From Classroom to Community: How One Educator Took a Leap of Faith to Pursue Her Passion
- Catherine Huckaby
- Sep 26
- 9 min read
Updated: Oct 1
Sometimes the most meaningful career journeys happen when you build something significant from the ground up—you start with a foundation of skills and experiences, then gradually add new layers of knowledge and purpose until you've created something far more impactful than you originally imagined.
This perfectly describes Courtney Craven's transformation from educator and coach to community engagement leader, a path that shows how diverse experiences can combine to create extraordinary opportunities for service.
Building Community Connections: The Missing Puzzle Piece
When you ask Courtney Craven for her elevator pitch about her current role as Community Engagement and Communications Manager at Cohere (working on-site at The Grove Frisco), her response cuts right to the heart of what matters:
"My goal is simple: to try to get people out of their homes and meet others in the neighborhood and build meaningful connections."
That simple statement captures everything you need to know about effective community engagement. It's not about complicated strategies or industry jargon—it's about genuine human connection, plain and simple.
In her current role, she focuses on "bringing residents, neighbors, non-profits, employers, and others together to build a sustainable legacy community." This comprehensive approach shows how modern community engagement has evolved beyond traditional boundaries to create truly integrated communities where everyone has a stake in collective success.
Her position combines strategic communication with grassroots engagement, creating the kind of holistic outreach that actually makes a difference. And here's why that matters: how can you truly engage with a community if you can't communicate effectively with them? And what good is polished communication if it doesn't foster real relationships?
Almost every event she plans involves a local business within the community of The Grove Frisco, either through sponsorship or on-site presence. The partnerships she has built have become a huge part of what makes The Grove Frisco stand out from other master planned communities in the area.
You'll often find Courtney networking and building meaningful connections at local Frisco Chamber of Commerce events or HOA Connect meetings.
The Unexpected Path: From Education to Community Engagement Careers
Her journey into community engagement work didn't follow some predetermined career playbook. Like many of us who find our way to meaningful work, her path included experiences that seemed unrelated at the time but ultimately prepared her for exactly where she needed to be.
Courtney dedicated 18 years to education in Plano ISD, from August 2006 to August 2024, but what makes her story particularly compelling is how her roles evolved over time. While she served as a Physical Education Teacher, multiple Club Sponsor, Department Head, and District East Cluster Lead throughout this period, she also took on the role of Community Engagement Coordinator at Dooley Elementary during the final eight years—a dual responsibility that proved to be perfect preparation for her current work.
As a Community Engagement Coordinator, she focused on,
"Providing student and family centered events and community outreach opportunities by collaborating with local businesses and non-profits."
Sound familiar? Those same skills—event planning, community outreach, and partnership building—form the backbone of her current role.
But her entrepreneurial spirit also led her to explore other ways to serve people while maintaining her education career. In 2021, she founded Craven Custom Travel, a part-time venture specializing in vacation planning that she continues to operate remotely and is continuously recognized as a top producer with her host agency. This business venture taught her valuable lessons about customer service, project management, and operations—skills that directly transfer to community engagement work.
Perhaps most meaningfully, in 2020, she co-founded Soles for Souls NTX, a nonprofit that "provides new, quality athletic shoes to students in need in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex." This organization, which she continues to lead part-time, demonstrates her commitment to addressing real community needs in practical ways.
She also serves as Director of Community Groups at City Point Church in Allen, Texas, where she focuses on leadership development and team building—roles that complement and strengthen her primary community engagement work.
"People are usually taken aback when they find out all the things I'm involved in, and they ask, 'How do you manage to do ALL the things?' The answer is simple: When you're passionate about something—in my case, it's serving others—it becomes a way of life. It's not an 'I have to do this' mindset; it's an 'I GET to do this' mindset."
This unique background of experiences offers tremendous encouragement for anyone feeling stuck or wondering if their experiences qualify them for public service work. Courtney's story proves that skills from education, business, nonprofit work, and volunteer leadership often combine beautifully to create unique qualifications for community engagement roles.
Defining Community Engagement: When It's Done Right, You Know It
Rather than getting lost in theoretical community engagement frameworks, Courtney focuses on what actually works in practice. Her approach emphasizes meeting people where they are instead of expecting them to show up to your predetermined programs and events. This philosophy recognizes something crucial: effective community engagement requires flexibility, cultural awareness, and genuine curiosity about the various needs within any community.
What sets her apart is her understanding that true community engagement creates sustainable connections. It's not enough to host events or send out newsletters—you need to build relationships that last and create systems where community members feel genuinely invested in each other's success.
When community engagement is working well, you don't need fancy metrics to prove it. You see increased participation, stronger neighborhood connections, and residents who feel genuinely heard and valued by the organizations serving them. The results speak for themselves.
The Power of Mentoring: Investing in the Next Generation of Leaders
Courtney's passion for mentoring young people is impossible to miss. She believes that many youth lack consistent positive role models in their lives, making intentional mentoring even more essential.
Her extensive experience in education, combined with her nonprofit work, has taught her that mentoring doesn't require formal programs or complicated structures. It's about showing up, offering encouragement, and helping young people recognize their own potential. Whether through her neighborhood engagement work, church leadership, or nonprofit involvement, she consistently looks for ways to invest in the next generation of community leaders.
“The first week of summer break, a teen resident approached me with an idea: a Hackathon for teens at The Grove Frisco. As he presented his vision for ways to create a sustainable ecosystem within our neighborhood, his inner light was shining. He had passion, purpose, and faith in me that I would help his vision come to life.”
This event went on to be highly successful amongst the teens in the neighborhood, and Courtney was able to secure judges from a local university as well as the local school district.
