What happens when a leader fails to protect their own well-being? On today’s episode, Mary Ellen Matsui shares her story of burnout from when she was the CEO at Atma, an accelerator for education nonprofits and social enterprises. She details how, during her decade-long stint there, she experienced chronic burnout, which eventually meant that she was unable to lead her organisation effectively. After much reflection and therapy, she realised that one of the most important skills a social entrepreneur can have is the ability to take care of their own well-being. Mary Ellen Matsui is currently a consultant for Goodwill and sustainable fashion initiatives, based in Ontario, Canada. From 2011–21 she was the CEO at Atma, where she spearheaded the organisation’s growth and the creation of the Atma Network, a resource-sharing and collaboration platform. Mary Ellen is a nonprofit management specialist and regularly facilitates workshops for nonprofits on leadership, fundraising, culture, and HR. She is a graduate of the Telfer School of Management and a member of the inaugural Dasra Social Impact Leadership Programme. Mary Ellen is also on the advisory board of several education organisations. Read more: Read Mary Ellen’s story on Failure Files. Read more failure stories on Failure Files. Check out some ideas and tools from Fail Forward to help your organisation take risks, learn, adapt, and fail intelligently. Understand why the social sector must recognise and talk about failure. Learn why talking about failure is crucial for growth. Want to share your failure story? Learn more about what we’re looking for here, and share your pitch/story on writetous@idronline.org The Failure Files podcast is produced by India Development Review (IDR), an online journal focused on the development sector. IDR publishes cutting-edge ideas, lessons, and insights, written by and for the people working on some of India’s toughest problems. To learn more, visit www.idronline.org