
Summer 2025


Marion celebrating at the Teach For America Chicago 25th Anniversary Gala
Summer 2025
Opening Message from Marion
Twenty-five years ago, as a young founder, I almost failed at launching Teach For America Chicago because I didn’t know how to build culture. I was so laser-focused on hitting key milestones that I never sat down with my team to envision and define our region’s culture. The result? We spent precious time navigating avoidable conflicts, and, at our lowest point, our reputation and impact were at risk. Fortunately, some amazing mentors and colleagues taught me a lot in those early years and helped us to turn things around. But it didn’t have to be that way.
Here’s what I learned, and how we can help you avoid the same mistakes:
1. Culture will fuel your success or your demise. It’s that important. We all know the Peter Drucker quote, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” It’s true – and the workplace is rife with examples.
2. You’re building culture from day one: You will have a culture whether you are deliberate about it or not – so make sure you have the one you want. The way to build culture is to be intentional. Sit down with your team and brainstorm together. Ask: What words describe the culture we want? What values are important to our business and why? Then identify – and start doing – key actions or behaviors that align with that desired culture.
3. Culture building is ongoing work: Once you have a vision for your culture, it’s important to consistently make time to cultivate and monitor it with your team. One small way to do this is to take a pulse check. Ask your team and stakeholders to share three words that describe how they experience the culture. Do the words they share align with your vision? If not, get curious and ask more questions to understand what’s going on. Be open to what you hear, as it will help you course correct.
If you are a founder and thinking, I’ll focus on culture when we’re more established, trust me, that’s exactly when it becomes ten times harder to fix! This is why we’re excited to share our new offering, Culture Engine.

At Culture Engine, we help founders launch successful companies by establishing a strong, values-driven culture from the beginning. We provide the expertise and capacity to help our clients define their culture, put key strategies in place to build that culture and then sustain a strong culture as they grow.
We were inspired to create Culture Engine by our work with two different clients: a corporate start-up that needed to define its culture quickly as it rapidly expanded, and a merger of two non-profits with aligned missions and distinct cultures. By prioritizing culture at the point of launch and merger, both clients succeeded in staying grounded in core values, attracting and retaining top talent and supporting high performance at scale.
Let’s spend 30 minutes discussing your culture needs.
Summer Collective Conversation – July 18th

We have a special summer Collective Conversation planned! On Friday, July 18th at noon EST we’re welcoming our friend and colleague Chelsea Kasen-Kells, Founder of Color Mending Therapy, to lead us in an interactive session that combines neuroscience with the simple act of coloring.
Based on the Theory of Constructed Emotion, Color Mending helps you decode the messages behind your feelings by translating body sensations into colors and shapes on paper. You’ll discover how this surprisingly powerful tool can transform overwhelming emotions into clear, actionable insights.
This session is accessible to everyone – no artistic skills required! Come ready to participate: bring a piece of paper and something to color with (crayons, markers, colored pencils—whatever you have). You’ll walk away with a new understanding of your emotional language and practical tools for navigating stress, transitions, and those “big feelings” that show up in work and life. (Plus, if you’re feeling brave, you might have your coloring interpreted live!)
Please plan to join us to connect, reflect and color this month!
Illuminate at Work (And Resources for You!)
There’s been a theme in our facilitations this year – supporting leaders and teams through change and uncertainty. See below for some resources we shared with clients that may be helpful for you too.
Leading Change: Miwa facilitated a “Leading Change Equitably” session for the Leading Edge Alumni Network in May. Leaders engaged with foundations of leading change, including understanding identity and power dynamics, communicating with clarity and care and involving stakeholders in meaningful ways.
Leading in Uncertain Times: Marion recently had the opportunity to meet with a group of inspiring nonprofit leaders, convened through ImpactEd’s Nonprofit Leaders Circle, to discuss how to lead and show up for their teams during uncertain times. See here to learn more and here to access a Padlet of Resources for Leading During Uncertain Times.
We can help you and your team navigate these uncertain times. Let’s talk to explore how.
Partner Spotlight
Julie Cohen

When Marion first started coaching a decade ago, she reached out to Julie Cohen, an established coach and consultant in her community. Ever since that first conversation, Julie has been a mentor and resource and we were thrilled to collaborate with her as a guest on her Work. Life. Leader LinkedIn Live series earlier this summer. We had a blast talking with her about all things culture and our new offering, Culture Engine. Check it out at the link here.
Julie is an executive coach, author and leadership development expert with over twenty years of experience helping professionals and organizations thrive. She is the Founder and CEO of Work. Life. Leader., and her insights have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Time. She is also the author of Your Work, Your Life…Your Way: 7 Keys to Work-Life Balance. Learn more about her and her company at Work.Life.Leader.
Marion & Miwa Recommend
Summer Reading

The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life by Suleika Jaouad
Miwa’s friend Annie Campbell wrote one of the essays, “I Have Been Eating Figs,” in this beautiful book.

Broken Bayou by Jennifer Moorhead
A summer thriller set in Louisiana written by Marion’s high school friend.
Summer Listens

When you need to have a laugh and just relax, there’s nothing like a good hang with an old friend. Drop in on Amy Poehler’s good hangs with her famous friends for laughter and levity with heart. Thank you to our colleague and friend Laura Owens who recommended this to us!

Our Lives Are an Endless Series of ‘And’ from The Ezra Klein Show
Did you know that in the early 1800’s, the alphabet concluded with an “&” after the letter Z? In this podcast episode, author Kathryn Schulz shares, “What a beautiful idea that anything should end in “and” . . . an ending is actually an explicit reminder that there’s always more, that something else can be connected, that something else can happen next.”
Gratitude
We’re ever grateful for the “and.” The world is heartbreaking and challenging. And green leaves appear, dragonflies hover, leaders keep moving the work forward, love finds a way. We’re deeply thankful for this community and all the ways we’re showing up.
Keep shining,

Marion and Miwa
Recent Comments