Most educators start with content. Renee Koster starts with the outcome. Learning Experience Design for Changemakers is a podcast for nonprofit leaders and heart-led entrepreneurs who want to design learning experiences that engage, transform, and last. No hustle culture. No quick fixes. Just purposeful design that serves your learners and scales your impact.
Learning Experience Design for Changemakers
Claim This Podcastby Renee Koster, Learning Design Strategist
5.0(4 reviews)
11 episodes
Updated Daily
Accepts GuestsHas SponsorsLocation 🇺🇸
Podcast Overview
Most educators start with content. Renee Koster starts with the outcome. Learning Experience Design for Changemakers is a podcast for nonprofit leaders and heart-led entrepreneurs who want to design learning experiences that engage, transform, and last. No hustle culture. No quick fixes. Just purposeful design that serves your learners and scales your impact.
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
6/1/2026
1 verified contact email on file for Learning Experience Design for Changemakers
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Recent Episodes
August 5, 2026
Episode 010: Kindness Isn't a Skill You Teach — It's One You Model — Krista Spadt on raising empathetic kids one Smile Bag at a time.
<p>What if teaching kindness was as simple as a drop of food coloring in a glass of milk? </p><p>In this episode, Renee sits down with Krista Spadt, founder of The Simple Gifts Project, to talk about how one nonprofit turns small gestures into hospital care packages — and how packing those bags changes the kids doing the packing just as much as the kids receiving them.</p><p><strong>In this episode:</strong></p><ul><li>How a 501(c)(3) nonprofit grew out of a $100 candy cane fundraiser and one family's hospital stay</li><li>What's actually inside a Smile Bag, Teen Bag, and Parent Bag — and why each is designed differently</li><li>Why teaching empathy to second graders is trickier than it sounds (and the one demo that finally makes it click)</li><li>What happens when high schoolers ask "what else can I do?" after just one volunteer shift</li><li>Why farmers markets and big events under-delivered compared to word-of-mouth and organic referrals</li><li>The neighborhood yard sale that turned into 320 donated care bags</li><li>Krista's simple answer for anyone who wants to bring more kindness into their own life this week</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Timestamps:</strong></p><p>[0:00] Meet Krista Spadt & The Simple Gifts Project</p><p>[1:00] Inside the care bags: Smile, Teen & Parent Bags</p><p>[3:00] The hospitals they serve — and how the need has shifted</p><p>[4:00] The origin story: candy canes, a hospital stay, and a 2017 leap</p><p>[7:00] What packing a bag teaches kids about empathy</p><p>[10:00] A shared memory: Girl Scouts and Meals on Wheels</p><p>[13:00] The milk-and-food-coloring lesson that makes kindness visible</p><p>[17:00] What actually gets people to say yes to partnering</p><p>[22:00] Why small acts are the whole point</p><p>[24:00] How to get involved with Simple Gifts Project</p><p><strong>Guest bio:</strong></p><p>Krista Spadt is the founder of The Simple Gifts Project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit she launched in 2017 after 25 years in education. The organization fills and donates Smile Bags, Teen Bags, and Parent Bags to hospitals across the Philadelphia suburbs, partnering with schools, Scout troops, and families to spread kindness "one smile at a time."</p><p><strong>Learn more / get involved:</strong> simplegiftsproject.org</p><p><strong>Instagram:</strong> https://www.instagram.com/simplegiftsproject | <strong>Facebook:</strong> https://www.facebook.com/simplegiftsproj</p><p><strong>Resources mentioned:</strong></p><ul><li>The Simple Gifts Project — simplegiftsproject.org</li><li>CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia)</li><li>Doylestown, Grandview, and Abington Hospitals</li></ul><p><br></p><p>If this episode resonated, subscribe to Learning Experience Design for Change Makers and leave a review — and go check out simplegiftsproject.org to get your school, troop, or family involved in packing a Smile Bag.</p>
July 29, 2026
Episode 009: More Content Isn't Helping Your Students, It's Hurting Them — Why generosity without structure buries your best material instead of delivering it.
