​
Twenty First Century Minds, LLC
Our Journey. Our Company. Our Brand.
TCFM, LLC is dedicated to helping individuals and organizations thrive in the 21st century.
THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY MINDS JOURNEY
Establishing a Consulting Practice
Twenty First Century Minds, LLC, which also does business as TFCM, is a boutique consulting firm based in New England. The practice was established in 2013 by its principal consultants, Catherine and Bob Cunningham, who originally founded TFCM to extend their shared interests in education as the social process with the greatest power to transform lives.
It All Started with Schools
Having met in 1995 at Columbia University’s Teachers College, and married in February 2000, the Cunninghams each hold two masters degrees from TC, and both have extensive experience in education, including preschool, elementary,
middle school, high school, and postsecondary education, across public, independent, boarding, and therapeutic programs. TFCM’s first client was a school, and we are honored to have the opportunity to continue to support and advise schools in their essential work to this day.
2003 Article in Greenwich Times
Character Education and Workforce Development
In 2013 the Cunninghams purchased CDE Career Institute in Tannersville, Pennsylvania, which they eventually sold in 2017. At CDE, the couple worked within the PA Workforce Development
System in an effort to recapture Bob’s roots and to honor his father, Richard Cunningham, who as warden of the Blair County Prison in Hollidaysburg, PA was a strong believer in the need to create greater upward mobility in employment opportunities in the state.
Early Logo of Twenty First Century Minds, LLC
At around the same time, TFCM acquired and redeveloped Wise Skills, a Character Education Curriculum
The early logo depicts the wind capturing books
and sharing the seeds of knowledge that education promotes.
they updated and rebranded with illustrations by Tuesday Mourning, whose cover designs reflected the charming surroundings of Southport, Connecticut, including the small village’s main street and a
local playground, where the Cunninghams raised their two daughters. The curriculum was sold from 2013 to 2019 to various school districts and private schools across the country and was subsequently donated to a local non-profit organization.
Advising Philanthropies
From 2013 to 2018 and beyond, TFCM has engaged with family foundations and venture philanthropy firms. This work has allowed them (us) to advise dozens of nonprofit organizations,
Cover Art by Tuesday Mourning, 2013
to be part of several funder collaboratives, and to engage with many technology companies in the education space. Engagement with philanthropic organizations has been highlighted by their work with a family starting a foundation with a core focus on learning differences, which led to playing a meaningful role in the creation of Understood, an amazing social impact organization, where Bob went on to serve as a member of the founding team and the Executive Director for Learning Development, and where TFCM is still engaged as a consultant today.
Extending to Global Organizations
While much of their work has been centered around the U.S., in 2019 TFCM was retained by the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC), where Bob went on to serve as CEO for 5 years, and where TFCM continues to provide leadership in policy and legislative advocacy. Work with ICMEC has allowed us to collaborate(ion) with governments and agencies around the world and to work closely with major technology, online content, and financial services companies as well as dozens of international NGOs. TFCM have also enjoyed working with nonprofits like the Island School in Eleuthera, Bahamas, Teach for All, and the Gateway School of Mumbai, which Bob helped to establish in 2012.
Serving on Boards of Directors and Advisory Boards
Along every step of TFCM’s journey, our principals have been actively engaged as board and advisory board members for nonprofits including schools, policy organizations, religious entities, after school programs, clubs, small companies, NGOs, and large multinational corporations.
Our Mission, Our Motto, and Our Logo
TFCM’s mission is to support organizations who have exceptional future impact potential and people who will shape the twenty-first century for their families and beyond.
The current motto, which reflects how TFCM making the most difference for their clients, is “Plain solutions for complex problems,”
and their swirling paper airplane logo symbolizes the notion that ideas take flight when challenge and change are met with the right expertise and experience.
Present-day logo of Twenty First Century Minds