NGO Soul + Strategy 090. Technology, Land Rights, and Leadership: A Conversation with Amy Coughenour Betancourt, CEO of Cadasta
Show Notes
Summary
Land rights are at the heart of building a sustainable and equitable future. Yet securing these rights—especially for marginalized communities—remains a profound global challenge.
In this episode of NGO Soul + Strategy, I sit down with Amy Coughenour Betancourt, President and CEO of Cadasta, a global social innovation organization dedicated to advancing affordable, accessible land rights documentation.
Drawing on her leadership at the intersection of technology, social innovation, and global nonprofit management, Amy and I explore the unique opportunities and challenges Cadasta faces as a technology-forward organization working closely with Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and governments.
We also address a timely leadership question: how nonprofits can respond to increasingly challenging funding landscapes while staying aligned with mission and values.
Guest's Bio
- President and CEO of Cadasta, a leading social innovation organization
- Global Advisor, How Women Lead
- Advisory Board Member, Geospatial World
- Board Member, InterAction
- Former COO, National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA CLUSA), International
- Former Deputy Executive Director, Pan American Development Foundation
We Discuss
- What the integration of technology unlocks for advancing land rights—and the risks and limitations it brings
- How Cadasta approaches its role as an ally-organization to Indigenous Peoples and locally-led land tenure groups
- The leadership challenge of navigating downward trends in nonprofit funding across Europe and the US
- How leaders can respond strategically to funding shifts while identifying new opportunities for mission-driven impact
- What it means to balance innovation with the grounded realities of community-driven change
- Lessons from Cadasta's hybrid model as both a technology provider and a global NGO
Quotes
“We need to be technology-forward but always community-centered.”
"Responding to a changing funding landscape requires not just resilience—but also creativity and adaptability.”
Resources