More Than a Name Change – Christine Feenstra on Leading Innovation Through Change

Alex, today is your dream come true. I can't do the podcast with you. Oh, Bob, I, I, I'm not in favor of this. I always love having you on the, on the podcast. It's always better with you. But why can't you join me? Where are you? Oh, I'm, I'm racing. Which I wish I could say the same thing as you, but I'd rather be racing than doing a podcast. So I'm racing today. So Christine Feenstra is going to be your guest alone today. I hope you can handle it without me. I will do my best. I'm, I'm excited. She's. By the time we release this podcast, this won't be a, a super secret. But right now, this is a super secret and I get one of the first chances to talk to Christine about it. So I'm really excited about the announcement. Well, do tell her I say hello because she is one of my favorite people we've interviewed and I'm sorry, I'm going to miss her today. Absolutely I will, my friend. Good luck. Good luck to you too. Hi, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of learning through a K12 podcast. I believe this is the second time in our podcast history that we have brought a guest back onto the show, and so I'm very excited to be hosting Christine Feenstra, the executive director of Q. Is that right? Well, before I answer that question, thank you so much for bringing me back. I'm really excited to be here. Just a side note, the last time we did this podcast, it was my very first podcast I've ever recorded, so it will always have a very special place in my heart. To answer your question, you know, a lot has changed since we last spoke, and Q has actually shifted a bit. Q is now Callie Alex, the California association for Leading Innovation and Education, or cali. Awesome. And, and that is the reason why we brought Christine onto the show. We're going to talk about that all in just a second, but I wanted to just spend a second explaining my co host and really the star of the show. If you're a regular listener, you know that Bob races cars. And so Bob is actually out RAC today and wasn't able to make this episode. But I gotta show. And for those of you listening on the podcast, you might want to pop over to YouTube to see it because it is just that cool. But let me show. Yeah, I mean, we all already knew that Bob is cooler than me, but now, now you get to see just how much cooler Bob is than me. All right. So Bob is racing today, so he sends his apologies for not being able to join, but he was so excited, Christine, to have you back on the show and share a little bit about kind of what's changed. So. So let's start with you. Shared that the name has changed. So what's changed? Tell us, tell us what's going on at the former Q. Yeah, so, you know, I think a lot of times when people hear about a rebranding project, they do think about a potential name change, an updated logo, maybe color scheme. But honestly, what I know now, especially having gone through this process, is that this is much bigger than a name change. This is really more about a redefined mission and vision for the organization. And so we started this process over a year ago. The board of directors and staff had been doing a lot of work around where we wanted the organization to go and how we were going to get there. And what we came to the realization of is that the way we were talking about the work we were doing was no longer super relevant in the updated kind of educational landscapes. So Q, for those of you that don't know, stands for Computer using Educators. And our organization was founded in the early 80s when that was a very unique thing. And then obviously, as. As time has changed and computers and then even, you know, education technology has grown to be ubiquitous, so did our purpose. And so it was time to really take a look about. Look at the way we were describing the work that we're doing and make sure that it was relevant and that, you know, current and future educators would respond to it. Yeah, that's great. I had known of the Q organization for a really long time, and we actually, you told me on our last podcast, when was Q founded? So this is up for debate a little bit. I think the organization started. People started gathering in the very late 70s, and we were incorporated in the early 80s. Yeah. Okay. So this is a really long organization. In the early 80s, Pewter using educators was probably a really small sector of the total teaching population. Computer Using educators is everyone now, right? The name was a little less specific than it really needed to be, still. Why? Why the change? Why? Especially when you've got a brand and a name that has such a legacy behind it. Why. Why go through this change? Yeah, I love that question, actually. So I think it's a yes. And so we do have a name that people respond to and that they are aware of. I've spent the last six months going to different ed tech conferences across the country, and I cannot tell you how wonderful it is that when you meet someone, you tell them where you, you know about the work you're doing, and they go, oh, Q. I got my start at Q. You know, I learned that I could, you know, coach teachers at Q. That sort of thing really important to us, and we take that really seriously. But it also has become confusing, like you said. And I love this story. I think it really captures just the name changed so well. So I attended ISTE this year in San Antonio, and I met a tosa who's about 30 years old from San Diego. So in California, toast is a really ubiquitous term. Right. But that's a teacher. Teacher on special assignment. Right. Teacher that is coaching and supporting other teachers. And he was from San Diego, California. And so when I learned, I went, oh, my gosh, are you a Q member? Have you got. Have you attended Spring Q, which is our conference? And he looked at me like I had three eyeballs. He had never heard of Q. And he asked me if it was like, if we were part of the Illuminati, the. The cue to. And I went, oh, wow, this is awful. But also incredibly validating. Right? And so I think just, it's really important from a brand perspective that the name of the organization represents the work that you're