Mountaintop International, PO Box 73341, Washington D.C., DC (2026)

06/11/2026

How do mindsets shape the way we lead?

In May, our Founder, Reed Shafer-Ray, shared the newest essay in Mountaintop’s 12-part series on Human Infrastructure, focused on the third asset in our model: mindsets.

The essay explores how the way leaders see problems, people, power, and possibility shapes the way they act.

Mindsets influence whether we lead with scarcity or possibility, control or trust, urgency or patience, certainty or curiosity. They affect how leaders make decisions, how communities respond to challenges, and how people imagine what change can look like.

Read the essay here: https://mountaintopinternational.substack.com/p/from-the-founders-desk-human-infrastructure-849

We would love to hear from you in the comments: What is one mindset you have had to strengthen, question, or unlearn in your work?

06/08/2026

What becomes possible when people with different skills, sectors, and experiences come together around a shared purpose?

This question sits at the heart of our next Peak Perspectives session with Stephen McMahon, Chief BridgeBuilder and Co-Founder of BoardBridge, and Strategic Advisory Board Member at the NYU Stern Initiative on Purpose and Flourishing.

Stephen has spent years helping people connect their purpose, strengths, and service to real opportunities for impact. His experience spans disaster recovery, environmental service, corporate social responsibility, national service initiatives, and nonprofit leadership. His superpower is helping individuals recognize their inner superhero and connect where they are needed most.

In this conversation on Purpose and Cross-Sector Collaboration, Stephen will explore how leaders can build bridges across sectors and communities, and how purpose can make collaboration more grounded, generous, and effective.

After the session, we will host a 30-minute open networking space for participants to meet, connect, and continue the conversation.

Join us for a thoughtful conversation on purpose, partnership, and the bridges that help good work move further.

📅 Thursday, June 11, 2026
🕘 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM EDT
🤝 Networking: 10:00 AM to 10:30 AM EDT
🔗 Register here: https://forms.gle/uHHE3dybeTF4Xmvw6
📍 Find your local time here: https://shorturl.at/oi90R

05/13/2026

Last week, we hosted a powerful Peak Perspectives session with Michael Landers on Human Due Diligence.

It was a timely and deeply thoughtful conversation on Human Intelligence, how it is quietly eroding in an increasingly AI-driven world, and why leaders need to be intentional about balancing AI with HI.

Michael invited us to think beyond efficiency and automation, and to return to the human capacities that make leadership meaningful: discernment, judgment, trust, presence, empathy, and the ability to understand people. He also introduced his A-C-C (ABILITY, CAPACITY, CAPABILITY) Model, offering a practical way for leaders to think more deeply about people, roles, teams, and what strong leadership requires.

What made the session even richer was the quality of questions from the audience. Our community brought thoughtful reflections around leadership, team culture, AI, and what it means to remain deeply human while using powerful new tools.

The conversation left us reflecting on an important question:

As AI becomes more powerful and more present in our work, how do we protect and strengthen the human intelligence that helps us lead with wisdom, care, and responsibility?

Thank you, Michael, for bringing so much clarity, depth, and heart to this conversation.

If you joined us live, we would love to hear from you: How are you thinking differently about Human Intelligence after this conversation?

05/08/2026

Last week, our Founder and CEO Reed Shafer-Ray was invited to present Mountaintop's research at the opening ceremony of the Impact Fellowships Summit, an annual flagship convening led by IREX where fellowship leaders and designers gather to learn, share, and co-create the future of fellowships.

In research funded by W.K. Kellogg Foundation and implemented by IREX, Mountaintop International shows that Fellows are not just growing as leaders — their communities are seeing and experiencing that growth.

Drawing on 117 beneficiary survey responses (those served by the Fellows' work), 38 Fellow and alumni survey responses, interviews, and focus groups, the report finds that Mountaintop is cultivating a relational, systems-oriented fellowship ecosystem that helps not just emerging leaders deepen impact, but has wide-ranging ripple effects for the communities these leaders serve.

