Meet Elaina & Ababa

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Elaina & Ababa. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Elaina & Ababa , appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

We get our resilience from the people who keep showing up—100% of themselves—nonprofit teams who lead with heart, even when it’s hard. They remind us that resilience starts with putting our own oxygen masks on first. When we care for ourselves, we can care better for others. By setting that example, we make space for long-term, sustainable solutions. It’s in the breaks, the laughter after long days, and the choice to lift each other up that the real work happens. That’s what fuels us at Resilience Consulting—helping teams thrive so their missions soar.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

We are both Social Workers and after decades of leading nonprofits, we kept seeing the same pattern—amazing people doing powerful, meaningful work, but burning out along the way. Over time, we learned what really keeps people in this work: feeling valued, supported, and connected. That’s when our mission became clear—we want people to want to stay at nonprofits.

At Resilience Consulting, we help organizations create workplaces where teams can actually thrive. Through one-on-one consulting, community care workshops, and trauma-informed program design, we help nonprofits build cultures of care that last.

Because when Employee’s Thrive, Mission’s Succeed.

We offer free 30 minute consultation calls and would love to hear from you!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Looking back, three things have shaped us the most: listening deeply, leading with empathy, and building sustainable systems.

For years, we kept finding ourselves leading nonprofit programs where retention was a constant challenge. The funding was there, but once staff left, those dollars couldn’t be shifted—and that meant fewer hands to serve the community. In one program, no director had stayed longer than two months, and no staff member made it past six. When we stepped in, we simply asked the team what would make them stay. Their answer was small but powerful: more connection. So, we built in “community days,” where staff could go straight into the field with their clients instead of clocking in at the office first. That simple change transformed everything—no one left for the next two years.

That experience taught us that people don’t burn out from caring too much—they burn out from not being cared for enough.

For anyone early in their journey, our advice is this:

1. Listen to your people—really listen. The answers are often already in the room.

2. Lead with empathy. Create space for honesty, rest, and joy.

3. Build sustainability into your systems, not just your programs. Because caring for your people is mission work.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

Our biggest challenge at Resilience Consulting is helping nonprofits see the value of investing in staff retention. Too often, the mindset sounds like, “They knew what they were signing up for,” or “No one gets rich doing this work.” But when staff leave, the funding tied to their positions can’t be moved—leaving programs short-staffed and clients underserved.

We often see leaders trying to fix burnout with a free lunch, when what’s really needed is a thoughtful retention plan and a culture that supports people for the long haul. To change that, we’re having as many conversations as we can—offering free workshops and community events to fill that gap. We believe deeply that investing in people isn’t a luxury; it’s the foundation of impact. When nonprofits take care of their teams, everything else—innovation, sustainability, and mission success—follows.

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