Here's what's beautiful about this approach: mentoring creates a multiplying effect. When you invest in one young person, they often go on to mentor others. That's how you build lasting change in communities, one relationship at a time.
Essential Skills for Community Engagement Success
Courtney emphasized that at its core, community engagement work requires genuine care for people. Technical skills can be taught, but authentic concern for community wellbeing must come from within.
This honest assessment reflects the reality of community work. You need authentic concern for others, emotional resilience, and the ability to navigate complex interpersonal situations. While technical skills and credentials certainly matter, the heart of effective community engagement lies in your ability to build genuine relationships.
Based on her experiences across education, nonprofit work, and community engagement, she says these are some of the most essential skills public servants should develop:
Active listening and empathy
You can't serve people well if you don't truly understand their needs.
Cultural awareness and sensitivity
Communities are beautifully diverse, and effective engagement honors those differences.
Event planning and project management
Much of community building happens through shared experiences.
Flexibility and adaptability
Plans change, people have different needs, and successful community workers roll with it.
Collaboration and partnership building
No one organization can meet all community needs.
Clear communication across diverse audiences
You need to speak everyone's language, literally and figuratively.
Leadership development
Great community engagement creates more leaders, not more followers.
Notice how these are fundamentally human skills? That's not a coincidence. Community work is people work, first and foremost.
7 Pieces of Advice for Aspiring Public Servants and Community Leaders
Drawing from Courtney Craven's insights, here are key recommendations for anyone considering a career in public service or community engagement:
Don't Wait for Perfect Qualifications
Courtney's journey from physical education teacher to community engagement leader proves that diverse backgrounds create unique strengths. Your combination of experiences, whether in education, business, nonprofit work, or any other field—often provides exactly what community organizations need most.
Develop Genuine Care for People
You can teach technical skills, project management, and event planning. But authentic concern for community wellbeing must come from within. You truly must care about people because this work will challenge you emotionally and interpersonally in ways textbooks never prepare you for.
Start Where You Are
Notice how Courtney began community engagement work while still teaching, started her nonprofit during the pandemic, and built her travel business while working full-time in education. You don't need to quit your day job to start making a community impact.
Build Relationships Before You Need Them
Effective community work happens through established trust and relationships. Invest time in getting to know community members, local organizations, and potential partners before you launch programs or initiatives. This foundation makes everything else possible.
Expect Challenges—And Embrace Them
Real community work is never neat and tidy. People have complex needs, competing priorities, and strong opinions about how things should be done. Your success will come from navigating these challenges with grace, persistence, and genuine care for everyone involved.
Find Mentors and Become One
Seek out experienced professionals who can guide your development and actively look for opportunities to mentor others. Courtney's work spans from elementary school students to adult community members—there's always someone who can benefit from your knowledge and experience.
Remember Your Why
When the work gets challenging—and it will—reconnect with your original motivation for serving others. Whether it's providing shoes to students who need them or helping neighbors connect with each other, that foundation will sustain you through difficult seasons.
Looking Ahead: Building Inclusive Communities
Right now, Courtney's excitement centers on the challenge of building what she calls "sustainable legacy communities"—neighborhoods where residents, businesses, nonprofits, and other stakeholders work together for long-term success rather than short-term gains.
This vision captures the evolving nature of community engagement work. We're moving beyond traditional approaches to create spaces where all residents feel welcome, represented, and invested in each other's success. It's the kind of forward-thinking challenge that makes community work both demanding and deeply rewarding.
The communities that get this right don't just host better events or have prettier neighborhoods, they build stronger, more resilient places where everyone has a role to play and a reason to stay invested for the long haul.
The Ripple Effect of Authentic Service
Courtney Craven's story reveals something powerful about careers in community engagement: when you align your work with your values and genuine care for others, the impact extends far beyond job descriptions or organizational goals. You become part of something bigger—a movement of people working to strengthen communities, one relationship at a time.
Her path from educator to community engagement leader shows that meaningful career transitions are possible when you pay attention to your developing interests and skills. More importantly, her approach—grounded in authentic relationships, practical problem-solving, and genuine care—offers a practical model for anyone wanting to make a real difference in their community.
Whether you're considering a career change, exploring public service opportunities, or simply looking for ways to get more involved locally, her story reminds us of an important truth: the most essential qualification for community work is a genuine desire to serve others. Everything else—the skills, knowledge, and experience—can be developed along the way.
Our communities need people who care deeply, work authentically, and remain committed to building connections across all the beautiful differences that make neighborhoods vibrant and strong. As Courtney's experience demonstrates, when you bring your whole self to this work, transformation happens—both in the communities you serve and in yourself.
That's the kind of career that doesn't just pay the bills—it feeds your soul while making the world a little bit better. And in times like these, we could all use more of that kind of meaningful work.
Resources and Organizations Mentioned
Cohere is a placemaking and community management firm dedicated to bringing the life-changing power of community to the world. More than an HOA management company, Cohere creates places where relationships flourish, residents feel supported, and true belonging is built.
Soles4Souls NTX works with local school districts to distribute new athletic shoes to students who need them, removing obstacles to participation in school activities. This initiative promotes dignity and encourages engagement among young people.
City Point Church in Allen, Texas creates a welcoming environment for spiritual growth and connection through worship services, outreach projects, and small groups. The church emphasizes transformation, belonging, and making a difference in the community.
Craven Custom Travel designs personalized travel plans for leisure and business, helping clients discover memorable destinations around the globe. Led by Courtney Craven, the agency provides helpful guidance for trips tailored to individual interests and needs.
For more stories of public servants making a difference in their communities, visit the contributors’ section of this website and discover how you can get involved in building stronger, more connected neighborhoods.
