We Are For Good Podcast
Episode 688: Who Gets to Design Change? Power, Agency & Creating Sustainable Orgs
Guest: Chidi Asoluka, Founder & CEO of NewComm
Date: March 4, 2026

Episode Overview

In this energizing and reflective conversation, hosts Jon McCoy and Becky Endicott welcome Chidi Asoluka—storyteller, educator, and founder of NewComm, a nonprofit reimagining youth leadership and agency. The episode centers on the question, "Who gets to design change?" and explores shifting power to those closest to the challenges in our communities. Chidi shares his personal journey, candid organizational insights, and practical wisdom on cultivating sustainable, inclusive nonprofit cultures where young people—especially from marginalized backgrounds—lead real change, not just hypotheticals.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Chidi’s Story: Roots & Journey to Social Impact

• Heritage & Early Life ([02:42])
  • Son of Nigerian immigrants, growing up in Newark/Irvington, NJ.
  • Parents’ high hopes: “Doctor, lawyer, engineer. I always was a weird kid… I wanted to be a storyteller.” ([03:22] – Chidi)
  • Struggled with shyness and a speech impediment—journaled and practiced public speaking obsessively.
• Pivotal Career Moment ([05:38])
  • While interning at a bank, an interviewer asked, “What would you love more: working here at the bank or creating something that can change the world?” ([05:46])
  • Encouraged to try education—“If you hate it, come back and you will hire you. But I have a funny feeling you won't remember my name. Well, it’s like 20 years later, I don’t remember her name. I’ve been an educator ever since.” ([05:56] – Chidi)

Centering Young People in Designing Solutions

• Why Youth-Led Change Matters ([07:29])
  • Critique of traditional “diamond in the rough” narratives in education reform.
  • “Too many programs position students from historically marginalized communities as deficits…Our program is flipped. We say our students are proximate to the world's challenges, and therefore they're the best people to help us fix faulty systems.” ([09:47] – Chidi)
  • Idea genesis through focus groups directly with students—leveraging their desires for real authority and resource management.

Real-World Example: The “Net Gala” Initiative

• Empowering Student Creativity ([13:12])
  • Students developed the “Net Gala,” a play on the Met Gala, to build social networks among South Bronx youth and professionals.
  • “How do we build relationships?...Party would do it. That was swanky enough for a doctor. But it’s their music and their food…we do it every year.” ([13:25] – Chidi)
  • Alumni now challenge old paradigms and are bold, creative builders in college and beyond.
• Impact on Mindset & Community
  • Shift from “consumers” to “builders” of their own education and community networks.
  • “We're seeing students…forming study networks…opening the door for all of us to come in…they’re bettering themselves and each other.” ([15:09] – Chidi)

Rethinking Expertise, Power, and Leadership in Nonprofits

• Founders: Listening vs. Leading ([17:43])
  • “What question am I answering for Bianca?…Some of the things you think are your darlings do not answer the question…sometimes the things that you obsess and love don't answer any questions beyond your ego.” ([18:44] – Chidi)
  • Humility—actively seeking out and acting on youth feedback, even when it means discarding beloved ideas.
• Funders: Proximity & Messy Reality ([20:42])
  • Urges funders to get close to community challenges and abandon over-reliance on neat, linear theories of change.
  • “Success metrics...how do you evolve the ways in which you determine success?...Proximity is the answer.” ([22:40] – Chidi)
  • Highlights vibrant entrepreneurial activity among youth (businesses on TikTok, inventive micro-economies) often missed by traditional evaluators.

Designing Durable, Student-Centered Systems

• System Improvements through Feedback ([23:51])
  • Mapped student “journey” at NewComm to reduce “friction points” and barriers to entry.
  • Slimmed down applications led to massive rise in participation ([25:59]).
  • Built “tiers” to accommodate varying comfort and readiness levels—inclusive, not just for the “already confident.”
  • “Our systems must serve our young people. It should not just be for the sake of nonprofit, where you read it in the business school of nonprofits.” ([27:50] – Chidi)

Accelerating Agency & Belonging

• Earlier, Deeper Change ([29:04])
  • Gives youth “license to let it be wild”—accelerating creative agency in 9th grade (age 14), not college age.
  • “No healthy community can survive unless people feel safe...And you’re giving every kid that agency.” ([29:59] – Becky)

