15 Years of Board Leadership and Counting
Throughout his 15-year tenure on the board of directors, Chris Johnston has played a major role in Lumity’s growth. He has helped the organization evolve from one focused on serving nonprofits to one bringing STEM education opportunities to youth across Chicago and the suburbs. As board chair since 2021, Chris has guided Lumity through some big decisions and important shifts in direction. We sat down with Chris to learn more about his involvement and the history he’s helped build for Lumity.
How did you first get introduced to the organization?
A fortuitous connection came to me through a friend and colleague, Dan Morris, who was retiring from Accenture. Dan thought my background in finance would provide a good perspective for the relatively new board, so that’s how we got started. And 15 years later, I’m still very much involved.
When you first joined the board, the focus was really on providing services and training for other nonprofits. Now the focus is on participants. How did that come to be?
The technology centers movement was an important bridge that we crossed to get the organization to where we are today. It pushed us into skills enablement. I was involved with something called Rogers Park Web Creators. We worked with youth to do mini-consulting projects and build websites for local businesses. That laid the groundwork for bigger programs like STEM Career Prep and STEMWorks. It was labor-intensive but really fun.
How would you describe the board culture at Lumity?
We have a lot of fun working directly with staff and participants. It’s a very hands-on, involved culture, with directors working to help people understand the demands of the communities we serve. We’ve got such a collaborative board. Our board members are great evangelists for Lumity’s work and the change it helps drive.
Tell us about how STEMWorks came to be.
Life goals come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Not everyone wants or can go on to college, but they want good jobs. As we engaged more closely with high school students, we realized that there were some serious gaps in what we could offer them. Yet we weren’t yet in a position to help them navigate those next steps. We expanded our scope to start addressing that need. STEMWorks offers a different pathway to career success.
What keeps you involved with Lumity?
There have been so many incredible moments for me as part of this organization. My favorites are those true “lightbulb” moments where you see the students’ faces light up as they begin to understand and get excited about what they’re learning. When you can be a friendly voice and provide access to experiences in a non-threatening way, it’s wonderful. Just seeing their faces and hearing how proud they are to be learning these new skills is so rewarding.
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