Crisis Strategy and Community Engagement
Balancing empathy and action to meet the moment.
Context
Outschool is a fast paced EdTech environment that is deeply mission driven. Facing constant shifts in public discourse around equity and safety, they needed a strategy to guide them through the navigation of several concurrent major cultural flashpoints. The organization required principled, practical communications response to protect trust and reinforce its values.
My Role
As the senior leader over community engagement, I created experiences that met the moment and depended relationships with key audiences while building on Outschool’s values. Building on the role, I took on the executive leadership of leading communications and PR, codifying the strategies and tactics I’d built while leading message development and alignment across product, legal, and communications. This included getting internal buy-in, training mission-critical staff, and developing proactive crisis avoidance and response plans. I also authored the core DEI statement shared publicly and advised executives on language and timing.
Deliverables
An event plan designed to build internal trust and belonging in a repeatable format
A full crisis communications strategy deck outlining phased internal and external messaging
A core DEI statement that became the basis for external positioning
Executive email templates and board-ready messaging guidance
Results
The strategy and tactics laid out in this case significantly reduced executive response time to crisis, which often started internally and grew out externally as front-line staff were deeply embedded in the issues. This strategy was used to explain RIFs, guide events, and choose media opportunities moving forward. Internal NPS increased from 30% to 70%, even after two rounds of RIFs.
Outschool continued demonstrating its value through community relations initiatives as part of a community-driven growth strategy.
The free event had a 80% attendance rate.
Immediate Impact
Engagement across social media and email increased 20% WoW and 10% MoM, with ongoing social campaigns having continued growth. 70% of High LTV customers attended an Outschool community event were part of the official Outschool community groups between 2022-2023.
Notably, upon my recommendation, Outschool donated $10,000 to Every Town Against School Violence and recommitted to community action by embedding parental empowerment and student advocacy into ongoing programming.
See After-Action analysis here.