Explore the transformative power of "wisdom work" with Betsy Cohen, a Philanthropic Futurist at the consultancy Future Good. After a 33 year career at Nestle Purina and over a decade spent building the St. Louis Mosaic Project, Betsy reveals how leaders can transition from achievement-driven success to a legacy of purpose and community connection. This episode dives into the evolving landscape of generational generosity, the impact of AI on nonprofits, and why the most effective leaders prioritize empathy and the "power of one" to create a lasting ripple effect.
Bio: Betsy Cohen leverages her financial and organizational expertise as a Philanthropic Futurist working with advisory firm FutureGood. This builds on her prior expertise as a corporate futurist and her work in business, government and nonprofits.
FutureGood develops strategic plans through visioning for foundations and nonprofits, leads scenario planning workshops, provides keynote talks on the future of philanthropy and nonprofits, develops educational programming to help wealth management firms and family offices expand their philanthropic connections to clients, and offers online training tools to teach individuals and teams how to use futurism skills to get better decisions made today.
Betsy was the Executive Director of the St. Louis Mosaic Project 2013-2025, a regional initiative of the non-profit World Trade Center-St. Louis within the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership. This was a public-private partnership whose goal was to attract and retain foreign-born people to St. Louis, resulting in a #1 rating in the US for growth in 2024 data. Prior to the work above, Betsy had a long career at Nestle Purina where she was a Vice President of marketing, sustainability, new products, new ventures and other operations. She was a corporate futurist for business goals. She had prior experience working with financial institutions with a passion for financial services and philanthropy.
She is on the external board for Washington University McDonnell International Scholars Academy and the St. Louis University Chaifetz Business School Executive Advisory Board. She is on the advisory board of the consulting firm CEdge. She is the author of a book to help international people find a good US job. She gave a TEDx talk on immigration in 2023. She is a well-known multicultural leader and has been honored by many of the regional ethnic organizations. In 2025 she was honored as one of the St. Louis top 500 business leaders by St. Louis Magazine for economic development. She is a 21/64 Certified Philanthropic Advisor. Betsy is a graduate of Wellesley College and has her MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Something Extra: "I think every leader needs to be caring."
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