen, we'd be like, are you kidding me? Right. Right. But it's [00:26:00] not, that's, that's a such a good point is asking those questions and seeing, is it a taboo, is it something that actually bothers another culture, or is it a cultural norm that in no way do they want to change and, and they, they enjoy the way they live their lives.

Yeah. And just enjoy the way we lives, live our lives. So having those open dialogues and being curious without judgment and Yeah. Yeah. You said, pushing our own belief structures on others Yeah. Makes you somebody people wanna engage with and, and tell their story and bring in like, no, come see. Yeah. Come be a part of it.

And then you, your perspective might be like, you know what, I kind of do like this what you guys are doing. So it it is it, to me, it's fun. It's fun constantly educating yourself and growing and learning. What they're doing in another part of the world that you never thought you would be sitting down at a table and having these discussions?[00:27:00]

Angela Gennari: Yeah, absolutely. When I started traveling, I didn't travel at all when I was little, like when, when, you know, we, we, I grew up in Pennsylvania and so I, we didn't really go anywhere but Ocean City, Maryland, like that was, that was it. So that was our annual vacation. And so I really didn't start traveling until I got into college.

And then when I got to college is when I started like, Hmm, I wonder what it's like to take a flight across the, across the country. I wonder what it's like to drive to San Diego. I wonder what it's like to go visit the uk. And so like that was the first time I'm like. I'm gonna go explore this world.

There's so much to see. And so I started kind of it, it just totally changed my perspective on everything. I mean, traveling is the one of those things where you have to invest in this. I mean, it is the most life-changing experience you'll ever have is going and visiting other cultures with an open mind.

Because a lot of people will travel to other cultures, but they're not going in with an open mind. They're gonna wanna do the same things that they do at home [00:28:00] in any other country that they visit, and that's not realistic like you. You have to be open to embrace the culture as the culture is and not as you want it to be.

Morgan DeNicola: Absolutely. And not go to those tourist trap restaurants. But yes, find those little back street places. Experience the food, the music, the people. I, I'm a hundred percent the same way whenever I mm-hmm. Travel anywhere. I'm like, yes, I, that is a nice hotel. And yes, that is a nice restaurant, but can you show me something that, that you wouldn't show, uh, someone else?

Yeah. That's really where you get that rich experience and where your perspectives and your thoughts completely change.

Angela Gennari: Mm-hmm. A few years ago, uh, my son and I went to Costa Rica and um, you know, the first part of the vacation was we went to an all-inclusive and it was very, you know, you're in a bubble, you're not leaving.

It's, you know, you wake up and you're pampered all day long. And the second part of the trip was, you know, we had [00:29:00] rented a car and we were gonna drive. From, you know, one side of the country all the way into the AAW volcano area and go stand in eco resort. And so I probably should have flipped it. I should have done the eco resort first, and that way he wasn't all spoiled and well taken care of.

And then, you know, give him a culture shock and, you know, having to drive across the country. But, but it, it was so interesting because we had a, a manual car. Which a lot of Americans these days don't know how to drive, which is funny. But when we got there, thankfully I learned on one because that was, you know, years ago when we still had them readily available in the US and so I learned on a manual car and so I was able to drive it around.

But those mountain areas in in Costa Rica are pretty tricky and they're very narrow. And anyway, so, uh, I think it was an eyeopening experience for my son to see like us. Two American people driving a manual car through the mountain area, all these little villages and these little towns. And, you know, we had to stop for gas.

[00:30:00] We could not speak English. You can only speak Spanish. And, but, but it's, it tells him like, you know, don't expect comfort everywhere you go. Like, get uncomfortable. Because it's in the discomfort that we find the best stuff. Like you can have the best food if you're just willing to go to these little off the beaten path, you know, hole in the wall kind of places.

They're the best food and you meet the best people there and you just have the most culturally rich experiences. And then we get to the eco resort and we get to do, you know, milk cows and pick up eggs from the chickens. And it was just such a cool experience. But again, you know, you gotta get uncomfortable.

Morgan DeNicola: And I bet that's a core memory that he and you will have forever. It's not just one of those normal resort memories. Like yeah, I remember it being fun, but I don't really remember anything of it. It's gonna be one of those things where you, when you think about it, I bet you can hear, you can smell it, you can kind of taste it, right?

