Founder/Author/Senior Consultant

Dr. Cyd C Howard, DBA, MBA, PMP

Her passion for serving those in need is deeply rooted in lived experience. She knows how difficult it can be to ask for help—because she has been there. At one point in her life, she found herself being a 27 year old single mother raising her two children and her sister’s four children in a small two-bedroom apartment. She often worked two jobs and still struggled to make ends meet.

Nonprofit workers were a lifeline during that time. With grace, compassion, and without judgment, they helped her family with food, clothing, and utility assistance. Their kindness gave her hope and reminded her that she was not alone. She never forgot the, “Super Heros” that God placed in her life. She promised herself that she would always offer a helping hand regardless of her socioeconomic status. She knew that she could be of help to someone.

In recent years, She began to notice something troubling—fewer nonprofit workers and more people in need. Conversations with former nonprofit workers revealed a trend: many had left the sector due to exhaustion, burnout, and poor leadership. That reality fueled her commitment to become an expert with a focus on Nonprofit Leadership and Management.

Dr. Howard is a recognized expert in nonprofit leadership and workforce well-being. She holds a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA), specializing in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from Liberty University, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Faulkner University, and she is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) by way of the Project Management Institute (PMI), she combines scholarly research and practical insight.

Today, her work is dedicated to supporting and nurturing those nonprofit professionals who supported her and so many others. She advocates for emotionally healthy, sustainable workplaces and help organizations build cultures where care, compassion, and strategic leadership are at the center of impact.

As the authur of Exhausted but Essential, she equips organizations to address burnout, improve leadership, and create sustainable impacts. Her work is rooted in faith, resilience, and the belief that nonprofit workers deserve the same support they so freely give.

Nonprofit organizations are the heart of community service, driven by mission, compassion, and purpose. Yet behind the noble goals lies a pressing challenge that threatens not only individual well-being but also organizational effectiveness.

Exhausted but Essential explores the deep-rooted issues that lead to burnout in the nonprofit sector and how it impacts long-term performance. We begin with understanding what burnout is, and why it matters now more than ever.

In communities around the world, nonprofit organizations serve as a lifeline—providing food to the hungry, shelter to the unhoused, education to the underserved, and advocacy to the unheard. These organizations often operate with limited resources but boundless passion, driven by missions that matter. Yet behind the scenes of this essential work lies a growing crisis that too often goes unnoticed: burnout among nonprofit workers.

Nonprofit professionals are celebrated for their commitment, resilience, and compassion. But that same commitment can become a double-edged sword. Chronic overwork, emotional strain, inadequate compensation, and unrelenting expectations have created a perfect storm for burnout—leaving dedicated employees physically exhausted, emotionally depleted, and, at times, disillusioned.

Burnout is not just a personal issue. When it becomes pervasive within an organization, it erodes team morale, disrupts services, weakens leadership, and ultimately compromises the very mission it seeks to uphold. And yet, in many nonprofits, burnout remains a taboo topic—something to be endured, not examined or addressed.

This book was born out of a desire to break that silence.