From a special education classroom in West Philadelphia to corporate philanthropy at Vanguard, Nicholas Pascale has spent two decades building his career the same way he builds everything: through relationships.
In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Nicholas, a former SPED teacher, principal, district leader, and nonprofit consultant who now works on Vanguard's Community Stewardship team. Nicholas grew up in a working class Italian family in New York with a twin brother and parents who both worked at JFK Airport. When he was a year and a half old, his father was diagnosed with terminal leukemia and given six months to live. He fought for ten and a half years.
That early confrontation with loss shaped everything. Nicholas knew by first grade he wanted to be a teacher after Mrs. Kennedy knelt beside him on his first day apart from his twin brother and told him it was going to be okay. As a principal, he built school culture around reconciliation, insisting that adults model the same forgiveness they ask of thirteen year olds. When he pivoted to HR at a startup and got laid off, the relationships he had been building for years carried him into consulting with Bellwether, Albuquerque Public Schools, and DCPS.
Ron and Nicholas also go deep on what it means to maintain relationships over time, why financial literacy belongs in schools alongside health education, and how a volunteer role at Vanguard led Nicholas back to education through corporate philanthropy.
Tune in to hear why the only legacy that lasts is the way you make people feel.
Chapters:
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02:34 Meet Nicholas Pascale: relationships as a way of life
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08:20 Growing up in a working class Italian family in Queens
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09:55 Dad diagnosed with leukemia at one and a half: ten years of fighting
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14:12 Mom held the load as a single parent after dad passed
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16:45 Mentor, financial literacy, and how mom retired at 55
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18:44 Mrs. Kennedy in first grade: deciding to be a teacher at seven years old
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23:36 Building school culture around reconciliation: kids come first
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33:27 From schools to ed consulting: Bellwether, DCPS, and Albuquerque
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42:32 How a volunteer role at Vanguard led back to education through philanthropy
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48:25 The simplest relationship strategy: just reach out and tell people you love them
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52:55 The Ronderings: life is measured in love and kindness through relationships
Links:
Connect with Nicholas on LinkedIn to follow his work in corporate philanthropy at Vanguard and his continued commitment to education and community.
Episode 89