Key findings:
- 9.3/10 average beneficiary recommendation score of Fellow initiatives
- 9.1/10 average beneficiary-reported impact score of Fellow initiatives
- 91% of beneficiaries noticed their Fellows improve their leadership abilities while the Fellows participated in the Mountaintop fellowship
- 87% of Fellows and alumni developed new skills through the fellowship
- 84% of Fellows said the fellowship helped them address barriers to making change
- 97% of Fellows formed at least one meaningful connection through Mountaintop

This research went beyond Fellows’ self-reported experiences to examine whether the impact of our fellowship programs reaches the communities they serve. We were encouraged to find that, across diverse initiatives — from helping children stay in school in Nigeria to combating deforestation in indigenous communities in Indonesia — the fellowship consistently strengthened not only individual leaders, but also their organizations’ capacity to deepen and scale real impact.

Thanks to IREX, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the Impact Fellowships Network community for the opportunity to conduct research and learn within this wonderful ecosystem of fellowship leaders!

Check out our full research report in the comments!

05/05/2026

What does it mean to lead with human intelligence in a time of rapid change and AI?

Join us for our next Peak Perspectives session with Michael Landers, Founder of Culture Crossing and Co-Founder of HDD - Human Due Diligence.

For over two decades, Michael has worked with leaders and teams across five continents, helping more than 125,000 people build self-awareness, understand the hidden patterns that shape behavior, and navigate complexity with greater clarity.

In this session, Michael will explore human intelligence: what it is, why it is eroding, and what that erosion can cost leaders and organizations. He will also introduce the A-C-C model as a practical lens within his Human Due Diligence work, offering leaders a way to think more intentionally about awareness, connection, and care.

For leaders working to stay thoughtful, grounded, and human in the age of AI, this conversation is for you.

Click the link below to register, and do not miss the opportunity to learn from Michael.

📅 May 8, 2026
🕙 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM EDT
🔗 Register here: https://forms.gle/uHHE3dybeTF4Xmvw6
📍 Check the comments to find your local time.

04/29/2026

Our fourth edition of the 12-part Human Infrastructure series is out.

In this edition, our Founder, Reed Shafer-Ray, explores the second asset in Mountaintop’s human infrastructure model: relationships.

Through personal reflection, stories from Mountaintop Fellows, and examples from movements and communities, Reed reminds us that relationships are not just personal. They are the connective tissue that allows love, trust, knowledge, opportunity, and courage to move through a community.

At Mountaintop, we believe abilities determine what people can do. Relationships determine what people can do together.

And as Reed beautifully reminds us in this edition, none of us reaches the mountaintop alone.

Read the full essay here: https://lnkd.in/dmNr-4rS

04/23/2026

We are proud to share that Dr. Pius Atwau, our 2024–26 Mountaintop Anglican Fellow, and USahihi Health Group are the 2025 Mountaintop Catalyst Fund Grant recipients.

Through the Mountaintop Catalyst Fund, we offer micro grants to help Fellows strengthen and grow the initiatives they are leading in their communities.

At Usahihi Clinic in Nansana, Uganda, Pius and his team are building a community-rooted model of care that brings together general medical consultations, basic screening tests, childhood immunizations, and ongoing health education and follow up for the community they serve. Alongside the clinic, they are also integrating their Ask the Doctor mobile app, a hybrid digital and community based platform designed to improve care for immunized children and patients with non communicable diseases through personalized meal planning, health education, counseling, and one on one clinical support. The broader vision of the clinic is to make healthcare more accessible, continuous, and responsive to the people who need it most.

With support from the $2,000 Mountaintop Catalyst Fund grant, Usahihi Clinic is now working to install a Complete Blood Count (CBC) machine to strengthen their in house diagnostic services. This will be especially meaningful for children who come in for routine immunization but are unwell and need immediate blood testing so they can receive the right care without delay.

We are honored to support Pius in this next step and look forward to seeing him and his team continue to deepen care for children and families in their community.

