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In this episode of the Executive Thought Partner Podcast, Dr. Dan Freeman sits down with Ben Dungan, founder of Hello Gaston, a hyperlocal newsletter serving Gaston County, North Carolina, to mark the publication's nearly two-year anniversary. Ben shares the origin story behind Hello Gaston, an idea he carried for nearly a decade before finally launching it during a "perfect storm" of new fatherhood, financial pressure, and a decision to stop waiting for the "right time." He reflects on what makes Gaston County special: not any single landmark, but the collection of people, personalities, and small-town character across its 13 municipalities, comparing it to the ensemble charm of shows like Andy Griffith and Northern Exposure.

The conversation digs into the mechanics of sustaining a newsletter for two years: curating (rather than breaking) news, sourcing content daily from Facebook, Instagram, and community tips, and deliberately staying positive, apolitical, and crime-free. Ben talks candidly about the discipline consistency requires, the doors the newsletter has opened (including reconnecting with a hundred-year-old family farm turned wedding venue), and closes with advice for aspiring creators: stop overthinking, take the first step, use the tools available, and above all, hold onto a human voice as AI reshapes content creation. The episode ends with a look at Hello Gaston's growth, now hovering around 2,400 subscribers.

Subscribe: https://hellogaston.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Connect: www.linkedin.com/in/thebendungan

Email: hello@hello-gaston.com

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Most nonprofits assume they're too small to matter to hackers — and that assumption is exactly what makes them a target.

In this episode of the Executive Thought Partner Podcast, Dr. Dan Freeman sits down with Trey Tucker of ATNET to unpack why nonprofits have quietly become one of the most attractive targets for cybercriminals. They cover the real mechanics of an attack — from AI-sharpened phishing emails that are nearly impossible to spot, to deepfake scams that have cost organizations hundreds of thousands of dollars — and why volunteers and board members, often overlooked in security training, end up being the weakest link in the chain.

The conversation moves from the scary stuff to the practical: what cyber insurance actually covers (and where the gaps are), why password managers and MFA are non-negotiable basics, and a rundown of free or deeply discounted tools — from Microsoft 365 nonprofit pricing to CISA's free phishing simulations — that make real protection possible even on a shoestring budget. Trey closes with a stat that reframes the whole conversation: small businesses are compromised every 31 seconds in the U.S. This episode is a clear-eyed, non-alarmist look at what it actually takes to protect your donors, your team, and your mission.

Website: https://expertip.net/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trey-tucker/?skipRedirect=true

Explanatory Video: https://www.youtube.com/@CyberCastbyAT-NET

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📝 If you're reading this and you're in the higher ed, collegiate athletics, or general nonprofit field, I'd love for you to take my survey.

Available for Speaking I'm selectively available for keynotes, leadership retreats, and executive panels on decision-making, organizational culture, and leadership identity. If you're building a lineup for your next event, I'd love to be in that conversation.

→ Reach out at dan@fsgventures.biz or YourExecutiveThoughtPartner.com

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In Episode 13, Dan explores what it means to lead when you're not the one at the front of the room. Drawing on an experience early in his fundraising career—covering multiple schools while a colleague led the group—he unpacks how he learned to find value in the "back row": understanding his role, cultivating relationships, and contributing to a team's success without needing to be the one steering it. From there, Dan builds out his theory of horizontal leadership using his "balcony, stage, and audience" framework, explaining why the sharpest intelligence in any room often comes from stepping back, watching, and listening rather than performing at the front.

Dan gets tactical about what "viewing from the back" actually looks like in practice: sitting in on meetings with a pen and paper instead of a laptop, resisting the urge to fill silence with your own comments, and staying genuinely curious about what's happening rather than managing the room. He also digs into the responsibility that comes with a leadership seat: radically accepting you can't control everything, avoiding reactive decisions driven by adrenaline, and making sure every voice on a team actually gets heard. Whether you're a CEO, an executive director, a middle manager, or a fundraiser leading indirectly because you don't have the title yet, this episode makes the case that leading from where you are is still leading.

Support the show

Connect with Dan

📝 If you're reading this and you're in the higher ed, collegiate athletics, or general nonprofit field, I'd love for you to take my survey.

Available for Speaking I'm selectively available for keynotes, leadership retreats, and executive panels on decision-making, organizational culture, and leadership identity. If you're building a lineup for your next event, I'd love to be in that conversation.

→ Reach out at dan@fsgventures.biz or YourExecutiveThoughtPartner.com

If you made it this far, I'd love to schedule time to connect with you.

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