By Judy Clabes
NKyTribune editor
Tim Hanner is just getting started in his newest challenge as President & CEO of EDUCATE NKY and when he describes his first month on the job, it sounds like he’s herding cats.
But if you want cats herded, Tim Hanner is the guy for the job.
It may be the only job that could have coaxed Hanner from retirement. He brings to it a wealth of experience and wisdom gained from more than 30 years in the education realm – including superintendent of Kenton County Schools, founder of NaviGo College and Career Prep Services, co-founder of the Administrators Roundtable Network, providing consultant services to educational organizations and nonprofits statewide, helping develop the Born Learning Academy with United Way, and the Science and Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) campus, conducting professional training – and much more.
This organization he’s leading was launched by the OneNKY Alliance to address bold, systemic change in education throughout Northern Kentucky. In the first 12-24 months, he says, the focus will be on educational opporunities for youth in communities of need throughout the region – and to do that in partnership with educators, business and community leaders, parents, students, and elected officials.
As you can imagine, he has been well occupied – mostly in one-on-one meetings with every “cat’ in his extensive radar, mostly listening and learning and scoping out the territory.
Expanding the board has been a priority as he aimed for a more diverse, comprensive, knowledgable and engaged group bringing a variety of experiences and perspectives to the hard work ahead. He said he is on the verge of announcing the new group.
He has also landed three key players and announced:
• Nancy Costello as a part-time logistics and communications specialist. Costello has experience with the Northern Kentucky Education Council, Vision 2015/Skyward, as director of NKU’s Institute for Health Innovation and working with the Chamber’s GROW NKY – as well as, most recently, project management through her own consulting services company.
• Gene Wilhoit as a special advisor the board. Wilhoit is a respected educator and public servant who was the state’s Education Commissioner for six years and also served as executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers, executive of the National Association of State Boards of Education, as a special assistant to the U.S. Department of Education and as founder of the Center for Innovation in Education – among a long list of other achievements.
• Cheye Calvo, who heads C Squared Strategies and who will undertake a “Landscape Assessment and Asset Mapping” for EDUCATE NKY – the key, says Hanner, for setting the stage for the organization’s first steps.
“Our work will be data-driven,” said Hanner – and for that the data is crucial.
“We want to be well-informed on the data-driven ideas that lead to solutions – and that will lead to opportunities for public-private partnerships, help us be an activator for change, and guide us in being an accelerator for existing and new intiatives and programs that will have proven results.”
Hanner is not making any assumptions. He wants to know exactly what he’s dealing with – and how he can work with schools and communities to improve opportunities for youth in NKY.
“We have much to celebrate in Northern Kentucky on the education front, however too many of our students are still left behind, which impacts the progress of our community, our workforce and quality of life,” said Hanner when he accepted the job. “I am honored to chart this road map focused on transformational change on behalf of our students.”
Indeed, Hanner had nothing but praise for the rich array of nonprofits in the NKY community that are focused on education — Learning Grove, Brighton Center, Covington Partners, and many others. He’s looking forward to engaging in the conversation about the what’s next.
He has similar praise for the superintendents who are advancing their districts in creative ways and serving their students well. He’s anxious to get those innovators to the table so they can imagine how collaborations and cooperation can benefit students, families, and communities.
And he gives terrific credit to Karen Finan, head of OneNKY, for the hard work that led to EducateNKY and support in helping set up the business aspects of the organization itself — including insurance and bank accounts. The current board — which will continue as part of the expanded board — has been, he says, fully supportive of broadening the membership and engaged in all discussions about its scope and mission.
“We want to identify the best initiatives — not just locally but nationally — and find the best organizations to advance them. We want to know what works — and how we can help make it work.
“We want ‘better’ — and more education opportunities for families.”