Meet Our Founders
Simon Holzapfel
Chief Third Purpose Officer
Simon is a co-founder of the Lab and Executive Director of Crow Box Partners, bringing extensive experience in education leadership and innovation strategy. A former Head of School and Director of Studies, he has guided transformative learning initiatives and served on Boston University’s Agile Innovation Lab Executive Board, helping organizations rethink leadership and future-ready education.
Ben Johnson
Chief Revenue Officer
Ben leads the Lab’s Business Development initiatives and has built strong partnerships with school boards and district leaders serving communities of up to 70,000 students. With more than two decades of experience in educational governance, including service on the Riverside County Board of Education and the Alvord Board of Education, he has championed academic excellence, strategic growth, and campus improvement initiatives.
Jeff Burstein
CEO / Chief Student Advocate
Jeff is an innovator, founder, consultant, speaker, and Enterprise Agile Coach with more than 20 years of experience leading organizational transformation. He partners with companies and government agencies to improve collaboration, accelerate innovation, and create more effective ways of working through agile frameworks and modern leadership methodologies.
Pinny Sutkin
Chief Talent Officer
Wes brings more than 20 years of Talent Acquisition leadership experience across agency and corporate recruiting environments. He has led high-performing recruiting and solution architecture teams responsible for more than 9,000 hires annually, specializing in RPO strategy, SaaS recruitment technologies, and scalable workforce solutions.
Jeff Burstein
"Inspired by student insights, we discussed the possibility of offering an internship opportunity where students could work in agile teams, tackling real-world problems in a safe and supportive environment. This idea laid the foundation for what would later become the L-EAF Lab.”
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A Foundation Built on Core Values
The L-EAF Lab builds on the core values of the LEAF.org's (Learning - Educational Agile Framework) scaling framework which focuses on scaling agility in educational institutions. Students in the L-EAF Lab work collaboratively, with L-EAF values, using the WorkFLOW agile methodology in a FLOW@Scale environment. These values include Collaboration, Transparency, Integrity, Adaptability, and Openness to Possibilities, forming the bedrock of a mission to empower students to thrive in an ever-changing world.
Nurturing Transparency and Responsibility
"At L-EAF Lab, transparency is key. We believe in open communication at all levels, providing students with a clear view of their progress and encouraging them to take ownership of their learning journey," adds Simon Holzapfel. "Students are able to trace their work and the work of their team all the way up to a 6-36 month strategic objectives."
The organization is dedicated to the well-being of students and instills a sense of responsibility and ethical conduct in all activities. Teams are coached on how to build, maintain, and rebuild trust through training in commitment and system integrity. Students are provided with structured time constraints to develop their time management and self-awareness skills without feeling overwhelmed.
Fostering Adaptability and Growth Mindset
"We foster a growth mindset, encouraging students to embrace challenges and learn from them," says Jeff Burstein. "The work in the Lab is low pressure, and the pull-based working conditions create simple valves for dissipating stress. We believe that with the right mindset, anyone can achieve their goals."
Collaborative Future for Education
L-EAF Lab.org, LLC represents the types of company which openly collaborates with L-EAF.org and companies within the COllaboration$Education.org network on our shared objective of improving education for all students regardless of constraint and under the auspices of the Educational Agility Institute (www.EducationalAgility.org - “Real agile? You’ll know it, when you feel it”) .
The L-EAF Lab invites educators, institutions, and students to join us in redefining the future of education. If you would like to get in contact with us, please reach out!