Meet Nate Harding, founder of the Global Flourishing Catalyst Coalition. Nate, who is currently starting his MBA at Oxford University, has been a social impact strategy consultant with Bridgespan, an international education and exchange program leader with World Learning, a leadership coach, and various other roles, including Contributing Editor at innoFaith. Raised in an interracial Christian family while influenced and nurtured by a diverse religious community in Los Angeles, Nate channels all of these diverse influences toward his vision of a world where everyone flourishes.
What faith(s), if any, do you practice? How does your tradition and/or spiritual practice inspire or influence you as an innovator?
I identify as spiritual. I occasionally join other people in their religious practices when invited, though I do not formally affiliate with nor regularly practice any particular faith tradition.
I believe every relationship offers opportunities for us to learn and opportunities for us to contribute. I practice innovation by combining insights and practices across different communities, including faith communities, to strengthen how we articulate and pursue common goals.
What are you currently working on?
I am currently: an incoming Master of Business Administration (MBA) Candidate at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School; a Master of Public Service (MPS) Online Candidate part-time with the University of Arkansas’ Clinton School of Public Service, and a Global Leadership Diploma Candidate with the University for Peace’s Centre for Executive Education. I intend to use the knowledge, skills, and networks from those programs to launch an initiative called The Global Flourishing Catalyst Coalition (GFCC). The GFCC will use research on equitable systems change and research on human and environmental flourishing to support leaders who have been marginalized to refine our knowledge about “flourishing” and to spread and enhance flourishing in their communities.
What can we find you doing when you’re not working?
My “work” is to flourish, which, to me, includes living in consistent alignment with my 7 values: Consciousness, Co-Creation, Wellness , Trust , Fun , Discovery, and Practice
You can read my definitions of those values here.
Wherever I am, at any time, you will find me endeavoring to embody those values in a manner that suits the context of that moment. So, in a way, I’m always working.
Examples of ways I practice those values outside of what most people consider “work” are: playing basketball, quality time with family and friends, reading, watching, or listening to neat ideas, immersing myself in nature, and vibing with some rhythms.
What is piquing your curiosity these days?
Public communication & social (ex)change! I took a class on that topic as part of my MPS degree, and I’m interested in how engagement in purposeful dialogue and public discourse can transform people. As I prepare to launch The GFCC, I have been reflecting on how to overcome barriers like fear, segregation, language and other differences that too often impede us from engaging in those transformative interactions.
What is something you’d like help on?
Public communication & social (ex)change! Follow me on LinkedIn and/or Instagram and react and/or share comments about what the content spurs for you and suggestions for how we can strengthen our flourishing going forward.
What is something you can offer others in the innoFaith network?
I can offer information and connections, especially regarding human and environmental flourishing, field-building for equitable systems change, and global leadership and justice.
Meet an innoFaither is our series to introduce the inspiring optimists in the innoFaith world and what they’re working on and thinking about. We hope it helps you find and engage with each other across the network to advance faith-rooted social innovation and interfaith collaboration for social impact. Or just meet some cool people. Find the full series at www.innofaith.org/meet-an-innofaither.