Lovejoy Strategies

49ers EDU is professional sports' first direct-service STEAM education program. Lovejoy Strategies built it from the ground up, led it for a decade and guided it to the impact of more than a half-million students and teachers. Leading 49ers EDU's strategic planning, curriculum development, fundraising, operations and community engagement, Lovejoy Strategies touched every element of the initiative and was central to its birth, growth and success. 

The Long Game is the 49ers Museum's examination and celebration of the intersection of sports and social justice in the Bay Area. It's the only such exhibit in team sports in the U.S and has been lauded locally and nationally for its commitment to educating museum-goers and youth on the role athletes and athletics can play in inspiring and driving change. Lovejoy Strategies advocated internally to get the project green-lit, curated the advisory committee, developed all its content, executive produced the exhibit's feature film, and oversaw all elements of exhibit fabrication and production. 

The Lemelson Center for Invention and Innovation at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History is developing its Change YOUR Game exhibit, a celebration of the impact of invention and innovation on the world of sport. The exhibit, which will open to the public March 15, 2024, is centrally focused on helping individuals identify, understand, and advance their inventive identities. Lovejoy Strategies was enlisted to  develop a five-year education and community engagement program strategy and suite of initiatives to complement the exhibit's on-site experience. Our efforts are  focused on concept definition, strategic planning, partnership development and program construction as we bring the exhibit to life for constituents outside its walls.

Play Like a Girl's goal was a complete overhaul of its flagship mentoring program. The result, after an intense, three-month project, was a completely new initiative that allows females in industry the chance to engage with and help teach STEAM to middle-school aged girls across the country. Launching in 2024, Meet & Mentor will drive Play Like a Girl into the future and create thousands of transformative learning experiences along the way. Lovejoy Strategies dove deep on the project, writing the entire curriculum, providing instruction during its beta test and working closely with PLAG's founder to bring her vision for the work to life. 

The Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum is one of the most poignant and powerful museums in the world. Its message and focus connects and inspires. OKCNMM has operated a STEAM program since 2017. Lovejoy Strategies supported the program's formation--alongside strategic partner Cortina Productions--and recently re-joined the team in 2023 to revisit its programming strategy, funding and execution as it moves into its next chapter of its service to the students and teachers of OKC. 

The Saban Center is a campus being created in Tuscaloosa Alabama that will house a world-class science museum and STEAM education experience. In the development and blueprint stage, Lovejoy Strategies is a central figure in determining how to incorporate STEAM education into the Museum and exhibit environment, and the associated STEAM programming aimed at students and teachers. Seated alongside strategic partner Cambridge Seven, Lovejoy Strategies has driven all STEAM components of the project, including experience ideation, exhibit integration, constituent engagement and curriculum wireframing

Embedding with both the FC Dallas and National Soccer Hall of Fame teams for a year, Lovejoy Strategies led the conceptualization, curriculum development, operations planning and partnership management for the two organizations' collaborative STEAM FC initiative. Central to the success of this project was Lovejoy Strategies' successful facilitation of the relationship between the Frisco Independent School District, local advisory committee and FCD/NSHOF. Our front seat on pitching and securing funding was another crucial element to the project's successful development and launch. 

Serving as an envoy for the U.S. State Department's Sport Diplomacy Division, Jesse Lovejoy led a humanitarian visit to the island of Fiji to conduct professional development sessions for local educators on how to use sport to engage youth in STEAM. On the heels of the Fijian Minister of Education's declaration that STEAM proficiency was key to the island nation's economy and education, sport was identified as a way to inspire youth to lean in. Working with Sport Diplomacy to develop the approach, Lovejoy led multiple professional development sessions with local educators and visited four K-8 schools to teach lessons on the ground to local students. 

The Rams, in the run-up to the launch of SoFi stadium, were interested in understanding how informal STEAM education could be a piece of the team's community relations puzzle in the years to come. Lovejoy Strategies led the team's senior leadership through a vision, strategy and value proposition/partnership session to provide inspiration and context for the club to consider moving forward. 

Embedding into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for 12 weeks, Lovejoy Strategies conducted a feasibility study to lay the foundation for a STEAM education program run out of the Springfield, Mass. home for the past, present and future of the game of basketball. Working directly with organizational leadership, multiple versions of a potential program were provided after discussions with the local school district, funders, internal audiences and key stakeholders. 

Science of Sport (SoS) develops interdisciplinary STEM curricula and programs for diverse learning environments. They inspire a love for knowledge and empower young minds for lifelong success. The synergies between SoS and Lovejoy Strategies are obvious, and the two organizations have been connected informally for nearly a decade. In June 2024, SoS engaged Lovejoy Strategies to lend sales and strategic support to the organization as it drives forward with ambitious growth goals.