Meet The Team

After her newspaper column “Why I Let My 9-Year-Old Ride the Subway Alone” landed her on NPR, Fox News and everywhere in between, Lenore went on to write Free-Range Kids, the book-turned-movement. She has been profiled in The New Yorker, hosted the reality show, “World’s Worst Mom,” and has lectured everywhere from Disney to Microsoft to schools across the country — and the Bulgarian Happiness Festival. It was Lenore who created the annual “Take Our Children to the Park…And Leave Them There Day.” She is obsessive about The Let Grow Project, which she predicts will one day be in every school just like P.E. — but without the humiliating uniforms.

Andrea has worked in the start-up ed-tech industry in professional development, operations, customer success and sales for over 14 years, after spending her early career as a teacher in multiple states. She has a B.A. from Cal State, Fresno, and is a longtime certified Project Management Professional. At Let Grow, she brings her unique education and business background to manage our operations and expand our school and parent programs. She loves living in Las Vegas with her much-appreciated and endearingly goofy husband, vacationing in Mexico, and is a proud Trekkie. She has two adult children, both independent and married.

Once called the “conscience of the child welfare system” — by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Director she sued — Diane has been a child and family advocate since she graduated from Stanford Law in 1979. She has litigated dozens of major cases, led non-profits, taught at the University of Chicago Law School, and helped forge national and state coalitions that protect the rights of families to raise their kids, including United Family Advocates. Diane has been a Let Grow mom ever since her son successfully blocked her from helping him with his Cub Scout Pinewood Derby — and he went on to win the Best Car award!

Erin is a highly accomplished professional with over 20 years of executive administration experience. She
has earned a Bachelor of Business Administration developing a strong foundation in business principles
and practices. Throughout her career, Erin has held key roles in executive administration,
demonstrating exceptional organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to easily handle
multiple responsibilities. Her extensive experience has equipped her with a deep understanding of the
intricacies of managing executive-level operations and providing crucial support to high-level decision-
makers. (Translation: she keeps us on top of things!)

Liza is a 14-year educator, parent, and experienced nonprofit leader. She believes in giving students freedom to explore and learn on their own terms.She holds a BA from Northwestern University in Radio/Television/Film and an M.Ed from DePaul University in elementary education. When she’s not helping schools implement Let Grow, you can find Liza teaching yoga or exploring Chicago’s hidden gems with her husband and two adventurous young children, who are always encouraged to try new things, make glorious mistakes, and grow through the beauty of play.

Megan Hebert brings a variety of experience in the education world to Let Grow to connect with schools and support their individualized implementation of our school programs. She has a M.Ed  in Curriculum and Instruction from University of San Diego and a BA in Elementary Education from University of Vermont. Megan believes wholeheartedly in the importance of independence and growth opportunities in children’s lives, and has seen firsthand how this transfers to joy, discovery, and self awareness. She lives in Denver, Colorado and loves adventuring in the mountains with her family.

Jen brings her years of experience in teaching, coaching, instructional design, program development, and education research to the Let Grow School Projects Team. No matter the role she’s held—camp counselor, classroom teacher, instructional designer, health coach, parenting program developer, education researcher—Jen’s career through-line is to help individuals strengthen their sense of agency and autonomy. As mom to two young adults, she strives to keep living the Let Grow mantra of “step back, so kids can step up”.