About Us
Empower, Equip, and Engage
Our vision at the Lucy Leadership Project is to increase the access and opportunity for women educators to positively impact the school systems they serve while improving the working conditions for women in leadership to thrive.
​
Our mission is to prepare and empower women educators by equipping them with tools, strategies, words, and a support system to increase their leadership access and opportunities enabling them to thrive.
But really... who are we?
Kendra Washington-Bass, Ph.D.
Founder and Coach
Who I AM
I am a Black mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, and woman of God. I treasure time with my family and friends and love engaging in deep discussions about life. I declare my Blackness because it is an important identifier to understand who I am and how I navigate the world. I learn from each interaction and transform my thinking. I love to laugh and I am serious - serious about ways to improve the lives of the people I meet. I am here for a purpose and my life’s journey helps to fulfill it.
What I Believe
I believe that every encounter and interaction is a learning moment. I believe that acquiring knowledge and skills will help me become more equipped to serve others. I am passionate about sharing what I have learned and helping others to navigate spaces while maintaining who they are.
How I Lead
I lead with passion, grace, reflection, and vulnerability. My leadership is grounded in my beliefs, experiences, and teachings of my elders and experts in the field.
How I Learn
I am an “external processor”. I usually express my thoughts and feelings out loud. It does not mean that the first thing you hear me say is my final belief. I am wrestling with the ideas in real-time and thinking them through. I am open to learning so my beliefs may change. That is the beauty of being a learner.
Want to know more?
I am a huge Star Wars fan - Baby Yoda! I love most things science fiction and when I need a pick me up, I choose one of my all-time favorite movies or TV series (Twilight Zone, Jaws, Aliens, Jurassic Park, The Birds, Poltergeist, or The Matrix Reloaded), grab some pan-popped popcorn, and settle in. I am a huge sports fan and love college football - Go Irish!. I have always wanted to play on a curling team. I know what you are thinking. Just work with me, here. And lastly, I really enjoy vacationing with my family. I look forward to it every year and love creating long-lasting memories.
Kelly Peaks Horner
Founder and Coach
Who I AM
I am a White mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, and spiritual being. My best days include time with my family, good friends, and deep discussions, especially with my adult daughters, about navigating life and being a good citizen of this world. I am keenly aware of my privilege as a White woman and make it an important aspect of my life’s work to listen and learn from Black women and other marginalized communities. Learning is key for how I show up in every room I am in. I wholeheartedly believe that joy can be integrated in hard work, laughter with serious discussion, and love with discourse.
What I Believe
I believe that people are all genuinely doing the very best they can. And along with that belief it is essential that I create healthy boundaries for myself and others. I believe every individual has value and something to contribute to this world.
How I Lead
I lead with an understanding that everyone, especially every woman, has a story. And that story matters. And that it is my job as a leader to discover how that story impacts others, their unique talents and strengths, and to create the conditions and culture for others to thrive.
How I Learn
I lean more towards the “introvert” side of the continuum. I spend a lot of time listening and thinking before I react. I learn best in small doses that allow me time to process, question, and ponder and then put new learnings into action. I am most engaged with one on one learning with an accountability or thought partner.
Want to know more?
I have a book buying issue. No, seriously. I often have several books going at one time with at least five or more on deck. I love nature and the outdoors. Hiking is my exercise of choice and my greatest mind cleanser. I practice yoga. I am not interested in “colonized” yoga with goats, chickens, or in unique settings. But rather, I am keenly interested in both the physical and spiritual practice of yoga as it was meant to be some 5,000 years ago. I adore my family, my husband, and two adult daughters. This stage of life is probably my favorite as together we can have the silliest of times playing a board game and the most serious of times in debate over an important issue. I am excited to enter into the second journey of life with my husband, Steve.
Why Lucy?
We were determined to create a space where women educators would come together as a community, acquire tools, strategies, and words that are specific to women leaders. Our lofty goal is to increase the number of women who lead schools, districts, and campuses and who thrive in those positions. We were confident in our mission. We had specific beliefs about what women leaders need to thrive. We just needed a name.
Then…we discovered Lucy.
Lucy, the earliest known human discovered in Ethopia in 1974, got her name when a party broke out the night of the discovery and the song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” was repeatedly playing in the background.
Here is what was known about “Lucy”…
She walked on two feet.
She spent a lot of time in trees
She provided new insights into the development of the human brain.
A fall from a tree might have been her demise.
She has an Ethiopian name, Dinkinesh, which means “You Are Marvelous’.
It is possible we may all have descended from this amazing Australopithecus that derived from the country of Ethiopia on the continent of Africa.
We choose “Lucy” as the name of the place where we invite women educators at all levels to come and…
-
Walk [couraeously] tall on two feet.
-
Spend time in the “trees” learning, dreaming, and creating your path.
-
Discover how you uniquely think, feel, and behave through your strengths.
-
Put down your armor and pick up brave leadership. And in doing so know you will fail. Come and create a practice where you will own your story, it will not own you, and you will know how to rise from failure or disappointment in order to choose how your story ends.
-
Create a leadership practice of self compassion that includes knowing we are in this together, we will create a community, and live and lead through common humanity. You, too, are marvelous!