Jonathan Reckford, CEO at Habitat for Humanity International, joined Elon students, faculty and families in LaRose Digital Theatre on Feb. 6 for a conversation on leadership, values and business as a force for good.
A campus conversation hosted by the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business brought together Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International, and Kevin Trapani, executive in residence, in LaRose Digital Theatre on Feb. 6 as part of the proposed Center for Humanity in Business.
Trapani invited Reckford to open the conversation by reflecting on the influences that shaped his leadership across business and nonprofit work.
Reckford began by pointing to his grandmother, Millicent Fenwick, a former member of the U.S. Congress, who challenged him early to think about purpose.
“She would quote her favorite verse from the Bible, Micah 6:8,” Reckford said. “Then she would ask me what I was going to do to be useful.”
That question stayed with him as he navigated a career path that was anything but linear.
“I was going to go to law school and go into politics,” Reckford said. “And came to the shocking realization my senior year in college that I had no interest in being a lawyer, and that seemed like a lot of work if I really didn’t want to be a lawyer.”
After graduation, he entered the business world before an opportunity to live and work in Asia created space for reflection.
“It was life changing,” Reckford said. “It gave me enough space to really think about how I wanted to live my life and what values were going to guide my life.”
That period clarified his sense of vocation and shaped how he approached leadership.
“Your vocation is that place where the deep gladness of your heart meets the world’s great need,” he said.
Turning to Habitat for Humanity’s work, Reckford described how the organization broadened its focus from building homes to strengthening the systems that make housing accessible worldwide.
“We changed our framing question from how many houses can we build to what would it take to address the housing need,” he said.
Reckford also reflected on the leadership lessons he has carried through his years with Habitat for Humanity, including time spent building alongside former President Jimmy Carter.
“One of the great privileges of my life was spending a week with President Carter every year building somewhere in the world,” he said.
Carter’s example surfaced again as Reckford reflected on integrity.
“I was with President Carter with some of the richest, most powerful people in the world and some of the least powerful people in the world,” he said. “And he’s always the same human.”
He closed by encouraging students to lead with purpose and consistency.
“My hope and prayer for every one of you,” Reckford said, “is that you will find the joy of being useful.”