Leaders Who Inspire, Deserve a Partner Who Delivers.

At Breakthrough, we work with State and Local Government, Education, Non-profit and Private sector leaders to drive engagement, innovation and impact.

About Breakthrough

Our mission is to make each community stronger than before by building the capacity of leaders, organizations and institutions to create breakthrough results.

We are experts at creating synergy between your team and the stakeholders that need to be excited, engaged and working with you to turn you biggest challenges and most complex problems into opportunities!

At Breakthrough Leadership Consulting, we don’t just help you navigate complexity—we help you lead through it. 

Our Services

  • Leadership is defined by inspirational vision combined with tactical excellence and authentic relationships.

    We help organizations unlock the full potential of their leaders through customized, research-informed development pathways designed for today’s complex and rapidly changing environments. Our consulting expertise spans executive coaching, leadership assessments, cohort-based learning, and facilitated team development—tailored to the unique context and strategic goals of each client.

    Grounded in applied research and adult learning theory, our programs cultivate adaptive leadership skills in fun and engaging interactions that inspire teams, influence systems, and drive results across organizational boundaries. Whether you're leading transformational change or building a resilient leadership pipeline, we partner with you to design experiences that accelerate growth, build alignment, and strengthen leadership at every level.

  • We help you drive change by engaging stakeholders, surfacing diverse perspectives, and turning them into shared strategies that people rally around. From the start, we focus on building early consensus around strategic goals—clarifying direction and intent so your team can move forward with purpose and confidence.

    With that clarity in hand, we help you socialize the vision, refine commitments, and build shared ownership that fuels momentum. Together, we translate strategy into action—mapping out concrete steps, securing the buy-in and resources you need, and keeping your team aligned and energized.

    Our project management approach keeps everything moving: tracking progress, celebrating wins, and adjusting in real time. We don’t just deliver a plan—we give you the tools, discipline, and adaptability to stay focused on your goals, respond to shifting conditions, and keep advancing as new challenges and opportunities emerge.

  • We help organizations uncover root challenges and identify opportunities for growth through comprehensive organizational assessments and thoughtful design strategies. Our approach brings clarity to complex systems, aligning people, processes, and purpose to drive meaningful, sustainable change.

    By engaging stakeholders at every level, we co-create solutions that are both strategic and actionable - grounded in data and best practices, informed by context, and tailored to each organization’s unique culture and goals.

  • Change is hard—and research shows it can be deeply uncomfortable. That’s why we help organizations move through transitions with clarity, care, and a practical plan. Our structured, people-centered approach reduces resistance and supports lasting adoption of new strategies, systems, and ways of working.

    We work closely with executive leaders to build a strong case for change, engage the right allies, and help teams understand the “why” behind the shift. We prioritize open communication, hands-on training, and building internal champions who can guide others through the process.

    Our expertise in implementation planning comes from experience—we’ve seen well-designed strategies fall apart without the right support. We know what it takes to turn vision into reality: strong leadership, clear direction, and the courage to let go of what no longer serves your goals.

  • Our evaluation services generate actionable insights through rigorous, applied research and formative, participatory design. We work alongside stakeholders to co-create evaluation frameworks that not only measure impact, outcomes, and effectiveness—but also reflect lived experiences and organizational context through continuous improvement.

    By integrating qualitative and quantitative methods, we empower organizations to continuously learn, adapt, and scale what works—supporting data-informed decisions that drive meaningful change aligned to thoughtful theories of change and logic models.

  • We help organizations make data meaningful—by designing tools and systems that align with how leaders think and work. When data feels accessible, accurate, and relevant, it becomes a trusted source for reflection, learning, and smarter decision-making.

    Building a good data culture isn’t about complexity—it’s about habit. It shows up in team meetings, sparks creative thinking, and shapes how performance is understood and improved. Over time, data becomes so embedded that its absence is noticeable.

    We design practical, right-sized solutions: from simple Excel tracking tools to Power BI dashboards and custom database systems. Whether you’re just starting or ready to scale, we leverage a network of technology partners that can build the tools.

