Learning Bridge & Kellogg Fellow Win Social Impact Award for DEI

Learning Bridge Executive Director Laura Byes, Kellogg Fellow Beth Hyewon Chung, and Learning Bridge Early Education Center have been awarded the 2023 Northwestern Kellogg Golub Capital Board Fellows SOCIAL IMPACT AWARD. The prestigious award recognizes an outstanding collaboration between a Kellogg Fellow and partnering nonprofit organization.

Executive Director Laura Byes envisioned a comprehensive and actionable Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion plan from her very first day at Learning Bridge in July of 2022. When contacted by Northwestern’s Kellogg Golub Capital Board Fellows program just two months later regarding possible focus areas for a project, there was no hesitation. Her work with Beth Hyewon Chung and the Learning Bridge Board of Directors began in the fall of 2022, and the work undertaken and resulting project will now serve as a pacesetting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion model for programs locally and nationally.

From Kellogg Fellow Beth Hyewon Chung:
“In collaboration with Executive Director Laura Byes, Board President Deb Schlies, Board Vice President Mary Watt, and Board Member Bernice Mahan, I led a project to develop Learning Bridge's DEI mission, vision, and strategy. The project started in the assessment phase, seeking to understand the current staff and board members' perspectives and priorities. Currently, the project is in its execution phase and will continue on with a new board DEI committee to develop an ongoing DEI roadmap. Learning Bridge seeks to grow in its continued goal of creating a community where all children thrive and have equitable access to a great education. This DEI project is one piece of that overarching goal. I am so grateful to the Learning Bridge community for their engagement and participation in this project!"

Learning Bridge Early Education Center is a full day, full year program that has served children and families in Evanston for almost 79 years. They offer a continuum of learning that helps ensure EVERY CHILD IS READY FOR KINDERGARTEN and believe every child deserves access to high-quality early education regardless of their family’s ability to pay.