Outside The Lens

1. Advancing Organizational Excellence
The goal is to strengthen internal capacity to ensure a resilient and effective organization through developing a diverse funding base, investing in staff expertise, fostering board development, and increasing operational efficiency.

2. Innovating and Enhancing Programs
Outside The Lens aims to innovate and enhance media arts programs to deliver the best possible outcomes by streamlining program planning, embracing a culture of innovation, setting clear metrics, and leveraging data-driven decision-making.

3. Cultivating Community Engagement and Trust
The organization seeks to build collaborative relationships and trusted partnerships to expand their impact and reach, focusing on developing diverse organizational leadership, partnering with other organizations, and illuminating their impact through authentic storytelling.

4. Elevating Youth Voice and Leadership
A key goal is creating pathways for youth to thrive, lead, and shape the organization's direction through establishing systems for youth involvement in decision-making, creating platforms for youth to share perspectives, and developing leadership programs.

At Outside The Lens we employ a multi-faceted strategic approach centered around trauma-informed media arts education to achieve our mission of igniting confidence in young people and driving social change:

1. Trauma-Informed Teaching Methodology
- Implementing specialized training for all educators in trauma-informed care, restorative justice practices, and mental health first aid
- Creating supportive environments designed specifically for social-emotional growth
- Offering personalized mentorship tailored to individual youth needs and experiences

2. Comprehensive Skill Development
- Providing hands-on technical training in photography, filmmaking, and digital media
- Teaching media literacy skills to help youth become critical consumers of information
- Developing professional portfolios that showcase youth capabilities and creativity

3. Pathway Creation for Economic Mobility
- Establishing industry connections and exposure opportunities
- Creating paid internships that build real-world professional credentials
- Providing access to professional-grade equipment and industry-standard software
- Building bridges to educational advancement and career opportunities in creative fields

4. Youth Leadership Cultivation
- Establishing systems for youth involvement in organizational decision-making
- Creating platforms for youth to share perspectives and drive community change
- Developing leadership programs and mentorship opportunities
- Supporting youth-led creative projects with civic engagement components

5. Community Engagement and Collaboration
- Forming strategic partnerships with educational institutions (like SDCOE and SDUSD)
- Building relationships with diverse organizations across San Diego County
- Organizing community exhibitions and events to showcase youth work
- Illuminating program impact through authentic storytelling

6. Organizational Excellence and Sustainability
- Diversifying funding sources to ensure long-term program viability
- Investing in staff expertise and professional development
- Enhancing operational efficiency through improved systems
- Implementing rigorous program evaluation and data collection methods
- Leveraging board expertise and community connections

7. Measurement and Evaluation
- Using validated assessment tools like Hello Insight to track social-emotional growth
- Setting clear outcome metrics across short, medium, and long-term timeframes
- Documenting both quantitative outputs (participation numbers, hours of instruction) and qualitative outcomes (confidence, skills development)
- Continuously refining programs based on evaluation results

These strategies collectively support Outside the Lens' theory of change, which addresses the opportunity gap faced by marginalized youth through comprehensive media arts education that fosters creative confidence, economic mobility, and community impact.

Outside the Lens is able to meet our goals because the quality of staff on our team, and the value placed on continuous learning, development, and growth as an organization.

Outside the Lens is led by arts education, arts administration, and K-12 education professionals. Our Media Educators are professional artists who combine their talent and expertise with a passion for working with and empowering youth.

In addition, Outside the Lens is served by a Board of Directors and an Advisory Board who lend their wide array of talents to supporting OTL's success.

To learn more about who we are, visit: http://outsidethelens.org/meet-the-staff.php

Outside the Lens’ outreach programs provide youth with the technology, creative, and communication skills necessary for success in the 21st century. Since 2001, Outside the Lens (OTL) has served more than 22,000 youth, teaching photography, filmmaking, and digital media skills through hands-on experience and expert guidance. OTL provides high-quality arts education while building digital and media literacy competency, teaching students to use editing software, build digital portfolios, create films, and learn graphic design. While students learn how to be critical creators of media, they also focus on how to be critical consumers of media- understanding and analyzing the media messages that surround us every day.

In addition to our impact across San Diego County, our programs span twelve countries and five continents. Through our Cameras across Cultures program, we can connect our curriculum and materials to OTL ambassadors throughout the world, allowing our ambassadors run our programs at their sites. Furthermore, youth can continue to build their skills through cross-cultural collaborations, growing their technical skills while encouraging leadership, curiosity, and connection.