Clients - The IllumiLab

Since 2016, The IllumiLab has served dozens of nonprofit organizations including service providers, grant-makers, and intermediaries, including those below.

Denise Cross

We had the pleasure of working with The IllumiLab on our strategic planning project, and their expertise was evident from the start. They masterfully managed discussions, ensuring every voice was heard and equity was prioritized throughout the process. Their respect for our audience and willingness to adapt to our needs was truly commendable. What could have been an overwhelming challenge was broken down into clear, manageable steps, making the entire process not only doable but highly effective. I highly recommend The IllumiLab for any organization looking to develop a thoughtful and inclusive strategic plan.

Denise Cross, Executive Director, Developmental Disabilities Resource Board of St. Charles County

Becky Herschbach

Sarah has a unique ability to synthesize reams of information quickly and accurately, to clearly communicate complex ideas to broad audiences, and to diplomatically manage a variety of personalities and team cultures. She infused our project with energy, excitement and good humor, which helped keep us motivated and focused. Working with Sarah is the best investment an organization can make in itself.

Becky Herschbach, Executive Director, Productive Living Board

Sarah Paradoski

Having worked with Sarah Buek in the past and knowing the depth of her expertise and effectiveness, I was thrilled that we were able to engage IllumiLab in a Performance Management Plan for the specific needs of our organization and with the participation of all staff. The IllumiLab takes great care to understand the organizations they work with and really listen and learn from the project participants when formulating solutions. The result was an incredibly informed, comprehensive, cohesive, clear, and user-friendly roadmap for the future of our programs. The tools developed have both simplified and enhanced our ability to make an impact and evaluate its depth for those we serve. We felt that the value-add to our operations was more than worth it, and I doubt there are many consulting firms in the St. Louis area, or even in the country, that give you as much "bang for your buck" with their services - something infinitely valuable for nonprofits seeking to meaningfully and sustainably build their capacity. We are immensely grateful for IllumiLab's work!

Sarah Paradoski, Director of Grants, Immigrant Home English Learning Program

Marjorie Moore

Our data collection and evaluation systems were a mess. We didn't know if we were making an impact, we thought we were, but our surveys focused on all the wrong things. After working with Sarah, not only do we have a clear idea about our outcomes and how to collect them in an efficient and meaningful manner, but we have a clearer vision of our programs AND how they fit together to support our clients over the long-term.

Marjorie Moore, Executive Director, VOYCE St. Louis

Bess Wilfong

The board and staff at Angels' Arms are all beyond pleased with our work with The IllumiLab. Sarah pushed us to ask "what, why and how" about our every day practices and beliefs that turned into procedures and habits and needed to be re-evaluated. The input The IllumiLab provided every step of the way was invaluable and guided us through some complex issues. We have refined our board. We have clarified our roles. We have defined our programs. We now can explain and measure what we do, how we do it, and why it's important. We are 100% glad that we embarked on this journey with The IllumiLab.

Bess Wilfong, Executive Director, Angels' Arms

Melissa Brickey

Sarah’s work has deeply and positively impacted our organization. Her keen insight, her ability to ask thought-provoking questions, and her engaging facilitation have moved Diversity Awareness Partnership and our mission to a stronger, more sustainable place. She readily invites people into conversation and dialogue, where she skillfully challenges folks to think broader and deeper. She is a joy to work with – funny, interesting, and enthusiastic for mission-driven work.

Melissa Brickey, Executive Director, Diversity Awareness Partnership

Karen Schuster

The IllumiLab led my team through a project to redesign our client services. This project included defining our theory of change, designing outcome statements, and developing relevant measurements to help us tell our story. Sarah has a gift for making sense out of chaos. She respects everyone's input, keeps a project on track, and ensures everyone has the opportunity to contribute.

Karen Schuster, Executive Director, LifeBridge Partnership

Allison Williams

We engaged The IllumiLab to help us identify a new data system that could meet our changing needs, and ensure a strong performance management culture focused on impact and continual learning. Sarah’s expertise and guidance have been fantastic through this process. She helped us clearly identify our needs, was a fantastic “translator” with data companies, and has brought a laser-like focus to ensuring we were set up for success. Sarah’s previous experience working at non-profit organizations means she understands the many client, organizational, and funding needs that a technology system must support. The IllumiLab will definitely stay on our short list of fantastic collaborators should another project arise.

Allison Williams, Sr. Vice President, Wyman Center

Kathleen Koenen

As the leader of a small nonprofit, logic models, impact, outcomes, and outputs were not in my normal vocabulary and seemed too big a task, but we were at a point where we needed to develop our strategies. In came Sarah who organized a plan and worked with our entire staff to define success and set our goals. She had an approach that made it fun, and her style was affirming and clear. We now have clear tools for measurement, a plan for sharing, and a tool for compiling data that I can use with ease. The package was just what we needed. I learned a new way of telling our story of success.

Kathleen Koenen, English Tutoring Project

Sarah Hall

“Through our work with Sarah we have been able to view our work from a different lens and are in the process of creating a more streamlined and impactful service through our programs. Being able to make sometimes very small changes and opening our eyes to what we didn't see was such a learning experience and will have a ripple effect on other aspects of how we serve our populations”

Sarah Hall, Vice President, Faith through Fire

Allison P

What sets The IllumiLab apart is that they put all their energy and effort into getting to know your organization so that their results reflect your organization's best interests. What I most appreciated about working with Abby is that she would take the time to break down each of her findings with me so that I always knew what was going on and had a basic understanding of so many moving parts. We cannot recommend them enough!

Allison Panasiewicz, Annual Fund and Events Associate, Wyman Center

ACLU of Missouri

Aging Ahead

Angels’ Arms

Almost Home

ALS Association of St. Louis

Assistance League of St. Louis

Care and Counseling

Care to Learn

Center for Community Health Partnership and Research,
Washington University in St. Louis

Community Hope Center

Cortex

Developmental Disabilities Advocates
(formerly Jefferson County Developmental Disabilities Resource Board)

Developmental Disabilities Resources Board
of St. Charles County

Diversity Awareness Partnership

Eastern Region Alliance (Story)

English Tutoring Project (Story)

Epilepsy Foundation of Missouri and Kansas

Episcopal City Mission

Faith Through Fire

Food Outreach

Funders’ Learning & Evaluation Group

Gateway Center for Giving

Gephardt Institute, Washington University in St. Louis

Girls in the Know

HEROES Care

Humanitri

iHELP (Immigrant Home English Learning Program)

International Institute

Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis

Jewish Community Center, St. Louis

Jewish Family Services

Jewish Federation of St. Louis

LifeBridge Partnership

LifeWiseSTL

L’Arche St. Louis

Mental Health America

Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas (Story)

MindsEye Radio

Missouri Office of Refugee Administration

Missouri Association of County Developmental Disabilities Services

Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities

Pathways to Independence

Prison Performing Arts

Productive Living Board

Rung for Women

Saint Louis Crisis Nursery

Send Me St. Louis

St. Francis Xavier College Church

St. Louis Arc

St. Louis City Office for Developmental Disability Resources

St. Louis County Children’s Service Fund

St. Louis Jewish Community Center

St. Louis Mental Health Board

St. Vincent Home for Children

Urban Harvest STL

Variety the Children’s Charity of St. Louis (Story)

Voices for Children/CASA of St. Louis

VOYCE

Wyman Center