#185 | Leading with Heart: Resilience, Storytelling, and Impact with Claire Masikewich

In this episode of Contagious Culture, Kyle S. King sits down with Claire Masikewich (  / clairemasikewich  ) , founder of the Strong Like Sloan Foundation, (  / strong-like-sloane-foundation  ) for a powerful conversation about purpose, adversity, storytelling, community, and turning pain into impact. After her daughter Sloan was diagnosed with stage four cancer at five and a half years old, Claire’s life and work shifted. What started as a way to cope became a foundation raising money, awareness, and advocacy for pediatric cancer research. Claire shares how her family navigated treatment, relapse, remission, and hope while building a nonprofit that has raised nearly $400,000 in less than three years. This episode is for nonprofit leaders, parents, founders, and changemakers who are trying to build something meaningful while carrying the weight of real life. Episode Highlights 00:00 — Welcome to the Contagious Culture Podcast 01:00 — Claire Masikewich’s background in marketing and communications 02:30 — Sloan’s diagnosis and the start of Strong Like Sloan 05:00 — Finding purpose without forcing purpose 07:00 — The vision: a world where pediatric cancer is cured 09:30 — Why nonprofits should focus on solving root problems 12:00 — The challenge of funding pediatric cancer research 14:30 — Raising nearly $400,000 through community and storytelling 17:00 — How to tell powerful stories when the story is not your own 19:00 — Turning adversity into action 21:00 — “What if it all works out?” 23:00 — What kept Claire going during the hardest seasons 25:00 — The lesson of capability: we are stronger than we think 27:00 — The role of community in survival and impact 29:00 — Letting go of what you cannot control 30:30 — Boundaries, balance, and learning to say no 31:30 — Claire’s message to leaders and changemakers 32:00 — Closing: What type of culture are you spreading? Connect with Claire Strong Like Sloan Foundation Instagram: @stronglikesloane Claire Masikewich Instagram: @therealclairem -- Learn More About the Contagious Culture Conference (https://spreadcontagiousculture.com/) Subscribe & Leave a Review to The Contagious Culture Podcast Subscribe to Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...) 📞 Schedule Your Call Here (https://links.theculturelab.org/widge...) 🖥️ Join the #1 Community for Leaders and Change Makers (https://the-growth-lab-community.lova...) 👉🏽 Apply to Be in the Growth Alliance (https://growth-alliance-2026.lovable....) 👉🏽Connect with Kyle S. King (https://meet-kyle-s-king.lovable.app/)