Do Your Decisions Match Your Mission?
Small-Town Values
I grew up in Big Lake, Texas, where my parents worked in public education and taught me that hard work, honesty, and caring for others would carry you far. Those values still guide me today.
I earned a doctorate in Organizational Leadership at Pepperdine University, where my research focused on Engagement Culture—the systemic belief that intrinsic motivation, not pressure, drives real progress.
Engaging Systems Drive Growth
It's not just theory. I see what happens when people work in systems that reduce frustration and increase satisfaction. By increasing engagement among mission-oriented teams, we maximize revenue and performance... without going corporate.
That’s why I created the Reflect-Plan-Do Model for helping mission-driven organizations align performance, revenue, and impact. Intrinsic motivation creates the energy that drives growth.
What Gets Measured Is What Matters
Throughout my career, I have been the person teams call on to make sense of messy data and turn information into action.
I specialize in bridging the gap between strategy and execution, turning complex data into meaningful stories and tools that teams can actually use.
Whether I’m working with leadership on KPIs or designing dashboards for frontline staff, my goal is the same: Metrics That Move The Mission.
I help mission-driven teams tell compelling stories with data.
The Reflect-Plan-Do Matrix is grounded in my research on systemic motivation and combines my expertise in organizational leadership, data analysis, and storytelling.
Whether you’re facing a blank page or scaling what’s already working, I’m here to help.
I help teams turn raw data into meaningful stories that impress funders, engage stakeholders, and move missions forward. Partners include high-growth startups, K–12 systems, policymakers, nonprofits, and a presidential campaign.
Led Data and Analytics Strategy for a Statewide Nonprofit Newspaper:
Analyzed large datasets of website events from Google Analytics using BigQuery to identify user behavior patterns and recommend improvements, driving readership growth via shifts in editorial strategy and stakeholder messaging.
Collaborated across editorial, audience, and revenue teams to develop aligned, mission-focused metrics to replace compliance-based KPIs, elevating organization-wide data use.
Researched membership overlap between The Texas Tribune and the Austin Monitor to inform acquisition strategy for a new local media initiative.
Transformed the annual audience report into a narrative-driven tool for board and development use, prompting a CEO-requested quarterly version.
Led audience data workshops to build internal capacity and foster data fluency among reporting teams.
Additional Projects – Education, Workforce, and Public-Sector Clients:
Designed a suite of general-audience dashboards for Catapult Education Group to clarify complex economic data, helping foster youth compare postsecondary career opportunities.
Defined “quality jobs” indicators for a 2024 presidential campaign, aligning economic policy with worker experience data.
Built integrated data systems and dashboards that reduced time-to-insight from weeks to minutes.
Led districtwide data strategy to support school accountability, instructional alignment, and continuous improvement.
Designed and implemented a districtwide Operational Data Store (ODS), powering dashboards and ad hoc analysis, dramatically reducing turnaround time for insights from weeks to seconds.
Created integrated reporting systems aligning compliance requirements with strategic and revenue priorities, translating complex data into strategic insights.
Coached campus and district leaders to build capacity in data use and planning.
Advised cabinet and board leadership on state and federal accountability implications.
Managed the successful implementation of Ed-Fi ODS to improve data interoperability across departments.
Provided strategic leadership across district initiatives to improve school performance and align systems with accountability frameworks.
Led analytics strategy with a focus on Title I campuses and TEKS alignment.
Generated significant cost savings through systems improvements, enabling reinvestment in educational programs.
Served as English teacher, journalism advisor, and later as Technology Curriculum Integration Specialist, spearheading districtwide 1:1 device rollout.
Led professional development (e.g., New Teacher Academy), chaired NBHS Tech Leaders Group, and supported tech-aligned instructional planning.
Designed PBL-aligned instruction and transitioned coursework to 100% digital access for students and families.
Completed principal internship at NBHS, leading events like Tech Fest.
Served on multiple district and campus committees focused on PD, assistive tech, and improvement planning.
