Anchored in change

… blogging for change with Trishblogs

Recent posts

• Why I Left the Boardroom to Help Rebuild It: A Nonprofit Leadership Story
  I left my job. I’m still getting used to saying that out loud. After nearly two and a half years as the first Executive Director of a new provincial association, I stepped away. I stepped back from nonprofit leadership. Not because I stopped believing in the mission — but because I couldn’t keep doing the … Read more
• Open Letter: Nova Scotia Budget 2026 Cuts to Community Programs: The True Cost of “Thoughtful Financial Decisions”
  To: Premier Tim Houston, Minister of Finance John Lohr, and Members of the Legislative Assembly From: Trish McCourt, RSW Former Executive Director, Social Worker, Non-Profit Consultant, Arts Volunteer Date: March 5, 2026 I have wrestled with whether to speak publicly about the 2026-27 provincial budget tabled on February 24th. Having just left my role as … Read more
• When Family Becomes a Stranger: Coping With Family Estrangement
  We don’t talk enough about the hard things. There are fractures in life that don’t make a sound when they happen. They start as small hairline cracks and then they grow. Sometimes you think you can repair them. Sometimes you try harder, or longer, than you should. And sometimes, despite everything, the break becomes permanent. … Read more
• Avoiding hard feelings? It’s time to stop.
  I’ve been thinking a lot about why we have to stop avoiding hard things – especially hard feelings. I’m not sure at what point in the evolution of society that hard emotions became equated with “bad”. Feeling emotion and allowing ourselves to move through them will not kill us, but we avoid them as if … Read more
• Parenting adults
  I can see how it becomes harder for parents to make friends as their children get older, especially once they children are adults themselves. We often connect with parents of their friends as we drive to a sit in the audience of events, practises, competitions, etc. Then suddenly, those “forced” interactions are no longer. Sometimes … Read more