A little about LO. LO is splitting her summer between the people she loves, some solo recharging, and the traditions she looks forward to every year — equal parts adventure and rest. Where She’s Headed What She’s Reading A fiction lover through and through — crime, suspense, psychological, historical, all of it. This summer’s list […]
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A little about Cori. Cori grew up as an only child whose parents had a firm policy: they would not entertain her. So she entertained herself. She spent entire summers in the backyard figuring things out on her own, and somewhere along the way she became obsessed with a simple idea: if you practice something […]
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A little about Gina. Gina loves to read; could have some influence on why she has chosen an information-rich career. While Gina is relatively slow when she reads, she soaks up lots of details. It doesn’t take long into a social conversation with her to see she has retained a broad spectrum of knowledge about […]
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A little about Amy. Amy is a speed reader (yes, that was actually a competition she entered as a kid). These days, finding time to sit with a good book takes more intention than it used to, but she makes it happen. Her sweet spot is historical fiction or a great beach read, books that […]
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Cameras on. Agenda shared. You ran everything smoothly. But why does it feel like half the room wasn’t really there? We hear it from nonprofit directors and school leaders all the time: ‘We do everything right. We send the agenda. We use breakout rooms. We ask for input. But something’s still missing.’ The missing piece […]
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Your team smiled through the icebreaker. Laughed at the happy hour. And forgot both by Monday morning. Culture doesn’t stick from events. It sticks from tradition. We hear it constantly from nonprofit directors and school leaders: “We care about culture. We just can’t seem to make it stick.” The problem isn’t effort or intention. It’s […]
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Background The Opportunity Trust, a St. Louis-based organization committed to expanding high-quality public school options, was awarded a five-year Charter Schools Program (CSP) State Entities (SE) grant. From the start of the grant, they joined a national community of practice led by Lumen, where other SE grantees gathered to discuss implementation challenges, share resources, and […]
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By Gina Schlieman, Partner at Lumen Impact Group When your school engages in its annual planning cycle, it can be tempting to focus on the requirements. Reviewing metrics, filling out forms, and discussing outcomes around a board or conference room table can feel monotonous and dry when it’s about checking boxes. With this mindset, School […]
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By Cori Egan, Partner At Lumen Impact Group, we take data collection seriously, but not stiffly. One of the Lumen Ladies said it best in a recent team meeting: good data starts with making people comfortable and asking good questions. That simple reminder guides everything we do, from a hallway conversation with a teacher to […]
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Imagine you’ve built a sturdy, beautiful bridge across a deep river. It’s changed everything for your community, connecting people, opening up opportunities, and making daily life easier. Naturally, others want a bridge just like it. But handing them a photo or a list of materials won’t be enough. To replicate it, they’ll need your blueprints, […]
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By Gina Schlieman, Partner at Lumen Impact Group Students are taking end-of-year assessments, which means summer is almost upon us, and teachers, school administrators, students, and parents are in the home stretch. We’re all looking forward to warmer weather, a change in routine, and a break from school. But there’s important work to be done […]
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At Lumen, we work with many teams that are growing and changing, and we see time after time the importance of strong organizational values that guide who is hired and how the team works together. Stephanie and Lisa sat down to have a conversation about the process of building a strong team and organizational values at Lumen Impact Group. In this conversation, we […]
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