    You have a day job, so we manage the technology process to make sure the solution delivers value that can be felt in everyday leadership and service delivery.

Who We Serve

State and Local Government Sector

We Serve You So You Can Better Serve Your Community

We partner with public leaders who are committed to serving their communities in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world.

In the face of rapid change and rising expectations, the call to lead with vision and resilience has never been greater. According to a 2023 Pew Research Center study, 61% of U.S. adults hold a favorable view of their local government—a clear signal of trust and a powerful mandate for action.

Communities are looking to you for leadership. We’re here to help you answer that call.

As former government leaders, we help you bring people together—bridging differences, building trust, and turning shared concerns into actionable solutions.

Join Your Colleagues Who Trusted Breakthrough Over the Past Year

7

City and State Projects

75

Professionals Developed

300

Stakeholder Interviews

35

Public Meetings Facilitated

Working with Breakthrough Leadership Consulting was a great experience. Deb and Steve provided a welcoming and engaging approach that created space for authentic dialogue and feedback. Through these collaborative conversations, we were able to achieve well-informed analysis, insights, and recommendations for strategic planning.
— Erica Hernandez, Director of Neighborhood Service Centers

K–12 Education Sector

We work alongside school and district leaders to strengthen leadership, culture, and systems in service of student success. Our work focuses on building the internal capacity of school leaders and teams to create high performing institutions that drive sustained progress for children, families and communities.

Our team, including Breakthrough’s CEO and experienced experts, has launched new schools, led turnarounds, and brokered cross-sector partnerships to drive rapid improvement in major districts and school networks.

Our High Impact Practices

  • Supporting school leaders in clarifying vision and aligning instructional priorities.

  • Strengthening school board governance to support oversight, accountability and impact.

  • Building leadership team capacity to navigate change, manage performance, and strengthen communication.

  • Providing coaching and implementation support to ensure new strategies are embedded and sustainable.

  • Facilitating processes that enhance school culture and climate with a focus on trust, inclusion, and student voice.

Over the Past Year We Have Helped Leaders Develop

255

School Leaders Coached and Supported

45

School Districts Engaged

112

School Board Members Developed

12

States Served

Deb has served as a vital partner in the creation and development of a leadership program for faculty, staff, and administrators at our school. Deb’s presence and professionalism combined with her keen insight into people and organizations all explain why she has received rave reviews from our community year after year. She listens carefully and collaborates wholeheartedly in addressing institutional and individual needs and steering teams toward collective impact.
— Eric Roland, Director of Partnership Tangs Institute, Philips Andover Academy

Nonprofit Sector & Community-Based Organizations

We know how challenging it is to lead with limited resources while supporting your team, board, and community. As former nonprofit leaders, we provide a trusted space for you to share openly, and we help your team focus on high-impact work that drives growth and stakeholder engagement.

Let us help you create some quick wins!

In a fast-changing world, we help you navigate growth, rethink priorities, and renew your core strategies with clarity and confidence.

Leadership Retreats & Workshops – Turn your vision into action with your team and board.
Staff Capacity Building – Equip leaders with the skills to grow and succeed.
Six Sigma & Change Management Supports – Improve systems and collaborate for better results.

Private Sector

We work with business leaders, civic partners, and economic developers to drive bold, actionable growth in communities across the country. We leverage our deep public sector expertise to set the stage for catalytic development – helping to strengthen schools, align workforce pipelines, target infrastructure and public space investments, and secure mixed-income, mixed-use development projects.

Private sector professionals value our ability to speak their language—aligning strategic community impact with brand growth and opportunities for private investment to align with public funding and policies that fuel scalable, shared success.

As a result, many business leaders have invited us in to run leadership retreats, board workshops, and even culture assessments to surface key insights and spark results. Our approach is fast, focused, and built to deliver value—not just to have another meeting.

Meet the Team

  • Deborah Hanmer, MPA, M.Ed

    Founder and CEO

  • Steven Hanmer, MPA, CMP

    Managing Partner

  • Kenji Graham

    Project and Operations Associate

Let’s work together.

Interested in working together? Fill out some info and we will be in touch shortly! We can't wait to hear from you!