When I told my mom about my new role, she said, “You don’t seem excited. You’re… a hesitant CEO, maybe?”

I laughed and we decided that should be the title of my next book, five years from now when this role has proven wildly successful. But she wasn’t wrong. I never aspired to be a CEO. I’m a happy worker bee, I’ve always said. My talents are in making things happen—I’m efficient, organized, and relational. A visionary or futurist? Not so much.

That’s why my partnership with Dr. Kim West at i2e has been such a good one for the past 11 years. Her Clifton Strengths exactly complement mine, and we work together in a way that allows us each to serve our part. But recently, it became clear to both of us that it was time to separate. i2e is ready to move into corporate space—supporting enterprise corporations with training and business-specific support. Meanwhile, I’ve always felt specifically focused on education. It’s difficult to serve two different audiences with a high level of excellence, so over the summer, we worked on a strategy to de-merge.

So I recently became sole owner and CEO of Phygital Labs LLC, a new company that supports K12 and higher education with playful, innovative learning experiences for teachers and students. The portfolio I’ve worked hard to build follows me to Phygital Labs, as do the clients. This means that within just a few days of our launch, Phygital Labs is already a training partner for Microsoft Education, Minecraft Education, Canva Education, Canva Campus, and Canva Enterprise. We continue to support companies like Arcademy, Grammarly, and Stride K12, and we can provide services for brands like CDW. We keep our game designer and build studio. It’s an incredibly exciting opportunity to launch a startup with these major brands already on board.

That’s not to say we’re just maintaining what exists. I’ve set up calls this week with business mentors and have some fresh ideas for expanding the company in new ways—particularly around creating more scalable professional learning models and building a community of practice for innovative educators.

Here’s what I know about myself: I have my own brand that includes two books and speaking engagements around the world, I write courses for LinkedIn Learning, and I’ve built a life where I can dedicate half my day to my family, my health, and my personal joys. This new role doesn’t change those commitments. I feel it builds on them. I’m not interested in running a company the traditional way. I’m interested in building something sustainable, educator-focused, and deeply connected to the work that matters.

I’m thankful for the support of so many people around the world who have reached out with kind words during this transition. And to my family, who celebrated with flowers, a card, and dinner out.

Sometimes the roles we need to step into aren’t the ones we imagined. But if there’s one thing education has taught me, it’s that growth happens outside our comfort zones. I’m ready to be a different kind of CEO—one who leads by doing, building, and staying connected to the work that matters most to me: supporting educators and students.