Lila Jane Mabe (LJ)

Director of Strategy and Impact

Lila Jane is a nonprofit leader and education advocate with 18+ years of experience building

sustainable, high-impact organizations that advance literacy and learning nationwide. She has

provided leadership to mission-driven teams in education, open science, and workforce

development to manage budgets ranging from $1M to $350M build capacity, secure funding,

and scale their impact. Her fundraising leadership has generated over $50 million across major

gifts, foundation grants, government funding, and online campaigns.

LJ brings deep education and literacy expertise as a former classroom teacher and social science

professor with experience spanning preschool through college levels. She previously served in

leadership roles at Quill.org—an AI-powered writing and critical thinking platform—and the

NYC Department of Education’s Division of Teaching and Learning. Her subject-matter

expertise includes education technology product development, education policy, data science,

and AI applications in learning.

LJ combines her classroom roots with business acumen to translate complex educational

initiatives into compelling, fundable strategies. Her approach is grounded in data-driven

decision making, design thinking, and continuous improvement, with a focus on cultural

responsiveness and sustainable growth. She works tirelessly to creatively solve problems while

fostering strong collaborators, teams, and partners—always keeping relationships and impact at

the center of organizational success.