Yeah, yeah,

Angela Gennari: absolutely. Yeah. And so, you know, it's, I, I love going to an all inclusive, it's, [00:31:00] it's a beautiful little relaxation, but you gotta mix it up with something else. Like there's, there's gotta be something else that you do. Because if all you ever see is the inside of the resort, you're not really experiencing the culture.

I mean, you're gonna have a contrived version of whatever you're gonna see, right? So it's the watered down version, you know, the, the, the version that they give to the Americans and the Canadians, and. The, the safe. The safe version. Safe,

Morgan DeNicola: yeah. You sometimes have to do the, the things that people think are un unsafe, you know, in a, in a weird way is, oh, well you might not be safe.

It's like, okay, let's go see, let's, let's go. No, I'm not saying to just run off when, you know, it might be a little dangerous, but don't always assume that something's dangerous. That's not really,

Angela Gennari: yeah, absolutely. So, so in your travels and in your, in your Phil, uh, philanthropy, tell me about some of the, the more meaningful experiences that you've had.[00:32:00]

Ooh.

Morgan DeNicola: Um, I actually recently came back from Rwanda. Uh, yeah, not. A few months ago, and, um, that was incredible. I was able to bring some members of Congress and their staffers for the, um, memorial of the Tootsie Genocide.

Both: Mm-hmm. Okay. So they went

Morgan DeNicola: and we were able to learn a lot about what had happened, um, but also how they, they've continued to grow together since then and, and what it means for it to be a genocide and, and how they continue to deal with it.

That was a very sad moment, um, because you were able to hear about the horrible, horrible things that happened and how that happened. But then you had this moment of just incredible, um, it was just incredible learning experience because then we went to these rehabilitation camps and what they did is a lot of [00:33:00] these.

People who, who ended up killing some of the tootsies, some of them were forgiven. Wow. And they lived side by side to rebuild to some of the family's members that they had killed. Like, so, uh, if they killed this family member's uncle, they live next door and they work together to continue to build from there.

And they admit. They're wrongdoing. And it was just kind of fascinating that they have a lot of these, these camps where they rehabilitate even people leaving from the Congo that have killed a lot of people because they want to get out. Yeah. And we, rather than just locking them away, um, they. Bring them back.

They bring them back and they become very important members of society to continue to contribute. And they, they have this reality of, yes, I did these horrible things. They, they never deny it. Um, [00:34:00] but they're like, this is how I wanna spend the rest of my life, making my community stronger and better and making sure it doesn't happen again.

So that was a really. Eye-opening experience and being able to bring members of Congress to kind of hear what a genocide is. Hear.

Both: Hmm.

Morgan DeNicola: What had happened to get to that point and how they're continuing to repair and become stronger because of it. Um, that was another very life altering moment. And, um, we also, because it, you know, it was so sad.

We also made sure that we brought them to do something else here and there, and we were, we took them to do a Gorilla Trek and that was incredibly fascinating as well, because you have. Rwanda and the Congo that are constantly fighting, but they agree on one thing and that's to protect this species, these ecosystems.

And that's also a very fascinating [00:35:00] thing to hear about how like two groups that really just do not get along and have a lot of issues are like, but when it comes to nature and preserving this, these animals we're in agreement, we're gonna protect them. And uh, so also seeing. We, we walked, we were in a family of 15, 16 gorillas that I actually ended up

Both: Wow.

Morgan DeNicola: By one. It was a very wild situation. And I text messaged my brother. I was like, don't tell dad, but I got kicked by a gorilla. And he was like, that is the weirdest text message I've ever got in my life. Um, but it was really great to be able to bring our, our lawmakers. To a place that they wouldn't experience to see a culture that may, they might not have experienced, and something that was so important to learn from and bring it back and like have that.

I, I like to say that we are, we are educators and I love being able to bring our. [00:36:00] Our lawmakers are the people at the forefront of deciding what our country does, but taking them around the world to see it, experience it, and however they decide to incorporate it in their decision making is up to them.

But, um, that was a, a very, I. Life changing experience. I always feel like Africa, no matter where I go in Africa, is always life changing. Um, but we also did a, a great trip to Warsaw and met some of the, um, righteous among the nations. There're the individuals that survived World War ii that saved a lot of Jewish families.

So I was able to sit down and hear about their experience and you know, how their life changed and how, again, to bring that information back and. Be aware when things like that start to happen and how to prevent it and how to take care of these amazing people that, that are like the last of their, their generation.