04/19/2026

We are thrilled to introduce the Mountaintop Anglican Leaders Program, a fully funded, 11 month online leadership program supported by Trinity Church NYC. This program is designed to support Anglican leaders in strengthening their leadership, deepening their spiritual grounding, and growing their impact in their churches, organizations, and communities.

Applications are now open. This year, 30 Anglican leaders will join this shared journey from July 1, 2026 to June 1, 2027.

To learn more and apply, please visit our website: https://www.mountaintop.international/mountaintop-anglican-leaders-program

Applications close on May 17, 2026.

04/17/2026

It has been a few weeks since we wrapped the inaugural Business Executive Fellowship Intensive in partnership with the NYU Stern Initiative on Purpose and Flourishing, and we are still carrying the energy, insight, and joy of that week with us.

What we experienced together was much more than a leadership intensive. It was a week of reflection, new ideas, practical learning, honest conversations, meaningful connection, and the kind of shared experience that stays with you long after the program ends.

This Intensive would not have been possible without the incredible partnership, support, and leadership of Suzy Welch and Dustin Liu, and we are deeply grateful for all they brought to this experience.

We were also joined by an exceptional group of speakers and facilitators who challenged our Fellows to think bigger, go deeper, and lead with greater clarity and courage. Thank you to Radha Ruparell for grounding us in Inner Leadership, Dr. Graham Abbey for an engaging and practical session on Feedback and Performance, and Michael Raspuzzi for showing us what is possible with AI by helping Fellows build working AI agents in real time.

We are grateful to Allison Avery and Marina Kim for a rich conversation on creating incredible team cultures, thoughtfully moderated by Dustin Liu. Thank you to Michael Landers for leading a profound session on Human Due Diligence that invited us into deeper reflection on leadership, relationships, and how we show up in the world. And thank you to Andrew Brady for an energizing session on Leadership in Action that brought the week to a strong and memorable close.

We also want to thank Andre Moskowitz for welcoming us to Snap Inc. and helping make that experience possible for our Fellows.

A huge thank you as well to the extraordinary coaches from Becoming You Labs who helped our Fellows reflect, process, and shape their action plans with care and clarity: Cora Brady, Kelly Kennedy, Julia Zupko, Jennifer Gray, Derek Reynolds, Glen Horsfall, Lorie McCarthy, Jazmin Cabeza Katchis, Marilyn Dollar, Lola Cecilia Persons, Courtenay O’Hea, Jennifer Gewant, Carolina Lasso, Jennifer Beale, Emaan Mahmood, Kalinda Bogue, Sue Schlom, Denise Malecki, Reyn Anderson, Christine Washington, Tracy Naden, Carmen Cruz, and Elisabeth Schneider. Your presence made a real difference.

And most of all, to our inaugural Business Executive Fellows, thank you for making this experience what it was. Thank you for bringing your full selves into the room, for leaning into the learning, for reflecting with honesty, for building trust so quickly, and for making space for both depth and joy. You made this cohort incredibly special: Abigail Jones, Aleksandra Simeonova, Armando Manuel Hernandez Garcia, Bethany Hallenborg, Elizabeth Bermudez, Erica Fu, Esther Suncin, Filipe Garcia, Nachiket Apte, Nina Gebauer, Salomon Vasquez Sanchez, Sammie Walker Herrera, Vanessa Roanhorse, and Zachariah Ben.

We left the Intensive feeling deeply grateful for all who shaped it, and inspired by what this community will continue building together.

04/02/2026

Earlier this week, we shared the third essay in our Human Infrastructure series.

In this month’s piece, Reed Shafer-Ray explores the first asset in our Human Infrastructure model: Abilities.

He reflects on why abilities matter so deeply for collective flourishing, from technical skills and conflict repair to civic participation and institution building. At its core, this essay asks what communities need not just to function, but to truly thrive without remaining dependent on others to solve their problems.

Read the full essay here: https://mountaintopinternational.substack.com/p/from-the-founders-desk-human-infrastructure-8cd

We would love to hear your reflections in the comments: What abilities have made the biggest difference in your work or community?

Mountaintop International

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