Identity, Ripple Effects & the Bigger Mission

• Identity Formation through Real Stewardship ([30:13])
  • $10,000 project is “the vessel”—the proof point young people can create impact.
  • “If they're able to do that, then anything else is possible that…I did that…now what else?...That same person is not just going to be excited about a seat at the table…they’re like, what else is possible?” ([31:00] – Chidi)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Our program is flipped. We say our students are proximate to the world’s challenges, and therefore, they're the best people to help us fix faulty systems.” – Chidi ([09:47])
• “Sometimes the things that you obsess and love don’t answer any questions beyond your ego.” – Chidi ([18:44])
• “How does the success metrics account for the real world messiness of change?…Proximity is the answer.” – Chidi ([22:40])
• “If they're able to do that, then anything else is possible…” – Chidi ([31:00])
• “Do the next best thing…It helps me have clarity of purpose…focus on the next thing and assuring that it’s accomplishing what you have intended.” – Chidi’s parting advice ([41:55])

Powerful Story: The Gift That Changed a Life ([32:10]–[39:41])

Chidi shares an emotional, never-before-publicly-told story:

• As a high schooler dreaming of Georgetown, a classmate (Jason) prematurely announces Chidi’s “acceptance” in front of the school. In a comedic twist, Chidi had not yet been accepted.
• Shortly after, he's called to the principal’s office—greeted by a group led by Charles Collie, who says: “If you go to Georgetown, I’ll pay for it.”
• Collie ultimately says, “I don’t care where you go…I'll take care of it…just call me when you're ready.”
• “I would receive a bill in the mail. I would mail it to some address. It would come back with zero and no strings attached, no nothing. And that changed my life.” – Chidi ([38:23])
• Upon Collie’s passing, Chidi discovers dozens of alumni who received the same anonymous gift, forming an informal community of opportunity multipliers.
• “Everything I do now is about opening the door for other people…I feel it’s my mission to open the door for others.” ([39:41])

Advice for the Sector & One Good Thing

• On Building Sustainable, Equitable Orgs:
  • Center strategies on those most proximate to the challenge; eliminate founder ego; relentlessly test and learn from those being served ([18:44]; [23:51]).
• For Funders:
  • Value lived experience over abstraction; accept the messiness and innovation at the grassroots ([20:15]; [22:40]).
• Chidi’s Parting Mantra:
  • “Do the next best thing. It helps me to ground myself in the moment…focus on the next thing and assure it’s accomplishing what you have intended.” ([41:55])

Timestamps for Notable Segments

• 02:42 – Chidi’s immigrant upbringing, shyness, and calling
• 05:38 – Story of becoming an educator over a banker
• 07:29 – Why youth must design change; genesis of NewComm
• 13:12 – The “Net Gala” and shifting student mindsets
• 17:43 – Advice for founders: humility, centering those served
• 20:15 – Advice for funders: proximity, creativity, flexibility
• 23:51 – Systemic application of listening, reducing friction points
• 27:50 – Warmth, belonging, and intentional inclusion at NewComm
• 32:10 – Chidi’s personal story of generosity and life-changing philanthropy
• 41:55 – Chidi’s “one good thing” and closing thoughts

Connect with Chidi & NewComm

• Chidi Asoluka: Instagram, LinkedIn (“probably the only person with those two names combined”)
• NewComm: newcomproject.org
  • Info on programs, partnerships, student projects, and monthly Supper Club
  • Open invitation to connect, partner, or support the work

Style & Tone Highlights

• Warm, open-hearted, candid (“I’m feeling spicy today” – Chidi)
• Animated storytelling, vulnerability, and humor
• Constant return to community, belonging, and lived experience
• Urgent, yet optimistic approach to the future of social impact and youth power

In summary:
This episode is a case study in modern, inclusive nonprofit leadership. Chidi Asoluka models radical humility, practical innovation, and the importance of shifting power—and resources—directly into the hands of youth to create lasting, systems-level change. His stories, insights, and methods offer a blueprint for nonprofit leaders and funders aiming to build organizations that are both durable and deeply just.

“Do the next best thing.” ([41:55])