Episode 02 Karen Monahan: Influencing without Authority

What I love about my conversation with Karen Monahan is how practically she dismantles the idea that a creative life and a commercial one are at odds. She’s proof that vision, strategy, and a healthy relationship with money are what let you get your work into the world, and she’s unafraid to treat fundraising and financial resilience as creative acts. What stayed with me most was her belief in funding the founder, her nurse’s gift for triage under pressure, and the truth she’d whisper to her younger self: you’re allowed to shine, and to enjoy the win.