RESCHOOL: Amy Anderson - How to Lead Innovation Within a System That Feels Stuck
“When you understand the humans and the interests, needs, desires, and context within which they function, you can design systems that reflect those needs.” - Amy Anderson
How do you innovate within a system that has been stagnant for years?
This is the question that guides Amy Anderson’s work as Executive Director of RESCHOOL Colorado—a nonprofit committed to creating an equitable education system where students can learn everywhere, ensuring all young people have access to diverse and meaningful learning opportunities.
For any nonprofit leader, innovation can feel incredibly challenging. It's hard enough to devise a solution to a need and then build it to scale. But once that system is established, it can become even more difficult to lead change within it.
In this conversation, you’ll hear:
- Honest reflections on the challenges of scaling a nonprofit
- Insights about balancing organized systems with bold change
- And direction on how to build systems that are responsive to current needs
If you’re wrestling with the big questions around scaling your nonprofit, leading change within established systems, and achieving the adaptability you need to reach the next level, this episode is for you.
Links
Key Takeaways
- Even when you know it will move slowly, you can lead change. You can be the one who spots what's broken or imagines a better way forward. Your unique perspective is a superpower, giving you the clarity to ask bold questions, lead with confidence, and rally your team around a better, more purposeful future.
- Build systems that are actually responsive to people. We really appreciated the way Amy talked about human-centered design. You don’t always need to tear everything down and start from scratch. Sometimes it’s about gradually evolving the systems you already have, making them more flexible, more adaptive, and more in-tune with the real needs of the people they're meant to serve.
- Scalability will look different for every organization. There’s no one-size-fits-all path that your nonprofit has to follow in order to grow. The right path for your organization depends on who you are, where you’re going, and even the programs already getting the most traction. When you take the time to do the inward work necessary to gain clarity on these questions, you can determine your next steps forward with more confidence.
Meet the Guest
Amy Anderson co-founded RESCHOOL Colorado in 2013 and became the Executive Director in 2018. Her life’s work has been to ensure that our systems of learning offer options that are responsive to the interests and needs of the families they serve, with a particular focus on families who face greater barriers to accessing opportunities.
Earlier in her career, Amy led groundbreaking work in a variety of education-focused organizations, including online and blended learning initiatives at the DK Foundation, state and national education policy and school finance projects with APA Consulting, new school development for the Colorado League of Charter Schools, and working with educators to launch the nation’s first charter schools in the early ‘90s at Designs for Learning in St. Paul, MN.
Amy has served on numerous education and nonprofit boards at the state and national levels throughout her career. She currently serves as Chair Emeritus of the Aurora Institute’s Board of Directors.
Amy holds a Ph.D. and M.Ed. from the University of Colorado and a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin.
