Meet Lynly Stephen | CEO & Speech-Language Pathologist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lynly Stephen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lynly, how does your business help the community or world?
When I made the decision to become a speech-language pathologist, my goal was to make a positive educational and emotional impact on children who learn in non-traditional ways. This meant thinking “outside of the box” to create natural and meaningful opportunities for learning. For many years, I traveled the country providing training to other speech-language pathologists and teachers on how to creatively reach students who were struggling and needed unique approaches to be able to successfully tackle the challenges of education. Little did I know that this would open up an opportunity to start my own business that would touch the lives of thousands of children nationwide! Fifteen years ago, a non-profit organization in the DFW area approached me about helping them to acquire academically aligned curriculum for the students in their afterschool programs. With their programs geared towards at-risk students, it was critical that the curriculum could not feel like an extension of the school day but must rather be a collection of fun and engaging learning opportunities. This task proved to be impossible. After exhaustive research I discovered that there was nothing on the market that would meet their needs. Knowing how critical it was that they have an all-encompassing, simple to use, and fun way to offer educational enrichment to their students, I decided to offer to create a series of lessons designed to meet their specific needs. This offer opened the door of opportunity and today, MindWorks Resources provides academic enrichment to afterschool programs nationwide. Through MindWorks’ hands-on, engaging, student-centered lessons, thousands of students at risk of dropping out of school are inspired and empowered to take control of their own educational experiences. They are given opportunities to learn information in creative ways, explore their own learning styles to discover how they learn best, and be actively engaged in successful implementation of soft skills such as communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It has been such a joy to hear amazing success stories from the programs who use MindWorks. To hear the difference that our “out of the box” approach to education is having on thousands upon thousands of our country’s youth is truly amazing! The youth of today are our future and MindWorks is proud to be part of building a strong foundation for tomorrow’s leaders.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
As a small business owner, I believe that our employees, which we often refer to as “family,” are the foundation of our success. Many of our employees have been with us for almost a decade and each and every one are dedicated to our mission of providing exceptional learning opportunities, making a long-term positive impacts on students’ views of learning, and building students’ self-confidence through positive educational experiences. To our employees, MindWorks is more than just a job. It is a mission. Like many other small business, COVID-19 has been a real challenge. Literally, one day all of our customers had to stop providing in-person schooling and switch to remote learning. Our traditional educational materials, designed to promote students working collaboratively, interacting with one another for extended periods of time, and sharing materials, became temporarily obsolete. How our wonderful staff responded to this unexpected change was remarkable. As always, the education of students came first. The team at MindWorks immediately began developing a new product line to ensure that students received the same amazing learning opportunities from home as they had become accustomed to at school. Our staff worked tirelessly to meet the needs of students, parents, and educators and to minimize the stress of having to adapt to the drastic change in the educational system. I have never been more proud of our dedicated team than I have been over the past eight months.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am a life-long Texan, born and raised. I grew up in Abilene and moved to “the big city” 23 years ago. I have grown to love all that big city life has to offer and the diversity of the DFW Metroplex. There are so many amazing things to do! At the top of the list, some traditional Texas boot scooting in Fort Worth. The cattle drive through the Stockyards, a steak dinner at the Reatta, a concert and Billy Bob’s, and a nightcap at Thompson’s Bookstore are all musts. Next up, Dallas. Brunch at Breadwinners, the afternoon at Clyde Warren Park, and the evening enjoying the sights, sounds, and dining options in Bishop Arts would make for a perfect day. Then of course, the week would also consist brewery hopping at some of the great local breweries, dining at locally owned hang-outs in the suburbs, and some shopping at some of the great outdoor centers. There are so many fun places to visit and things to do, my friend would likely need a vacation after her vacation!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Starting a business is not easy and never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be a business owner. When it became apparent that my offer to write a few lessons was the beginning of something much larger, I have to admit, I was terrified. I was not trained in business, I had never even considered having my own business, I had no idea how to move to the next step, and quite honestly, I lacked the confidence in myself to step out of my comfort zone. Thankfully, my husband, Eric, had a degree in business and all the confidence in the world that I could do great things. He was beside me every step as I began my new journey with advice, support, and encouragement and providing for our family as I stepped down from my secure job to pursue a new endeavor. Before I knew it, MindWorks was thriving and he left his corporate job to join me in growing the business. Today, he is the COO of MindWorks and still my biggest cheerleader!

Website: www.MindWorksResources.com
Facebook: MindWorks Resources

Image Credits
Northside ISD Afterschool Programs, Costal Plains RESA Afterschool Programs, Palm Beach School District