How to Create Meaningful Change and Drive Learning Strategy in Your Nonprofit
Creating meaningful change through staff training and development in a nonprofit can feel overwhelming, especially when you're the only one driving it. In this episode, I talk with Jamie Bussey, Senior Director of Learning and Development at the National Audubon Society.
Jamie joined Audubon as a team of one, inheriting a blank slate and a whole lot of opportunity. She shares how she used a needs assessment to guide her strategy, implemented scalable solutions like a learning management system and coaching programs, and launched a comprehensive people manager training called “Leading the Flock.”
▶️ Key Points:
03:14 Jamie's career journey from journalism to nonprofit L&D
05:19 Starting L&D from scratch: challenges and early wins
09:56 Designing Leading the Flock for people managers
14:46 Creating a robust training program
17:02 Overcoming resistance and building credibility
21:54 Advice for L&D leaders starting from scratch in a nonprofit
Getting Started with Your New Learning Strategy
When Jamie first began her role, it would have been easy to say yes to everything:
We need onboarding!
We need manager training!
We need help with DEI conversations!
We need to roll out this new tool!
Instead of trying to fix it all at once, Jamie focused on listening first, and then building a roadmap aligned to the organization’s strategic goals.
Her advice?
“Start with the most important thing you can do well. Build on it. Then expand.”
That mindset didn’t just help her prioritize; it helped her gain trust.
Build Your Learning Strategy with People, Not Just for Them
Jamie knew that learning can’t be imposed from the top down, especially in a decentralized structure with strong local cultures.
So she created a Learning Champions network: a cross-functional group of staff who could:
Surface local learning needs
Offer feedback on programs
Co-create solutions with the central team
Serve as internal ambassadors
This network helped her create programs that weren’t just theoretically good, but contextually relevant, locally supported, and more likely to stick.
Incorporating Change Management into Learning Strategy Implementation
Many nonprofits look to L&D to solve behavior problems, but Jamie made it clear: training without change management doesn’t work.
She embedded communications, storytelling, and stakeholder engagement into every rollout.
Because no matter how good your course is, if people don’t know why it matters, trust who’s delivering it, and see how it connects to their role, they won’t use it.
4 Lessons for Learning Pros Building from Scratch
If you’re the first (or only) L&D pro at your org, Jamie’s experience offers these powerful lessons:
Listen before you build.
Start with a learning needs analysis—not a course catalog.
Don’t go it alone.
Build peer networks or internal champions to expand your influence.
Communicate like a change leader.
Every training initiative is a behavior change initiative. Treat it that way.
Start small, then scale.
You don’t have to prove your worth by doing everything. Do one thing well and build from there.
Want to Learn More from Your Training Peers?
Jamie’s journey is one of many from nonprofit L&D pros who are creating big change with limited resources. If you’re looking for support, strategy, and peers who get it, stay connected. The Nonprofit L&D Collective was built for you.
To learn more about creating meaningful change and driving learning strategy, tune into episode 138 of the Learning for Good podcast.
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