It was an honor to have Sue Stephenson, a Corporate Responsibility Executive with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, as a speaker at our Ideagen (Idea-gen.com) Summit in June.

Adults matter to children. Whether it is the earth, the seas, or the air we breathe, we cannot destroy our planet's assets and hope to survive, let alone prosper. These young at risk are also our "assets," whose untapped potential is being wasted.

So, by all means, let's use data, let's set goals, and let's figure out what works. And at the same time, let's also re-commit ourselves to be discerning in how we pursue this path.

I came to believe in collective impact from a cognitive dissonance I increasingly experienced during two decades of work in the nonprofit sector.

Changing complex education systems is no easy feat. It requires patience, humility, and a willingness to honestly and openly acknowledge "what is" in order to work towards "what could be."