Feature | NOLS' Transformation Embracing Change

EXPOSE NOLS’ Transformation: Embracing Change

By Anne McGowan Advancement Communications Coordinator

The NOLS mission is at the base of the school’s Transformation Pyramid. The world, and practically everything in it, changed dramatically in the last few years. NOLS is no exception. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic altered virtually everything at the school, from the way expedition and wilderness medicine courses are now taught, to the protocols that students, instructors, and staff are required to follow, and to the way our much-reduced staff show up at the office—or from home.

No one anticipated the magnitude of change. A schoolwide shutdown for months, a massive reduction of staff—these were needed and difficult responses to a dire situation, made with the safety of students, staff, and the viability of the school their paramount goals.

While many organizations might hunker down and retreat in times of difficulty, NOLS leadership views this as an opportunity to consider how we might rebuild into a new form to more strongly enable our educational mission. That opportunity is, in part, the genesis of our NOLS Transformation efforts.

“While many organizations might hunker down and retreat in times of difficulty, NOLS leadership views this as an opportunity to consider how we might rebuild.”

The overarching goal is to be able to grow our ability to provide the world class education that defines us, and re-imagine how we might adjust our educational support model to provide better synergies as well as more robust financial sustainability. Critical initiatives such as vastly improved technology to support students and staff, needed compensation adjustments to continue to attract and retain the caliber of people that define NOLS are supported by an improved approach to supporting programs to enable financial sustainability of these priorities.

To reach this goal, we are taking a three-planked and systemic approach to change. The “planks” of the NOLS Operating Model Transformation team address the multiple and interrelated challenges at NOLS impacting our ability to serve our mission, support students and staff, and to attract and retain the talented people that make the magic happen.

Those three “planks,” as directed by Terri and supported by the board of trustees, are: •Right Tools: Invest in the technology that provides excellent student service, supports staff in their work, and allows all school leadership to access and see needed information across all of NOLS in order to make better decisions. •Thriving Culture: Culture has many elements that make NOLS a place where people want to work, want to remain, and can see a future for themselves. This include adequate compensation, attention to an inclusive culture that ensures we all have a sense of belonging, regardless of background, identity or role. •Supportive Organizational Structure: The “Why” of examining reorganization is to find ways to continue to enable the amazing work we do, yet enable a much easier means to understand developing student needs, develop new program ideas, and harmonize the way we work to eliminate unneeded duplication where it makes sense. As a result, NOLS can become far more financially sustainable and support greater investment in the people that educate and support our students, and the tools to sustain excellence, and in scholarship support of students. The next several years, Terri said, “are especially exciting as we embrace the work of a return to teaching students and also addressing long-standing challenges that have hindered our ability to grow in a way that enables increased investment in students, staff, and technology.”

“Specific efforts in our Transformation work have already begun,” Terri explained, “include improving compensation and benefits, a school-wide focus on an inclusive culture, and investment in upgrading technology—all of these in service to our “Why”—the education of our students.

In a presentation in October, Terri expressed immense gratitude for the discipline of prior NOLS trustees and administrative leaders who ensured the financial reserves that helped make this initiative possible matched with continued philanthropic efforts.

Jenny Tison, NOLS field instructor who brings years of significant experience as a top performer at one of the US’ top management consulting firms, will lead the Transformation work for the coming three to four years. Having done similar large efforts in companies both larger and more complex than NOLS, as well as in the government and non-profit sectors, Jenny’s unique perspective as “one of us” and someone with skills well beyond what we have internally, is invaluable.

“In its broadest form, the work of this Transformation is to equip us to serve our mission as best as possible as our future evolves, as well as to set us up to seek out new opportunities to extend the reach of our work to new students and partners,” Jenny said. “I’m excited to be part of it.”

Anne McGowan grew up camping and hiking with her family in Pennsylvania. She followed her love of words and books to a career in writing.