5 in 5: Lauren Sanchez Gilbert, BellXcel’s Chief Executive Officer

Results for America Fellowship Alumni give five answers in five minutes. This month, we caught up with Lauren Sanchez Gilbert, Chief Executive Officer at BellXcel.

1. Summarize what you do and how you do it.
   BellXcel is a national nonprofit that builds the capacity of schools and youth development organizations to scale their programs through use of our evidence-based solution that combines a program management platform with whole child curriculum, social and emotional learning tools, expansive professional development, and coaching.
2. Share something exciting that you’re working on.
   Our team has been hard at work creating and launching an easy-to-use software solution wrapped in professional services that is built upon our nearly three decades of experience providing high-quality, transformative learning experiences for PreK-8 youth. Schools and youth development organizations can access everything they need to design, manage, and assess their programs, all in one place. This summer we will more than double our reach, serving more than 50,000 scholars (and growing daily!) in 33 states!
3. Tell us one thing you learned from someone else during your RFA Fellowship.
   My RFA fellowship experience was rich with innovative and inspiring leaders that each taught me something along the way. I learned through Molly Baldwin the significant depth of impact that is possible as her organization is literally saving lives. I was so moved by her work, that when asked to join their board I did not hesitate. Sam Schaeffer’s leadership during the pandemic as his organization pivoted to meet the needs of those they serve was a source of inspiration as we too innovated a new solution for our partners to meet the moment. I observed Ed Foster-Simeon powerfully demonstrate how to leverage evidence to successfully scale with high quality — a vital aspect of our own growth at BellXcel.
4. If you could wave a magic wand and have any data or evidence, what would it be?
   A centralized hub unifying data to understand what is the true lifelong impact of activities that happen outside of the school day for every child would be so powerful. We could quantify the impact and make real strides to drive equity in these experiences for all children.
5. What’s the [pick-your-adjective] job you’ve ever had?
   If I had to design my dream job, this would be it! As a former special education educator, assistant school superintendent, and youth program leader, it has been so enlightening to discover just how similar the education needs are from coast to coast, urban to rural, and everywhere in between. I am inspired daily by our talented team as we innovate and expand our solutions to meet our partners where they are. We give them the tools and resources to reach more young people in their communities with strategies that work. Driving impact fuels our organization!

Lauren Sanchez Gilbert participated in Results for America’s What Works Nonprofit Fellowship.