<p>You’ve built the milestones. </p><p>You’ve built the engagement. </p><p>Now here’s the last piece of the puzzle: how much content actually belongs in your course — and it’s probably less than you think.</p><p><br /></p><p><strong>In this episode:</strong></p><ul><li><p>Why "more content feels safer" is actually avoidance dressed up as thoroughness</p></li><li><p>The fuel analogy that shows exactly how much content each milestone needs (hint: it’s not the same amount every time)</p></li><li><p>Why unused content isn’t wasted — it just belongs on a different tree in your ecosystem</p></li><li><p>A real case study: how Teresa trimmed her "Becoming Her" membership without re-recording most of it</p></li><li><p>The five questions to run on any piece of content you’re not sure belongs</p></li><li><p>How this final piece completes the full Roots to Canopy framework</p><p><br /></p><p><strong>Timestamps</strong></p></li></ul><ul><li><p>[00:00] Recap of the Roots to Canopy series + today’s topic: content</p></li><li><p>[01:00] Content is fuel, not the vehicle — why "more" isn’t automatically better</p></li><li><p>[02:00] The public speaking course example — how much content each milestone actually needs</p></li><li><p>[04:00] Why leftover content isn’t lost — it belongs somewhere else in your ecosystem</p></li><li><p>[06:00] Generosity without structure vs. milestones with direction</p></li><li><p>[07:00] The "give each topic its own tree" principle</p></li><li><p>[08:00] Meet Theresa and her "Becoming Her" membership</p></li><li><p>[09:00] Theresa’s five questions, module by module</p></li><li><p>[10:00] What Theresa ended up with — tighter, not bigger</p></li><li><p>[11:00] Your turn: run one piece of content through the five questions</p></li><li><p>[12:00] Closing thoughts + what’s next</p></li></ul><p><br /></p><p><strong>Links & Resources Mentioned</strong></p><ul><li><p>Roots to Canopy, Episode 6 — Roots: finding your one person </p></li><li><p>Roots to Canopy, Episode 7 — Trunk: your A to B and milestones </p></li><li><p>Roots to Canopy, Episode 8 — Purposeful engagement </p></li><li><p>Newsletter signup: www.reneekoster.com/newsletter</p></li></ul><li><p>Reply to any email with "podcast share" in the subject line to share your results running Teresa’s five questions</p><ul><li>Teresa's Becoming Her Membership: https://shemanifestsmoney.com/</li></ul></li><p><br /></p><p>Follow the show so you don’t miss what’s next. </p><p>Reply to any email from Renee with "podcast share" in the subject line to share what you found. </p><p>Not on the email list yet? Sign up at www.reneekoster.com/newsletter.</p><p><br /></p>
July 22, 2026
Episode 008: 3 Milestones To Make Trainings Actually Work — Two real rebuilds show what happens when every action ties to a milestone.
<p>Emoji drops and polls aren't purposeful engagement — they're decoration. </p><p>In part 3 of the Roots to Canopy miniseries, Renee draws the line between engagement that just holds attention and engagement that actually reinforces what you're teaching, then rebuilds two real trainings live to prove it.</p><p><strong>In This Episode:</strong></p><ul><li><p>Why "purposeful engagement" has to do two jobs at once — earn attention AND reinforce the milestone in front of it</p></li><li><p>The one-sentence test to run on every engagement moment you build, before you build it</p></li><li><p>Why saving all the "doing" for a final project or test backfires on learners</p></li><li><p>A full rebuild of a safety training, milestone by milestone, using a real near-miss scenario</p></li><li><p>A full rebuild of a nonprofit's seasonal volunteer onboarding using the same milestone approach</p></li><li><p>Why the most "boring" trainings — onboarding, safety, compliance — need this the most</p></li></ul><p><strong>Timestamps: </strong></p><p>[~0:00] Opening — the line between decorative and purposeful engagement</p><p>[~1:00] Recap: roots, trunk, and where canopy picks up</p><p>[~2:00] The two jobs of purposeful engagement + the one-sentence test</p><p>[~3:00] Why back-loaded engagement fails learners</p><p>[~4:00] Do this now — audit your own training</p><p>[~5:00] Safety training scenario: the real problem in the room</p><p>[~6:00] Rebuilding safety training as three action-based milestones</p><p>[~9:00] Volunteer onboarding scenario: the nonprofit case</p><p>[~10:00] Rebuilding onboarding as three action-based milestones</p><p>[~12:00] The real test: fun without reinforcement is still decoration</p><p>[~13:00] Closing — name the milestone, build the moment, what's next</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Resources & Links Mentinoed:</strong></p><ul><li><p>Episode 6 — the root stage (finding "your one person") </p></li><li><p>Episode 7 — the trunk stage (A-to-B journey and milestones) </p></li><li><p>Newsletter signup — <a href="www.reneekoster.com/newslettr" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">reneekoster.com/newsletter</a> </p></li></ul><p>Follow the show so you don't miss part four. </p><p>If this gave you something to rethink in your own training, reply to any email from Renee with "podcast share" in the subject line.</p><p><br></p>
11 total episodes available
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This podcast updates daily.
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