Some people believe that Meghan Raftery not only owns Edjacent, but that she actually is Edjacent. But Edjacent is much larger than just one or a handful of people, and ownership extends to our designers, members, and participants. Authentic collaboration and community is necessary for communities to be successful, and Edjacent is a design collaborative that was developed from the tenets of collaboration, community, and innovation. Collaborative design brings together a variety of perspectives, ideas, and experiences, which come from our “owners” - designers, members, and participants.
As an Edjacent designer you can lead, create, communicate, and share ideas within our collaborative and larger community. Typically, the title designer is not associated with K-12 educators; however, we know educators are constantly designing lesson plans, classrooms, and instructional experiences for all learners. Edjacent designers create content to transform the education profession. And develop their legacy through the work they share. Our community provides a space for designers to demonstrate their wisdom and artistry, and we ensure that designers are compensated for their efforts.
Designers support the structure of Edjacent by building their own businesses according to their expertise, design, facilitation,or practice. Each designer decides which access points, pathways, and seats or roles they would like to participate in based on their time commitment. Some designers work full-time jobs, some are retired professionals, and others are freelancers in various spaces.
Frequently, the leadership roles in Edjacent are adjusted based on individual designers' obligations in their personal and professional lives. We currently have core designers who host seats focused on hospitality, strategy, culture, communication, and design. We also have a leadership team committed to serving for a season. Right now, there is a seasonal intensive team focused on the strategy of Edjacent and onboarding of new designers.
This structure, often used in community organizing, allows for distributive and iterative leadership. Each person is vital, but no one person is completely responsible for the success of the entity. The snowflake model demonstrates the interactive ecosystem of Edjacent. We emphasize shared leadership and a team structure so any designer can step away for a season or more without interruption to the work of the Edjacent collaborative. The previously mentioned core designer seats lead teams that lead other teams. If you’ve watched the exposé “LuLaRich '' on Amazon Prime,this is neither a pyramid scheme nor multilevel marketing. Our model looks more like the snowflake model above.
People who are interested in Edjacent but are not ready to commit to being a designer can become Edjacent members. Members are still part of the collaborative, even if they do not actively create at this time. There are reciprocal interactions between designers and members through community engagement and the constant sharing of ideas, which allows designers and members to be responsive to each others’ needs. Additionally, there are Edjacent participants that engage on social media and with our blog posts about the content we discuss. Participants can learn from our designers’ ideas in a variety of ways, joining the conversation if they’d like, or taking the ideas posed by the community back to their professional spaces.
The Edjacent logo at the top of this post represents our network of contributors. During any given season, some designers are actively involved in the hospitality, strategy, culture, communication, and design of our organization. They are represented by the most saturated section in the center of the logo. No less important are the people in the lighter sections, who provide fellowship, insight, support, and enthusiasm. The dynamic of the hosts of our work changes each season, allowing our collaborative to capitalize on the talents and passions of our entire community rather than just a few designers or members.
Using her gifts, talents, abilities, and resources, Meghan Raftery had the vision, and solicited others to co-create Edjacent. While Meghan’s name appears on the official paperwork, Edjacent ownership is more intricate and sensational than an individual business. When the collaborative was created, the founding designers thought it was important that the question of ownership was settled in alignment with our core values of authenticity, belonging, and growth. We implemented a model that represented those values and we wanted a nonhierarchical model.
Edjacent is an entity that demonstrates collaboration and community through an interactive ecosystem. So who owns Edjacent? The truth is, Edjacent is owned by our entire ecosystem - designers, members, and participants. Edjacent is an organization for educators, by educators. Edjacent is led by a constellation of experienced and wise educators. Our collective success is shared by all, including the students and families who are the ultimate beneficiaries of our work.
