THE STORY OF TINA LIMBIRD
The Berlin-Based Founder of Linden Global Learning Talks Inclusive Education,
Empowering the Next Generation of Girls and the Perks of Entrepreneurship
As the co-founder of the Berlin-based Linden Global Learning, Tina has had a profound impact on many expat families, mine included. My family moved to Berlin in 2011, and as the mother of an autistic child, I was desperate for someone to help me navigate the kita system, find therapists and put in place the support system that is so fundamental to the success of families with special needs kids. Tina and others at Linden proved invaluable to my family, and many others as well.
Tina is also the mother of two daughters and co-director of the the girl’s leadership program, Girls Gearing Up. I was eager to talk with her, and learn how she got her start in education, what it was like starting her own business, how she tackles the work-family balance and what it’s like doing that all as an expat.
Wunder Stories So how did you get started in education?
Tina Limbird Well I’m from Indiana and studied psychology in university, and then had the opportunity to do my master’s in Germany. I then went on to do a PhD in education with the Max Planck Institute. This was such a great opportunity that we moved to Berlin (I had just married my German husband), and I spent the next three years looking at how bilingual children learn how to read.
WS Ah, so that was your dissertation topic?
TL Yeah, so this big PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) study came out in 2003 and ranked Germany slightly below average in literacy. Germany really prided itself on its excellent education system and was pretty shocked by this result. Many people began lamenting that the immigrants who weren’t speaking German at home were bringing the education system down. I kept reading this idea in the media, thinking that everything I had ever heard about bilingualism is that it brings cognitive benefit, so I didn’t really buy the “immigrant’s need to speak more German with their kids” thesis. So, I decided to look into how bilingual children learn to read, and how to tailor that curriculum to the younger grades.
WS And what did you find?
TL Well, it turns out that bilingual kids tend to have really good phonological awareness (the way they hear sounds), but their vocabulary is lower...it’s lower to each individual language, but they ultimately have more words. So the key is to work more on vocabulary in those younger years.
WS So, did you end up working in academia?
TL I researched the topic for several years before realizing German academia was not for me. And by the time I finished my dissertation I realized how much I need to be interacting with more humans and fewer computers. I had also been doing some learning therapy with kids at JFK at the time (an international school in Berlin), and got the chance to work as a school psychologist at BBIS (Berlin Bilingual International School). I, along with the new director, launched a new, inclusive student services department. I was appointed head and was able to bring together the ESL teachers, the school nurse, counselors and learning support teachers. When I arrived at the school there were 3 of us, when I left 23.
But even with 23 people we were always needing more, more speech therapists, more occupational therapists, counselors. I was always banging my head to find more support, so after nine years at BBIS, I started Linden along with partner Chi (Ugbor), a counselor that I had adored working with at BBIS.
WS How was that starting out?
TL Well because you can’t get start-up money here in Berlin if you already have a job, I had a baby instead and used my Elterngeld (parental allowance) to start my business. I basically bought myself 12 months.
WS Was that planned?
TL Let’s just say it wasn’t a coincidence
WS Are there still similar issues today with obtaining start-up money?
TL Well, we went to several institutions that coach women starting their own business. I couldn’t figure out any other way to get money. And it’s not a language issue...I’m fluent in German!
WS So you started your business while on maternity leave, with an infant?
TL I took the twelve months of parental leave, then applied to extend it and asked for permission to have a “side gig”. They approved it because I was doing some psycho-educational assessments for BBIS students. But yes, it was really hard starting out...I had a small baby so I was only able to work about 15 hours a week. It was such a hard decision to make...giving up a really good job, a leadership position earning good money with good vacations. Leaving good friends.
WS So why did you do it?
TL I felt really deeply that I was meant to go on to make a bigger difference in the world. It was a really big risk, giving up my safety net. But I had been there 9 years, that’s a really long time for an American!
“I have a PhD but I learned more in the first three years of starting a business than I did my entire time in academia.”
WS What kind of other challenges did you face starting out?
TL The biggest challenge was the learning curve. I have a PhD but I learned more in the first three years of starting a business than I did my entire time in academia. There’s so much to know, and I was ridiculously naive. But this is a theme that kind of resonates throughout my life--if I had known what it meant to do a PhD, I wouldn’t have done it. I’ve started two NGOs and if I’d known what that would require, I wouldn’t have done it. Naivety can be a really positive thing sometimes.
WS Anything else that was a particular challenge?
TL We’ve had some really bad advisers along the way. Lawyers, tax advisers.
Learning tax code, legalese, social media, designing a website, human resources, contracts. I had no concept of all the administrative stuff that I would be doing when we started out.
In retrospect I really think schools should be teaching entrepreneurship, the basics of financing and law, skills that would be applicable to everyone. I think it’s especially important for women. In my liberal arts degree I never came across anything like that.
WS Which is a good lead-in to one of your side gigs…
TL Yes, so now this is something we teach to girls in Girls Gearing Up, my girls leadership organization. Knowing this stuff is a path to independence. I mean think about it. When men gather in groups they are often talking about business, while women are talking about recipes and childcare. I mean I love those topics for sure, but men, no matter their field, will have much more exposure to business and financial topics than women.