The Collaborative |
Welcome toWho We Are
Founded in 2022 by a group of Education Pioneers Fellowship alumni, the Collaborative is a close-knit community of full-time and part-time independent consultants. Our members include individuals from diverse backgrounds, offering a wide array of consulting expertise, ranging from instructional design and project management to strategic planning. While diverse in expertise and experience, all Collaborative members are committed to mission-driven work, with a majority focusing on public, nonprofit, and/or education industries.
Our Why
The Collaborative exists to create and cultivate the conditions for every member to thrive in their consulting journey. We achieve this by fostering meaningful connections, promoting collaboration, and building community. Additionally, we provide valuable professional development opportunities on topics of interest to our members, facilitate thought partnership and resource sharing, and actively promote new business connections and leads.
Our Goals
- Collaborate: Serve as each other’s collaborators, encouraging the sharing of successes, challenges, learnings, and resources.
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Refer: Refer clients to others within the network and serve as a source for subcontracting needs.
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Build Community: Build community by providing formal and informal networking opportunities with other consultants.
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Support Growth: Provide and connect the network to opportunities for professional development.
Our Core Values & Beliefs
AbundanceWe enthusiastically embrace abundance. Our members wholeheartedly believe there is more than enough work for everyone.
Collaboration
We do not enter this space as competitors but rather as collaborators and connectors, opening up doors of access and opportunity to each other.
Community
We are independent contractors, but we do not have to be alone. Our members serve as each other's coworkers and community - commiserating and celebrating with each other. We equally give and receive - if we need help, we ask for it. If we have help to give, we share it.
What Are Our Members Saying About the Collaborative?
"The learning opportunities - both formal and informal - have been invaluable. I revamped how I forecast my availability based on learnings from other Collaborative members." - Erika Hesterberg, Erika Hesterberg Consulting
| "When I first started as a consultant, I gained so much perspective from the veterans of the group around concrete and thematic points of interest." - Linde Grubb, Loomia, LLC |
"I was contacted by a fellow Collaborative member to partner on a strategic hiring revamp and it's led to three months of compensated partnership, with an opportunity to renew!" - Shayna Mora, Mora Consulting | "The Collaborative has been my haven, offering a supportive community that understands my challenges and provides encouragement, resources, and opportunities that propel me forward." - Tenesha Villanueva, Villanueva Consulting |
"The best part of the Collaborative is bringing in experts to teach members new skills and fill knowledge gaps. It's less expensive than taking individual courses and collapses time so you can focus on winning business and finding partners. Plus, it's a great community that celebrates wins and helps keep people focused" - Nile Harris, Harris Ventures Group | "I came across a substantial RFP which required a team. I found a Collaborative member who was a perfect fit, who happened to know two others to round out our team. We collaborated closely to assemble the proposal and made it to the final stages of team selection. While the project was postponed, we've been told they hope to work with us when it is revived." - Mike Smith, Kiptum Consulting |