doing. And Callie says, exactly what we're doing. We're leading innovation in education. The other issue is that we are often known as this conference for our big Spring Q conference in Palm Springs. Palm Springs every year. But we are more than that. We're more than a conference. And we really want to signal to folks that we are, you know, we're a statewide leader driving innovation across the K through 12 education space. Yeah, that's excellent. And in fact, actually, one of the things that I only recently learned of is. So SITA is the State Education Technology Directors Association. Right. So it's the people who are sort of the leading ed tech at the state level in California, it's sort of a consortium. Like in a lot of states, it's. It's the state tech director, but in California, it's the executive director of LA County Office of Education site and Q. Is that right? Did I get that right? Yes and no. Just. Okay. Interestingly enough, I actually am privileged to sit on the CETO board. I'm the affiliate representative. CENA has the. Their primary members are the state Ed Tech director, the Office of the State Ed Tech Directors. But California, we don't have an office of EdTech. Right. And so CETA has affiliate members, and that's where they bring in sort of partner organizations that sort of help create that consortium and fill that space. We also work very closely, obviously, with the California Department of Education, but we don't have an office dedicated to edtech. Yeah. And so you're part of that representation. Right. Which is. Which is. Which is really great. Okay. Taking an organization the age of yours. So one of the things that I kind of pride ourselves on at Educational Collaborators. Yeah, we're an ed tech consulting organization, but we really started out of change management. And we were really born in the late 90s, early 2000s, when. When one to one was kind of coming about. Right. And one to one was. The challenge with one to one was not, I mean, enormous logistics challenges, but the real challenge was just sort of the change that happens in a classroom when a student now has access to a device that has more information, not wisdom, but more information than really the entire faculty combined. Right. And so you can't just drop something like that in. You have to manage that through a change management process. What did that look like for you guys? You mentioned it was a year. What you. What did you guys do over that year? Yeah, it's been extensive. And I will just admittedly say that I've learned more about branding and change management than I ever thought that I would when I attended this role. You know, for us, it was really about communication with our members and stakeholders, so being as transparent as possible about the process. And so we made the announcement at our conference in the fall that this process was starting. And then we put together a series of focus groups and stakeholder interviews and surveys the board of directors was involved in. They were involved in every step of the way. What I loved about the process is that it was really done in pieces. Right. So the first piece was all about collecting that data and meeting with as many people and looking at, you know, other. Other partners and players in the space and what they're doing well and. And looking at what we are currently doing well and what we could be doing better and where those opportunities are. So that first piece is all about collecting that data, meeting with as many people as possible, and sort of bringing that together, and then making a series of recommendations and then using those recommendations to update the language that we use around the work that we do. So the name changes at the very end of the process. That. That's like the cherry on the top. Right. But the real work is around engaging your audiences and communicating with people and really finding out where we can support educators and then how we translate that into updated language. So what you'll see when you go to joincali.org is that the way we talk about the work that we're doing has also really shifted. We have updated mission, vision, purpose, and that helps offer us clarity as we're developing new products and services. And then finally, the end piece is making that really huge decision to change the name of the. Such a, you know, storied organization. And we did not take that lightly. Again, the board of directors very involved in that process. And. And I will tell you, this is not the first name I brought them. I brought them a different name, and they voted against it. And it broke my heart. And I don't mind admitting it, because I thought, no, like, I didn't do my job. You know, I thought you had to get it right the first time. And that's actually not the case. You know, our board was super involved in this process, and it gave them opportunity to get feedback. And. And we came back to them with Callie and. And it was unanimous. Oh, really? That's awesome. I want to dig into something that you were just talking about. So, like, you. You did those focus groups, you gathered the information and then you made the recommendations. Who's making the recommendations and to whom? Is it the brand consultant? Is it you guys? To the board. What did that look like? Yeah, so the process really was. It was so thorough and sometimes so thorough that it was frustrating. Right. And slow, frankly. It felt at the time very slow. All of a sudden, it feels very fast. But again, we started this in October, so we did partner with an agency to help guide us through this process. We gave them, you know, massive lists of current members, former members, current affiliate volunteer leaders, former leaders, leaders that had left the organization because they didn't really feel that it no longer benefited them. Partners, vendors that participate at our conferences, partners outside of, you know, like some of our public partners. Then they decide through all that information how to get a representative sample of who. Who they should be speaking to to help inform these decisions. And then they came back to us as staff with their findings and recommendations, and then we help shape that