Region 16 Impact Stories
Shaping a multi-state storytelling campaign translating complex educational impact into enduring public narratives
Context
Region 16 Comprehensive Center supported state education agencies in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington through high-impact initiatives in literacy, Native education, and educational equity. As the grant cycle neared completion, R16CC needed a flagship storytelling campaign that could illustrate years of complex work to policymakers, educators, partners, and future funders.
This project required translating highly technical initiatives, diverse stakeholder voices, and large volumes of data into narratives that would sustain trust, resonate with audiences, and endure beyond the life of the grant.
Strategy
- Build a unified storytelling framework across three states.
- Translate technical initiatives into clear human narratives.
- Balance metrics with stakeholder voice and regional context.
- Use interactive formats to improve engagement and scanability.
- Create assets that could evolve into durable archival reports.
Tactics
- Lead creative direction for a three-part interactive storytelling series with an external contractor.
- Write and edit stories, aligning content with narrative strategy and brand voice.
- Synthesize interviews, metrics, and program materials into compelling narratives.
- Convert interactive stories into designed PDF reports as the grant cycle concluded.
- Use strong visual hierarchy, pull quotes, and data callouts to retain engagement across formats.
outcome
An engaging, multi-platform campaign that made years of regional impact visible and accessible.
The final assets elevated stakeholder voices, showcased measurable outcomes across three states, and preserved valuable knowledge for future partners and funders.
Region 16 impact stories
Oregon impact story:
Web-based interactive
Alaska impact story:
Web-based interactive
washington
impact story:
Web-based interactive
Oregon impact story:
archivable pdf
Alaska impact story:
archivable pdf
washington
impact story:
archivable pdf
Client
Region 16 Comprehensive Center
My Roles
Research, writing, design, photography
Context
Region 16 Comprehensive Center was one of 19 Regional Comprehensive Centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education in 2019 to support state education agencies (SEAs) in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington. As a consortium of 29 educational service districts across these states, the Center partnered with communities across the region to build capacity in SEA-identified areas like literacy, Native education, and family and community engagement.
In the final year of the grant cycle, the U.S. Department of Education issued a call for impact stories that would showcase the breadth and depth of the Comprehensive Center program's capacity-building work.
Deliverables
Region 16 and I partnered with a research and consulting firm to create digital, interactive stories for Alaska, Oregon, and Washington, where users can explore the contexts, highlights, quotes, insights, and resources surrounding the Center's high-impact projects in each state.
At the end of Region 16's grant cycle, I designed PDF versions of each story to preserve these resources for the Comprehensive Center Network Archive.
I reached out to state directors, project managers, state education agencies, educational service district leaders, educators, and community members to tell the full story of each project's impact, gathering data, narratives, and testimonials to create multi-dimensional accounts of how Region 16 transformed education systems to better serve all students.