Taught English and advised student journalism at a Title I high school.
Served on campus redesign committees, including the Pathways & Majors Subcommittee.
Designed student-centered, project-based instruction aligned to TEKS and campus goals.
Increased publication revenue and student leadership.
Insight to Action
Accelerate decision-making by transforming raw data into strategic tools that support continuous improvement, including custom dashboards, audience-specific reports, and operational data stores. Fluent in Google BigQuery, Tableau, GA4, Cloud Console, Tag Manager, Search Console, SQL (SSMS), and SPSS to drive business intelligence.
Mission, Metrics & Money Alignment
Design evaluations, facilitate alignment analyses, and guide continuous improvement using the Reflect–Plan–Do cycle. Develop tools like the Org Type Quiz, Data Gap Audit, and Alignment Analysis to surface blind spots and connect program outcomes to revenue strategies.
Storytelling & Stakeholder Engagement
Translate complex findings into compelling narratives that inform executive, board, and public audiences. Known for creating high-impact reports, development shareables, and internal tools that increase clarity, trust, and buy-in across teams.
Research, Policy & Sector Expertise
Published scholar focused on systemic motivation, organizational leadership, and education policy. Conduct research and program evaluations that align initiatives with values and support strategic growth. Deep expertise in nonprofit systems, education and labor market data, and public policy.
Systems for Sustainable Growth
Bring a coaching mindset to cross-functional collaboration, navigating organizational complexity to deliver lasting, user-centered solutions. Use agile development to lead initiatives that bridge the gap between strategy and execution.
Officer and Board Member, Custom Coastal Outreach, 2024
Member of Texas State University Institutional Review Board (IRB) since 2016
Peer Reviewer for AERA Annual Meeting, 2023 & 2024
Founder of Engagement Culture Center, 2021
Co-founder of Gold Standard Grades, 2020
ESC XIII Curriculum Council, 2019
Effective Schools Framework Training, 2019
Organizational Leadership, Pepperdine University, Los Angeles, CA, 2021, GPA: 4.0
Educational Technology Leadership, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX, 2011, GPA: 4.0
English with Journalism Minor, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, 1999
Studied Spanish Abroad—Intensa, Barrio Escalante, San Jose, Costa RicaCertified Principal and Teacher
Adams, M. & Hearnsberger, L. M. (2024, December 30). Texas 2024: The stories that most resonated with our readers [Newspaper article]. The Texas Tribune, Austin, TX, United States. https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/30/texas-tribune-2024-popular-stories/
Everitt, P., Carney, D. & Hearnsberger, L. M. (2023, October 28-29). Countering false charter narratives [Conference panel]. Network for Public Education Action Conference, Washington, DC, United States. https://networkforpubliceducation.org/2023-conference/
Hearnsberger, L. M. (2021). Does culture eat poverty for breakfast? Exploring the role of engagement for achievement in U.S. schools [Doctoral dissertation, Pepperdine University]. https://www.proquest.com/openview/2b0ad6850dd601b2450bb33ef4cd4bfe/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y
Hearnsberger, L. M. (2024, March 18-22). Engagement culture. [New Measures and Metrics in Education Workshop]. The 14th International Conference on Learning Analytics & Knowledge, Kyoto, Japan. https://charles-lang.github.io/measures-metrics-LAK24/
Hearnsberger, L. M. & Hyatt, L. (2023, May 4-5). Engagement culture: Driving growth in high-poverty school environments by shaping assumptions that constitute truth [Conference presentation]. 2023 AERA Annual Meeting. https://doi.org/10.3102/2008069
Neal, D. & Hearnsberger, L. M. (2022, June 16-18). The truth will set us free: Epistemology to combat democratic backsliding [Poster presentation, accepted]. American Political Science Association (APSA) Teaching & Learning Symposium: Teaching Economic Inequality & Social Class, Washington, DC, United States. https://educate.apsanet.org/call-for-proposals-teaching-economic-inequality-and-social-class