further. We say, oh, no, you. You know, you're missing a piece here. Right? And so it really is a collaborative process between the branding agency and the staff. And then you move that forward to the board of directors with the recommendations, and then they have feedback, right? They say, oh, no, we forgot, you know, you didn't think about this process. And so it's very iterative. And it took that first piece. We didn't move to name change. Until April of 20. Yeah, April of this year. And we started the whole process in October of 2024. Okay. Yeah, that's, that's, that's a process that, that's great. So that much kind of deliberate, thoughtful engagement with your members and, and as you said, former members, it must have taught you a ton about the organization. What did you learn? Obviously you changed your name and your branding, but. But what, what else did you glean and change as a result of this really thorough process? Yeah, man. You know, the first thing I learned, I think that has just really helped inform the way we develop products and services going forward for our members is that, you know, when Q, as we said, when Q began, it was a very small, tight knit community. And it was really, even until five or six years ago, it was really our members and our audience was really made up of educators and leaders that sort of had an interest in technology. So, you know, maybe they were known as the techie teacher at school and they would come to the spring Q conference and they would learn all these tools and resources and tips and then they would be expected to go back to their school or district and kind of distribute that information to the masses. And what I learned through this process and meeting with all of our members and non members, people that weren't members, that should be members, is that that is no longer acceptable. Right. In our current education space, that educators shouldn't have the option to just opt out of embracing technology. Especially, you know, when we talk about things like AI and the inequities that are growing amongst students who have teachers that use AI and teachers that don't, teachers that are teaching them about how to use AI, teachers that are not. And so all that to say is that it really opened our eyes to that. The opportunity to support educators is much larger than what we had previously been thinking about. Just those teachers that wanted to learn about technology. And so again, the language we use and the services that we offer need to resonate with all teachers, not just those that are interested in technology. So the offerings that we're developing will be reflective of that. Got it, got it. So is the average CALI member a classroom teacher or are they a Tosa or they are tech integrator? And if they're different, how does the organization support them in different ways? Yeah, yeah, that's a great question too. You're asking all the. It's like you do this a lot. You know, part of that process was going through and identifying who our audiences are. Right. And how we service them. So you know, you have sort of a core primary audience, you have secondary audiences. Our typical Cali member. There is no typical Cali member. Because education is an ecosystem. Right. It's a huge ecosystem. And so we will be and are developing products and services to serve anyone involved in that ecosystem. So, yes, the classroom educator, we want to make a difference. We want to get as close to kids as possible. And so we will always service and support classroom educators. But it can't stop there. Right. So administrators and leaders need support and guidance. And then, you know, there's. There's also the IT side of the house. We. That's not our primary audience. Right. But IT and curriculum can't live separately. There has to be that collaboration. So we continue to develop and roll out these new offerings is that there will be different, different supports for each of those kind of buckets. Awesome. That's. That, that's great to hear. So what sorts of changes, other than the name, are they going to see as part of their benefits going forward? The first one is that we have offered a completely free access. Cali membership is $50 for the year, by the way. So that's, you know, not even a tank of gas in California. And so with that, you now have access to our professional learning hub, which I know you and I will be excited to talk about. Yeah, this is on demand PD for educators. It includes micro courses and learning paths. You can get university credit. It's successful anytime, anywhere. And so that is completely free for all Cali members. So that's a big one. The second is, you know, again, what we're really known for is our flagship event, Spring Queue by Cali. And is that what you got? Are you going to call it Spring Q by Cali? Is that what it's going to be called? That is what it's called right now. Spring Queue by Cali. Okay, so you're keeping the Q name for the conference? Yeah. You know, I always tell people it's not like you switch a light off and Q goes away. And it's about a transition. It's a transformation and it rolls out over time. And we will. And everything we do, we will be continue to celebrate everything that Q built. Just evolving it a bit. Interesting. So it's going to be Spring Q by Cali. So Cali members receive. They receive a 35% discount on member non member pricing. And that's pretty significant. And that's new. Two years ago, the discount was, I think it was $39 between member and non member pricing, and membership was $40. And so we doubled that last year and then we doubled it again. So. So it's a significant discount. It's also CALI members will continue to receive free registration for our conference when they submit as a primary speaker. So those are some of the bigger benefits that we have. And then we're continuing to develop, like I said, I keep saying, new products and services that will always receive a discounted price. We are really excited that we just launched the CALI Certified Educator Program. And this is a competency based certification designed for educators who really want to deepen their impact, whether it's in the classroom or shaping systems. And that is