Um. And that was a life-altering [00:37:00] experience. Mm-hmm. To be able to speak with them and see some of the camps and, um, with each of these experiences, you learn and it, it changes you on such a, such a deep level and it makes you continue to think, okay, who else can I bring to these different places? Who else can I help?

Just to see the world a little different and have a full picture.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. Yeah. Well, and that's one thing that I, I can appreciate about the internet is that has, it has opened our eyes to what the world offers, you know, to the different perspectives and the different cultures. And you know, when I was younger, you wouldn't know these things unless you saw 'em on TV or unless you were traveling.

But, um, but I love that the. The internet and social media have opened our eyes to, you know, I can be friends with somebody in Rwanda and hear their story, you know, and, and I can see things on the news and I can find it on the internet somewhere, you know, where I can find some more information. But, you know, that is the one thing I, I can appreciate about as, as much as [00:38:00] sometimes I feel technology is going the wrong direction, there's some benefit in just that the awareness, the just open opens your eyes to what's going on.

I.

Morgan DeNicola: Yeah, the fact that you have the opportunity to, if you want to self-educate, to really dive in past the headlines, past the, the picture, but to, to speak with an individual that lives there or to really get a more balanced perspective and dig through information if, if you want to educate yourself.

That's, that's what I love about the internet is I'll read something and be like, I don't know if I believe that. Yeah. And then. Start digging and going down the rabbit hole and getting more and more in information and giving yourself kind of a balanced perspective of what might be going on.

Angela Gennari: Mm-hmm. But really truly, there is no, there is no substitute for travel because when you're there, that's when you see the people who I.

Aren't looking for internet exposure too. Right. So the shopkeeper, the, the little restaurant owner, the, you know, you go in, you see, you talk to somebody [00:39:00] on the street. Like these are the people who, you know, they don't have any, anyone to impress, right? They, they just wanna live their life. And so those are the most interesting ones to talk to.

Morgan DeNicola: Absolutely. Super pure, authentic. Yeah. Uh, yeah. They, they just. If they have nothing to lose and they just wanna show you who they are. Yeah, it's a, a beautiful experience.

Angela Gennari: Absolutely. So I noticed also like, you know, I, I just learned, I'm trying to pick up more languages right now because there's value in knowing the language.

So, um, you know, I was, I was in Peru and I remember, um, so I was there for a month long volunteering trip. I. So we were, we were building a school, and so my Spanish wasn't great, but I mean, it was conversational, right? Like I, I could at least get by. Um, because we were in a place where you, not very many people spoke English.

And I was going, I was walking through this market and, um, just, you know, there, there, there were some guys in [00:40:00] front of me and they had asked how much something was, and they had asked in English and she told 'em in English how much it was. And then, um. I had asked also, you know, I was like, so how much is this?

And she told me it. I, but I asked in Spanish and she gave me a different price. It was a better price. But I think it's just an appreciation of like, hey, they're, they're not here to, to again be as American or whatever North American as, as they can be. Like they're here to be open, they're here to integrate and you know, just, just having an appreciation for cultures is, is really important.

Morgan DeNicola: Yes, absolutely. You, you can see it and it's, it's amazing. It's, it's really amazing, especially when you give that, that effort mm-hmm.

Both: Into wanting

Morgan DeNicola: be part, it's, it's appreciated. Very rarely. Occasionally it'll backfire, but for the most part it doesn't. You'll get that smile like, okay, you're trying all right, you're trying, just

Angela Gennari: trying.

So, um, so with what you are doing, you know, on the [00:41:00] philanthropic side and diplomacy and you know that, that must really be appreciated everywhere that you go, or I would hope that it is.

Morgan DeNicola: Yes, definitely, because they anywhere I go. It's, it's that understanding of, okay, you're trying to tell our story, you're trying to learn, you're trying to incorporate it.

Because the, it goes both ways. You know, a lot of individuals in the, the other parts of the world. Have their own idea of how Americans are. So when you're able to kind of be an example of No, I'm, I'm not gonna scream and shout. No, I'm, I'm not gonna be rude. I'm not gonna, it, it gives me an amazing opportunity to be like, oh, okay.

Not all Americans are. Yeah. And love being able to be a part of that. And I can say, okay, not all Rwandans are, or not all.

Angela Gennari: Yeah.

Morgan DeNicola: It's, it's a beautiful moment to represent and to continue to, to educate. Yeah. So most people are very, [00:42:00] most people are very open to that.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. So do you have a platform, like a social media platform where you'll do videos from the places that you're traveling to and.

