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Stories of Impact: Heart Math Tutoring

By Mary Lauren Bishop, Heart Math Tutoring Director of Development

The Community Impact Committee recently contacted Charlotte’s Director of Development at Heart Math Tutoring, Mary Lauren Bishop, who shared stories of their success with Charlotte area students.

“Will,” a second-grade student, was paired with “Mark,” a tutor who identified as a retiree, at the beginning of the 2022/23 school year. Will and Mark built a strong working relationship through Heart’s curriculum and quickly became buddies. It also proved to be a thriving academic mentorship; Will ended the program showing mastery of nearly all grade-level concepts!

At the end of the year, tutors and students write each other cards, and Heart Program Coordinators include a picture of the mentor-mentee pair within each card. After sharing his photo at home, Will’s parent reached out to the Heart’s Program Coordinator to share that they recognized the volunteer tutor – Mark was the doctor who delivered Will! Will’s mother heard him talk about Mark, but never once dreamed the pair had been connected since Will’s birth!

In the 2022-2023 school year, Charlotte students exceeded the academic and confidence goals set by the program. 96% of Charlotte students showed growth on pre/post assessments to achieve goals set by elementary math specialists, and 92% of teachers reported that their Heart students’ academic confidence increased following program participation.

In response to the question, “On a scale from 1-10, how likely would you be to recommend Heart Tutoring to a friend, family member, or colleague,” 98% of responding 2022-2023 families answered 9 or 10.

Heart Math Tutoring continues to enroll tutors for the 2023/24 school year and welcomes WIF members who would like to volunteer one hour each week to support students as math tutors. If interested, please use this link to sign up, or contact Mary Lauren Bishop with any questions (marylauren.bishop@heartmathtutoring.org).

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Janet LaBar

Executive Director​
jlabar@womensimpactfund.org

With more than 25 years of experience, Janet has a proven track record of leading organizations and teams in developing strategies that foster thriving communities. Her career is dedicated to the well-being of the places she serves, and the people and businesses within them, positioning her as a trusted sounding board, critical thinker, and purposeful protagonist across corporate, government, education, entrepreneurial, and civic spheres.
Janet joined Women’s Impact Fund in June 2025 to guide one of Charlotte’s most respected, women-led philanthropic organizations into its next phase of growth and impact. In partnership with the Women’s Impact Fund team, Board, Advisors, members, volunteers, and key community partners, she will continue strengthening communities by maximizing women’s leadership in philanthropy through collective giving, education, and engagement.
Inspired by her family, teams who dare greatly, and people and communities striving to be their best selves, Janet’s impactful career includes leadership roles as President and CEO of Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, President and CEO of Greater Portland Inc, and Chief Performance Officer of Greater Phoenix Economic Council. As a first-generation Filipino American, her lived experience deeply informs her professional drive to create equitable economic growth and opportunity in the metro areas she’s served.
She holds a BA in Communication Arts from the University of West Florida and an MBA in Marketing from the University of Phoenix. Janet and her husband James are proud parents to an older daughter, and a daughter and son who are twins.