Education · Strategy work sample
Aligning four boards without flattening four communities
A charter network moving from centralized governance to a regionally anchored model needed one message and four distinct local voices at the same time. This is the 60–90 day plan I wrote for it — plus the community meeting plan that sits underneath it.
- Context
- Connecticut charter school network
- Brief
- Managing Director, External Affairs
technical assignment - Deliverables
- Leadership memo · Stakeholder meeting plan
The brief
Two deliverables, written as a technical assignment for a Managing Director of External Affairs search: a memo to the senior leadership team on strengthening board alignment across the state, and a persuasive meeting plan for a first conversation with a respected community advocate for immigrant and low-income families.
Both problems are the same problem in different clothing — how a mission-driven organization earns standing with people who have no obligation to give it.
Board alignment strategy
The network was transitioning from a historically centralized governance structure to a more regionally anchored, locally responsive model across four distinct charter boards. The risk in that transition is not disagreement — it is drift: four boards telling four versions of the same story to overlapping audiences.
- Listen for the first 60 days. One-on-one listening sessions with trustees to understand concerns about the new model and the unique history of each board's community. Trustees skeptical of the shift need to feel they are shaping the solution, not adopting someone else's.
- Center a shared message. Mission alignment, academic excellence, equity, community engagement, and political advocacy — the five things every board should be able to speak to, in its own words.
- Convene quarterly. Joint sessions bringing board chairs and key trustees together to review progress, surface community feedback, and coordinate external messaging, while still honoring each board's local voice.
- Equip the ambassadors. A media toolkit with key messages, FAQs, guidance for engaging elected officials and community stakeholders, and a calendar of major events — plus coaching on media interactions, community listening, and inclusive storytelling.
- Partner, don't parallel. Close alignment with the Managing Director of Board Relations & Governance so external affairs reinforces governance work rather than competing with it.
“Leaders who can speak confidently and authentically about the organization's impact strengthen both advocacy and public trust.”
The community meeting: one hour, five parts
The second deliverable was a minute-by-minute plan for a first meeting with a community advocate who serves exactly the families the network serves. The structure is deliberate — nothing is asked for until the second half.
Minutes 0–15 · Listen
Thank her for her advocacy. Ask how families are doing and what she sees as the real barriers. Take notes. Look for the common bonds.
Minutes 15–35 · Connect
Introduce the mission and map it to what was just heard — anchored in a real student success story from her own community, researched in advance.
Minutes 35–45 · Align
Define what the ideal partnership looks like from her side, and reflect it back against shared goals. Lay the foundation for a joint community open house.
Minutes 45–60 · Commit
Name what each side brings — school leaders, bilingual staff, and clear admissions information on one side; venue, co-branding, and 50 families on the other — and surface the barriers to delivering it, from date and time to childcare and food.
Handling the tension
The assignment also asked what happens when it goes badly. If an advocate arrives carrying negative things she has heard, the move is not to deflect: thank her for raising them, invite as much detail as she is comfortable sharing, correct what is inaccurate, and acknowledge what is true. The goal is to address concerns transparently and build trust through follow-through, not to win the exchange.
With long-standing trustees, the predictable tension is autonomy — a fear that shared messaging means surrendered local identity. The answer is constant, two-way communication: listening to the concern and explaining the reasoning behind each decision, repeatedly, until the framework feels co-authored.
Why education
External affairs in education directly determines which families know their options. That is a communications problem with real consequences, and it demands the same urgency, accountability, and mission focus I have operated within throughout a government and higher-education career.
My time with a Division I university athletics department gave me direct experience in an academic institutional environment — managing media, community engagement, and brand storytelling for a high-visibility program. Municipal work added board dynamics, elected-official relationships, and the discipline of public-facing trust.