Community Matters is a firm dedicated to ensuring the success of children, youth, families, and communities by supporting organizations and leaders striving for change. Its co-founders and partners are Andrew Bundy and Elaine (Lainy) Fersh. At Community Matters (CM), we help leaders and senior teams… …solve complex problems …build capacity and improve practice, and …articulate and publish core lessons from their work. CM’s clients lead efforts in education, government, philanthropy, and the nonprofit sector. We work with individuals and teams across the US, from Florida to Chicago, from rural New England, to Denver, to New York City. Recently, our clients have asked CM to: -- Help the mayor of a major US city map a pathway to universal pre-kindergarten; -- Enable national philanthropies to evaluate the impact of their work, and change; -- Co-develop and lead in-depth professional learning experiences for leaders; -- Facilitate labor-management-driven improvement in urban school districts; -- Co-create and convene learning communities in education, policy and advocacy; -- Write up and publish innovations in education, employment, and social services; -- Coach leaders facing personal challenges and opportunities. At every turn, the voices of the most affected guide CM's work. Students, parents and educators; advocates and providers; workers, managers and union leaders; community leaders, elected officials and funders. They consistently shape and inform our work: they have been, and continue to be, our wisest teachers. CM has deep experience with: -- Organizational Development -- Strategic Planning -- Writing & Research -- Project Design, Start-Up & Coordination -- Facilitation of Purposeful Conversations -- Coaching & Leadership Development -- Evaluation of Philanthropy