Though global in scope, Partners in Learning facilitates innovation and change on the local level—where few people knew about it. Linda Bookey, who had helped brand the program at its inception, was called in to help Partners in Learning get its message across to its wider audiences around the world.

The first step was to gather the stories. She oversaw the development of a universal template, helping local program managers create engaging case studies and their own marketing materials, showcasing ongoing, community-level results in materials that reflected the stature of Microsoft’s initiative. By giving the Partners in Learning program managers a voice in their regions, Linda helped them get noticed locally and magnify the program’s impact to worldwide education reform.

Through a host of communication vehicles, including the Web, multimedia, social media and conferences, Linda “rolled up” the local stories—and associated business messages—of Partners in Learning, helping them spread through villages around the world, as well as the halls of Microsoft. Within a year, academics, community leaders, business partners and top executives of Microsoft were discussing the effects of this groundbreaking program.