I’m in the business of understanding how systems—administrative, financial, social, legal and technological—shape the world around us, and how they can be leveraged to improve the human condition. My work as a MacArthur program officer focused on new media and learning, the challenges of vulnerable young people transitioning to adulthood, and systems reform in education, juvenile justice and adult criminal justice. As strategy lead for the Raikes Foundation's student agency portfolio, I helped envision, design and launch a series of research-practice partnerships—including the Mindset Scholars Network and the Carnegie Student Agency Improvement Community—that serve as a national knowledge architecture for the mindsets field. I currently work as a consultant for major funders investing in deeper learning, social emotional learning, "non-cognitive factors," and other education sector strategy. Though my career has included a diversity of roles and settings, I’ve always looked for dynamic environments and issues—places where the interaction of different systems, networks and information can result in innovation.Specialties: strategic planning, writing, public speaking, management (program/portfolio), facilitation, budget and finance, network analysis