At Substantial we are working to unlock the potential of substitute teaching. A key to unlocking the potential of substitute teaching is providing real PD and support to working subs. That's why we built SubSchool, the first online course and collaboration platform for substitute teachers. Substantial emerges from Jill's time at Stanford's dSchool and design thinking is at the heart of how we work. In our design lab we test ideas with subs, teachers, schools and districts. We wrote a book called Substantial Classrooms: Redesigning the Substitute Teaching Experience to share what we've learned, both about substitute teaching systems and using human centered design in systems like public education.

The Central Office Project partners with school districts and education reform organizations on projects that aim to make school district systems work better for schools.

As COSQ Director, I led the development of a new service focused on transforming the culture and systems of school district central offices to better service school sites, designing and building an entirely new program area from the ground up. The approach combines leadership coaching, soft skills training, and process redesign consulting to deeply engage school district staff in reimaging and redesigning their own work processes. Over the course of three years, I secured and led projects totaling over $1 million dollars.

Served as internal management consultant on key district improvement projects, including increasing the substitute teacher fill rate, improving school cleanliness, increasing the reliability of the consultant contracting process and improving customer satisfaction during new hire on-boarding. Managed interdepartmental improvement teams made up of diverse stakeholders, including school-based staff, central office staff, union representatives and project consultants. Measureable results include:- Increased the percentage of substitute requests that were filled from 69% to 91% - Custodial Services recognized as most improved department on district-wide customer satisfaction survey

Provided technical assistance in the area of operational management to 14 diverse school site customers, including navigating district processes, effective management of non-instructional staff and strategic use of resources. Retained 100% of school site customers during transition from district subsidized service to market based service which required customers to use school site budget to purchase services at true cost. Developed and delivered training on a broad range of topics in a variety of formats including online training, small group workshops and large group forums.

Wrote and published original research paper entitled “Understanding the Next Generation of Nonprofit Workers: The Impact of Educational Debt." Paper presented at the 2005 Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Actions Conference, www.arnova.org, and featured in The Chronicle of Philanthropy article “A Growing Debt to Society”

Provided analysis of strategies to improve a business corridor located at the border between the city of El Cerrito and a neighboring city experiencing financial hardship and a leadership crisis.

Coordinated two local government volunteer and internship programs at the City and County of Santa Cruz. Managed program budgets, outreach and risk management for programs with over 400 volunteers. Designed and implemented successful program to link college students with local government internships.