Steven D. Honegger is an innovation strategist with experience in education policy, research, finance, and workforce development. He uses human-centered design to collaborate with interdisciplinary teams and solve complex problems. As a founding director, he helped launch a social innovation initiative applying design thinking to career and financial preparedness. With expertise in areas like education, business design, and strategic planning, he works to foster innovation and help organizations and individuals adapt to changes.

1. STEVEN D. HONEGGER
Innovation, Research, and Design Strategist
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Entrepreneurial visionary strategist, forward thinker, board member, director, and
researcher with a background in education policy, research, finance, and workforce
development bridging expertise in traditional research analysis and evaluation with
human-centered design. Collaborative facilitator of diverse interdisciplinary teams using
solution-focused problem-solving to co-create innovative solutions to complex issues.
Founding director who collaboratively launched a new venture using design thinking
methods grounded in research to re-imagined and redefined 21st-century career and
financial preparedness for individuals and businesses seeking to remain agile and 21st-
century competitive. Builder of client and stakeholder relations providing program and
project leadership of multiple simultaneous project teams in a matrix management
environment.
Member of i4j (innovation for jobs) a select group of experts from around the world
pushing the boundaries and reimagining the future of education, work, and careers.
Demonstrated expertise in the following areas:
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Entrepreneur, Social Innovation, Education, and Business Design Strategist 2018-Present
Building new solutions to foster enabling cultures of innovation, spark impactful social innovation
solutions, and help businesses and people stay competitive in a world of accelerated change through
human-centered design strategies that connect people and ideas from different fields of expertise and
backgrounds
• Earned Internationally recognized human-centered design credentials from IDEO and the
University of Virginia Darden School of Business
• Co-created design thinking solution to help the homeless become more financially stable as part
of a Capital One Bank initiative
• Created and prototyped a unique relationship and team-building concept and app tool that fosters
building a culture of workplace trust, support, and collaboration
• Creating an entrepreneurial start-up to help neurodiverse individuals find high-level career paths
beyond coding
• Board member and advisory consultant for WE-Technology.work helping small and medium-sized
organizations create a more engaged workforce. Fine-tuned employee engagement indicator for
better user experience and advised strategies to scale products
 Human-Centered Design & Innovation (IDEO &
University of Virginia HDC certified)
 Business Start-up, development &
product development
 K-12 & Higher Education Policy, Research, & Finance  Strategic Thinking & Planning
 Qualitative & Quantitative Research & Data Analysis  Public Speaking
 Project & Program Leadership & Team Management  External Organization Collaboration
 Outcome Indicator Creation & Performance Assessment  Federal, State, & Foundation Client
Relations

2. • Advisory board member of Aviation Sans Frontières (Aviation without borders USA) connecting
humanitarian aid and assistance in remote geographic areas through light aircraft. Developed
and wrote marketing content and strategic direction highlighted with storytelling to attract, solicit
and connect with future international donors and partners
• Grant reviewer for the National Center for Mobility Management Human-Centered Design
projects, approving over a dozen projects in the Eastern Central United States
• Assisted in a human-centered design project for TSA where several design teams used a forward-
thinking point-of-view approach to create better user experiences for travelers
• Exploring the intersections of the future of education, work, human-centered design, innovation,
science and technology, augmented and virtual reality, and artificial intelligence for future ideas to
help businesses and individuals become more prepared for the second quarter of the 21st
-century
Senior Director of Research and Founding Director 2014-2018
ThinkShift, An Initiative of the DeBruce Foundation, Washington DC & Kansas City, MO
As part of a team of forward and strategic-thinking, interdisciplinary founding directors, strategized
and co-created core beliefs, mission, direction, and brand using human-centered design for an
innovative start-up social innovation and incubator initiative to help individuals and businesses
become more 21st-century prepared and navigate the future of work.
• Brought extensive K-12, post-secondary education, adult learning, and workforce development
expertise and experience to connect research and human-centered design in developing a
comprehensive business strategy, value proposition, and tools and platform concepts for the
initiative
• Led an interdisciplinary team of colleagues to learn and embrace human-centered design
• Led ethnographic studies and research identifying relevant marketplace trends, underlying pain
points, and root cause issues of target audiences to uncover customer behavioral insights
• Facilitated a series of audience-specific group events involving young adults from Year Up and
other organizations, as well as parent groups, to gain perspectives and insights using design
thinking tools to test our theory of action and iterate new program and platform modifications
• Co-created and strategized an innovative 21st-century view of education and learning through
evidence-based research and human-centered design tools
• Created experience and journey maps, visualizations, and infographics tying consumer
experience to the organization’s mission impact that quickly and simply conveys complex ideas
leading to the creation of tools and platforms to help people become more 21st-century workforce
prepared
• Led group discussion for “The Youth Entrepreneurial Mindset: Taking Action for Generational
Change” at the 2015 Hope Global Forum, sparking a better understanding of the benefits of the
entrepreneurial mindset to motivate children to learn and become better prepared for their future
• Co-developed, tested, and iterated prototypes of products designed to assess an individual’s
career and financial preparedness, motivated abilities, and adaptability to changes in career and
life
Education Research Consultant 2011-2014
 Recognized Education Expert by ICF International and the US Department of Education as a
Race to the Top Reform Support Network consultant
 Strategist, Thought Leader & Donor Researcher—100 Thousand Strong Project, Partners of the
Americas in conjunction with the State Department and NAFSA, recommended involvement
strategies for education organizations and corporate donors, reviewed and ranked participant
proposals, ensured the most innovative and impactful concepts received funding (continuing)
 Winning lead grant writer for a state-wide community college consortium effort to better connect
college-to-job pathways for students through college, university, and industry collaboration.
(winning $12 million bid from US Department of Labor on the product proposal)