Morgan DeNicola: Right now it's the De Family Foundation holds a lot of what I do, but I am working on, um, morgan de.com. Um, just kind of my own platform since I am in so many different unique fields. I, I've had a lot of people ask me like, where can I go to see or listen to your podcasts? And it's like, they're kind of all over the place right now.

So, um, hopefully in, I believe we're trying to launch it in two months. Um, but again, it's one of. My five jobs. Yeah, so I'm, I'm working on it on the side, but it will be, um, morgan de.com. Right now it's on the De Family Foundation. It's also, uh, the De Family Foundation on Facebook. Or you could just find me on social media, Morgan Lyker de my married hyphenated [00:43:00] name.

Um, but just word of warning on my social media. I'm also very much my goofy natural self, so you might just come across videos of me cooking or playing with my dogs. Yeah,

Angela Gennari: I love it. It's

Morgan DeNicola: very much just me being me. It's not all. Oh,

Angela Gennari: oh, that's awesome. And so who inspires you?

Morgan DeNicola: I'm, I'm gonna start by saying, first it was my mother.

Mm-hmm. Um, being a woman starting businesses in the eighties, uh, I didn't understand at the time the difficulty she was going through. And I was like, why is she always so anxious and all over the place, and sometimes very sad. And it wasn't until I was a little older. The, I understood she had a conversation with me and she's like, Morgan, you wanna effectively have all of this change happen?

And I was, yeah. You know, one of those soapbox standing on my soapbox screaming. Yeah. Yeah. And she said, if you ever want to effectively create change, you need to do it from the [00:44:00] inside.

Both: Mm-hmm. And

Morgan DeNicola: at the time, I never, she's like, you have to become a part of it. I'm like, well, no. If I don't like the way they're, why would I wanna become a part of it?

And she, she told me, you don't tear down a building by throwing rocks from the outside.

Both: Hmm. And

Morgan DeNicola: I didn't get it until I was much older. And realized that she was so, is so brilliant in her teachings. Um, again, I just didn't appreciate it, uh, until I was much older, but she's, she's a very aware woman of what it takes to be a woman.

Yeah. And in this, in this world. Um, because there will always, there are still for, in comparison to the eighties, still to now. Mm-hmm. Somehow a man next to you or, or kind of standing side by side, or you're getting shadowed. Um, and as much as we have made progress, it's definitely still there. [00:45:00] And, um, she's, she's correct in the be a part of it.

Learn, create. Uh, so my mother is definitely. An icon in my world. Um, and then I wanna also say my father. Yeah. Being, um, a man that, you know, he, his parents came over from Italy and so immigrant family started from nothing. Created his business from basically a garage. Very similar eighties story. Mm-hmm. To where he's at now.

He's always educating himself. He's always anybody who wants him to mentor them. He's always learning. He's always involving anybody and everybody, and as much as it drives me crazy, he's always pushing me and my brother to strive to be more and achieve more because he's like, don't get too comfortable.

Angela Gennari: Yeah, [00:46:00] you're very comfortable. So true.

Morgan DeNicola: You, you don't effectively continue to grow or, or change. So my dad always inspires me. He finds a way to create from nothing. And that's awesome. Yeah. He gets anybody and everybody engaged that wants to, he's like, come with me. He's, he's always a come with me guy. And, um, he, for a long time I stood behind him in everything that I did, uh, and everything, uh, coming from family.

Is successful parents, you, it's a, a battle because no matter what you achieve, it's either expected of you,

Both: Uhhuh,

Morgan DeNicola: or it comes from the, oh, well you were given that because you had the parents that you have and it, it always kind of clipped our wings and took the wind out of our sails because it was always like, oh, well because of mommy and daddy, it would get very frustrating.

So you kind of. Shy your face away and step behind my dad, [00:47:00] right? And he would grab me by the hand and pull me right out in the spotlight and he'd be like, no, him and my mom. And they're like, we were able to do what we could do because of you guys, even from a young age, and don't let anybody ever tell you otherwise.

So my dad's a hero also to me because he never, he never lets me shy from the spotlight. He never lets me. Step behind him or kind of a allow, you know, a, a man to step in front of me. He is. I love that very much. A, a dad that will never let a man step in front of me. And I love that. Yeah. And he's definitely a rock and a great supporter of women.

