10 Year Reception and Tailgate
We recently had the joy of gathering with more than 100 of our most dedicated supporters to celebrate LEO’s decade milestone at our annual evening reception and tailgate. The evening was spent connecting with friends old and new, reminiscing about an eventful decade, and looking forward to what’s next. One of the event’s highlights was a presentation of LEO’s top 10 moments delivered by some of the very folks instrumental in the accomplishments of the last 10 years. The festivities continued at the tailgate the following day with a musical performance, a piñata, selfie frames, and so many incredible supporters. Thank you to all who joined us for this truly memorable weekend.
Updates on the CASS Community of Practice
LEO’s work with The Institute for College Access & Success to create and maintain a community of practice about Comprehensive Approaches to Student Success (CASS) is a great example of how we take our research beyond the academic journal. Members of the LEO team recently spent time in D.C. at the first in-person CASS Community of Practice meeting. A few of the topics discussed included collective advocacy planning, scale and replication strategies, and lessons learned from innovative student success programs and rigorous research all over the country on what it takes to increase college completion.
Growing the Homelessness Community of Practice
Another community of practice currently growing at LEO revolves around homelessness. The group is based on the work of innovative programs and the rigorous research that makes them model programs that are now being scaled and replicated all over the country. This fall, LEO launched a new cohort of supportive housing organizations who will join the Homelessness Community of Practice and work together to design and launch impact evaluations focused on aligning housing with services that can support individuals, families, and communities in thriving. This winter, many of the organizations will launch their research stage.
Joining the Conversation with Philanthropy Roundtable
Philanthropy Roundtable is a peer network of leading philanthropists and foundations which offers resources to foster excellence in philanthropy. This October, they interviewed James Sullivan, professor of economics and LEO co-founder, and Heather Reynolds, managing director at LEO, about our work. We shared how LEO helps providers do a better job evaluating their outcomes through research. Ultimately, our goal is to help policymakers and philanthropists better allocate their resources toward these programs that have been proven effective.
Sharing Our Work With the Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate
This November, LEO’s co-founder, Bill Evans, presented at the Notre Dame’s Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate (FIRE) conference on the future of church property. Bill spoke specifically about the impact of maternity housing and our research partnership with the National Maternity Housing Coalition and the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture here at Notre Dame. Together, LEO is partnering with them to launch impact evaluations at five NMHC member agencies across the country to look for evidence of improved housing stability and birth outcomes for women and children who received maternity housing services compared with those who did not.solutions.
Upcoming LEO’s Outsmarting Poverty Event
We’re harnessing the momentum and progress of the last 10 years into our first Outsmarting Poverty event—a two-day convening bringing together service providers, policymakers, and researchers from across the country. For two days this coming April, we’ll come together to hear from dynamic keynote speakers, engage with a variety of industry experts, and connect with others doing the work to outsmart poverty. Participants will end the conference more energized and focused on utilizing best practices across the board as we work together to end poverty. Learn more here.