Whole System
Education Consulting LLC
Whole System Education Consulting LLC partners with leaders and teams to help them navigate complexity, strengthen collaboration, and turn ambitious visions into measurable results. Drawing on experience in classrooms, nonprofits, philanthropy, and state government, I combine strategic planning, facilitation, implementation support, and coaching to help organizations build the conditions for lasting change.
I partner with mission-driven organizations to navigate complexity, strengthen leadership, and build the systems needed for lasting impact. Rather than arriving with predetermined solutions, I work alongside leaders to understand their context, develop shared strategy, align people around priorities, and create practical structures that help organizations continue making progress after our work together ends.
My approach can help you develop greater clarity around your priorities, strengthen alignment across your team(s), and build practical systems and structures that help teams reach their goals.
What people say about Whole System
"As a colleague within the LAUSD Community Schools Initiative, I've had the privilege of collaborating closely with David Osta, and his impact on our team has been profound. David serves as a lead coach, orchestrating the collaboration of national coaches and elevating the exceptional work happening locally. His talent for synthesizing diverse perspectives and distilling them into actionable insights has been instrumental in advancing our initiatives. However, what truly sets David apart is his thoughtful approach to scaffolding learning and deep deep commitment to collaborative leadership.
He has a remarkable ability to recognize and amplify the strengths of our coach teams and CSCs to support them in empowering them to drive meaningful change within their schools and neighborhoods. David's dedication to showcasing the impactful work happening on the ground demonstrates his commitment to supporting and uplifting our local communities. In every interaction, David's kindness, expertise, and unwavering belief in the power of the CS strategy efforts shine through, making him an invaluable asset to our team and the broader education community."
About David
David Osta is the founder of Whole System Education Consulting LLC where he brings almost 30 years of experience working across the education and social impact sectors, including roles in classrooms, nonprofit organizations, state government, and philanthropy. His experience includes school improvement, education policy and program implementation, teacher quality, organizational strategy, and large-scale initiatives involving multiple partners and stakeholders.
David is also a founding partner at Community Schools Partners. Before founding Whole System Education Consulting, David held leadership positions with the Consortium for Educational Change, Illinois State Board of Education, New Teacher Center, TNTP, and the Michigan Department of Education.
In the spring of 2027 David will complete his Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credential through the International Coaching Federation. David holds a master's degree from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan and a bachelor's degree in History, cum laude with high honors, from the University of Illinois.
Why Whole System?
We all experience systems every day. Think about the last slow-moving line you were in where you found yourself thinking, “There has to be a better way.” Usually, the problem isn't the person working at the front of the line. It is the system - the conditions, relationships, structures, processes, and policies that shape how the experience unfolds.
I recognized this in my work with districts and schools seeking to improve outcomes for students. Too often, solutions focused narrowly without considering the many factors that shape student and family success. And too often, solutions were developed for students and families rather than with them.
Over time, our work began to widen the lens. We dug deeper into root causes. We listened to more voices. We looked beyond what was happening inside a school to understand the family, community, municipal, and broader systems that shaped students' experiences and opportunities.
That experience, and many others before and since, shaped the way I think about change
and ultimately led me to name my company
Whole System Education Consulting.
A whole-system approach starts with recognizing that people experience the world through interconnected systems. A child is simultaneously part of a family, a school, a neighborhood, a community, and many other systems. What happens in one of those systems can influence what happens in another. Improving outcomes, therefore, requires looking beyond the surface and understanding the systems that surround people and shape their experiences.
This can be difficult. The systems designed to serve children and families are often fragmented into disciplines, programs, organizations, and funding streams, each with its own boundaries and priorities. But the lives of children and families don't fit neatly into those boundaries.
Whole System Education Consulting is my commitment to seeing the bigger picture, connecting the pieces, listening to the people closest to the work, and helping create change that is meaningful, sustainable, and equitable.