Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dr. Lisa Dunne. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Dr. Lisa, appreciate you joining us today. Early in your career, how did you think through the decision of whether to start your own firm or join an established firm?

After spending 20 years in the college classroom, I realized that America’s education system was broken beyond repair. Not only were good students being left behind by bad methodology, but an entire generation was falling victim to the crushing pressure of extraordinary student loan debt. I had to make a decision: Would I take a leadership role in a local university and try to encourage change from the inside out, or would I step completely outside of the box and start a brand new model of higher education? I chose the latter.

Any decision to impact an industry involves risk. It took almost two years for the momentum to build, but after I published my sixth book, Outsourced, supporters began to emerge at the national level. Speaking opportunities increased. Our name and brand recognition began to swell. I now have the opportunity not only to impact the city of Chula Vista with education reformation, but I have also been granted some tremendous opportunities to take the model across the nation. It’s time for an education revolution!

Dr. Lisa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I grew up in a radically dysfunctional home environment where there was no sense of stability or purpose or hope. My next door neighbor, who was also my English teacher, reached out to me and offered me a sense of normalcy by showing me what a loving family environment looked like. It was at that moment that I saw the power of a caring teacher and how education had the potential to transform not only a generation, but also a nation.

Traditional education is built on what we call a “worm-dispensing” model: the mama bird (i.e., the teacher) chews up content and spits it out to the students, who parrot it back to her. But this is not education. This is simply information regurgitation. True education, as William Butler Yeats put it, “is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” Education should be transformational, not just informational. It should inspire critical thinking and problem solving and wonder and curiosity. But modern education doesn’t reach any of those milestones; it simply teaches to a test that assesses state-directed measurable objectives that have very little bearing on real life. That’s why I started CVCU.

Chula Vista Christian University is a kindergarten-to-college educational model built to serve the learner-driven modality of GenZ and Alpha students. We help local churches use their existing facilities to offer statistically validated educational methodologies that help the next generation excel in their socio-academic skill set. On average, students in this educational system score 3-5 grade levels higher and 37 points higher on traditional standardized testing when compared to traditionally-educated students. Additionally, the CVCU model helps create an internship funnel for college students to learn outside the four walls of the classroom, gaining real-life problem solving skills that help them to excel in the modern marketplace.

My latest book, Outsourced: Why America’s Kids Need an Education, details my 20-year journey through the field of education. It explains the twelve toxic traits that are dumbing down the next generation and what parents can do to break free. The book is available at OutsourcedTheBook.com. The youngest generations are facing a crisis of anxiety, depression, and suicide ideation. They need an education system that will help them find purpose, meaning, and hope for their future. Learn more about the university model at CVCU.us, or become part of the K to college education solution by clicking the Start an Academy tab.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Building a reputation in the education market is dependent on three factors: experience, education, and research. Having spent 20 years in the college classroom, I understand the cumulative effects of American education. Just as a health checkup at age 80 is as much about our daily habits from childhood on, so too is the fruit of the college years, which is built on the habits established in early childhood. By age 18, the systematic brokenness and dysfunction often come radiating through. Additionally, as an author of six books, I do my best to keep my audience educated on the socio-cultural trends affecting education, and this too has helped build my credibility and reputation. It’s important for those we are serving to know that we are doing our part to stay on the cutting edge of our field from an academic perspective. Finally, as a speaker and researcher, I listen to my audience to hear where their fears, their insecurities coming into play so that I can help them build real-world solutions to their concerns and doubts.

Any advice for managing a team?

I have learned from some of my respected mentors the importance of creating a culture of value in our organizations. When I left my previous job, I was overseeing seven employees. However, within two years of starting the university system, I was overseeing a total of 115 employees. That’s quite a jump! We created a system of honor and value by having regular meetings, recognizing special days like anniversaries and birthdays, using social media to give public shoutouts to employees, and helping people lead out of their own strengths. When I was in graduate school, I read about an employer who made it his goal to know personally about any extreme news, good or bad, about any of his employees within 24 hours. This was no small feat, as his business had 6,000 employees spread around the globe. By empowering others to lead and finding the gold in them, we not only go further faster ourselves, but we help create a culture of honor and value that retains and engages our employees. This is especially important to the younger generations. As I wrote about in my book The Multigenerational Marketplace, it has been an average of 50 days since most employees have received any commendations for their work. An organizational culture devoid of encouragement and responsiveness is not a healthy culture. It’s not a thriving culture. We need to regularly encourage, value, and honor our employees if we are to bring the best out of our teams both personally and organizationally.

Contact Info:

• Website: cvcu.us
• Instagram: @drlisadunne
• Facebook: ChulaVistaU
• Linkedin: @DrLisaDunne
• Twitter: ChulaVistaU

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