About Dr. LANCE GIBBON
Dr. Lance Gibbon is a dynamic leader in education, serving a diverse range of students, staff, and families for three decades in the Puget Sound area. Dr. Gibbon’s efforts have contributed to improved student achievement, expanded opportunities, and state and national awards. A passionate volunteer and community supporter, Dr. Gibbon was twice recognized as Community Leader of the Year.
After earning a B.A. in Music Education, Dr. Gibbon obtained a Master’s in Educational Leadership and a Doctorate in Education from Seattle Pacific University. During his distinguished career, he has served as a superintendent, assistant superintendent, principal, and teacher.
Cultivating connections and enhancing team building through creative strategies and community partnerships, Dr. Gibbon exemplifies servant leadership. While managing million-dollar budgets, he fosters positive, inclusive learning environments for students, educators, and staff members alike.
Dr. Gibbon supports many organizations, including Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club, and Big Brothers Big Sisters. He has been honored with awards from Empower Youth Network, the Washington School Public Relations Association, Best of Whidbey, and Washington Green Schools.
A long-time professional musician, music producer, and arts supporter, Dr. Gibbon is involved with JazzClubsNW and plays keyboards at his church. He and his wife Michelle enjoy spending time with family, camping in their retro trailer, and attending live music events.
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QUOTES ABOUT DR. GIBBON
"For nearly the last decade, I have personally witnessed Dr. Gibbon lead two districts through successes and challenges with a leadership style centered on student learning, creating strong connections with students, families, employee groups and the community, and integrity with a strong moral compass."
- Conor Laffey, Chief Communications Officer, Snoqualmie Valley School District
"I have worked with Lance for several years, as the leader of our district, and as a partner with our labor group. His guidance and support have made me a better principal. And his efforts have significantly improved our school district."
- Kate Valenzuela, Principal, Crescent Harbor Elementary School
"Dr. Gibbon is one of the most forward thinking and effective leaders I have had the pleasure of working with. He holds an exceptionally high bar in supporting a diverse culture with inclusion, always diligent to help people navigate their way through multiple conflicting priorities in education."
- Gus Apostol, Principal Group Program Manager, Microsoft
"Lance is incredibly intelligent and relational with broad understanding of all aspects of a school district. He consistently made time to be out interacting with staff and students. He was very visible and his efforts made him a very relatable leader. He is a great listener and very genuine."
- Ryan Stokes, Assistant Superintendent/CFO, Snoqualmie Valley School District
Deep Kindness
By Huston Kraft
At the first conference I attended as pandemic restrictions eased, Huston Kraft shared an incredibly moving and challenging message about kindness. The top topic was timely, relevant, and powerful. We like to talk about kindness, but it’s much harder and less common than we want to admit. As we continue to struggle with civility and culture in our schools and society, Kraft’s book and kindness are just what we need right now to begin to heal some of the relational and cultural damage that’s been done.
Amaze Every Customer Every Time
By Shep Hyken
Customer service is not something we often discuss in public education, but it is both applicable and transfomative. I read this book with my district office and school front office staff and it transformed the way we served our staff, families, and one another. Hyken uses the Ace Hardware story as the framework for 52 practical tools to change the way we solve problems and care for our customers. The short chapters make it easy to incorporate into weekly or monthly meetings.
The Speed of Trust
By Stephen M.R. Covey
In the past few years, trust has eroded in our culture and school and we need practical tools to begin to rebuild. This book (and the accompanying card set) is invaluable in equipping leaders with strategies to understand the trust challenges they face and to get things back on track. I attended a workshop with Covey and was impressed with how easy his concepts and tools were to understand and apply.
Necessary Endings
By Dr. Henry Cloud
Sometimes it’s hard to recognize or accept that good things can really be barriers to what’s possible and what we need to do in our work or lives. It’s even harder to let them go. This book was both reassuring and challenging to me as I faced some unexpected challenges and changes in my life recently. Dr. Cloud provides practical advice to identify and understand what might be ending (or need to end) in order to make way for something far better.
The Power of Moments
By Chip Heath and Dan Heath
It’s easy to underestimate the long-lasting impacts (good and bad) of certain moments: your first day on the job, the first day at school, a memorable lesson or class project, celebrating accomplishments, and more. Even mundane moments can be made memorable with a little intentionality. I used this book as a focus for a leadership team retreat I facilitated. To give the participants firsthand experience with the strategies, we incorporated the concepts throughout the two-day event. Our leaders in every department and school were able to identify creative ways to apply the ideas and transform the experiences for their teams and customers.
The Culture Code
By Daniel Coyle
In the middle of the pandemic with an exhausted team, this book challenged me and my superintendent’s cabinet to re-examine the way we were operating. It provided us with some great ideas drawn from successful organizations and current research to build a sense of team, spark collaboration, and make positive changes. Coyle provides practical advice and strategies (always easier said than done) that can help you and your team get rid of any toxicity and do great work together.
Big Brothers Big Sisters
My work with BBBS started over 20 years ago when we worked together to bring the School Buddies program to my school and community. Through dozens of matches between “bigs” and “littles,” it was amazing to see how much of a difference it made for each just spending an hour a week at school together. Please support Big Brothers Big Sisters and get involved if you can!
Empower Youth Network
Here in the Snoqualmie Valley, I’m a big fan of the Empower Youth Network. They support children and families through family and community education, mentoring programs, substance abuse prevention, suicide preventing, career planning, weekend food packs, mental health first aid, and more. They identify gaps in service in our schools and community and meet those needs.
JazzClubNW
As a musician, I find the work of JazzClubsNW very exciting. They support live jazz performances and educational opportunities through communities here in the Pacific Northwest. As much as possible, they try to put students and professionals together onstage. They also support communities interested in starting their own local jazz clubs and events. I enjoy attending their events and even pitching in to run the live stream.
CarePoint Clinic
CarePoint offers free healthcare to those without health insurance, or with limited insurance. With a volunteer staff of Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, Nurses, and Coordinators, they serve individuals of all ages and walks of life who find themselves in need of accessible, affordable, high-quality health care.
Rotary
I’ve been active in both Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs in my local community and I urge you to join a club in your community. They make tangible positive impacts on the lives of kids and families in our local community as well as internationally providing weekend food bags for families in need, scholarships for students to continue their education after high school, grants to other nonprofits, working to end polio around the world, conducting volunteer service projects and awareness campaigns, and more.
In addition to the organizations listed above, Dr. Lance Gibbon encourages supporting your local educational foundation and PTSA. These organizations support innovation in our schools by reinvesting community dollars into the classroom through grants, providing volunteers, and offering scholarships for students in need.
