About Us

Having spent more than half of my life as an educator, working with incredible people in schools around Los Angeles, I am always amazed at how dedicated, passionate, and hard-working this community is. That includes teachers, administrators, support staff, and students.

Beyond the work these folks perform as part of their regular school day, it is astonishing to see projects many take on in their own time, often on their own dime, making their organization and the world a better place.

When asking someone what they do at the school, it is not unusual to hear a response like, “Well, I wear many hats” before describing a litany of roles played on campus. “I teach history and coach the girls’ softball team. I offer a free yoga class after school and tutor on the weekends. Oh, and I head the committee on diversity, equity, and inclusion.” Teachers, in particular, may also have yard duty, carpool supervision, and often sit with the kids at lunch. And don’t forget the faculty meetings after school.

Then there are those whose passion takes them further:

• They provide after-school English language classes for parents in the neighborhood who may have recently arrived from another country.
• They host a maker space after school for kids whose parents work late so that students can design, create, and tinker using recycled materials gathered from the community.
• They enjoy hiking as a personal passion, so they organize trips to take kids outdoors and onto hiking trails that these young people didn’t know existed in L.A.
• They are students who feel strongly about social justice and take it into their own hands to organize a march or bring in speakers to share their stories and engage peers in powerful conversations.

These kinds of stories are abundant and sparked by heroes who do their work, not for recognition, but because they understand the value it brings to those involved. They do it to make the lives of the people they impact better.

At LumenSparQ, we are on a quest to support these heroes and bring their stories to life. We hope they inspire others to do the same. See more about our process for supporting these heroes.

John Umekubo, Founder