Episode #14
014: The Women Holding Communities Together: Mendy Marsh on Humanitarian Leadership, Burnout, and Resilience
In this episode, Parul speaks with Mendy Marsh, co-founder and executive director of VOICE, whose work has been shaped by a lifelong question: why are women and girls expected to hold families and communities together while receiving so little support themselves? Mendy reflects on losing her father before she was four, growing up around domestic violence, and beginning to question injustice as a child. What followed was a life built through service, from Peace Corps work in Burkina Faso to leading UNICEF’s global work on gender-based violence in emergencies. She shares what decades of work across conflict and crisis settings taught her about women-led organizations. They are there before emergencies. They remain after outside aid leaves. They organize safety, food, care, and recovery, often while carrying trauma and exhaustion of their own. The conversation explores why funding alone is not enough, how burnout exposes the limits of carrying everything alone, and why rest, trusted networks, and leadership support belong at the center of community resilience. The result is a grounded discussion about quiet leadership, collective care, and what changes when the women holding communities together are finally supported in return. Explore more: Connect with Mendy Marsh on LinkedIn [ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mendy-marsh/ ]
