A New Chapter for Project Invent
Dear Project Invent community,
Since 2018, Project Invent has been a product of thousands of donors, teachers, and supporters who believe in empowering the next generation to change the world. As our society faced challenge after challenge in race, climate, and public health over the past few years, our students and their innovation and passion have been a flashlight of hope.
This is why building Project Invent has been overwhelmingly the greatest joy of my lifetime. In the past four years, we’ve grown from one to 70 schools and 7 staff, impacting hundreds of students along the way. You, as the Project Invent community, made this possible.
In June, I will be stepping down as the Executive Director, and welcoming a new leader into the role. We have ambitious plans moving forward, as we quadruple our impact to 4000 students by 2024. We are now beginning the search for a new Executive Director who will launch our organization into this new chapter of growth.
As for me, as a full-time graduate student in addition to my role at Project Invent, my goal is to pass on the torch to an Executive Director who can dedicate all of their energy to growing this organization. I will continue to be involved in Project Invent, contributing on a strategic level towards our mission. I am forever humbled by the trust that you as supporters have instilled in me to steward this impact for the past four years, and am looking forward to this new era of Project Invent.
For the next six months, I will be working closely with the board and a search firm dedicated to finding equity-focused leaders in our Executive Director search. We are determined to find the right leader to grow Project Invent’s impact, position the team to flourish, and champion our equity goals to reach all students, especially those in under-resourced schools. In a time of new opportunities, we appreciate your partnership in finding and welcoming new leadership into Project Invent. We can’t wait to introduce a new Executive Director to you in Spring 2022, and we are so grateful for your continued support of empowering young innovators!
Forever yours,
Connie Liu
Project Invent Founder
On behalf of Project Invent’s Board of Directors, I am writing to let you know that our Founder and Executive Director, Connie Liu, has decided to step down after four outstanding years leading Project Invent.
Connie will stay on as Executive Director through June 30, 2022, continuing to lead us in service of our mission to empower students with the 21st-century skills to succeed individually and impact globally, through invention. A June transition ensures sufficient time for an inclusive search and selection process as well as a smooth transition of leadership. The Board thanks Connie for her vision, passion and leadership of Project Invent and is deeply committed to the search and transition process.
The Board has formed an Executive Director Search and Transition Working Group and has engaged Edgility Consulting, a talent consulting firm that specializes in national executive searches with an impressive track record of placing exceptional, equity-focused leaders in innovative education organizations. Edgility's Founding Partner Christina Greenberg and Recruitment Director Serena Moy will guide our search process, engaging with community partners, staff, donors, and board members to ensure that we find an outstanding leader with a passion for our mission in this next phase of growth for Project Invent.
The Board is confident that we will find an Executive Director to build on the successes Connie and the Project Invent team have built over the past four years. We are grateful for Connie’s vision and leadership and know that she will continue to be a champion of Project Invent well beyond her transition.
With gratitude,
Aragon Burlingham
Project Invent Board Chair