3.  Speech and presentation coach for five National Association of Independent Colleges and
Universities (NAICU) research staff to deliver more effective national conference presentations
Deputy Program Director and Senior Researcher (2006-2011)
American Institutes for Research (AIR) (Non-profit) Washington, DC
Select AIR Projects
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) School and Staffing Surveys, Common Core
of Data, Crime and Safety Surveys, and Teacher Compensation Survey
Directed survey project managers (in a matrix management environment) in report development,
client relationship management, problem-solving, and quality assurance for key national survey and
data-set research products. Ensured products were on time and within budget.
 Analyzed data-set updates from several NCES data collections, wrote and provided quality
assurance for associated reports
 Advised client on technical development and interpretation of newly created teacher
compensation national data collection
 Collaboratively led task-force of state education policy-makers to develop two NCES standards
and practices publications used in school districts across the nation
 Co-led national data collection training with NCES staff for state data coordinators to ensure
more timely and accurate data submissions
Annie E. Casey Foundation “Making Connections” Program Journey Map & Assessment
Tools
Led a client journey mapping process to uncover, model, and quantify the client’s intuitive decision-
making process for large program grant approvals and create indicators and surveys to assess
ongoing program grant success.
 Created outcome and performance indicators and grant survey tools leading to more effective
grant-making
 Uncovered and mapped the client’s intuitive grant approval process to aid future program
directors using experience mapping techniques to ensure continuity for future grant processes
Education and Community Indicators Dashboard Creation Project
Led a research team in developing a community outcome measures product to assess the greatest
need for Foundation and community development in rural and urban areas across the nation
 Led community consensus-building meetings with local leaders and Foundation staff to
collaboratively find common ground to create the most needed community impact, align
strategies and create community buy-in for 26 project area recommendations
 Led collaborative strategy to identify and classify over 100 community assessment indicators
 Led a research team of 25 in a matrix management environment to collect and analyze data,
and create reports and dashboards to assess areas of community need for Foundation funding
Research to Practice School Reforms
As the link between research and practice, worked with former large school district superintendents
to build a new school district practice area combining on-the-ground school leadership expertise
with education and finance research. Collaboratively provided district evaluations, expert
recommendations, technical assistance, and fostered local buy-in for school districts looking for
innovative solutions to increase student success.
 Created ARCGIS mapping analysis, and strategic presentations of enrollment and student
capacity leading to Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District leadership’s ultimate school choice
policy decisions

4.  Researched and advised on school capacity and recommendations for school choice policy for
Asbury Park Public Schools in Asbury Park, New Jersey
 Collaborated with three AIR content experts to augment the research component of research to
practice efforts in Chicago Public Schools
International Workforce Development
Designed project indicators for performance assessment of a $4,000,000 USAID workforce
development project for underserved youth in the poorest communities of Brazil.
 Consulted and advised on-the-ground staff on implementing project evaluation and
effectiveness plan
 Created evaluation plan judged by the USAID director as a superior work design
Post-Secondary Outcome Indicators
Advised and guided City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) leadership and staff on developing and using
outcome indicators for a newly developed program database
 Advised college leaders on using new data to create measures for data-driven decision-making
 Authored a product development primer for new CCC measures and benchmarks
Closing the Minority Achievement Gap College Readiness Reform Evaluation
Led teams to evaluate school reform effectiveness to close minority achievement gaps and
increase high school college readiness in six school districts across the nation
 Strategized and designed interview protocol and led interviews with district leadership and staff
in three school districts leading to breakthrough qualitative reform findings
 Collaborated with quantitative analysis research teams to create a comprehensive performance
assessment analysis, and a set of measures, and standards replicable for other school reforms
 Developed a product to assess the level of reform intervention engagement and implementation
Organization for Cooperation and Development (OECD) Technical Work Group
Directed US primary, secondary and tertiary education data submission by the National Center for
Education Statistics (NCES) to OECD
 Created updated calculations that better align US education data with OECD definitions for
more internationally comparable data
 As the US representative for the OECD International Technical Workforce, helped shape future
OECD education data projects
 Directed development, data collection, analysis, and findings of the first edition of the NCES
report, “Comparative Indicators of Education in the United States and Other G8 Countries”
EDUCATION
Certifications
• Foundations in Design Thinking (IDEO U)
• Specialization in Design Thinking and Innovation (University of Virginia Darden School of Business)
Organizations
• i4j (Innovation for Jobs) member of a select group of worldwide experts pushing the boundaries
of how we think about the future of work
• Toastmasters International award-winning public speaker, storyteller, presentation coach for
national organizations, and impactful leadership experience in volunteer organizations
MS, Economics BA, Economics and French
University of Illinois Illinois Wesleyan University

5. Languages
• French, Danish, Moderate Spanish