Our Approach & Our Team

Mariah Cone is the founder of Holonomy Consulting, where she partners with K–12 schools and organizations to strengthen leadership, design innovative solutions, and facilitate transformative learning experiences. With deep expertise in adult learning theory and liberatory design, Mariah helps teams tackle complex challenges by centering those most impacted — whether students, teachers, or families — and building collaborative processes that generate lasting, equity-focused change. Described as someone who “strikes the rare balance of being both brilliant at problem solving and adept at navigating workplace relationships,” Mariah is currently leading Value Schools’ Future Ready Schools Design Team through a year-long initiative to reimagine education in an AI-infused world.

Elizabeth has extensive experience in and passion for strategic planning and implementation, organizational culture and design, and stakeholder engagement. She has provided consulting services to clients including The Colorado Department of Education, aiEDU, New York City Center, and New Schools Venture Fund. Before consulting, Elizabeth served as Senior Executive Director of Alumni Engagement at New Leaders, where she launched a new department to engage a community of nearly 3,000 alumni school and system leaders. She previously served as Chief of Staff at Educators for Excellence and began her career at Teach For America, where she taught high school and held both regional and national roles.

Carissa partners with organizations to design and implement grant strategies that are both fundable and sustainable. With over 20 years of experience in grantwriting, fundraising, and organizational leadership, she supports leaders across the full grant lifecycle — from prospect research and grant calendars to budgeting, proposal development, and reporting. She served as Development Director, Chief External Affairs Officer, Chief of Staff, and Interim Executive Director at KIPP Delta Public Schools. Over the past five years, her work has supported clients in securing more than $50 million in federal and philanthropic funding.

With over two decades of experience in education technology, Kate has established herself as a distinguished product leader specializing in K–12, higher education, and workforce learning. She has led product organizations at respected companies including Amplify Education and Guild Education, and developed innovative solutions for leading organizations such as the College Board, Gates Foundation, and Walton Family Foundation through her consulting work. Kate has also served on the boards of industry associations and nonprofits advocating for the advancement of education technology and effective uses of AI.