available right now@joincali.org certified and you can learn all about that program. And so there was member and non member pricing there as well. So that's great. I want to, I want to poke a little bit on the professional learning hub, right. That you guys have, because this was sort of born out of conversations that you and I had after you were on our podcast over a year ago, not long after you had just started as the executive director. Right. This professional learning hub is a collaboration between KALI and educational collaborators on our preferred platform that we partner with for years, MobileMind. And so it's a, it's a nice, peer reviewed, research based professional learning platform that educational collaborators put some content on to make available to your, to your members. And then also Kali has a team of people who offer professional development. And you guys also just released multiple learning paths with AI content, which is just awesome. Can you maybe share a little bit about. Because you guys, your team has grown as well in this. Yeah. Speak a little bit about some of the commitment that you guys have made to the professional growth of your member base. Yeah, absolutely. So we were really excited to expand our team this year. Our Director of programs, Ray Fearing, she is, I always love to say she was my first hire. I can't take credit for her being in the interview process because it was already halfway done when I got there. But she was my first hire and I will, I will scream that from the rooftops. She started a month after I did at Q Cali. And you know, Ray is a form. She's a former educator herself. So she's 22 year, you know, teacher, principal, administrator, and she just has. And a former Q member as well and has so much passion for the organization and for the work that we could be doing. And so when she came on, it's been her primary role to continue to be able to refine the member benefits that we were Offering people. And quickly after you and I started chatting and you shared about what was available on the educational collaborators mobile mind platform, we realized that that would be a key benefit that we wanted to offer folks and we loved the idea that we could continue to add courses regularly because obviously, you know, talk about AI evolving. Right? This stuff changes so fast. Yeah. Constantly changing. Right. And so what was attractive to us about this is that there was already this existing content that is great because we want to be able to meet everyone where they are. Right. So there will be people that really need some foundational core skills or and then there will be those that need some advanced offerings. And so Ray was just able to hire a new full time program specialist this year and just a couple months ago. And so Ray, and her name is Tiffany and Tiffany and Ray have been just, I mean it's, it's incredible how quickly they move and are just adding content to the platform every month and we'll continue to do so. Yeah, it's really, it was really exciting for me to see the Cali content make its way onto the platform and I know so much is, is happening and, and so I'm so excited because it was, it was fun for me when we partnered with you guys and had a platform that brought value to your members. But now that you are working within your, your organization and, and putting out more of that content, it just adds even more value to the ridiculous value your membership already is. And so when we talk to schools, I, I always ask are you guys used to ask are you Q members? And now I'll be asking are you Kali members? But, but as I, as I chat with them, I always say if you're particularly your, your tech teacher leaders are not members, that's a no brainer. It will be the best dollars you have ever spent on your school budget to be members. Thanks for saying that, Alex. And just another update to share is we actually now offer institutional memberships. So we weren't able to do that before. Part, you know, I could go, I could talk about this for a while. You know, we really have been working to refine our operations at Q Cali. And so we have a, you know, new growth focused database, just, you know, simple things like that you have a new website. And so, and we heard from our community that you know, there were different schools, districts, county offices that wanted to send, that wanted to register all of their, you know, teams for membership. We had a kind of a cumbersome process, if I'm honest, before. So now you can purchase institutional Memberships where you can assign seats to staff. So if the positions change and you need to swap somebody out, we make that really easy for you now and again. $50. $50 a person. That's awesome. That's great, because that is certainly a hallmark of today's educational landscape. There's just a lot of right now. Yeah, absolutely. Well, Christine, thanks so much for coming back on the show. This was great. You guys have done so much amazing work over the last year or so. It's. It's just been really incredible and so. And, and thanks for letting us be sort of a part of your community. We enjoy it. Oh, thank you, Alex. We appreciate your partnership so much. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share out about all these exciting changes and more to come. Oh, Bob, you missed a good one. I mean, not only did we talk about the exciting announcement, but. But we talked a lot about change management, and it was a great interview. Great conversation. Well, now I'll have a reason to listen so that I can learn the secret. Alex has kept it from me, even. Well, all right, viewers want to know. I want to know, like, how'd you do? How'd you do in the race? I won, surprisingly enough. Right. I. I, like, like first overall in your category. First overall. Hard to believe, huh? Do they rake, get down by old people and regular people or. No? No, I had to beat regular young people, too. I had to be real racers, young racers. So, yeah, it was a. It was. It was quite the weekend for me, but probably not as exciting as for you and getting to interview Christine by yourself. My friend knows me. All right, Bob, until our next episode, and congratulations. Thank you, Alex.