About

Rethink Leadership. Ignite Potential. Achieve the Extraordinary

Mission-Driven

Stronger Consulting believes in the power of great leadership to drive positive change. We are dedicated to helping mission aligned organizations find the the right talent and strategies to maximize their impact.

leaders of color
1 %

of our national search placements are leaders of color.

placement success
1 %

of our placements are in their roles or with their organizations 12 months following placement.

retention rate
1 %

of our clients have hired us for multiple or ongoing engagements.

Our Difference

We imagine a future in which everyone can access fair and outstanding educational and life opportunities.

We aspire to see leaders today who are boldly addressing and dismantling systemic and institutional inequalities, striving to provide people with opportunities that surpass our wildest expectations.

We recognize that the shortage of diverse and empowered leaders, and the absence of thoughtful equitable solutions, pose significant obstacles to realizing this vision. Our mission is to build diverse talent pipelines that link equity-focused leaders with organizations and school systems in need of their expertise and offer solutions that benefit underserved children, communities and families.

We pursue this through:

  • Boundless Optimism: We believe in the boundless potential for a brighter reality today and tomorrow, fostering optimism that drives impactful, positive change.
  • Equitable Empowerment: We passionately champion a world where equity and racism thrive empowering all people to flourish in an inclusive and just society.
  • Informed Transparency: Driven by data and optimism, we transparently communicate truth emphasizing positivity while embracing facts to guide impactful decisions.
  • Compassionate Connection: We forge genuine connections, walking alongside others with empathy, building authentic, relationships, and supporting mission driven organizations that enrich lives. 
  • Respect: We lead with progressive empathy, treating others with respect, fostering kindness, and nurturing an environment of collaboration.

Stronger Consulting partners with you to solve your toughest challenges, from discrete projects to ongoing engagements focused on ensuring exceptional results for children and educators. We approach our work based on three fundamental values: integrity, transparency, and customization. By leveraging data and asking the right questions, we produce quality insights to help you, our partner clients, achieve their goals.

We lead with our core values of optimism and empathy: optimism for bringing about a more positive reality for children today and in the future and compassion for our clients working to make this vision a reality.

We believe all kids deserve the opportunity to pursue their version of happiness and prosperity. Stronger Consulting partners with organizations to design and achieve remarkable educational experiences for young people.

Stronger Consulting was specifically founded with a mission to advance opportunities for young people of color and prides itself on its placement of leaders of color with organizations that have taken a stance that all children deserve the opportunity to receive a high-quality education in a safe and supportive environment. Furthermore, we are working to support leaders and organizations with missions that align with ours and who are innovative, passionate, and working with a sense of urgency to create a positive reality today and in the near future. Our impact on the world is through the leaders and the organizations that we partner with.

We ensure our clients have the right individuals leading the exemplary work that produces solid outcomes for the children & youth they serve.

We focus on the fundamentals and the essentials.

  • Solid, predictable revenue supporting important work for and with children.
  • Highly effective and caring leaders.
  • Reliable and efficient operating, human capital, and financial systems.
  • Programs that are clear and focused, and effective at creating high-quality opportunities for kids.
  • Use of data and results to drive decisions and direction.
  • planning and assessment to ensure strategic priorities are achieved.

We want children to have opportunities to grow up in healthy and supportive cities, communities, and schools. We believe that a relationship with one caring adult outside a child’s immediate family is a protective factor and key to developing resilience. We know that when children have access to safe and supportive environments that appropriately stretch them, they grow into healthy young adults. We want to ensure that these environments are abundantly available to all kids.

Our Process

We believe expert support should not be intimidating. We strive to be accessible to all levels of leaders working to improve children’s educational and life outcomes.

Opportunity Phone Call

Opportunity Phone Call

During this initial call, we hope to understand who you are and what you’re passionate about. We will listen to you speak to the challenges you are facing and discuss what we see as an opportunity in a partnership with you.

Clarity and Scope Development

Clarity and Scope Development

We get clarity about you and the problem you need to address and outline an approach to working together. We will draft a proposal for our work within the budget and timeline you set.

Planning and Implementation

Planning and Implementation

After you accept our proposal and we make refinements and agreements, we will move towards implementation on a feasible timeline for you and your team.

Ongoing Support

Ongoing Support

Many of our engagements evolve as the work we set out to accomplish is completed. We will stay by your side and support you in taking advantage of ongoing opportunities.

Who You’ll Work With

You won’t work with a faceless team of consultants. You’ll get mentors with decades of experience who lead by example.

Our Leadership Team

Our leadership team has come together to advance your work and support your success. We believe in opportunity for all children.

Our Specialized Consultants

The depth and breadthh of knowledge and experience necessary to make real change happen are enormous. We are proud to leverage our network of experts to bring the rigsupportrt to the table.

Our Staff

Every organization relies on its core team to build a healthy culture and ensure the trains run on time. Our lean and mean team models balance, commitment, and excellence in their daily work.

Mike Montoya 03
Mike Montaya

Founder & CEO

together We Rise -- The Story Behind Stronger Consulting

Imagine never having the space to dream of a better tomorrow because you don’t even know if you will make it through today. This is the harsh reality for millions of children across the nation.

In resource-scarce communities and dysfunctional homes, many parents are so focused on surviving that their children are left under-supported. Feeling neglected and abandoned, these kids become frustrated and disconnected teenagers, and these teenagers can become distant and anxious adults. I know. I was one of them.

My parents did their best, but we didn’t have the resources many had. My ancestors immigrated to America in pursuit of some version of a better life. But the process of immigrating and assimilating was jarring, dangerous, and isolating. Those distressing experiences were passed onto my parents–and then onto me–only to be exacerbated by the fact that I was a gay, latino kid growing up in an ultra-conservative town in the 1980s.

Despite these challenges, a fierce resilience grew within me, and a simmering frustration brewed alongside it. Even as a kid, I could sense something wasn’t right. The imbalance of the circumstances surrounding me fueled a deep sense of injustice. When young people face circumstances like these, it’s common for them to act out, seeking escape. School becomes a struggle, friendships a fight. We grow up too fast. the belief that we deserve happiness erodes, and our dreams begin to wither away. The descent is a freefall into darkness unless.. Someone catches us before we crash. 

I am one of the lucky ones, Counselor, teachers, and mentors–whom I warmly call my personal Guardians — lifted me to my feet, brushed off my shoulders, and encouraged me toward a positive path. I went on to earn a master’s degree. I spent the next two decades of my life in the educational leadership and youth development sector, designing and expanding leadership development programs, managing partnerships, and securing funding  across various educational institutions and nonprofits.

Fast forward to 2016, I was in my early 40s and longing for a change, I realized I had more to give in this pace but didn’t have a clear vision directing my path forward. I began to revisit my childhood memories, remembering how the world felt so profoundly unfair. I gratefully thought about the teachers and mentors who stepped in to help me as a young man, knowing so many other kids remain unseen.

A fire ignited in my heart, and Stronger Consulting was born.

Our Journey Thus Far

2016

Launched Stronger Consulting to empower marginalized youth and provide the guidance I once received.

2017

Started offering workshops and training sessions for educators on supporting at-risk youth.

2018

We expanded our consulting work to include additional expert consultants.

 

2019

– Hired our first full-time team member.

– Began scaling our executive recruiting practice.

2020

Hired our second and third full-time team members and expanded our scope of services and clients for the 4th year in a row. 

2021

Expanded our team to include multiple additional full-time and part-time staff members and expert consultants to deliver high-quality work for our client partners.