Faculty-in-Residence
A multi-week residency with the researchers shaping our field
Throughout the year, we invite a leading researcher or practitioner to spend 4-6 weeks in residence with our community. A residency — a multi-experience, sustained arc where we go deep on their research, their point of view, and what it means for the rest of us doing this work.
Think of it the way a university hosts a visiting scholar, or the way Vegas books a headliner for a season.
For 4-6 weeks at a time, one voice, explored through multiple angles.
How a residency works
Each residency follows the same structure, moving from conversation to published thinking to a live, member-driven finale.
1. The Keynote (podcast · 30 min). We open with a wide-ranging interview on our flagship podcast — the ideas, the career, the big argument. This one’s free and public, because it’s how we invite new people into the conversation.
2. The Exploration (podcast · 30 min). This members-only episode goes beneath the headline and into the research itself — the methods, the surprises, the data behind the ideas.
3. Original articles. Each resident writes two pieces exclusively for Speaking Engagement. The first is personal and foundational — why this research, why now, and why they’ve pursued it the way they have. The second is forward-looking — what the findings actually mean for our field, and what we should do differently because of them. One frames the person; the other frames the stakes.
4. Clips & highlights. Between the long-form pieces, we release cut-downs from both podcasts
5. The Symposium (live stream). The residency closes with a live, member-led roundtable. Rather than another interview, a small panel of Speaking Engagement members brings the questions, and Ryan guides the conversation. It’s the part that makes this ours: members don’t just listen to the expert — they get to interrogate the ideas alongside them.
What members get
Free subscribers get the Keynote and the first article — the front door to each residency.
Members get the whole residency: the Exploration podcast, both original articles, the clip drops, and a seat at the Symposium — including the chance to be one of the panelists asking the questions.
Who the faculty are
We look for researchers and practitioners whose ideas are reshaping how our field understands itself, and who are generous enough to teach in public.
Our first two residents share something telling in common: both argue that our sector has been measuring the wrong thing.
Current & upcoming faculty
Mallory Erickson — Aug 17 – Sep 25, 2026 — Creator of the What the Fundraising podcast and author of the book by the same name. Mallory makes the case that the fundraiser — not the donor — is the leading indicator of fundraising success.
Symposium Live Stream: Sept. 23 from 11:30 am 12:30 pm ET
Members - More about Mallory’s Residency
Dr. Jay Le Roux Dillon — Oct 5 – Nov 13, 2026 — Creator of the Alumni Identity™ framework and Chief Alumni Officer at UC Berkeley. Jay’s research argues that giving is an expression of identity and that the numbers most teams track are hiding their best donors.