Guiding the Next Generation of (Kind) Leaders: How Riley’s Way Is Shaping the Future

Some leaders look to leave their mark through strategy or scale. But Laura Dunn of Riley’s Way Foundation measures her impact in another way: the ripple effects of kindness. 

For over a decade, Laura has helped shape Riley’s way into a youth-driven organization, empowering young people to lead with empathy. But her path to nonprofit work began much earlier, with a desire to help others, and the self-awareness to know how she could do it best.

“Whether it was teaching or something else, I always knew I wanted to be in the service-oriented world,” Laura says. “But during college, I worked on a helpline as a listener for other people, and realized if I did direct service work, I would carry it with me, and it wouldn’t be healthy long-term. So helping others help others is where I landed.” 

Honoring Riley’s Legacy

The foundation began with a tragedy. After Ian and Mackenzie Sadler’s nine-year-old daughter unexpectedly passed away, the family chose to honor her by focusing on how she lived rather than how she died.

“She wasn’t the best student or best athlete,” Laura explains. “But she was the best friend anyone could have. She loved bringing people together.”

In the decade since Riley’s passing, they’ve grown from a small New York City initiative to a nationwide organization overseeing various grant programs, a youth leadership retreat, and a series of student-led chapters that work within their communities to find solutions to social impact issues. 

“When we started, we didn’t quite know what we were going to do. But through a lot of trial and error, we realized high-school-age students were where we could make a huge difference. It’s incredible to see how we’ve grown.” 

Building Community, One Retreat at a Time

They hosted their first Youth Leadership Retreat – a weekend camp where ~100 students gather for workshops on self-care, leadership, and the mechanics of community building – in 2019.

Laura laughs, “I had never run a summer camp before. The logistics were a lot. But it was incredible to see how, in such a short time, these young women made friends that have lasted until even today.”

She recalls one attendee vividly:

“Julia. She was a high school sophomore at our retreat. I have this memory on the lawn listening to her talk about how special the weekend was. And then seeing her now? In the world? We’ve kept in touch. She’s a junior at University of Michigan, and just an amazing young woman making a difference in the world.” 

From One Employee to Eleven

Laura’s story is probably familiar. 

When she joined Riley’s Way, she was the only staff member, juggling everything from programming to operations, development, and anything else a nonprofit might need. Today, they’re in a growth stage and she’s found her place outside of direct service delivery, ‘helping the helper.’

“I’m the people manager. I make it so my team has the tools they need to make our programs and organization run effectively.”

She also emphasized that, as exciting as growth is, it has to be done without overextending. 

“Part of being in a nonprofit is having all these ideas, and then having to pause and ask how can all of this really come to fruition? How can we broaden our programming to reach more people? We want to do it the right way, and not too quickly.” 

Advice for the Next Generation

When asked what advice she’d give to someone starting in the nonprofit sector, Laura doesn’t hesitate:

“Find your mentor. That person who you can say, ‘that’s who I want to be when I grow up,’ and listen when they talk. Then, have a thick skin. We’re all here to make a difference. So, take their feedback to heart, but not personally.” 

Looking Ahead With Hope

Like many nonprofits, Riley’s Way has to balance big dreams with limited resources. 

“The hardest part is turning people away. There are so many young people thirsty for this kind of opportunity, but we’re a small team. We have to think about where our resources can really go.” 

Despite the challenges, Laura’s work gives her hope for the future.

“There are amazing young people who want to make the world better. Maybe they’ll go into the for-profit world, but they want to do so with kindness, empathy, and an understanding that they can make money in a way that doesn’t harm other people. The next generation is trying to uplift us all.”