Um, and he's never, uh, like I, I'm married to my wife, who is also a hero of mine. Yeah. And he's never. Been shy about saying his daughter's married, you know, even working with the Papal Foundation, he is never shy from saying, [00:48:00] my daughter's married to a woman. He's, that's

Both: awesome.

Morgan DeNicola: Yeah. My wife is, I'm going to give her a shout out.

But she's come from a single, her mother raised her and, uh, she doesn't let anybody help her. Yes. She's gone back to school and I'll be like, Hey, let me help you. And she's like, no, I got it. And I, I absolutely, I. Love women that just are like, no, I got it. I got this.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. Yeah. I do

Morgan DeNicola: it myself. Um, so she's, she's also a motivator and I can talk to her about anything and she keeps me real.

Both: That's awesome. You know,

Morgan DeNicola: she'll make sure you don't get too, too ahead of yourself or inflate your ego. She'll, she'll kind of bring you back down. Um. And then just, I have so many incredible women that juggle being a mom. Mm-hmm. Being a boss, uh, being happy. Um, so I like to say any, any person who can juggle professional and [00:49:00] private life and children.

Or animals and just can juggle all, you're a rock star.

Both: Mm-hmm.

Morgan DeNicola: Um, and, uh, anybody who is, I like to say a bridge who wants to bring people together, bring communities together, and kind of stop this crazy divides we have in so many different worlds. They're all heroes to me. Anybody who tries to make people come together, hero.

I love you.

Angela Gennari: Yeah, yeah, for sure. I love that. Well, cool. Um, I really, really enjoyed this. Morgan, this has been such a great conversation. I could probably talk to you for hours because I just feel like you do so much inspiring work and I just wanna know all about it. Um, I. But I applaud you for everything that you're doing.

Keep going, keep saving the world. You're doing it, you're doing it. So, um, and, and exposing the people who need to, to know what's going on. You know, our lawmakers, they, they need to [00:50:00] know what's going on in the world. Um, you know, they're making laws for us that impact us, and it's really important that they're, they're exposed to these things because.

It's easy to live in a bubble. It's easy to have those blinders on and say, this is the only thing I need to focus on because this is my constituents. And nothing else matters. But everything else matters because if the world is in flux, everybody is. And so the more we can expose people to that and help them understand what's going on and where the need is, the the better everybody will be.

Morgan DeNicola: Thank you. Thank you very much.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. So, um, one last question for you. What do you wish more people knew?

Morgan DeNicola: Um, I wish more people knew that you assign value to things. Oh. Um, I wish, I wish that so much because I think we let a lot of people, a lot of topics ruffle our feathers or kind of distract us from our capabilities.

[00:51:00] And I wish more people knew that. Ultimately, if somebody says something to you or you read something like you. Or the captain of your ship.

Both: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Morgan DeNicola: You wanna go what you wanna try to do, no matter what people say to you, you assign value to everything. And if something is valuable to you, don't let anybody else say it's not.

And if somebody says, this is really important, or you're this, or you're that, it's up to you whether or not you want to say that that opinion really matters because the only person that really matters is you. And how you feel about yourself and everything else is background noise.

Angela Gennari: Yes. Amen to that. Amen to that.

Because I feel that way too. Like what? You know, if something's important to you, what's important to you and that's it. And, and you know, like I try to remind myself of that with kids, you know, like, this is the most important thing that's going on in their world right now. And even though you think it's insignificant, it doesn't make it any less significant to them.

So. [00:52:00]

Morgan DeNicola: Absolutely. And I think that the more people understand that, um mm-hmm. The, the less angst and anxiety and depression, I, I think a lot of people would have because you're, you're in control of you. Mm-hmm. And where you wanna go and what you wanna be.

Angela Gennari: And we have no right to invalidate anyone else's story.

Morgan DeNicola: Exactly.

Angela Gennari: Well, thank you so much. This has been such a pleasure and, um, you know, I wish you nothing but immense success on your journey and, um, just keep saving the world.

Morgan DeNicola: I will. Thank you so much for having me.

Angela Gennari: Absolutely. And I know we talked about where to find you earlier, but you can also find Morgan on pretty powerful podcast.com and we look forward to seeing you next time.

Have a great day everybody. Bye-bye.

Intro: Thank you for joining our guests on the pretty powerful podcast. And we hope you've gained new insight and learned from exceptional women. Remember to subscribe or check out this and all episodes on pretty [00:53:00] powerful podcast.com. Visit us next time and until then, step into your own power.