C2C Leadership Council Highlight: Jennifer Lohse

Each month we are highlighting members of our Leadership Council and showcasing their dedication to our mission of preparing every child for success in school and life. This month we are highlighting Leadership Council member Jennifer Lohse, the Vice President of External Relations for Tucson Foundations.

How did you first become involved with the Cradle to Career Partnership (C2C)?

I actually met the StriveTogether CEO from Cincinnati, Jeff Edmundson, in the early 2000s before there was a national network. When I found out that United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona was working with the national network, I was all in locally!   

Why is it important to fund education initiatives in Pima County?

Tucson Foundations have always understood the importance of funding public education at all levels in our community and so we have, from early childhood to post-secondary achievement, we have funded it all. The key is understanding why backbone funding is important to education and why Tucson Foundations supports it. Engaging a wide array of funders and diverse funding sources in all the facets of education brings public awareness to the systemic underfunding in our public schools. 

How does StriveTogether’s framework help guide C2C?

StriveTogether provides a myriad of tools to C2C so that our local partnership will never have to start from scratch. In the first two years I watched the impossible happen. I watched our community come together and identify the desired results in education and work towards those shared goals. 

What are ways that the business community can get involved with or support C2C?

Write your checks and show your receipts! Truly, the business community has an opportunity with underwriting to put results at the top and say, “We played a role in moving that needle in our community.”