Dr. Dameon Lutz · Fractional COO
Your operations have outgrown you.
Fractional Chief Operating Officer for charter schools, nonprofits, and mission-driven organizations between $2M and $30M in revenue — embedded leadership without the full-time hire.
Or write directly to dameon.lutz@gmail.com
DBA · Ed.D. · 10+ years building operational backbones for mission-driven organizations.
The Problem
You didn't build your organization to run operations yourself.
And the cost is showing up in three places.
Operations is eating your week.
Every decision on finance, HR, facilities, vendors, and compliance funnels to you. The programmatic work that actually scales your mission keeps getting pushed to next week.
The stakes just got existential.
Authorizer renewals, single audits, federal grant reporting, board accountability — the next 12–18 months need to be defensible in writing, and right now they're not.
A full-time COO isn't the answer.
The role doesn't justify a six-figure hire yet, and the volume doesn't either. But the complexity is already here. You need senior operational ownership, right-sized.
What I Do
Four ways to work together.
Most engagements start with an Operational Audit. From there, you decide what comes next.
Every engagement starts with a 30-minute call. No pitch, no pressure — just a conversation about whether this is a fit.
How It Works
Three steps. No surprises.
Every engagement follows the same path. You get a clear picture of what you're buying before you commit to anything.
Discovery call
30 minutesNo charge
We talk about what's happening operationally and whether I'm the right fit. If I'm not, I'll tell you who might be.
Operational audit
2 – 3 weeks
A full end-to-end assessment of your operations with prioritized findings and a 90-day roadmap. You own the document either way — even if we don't continue.
Retainer or project engagement
6-month minimum or fixed scope
We define scope, sign a simple agreement, and I get to work. Most engagements become retainers because operational work compounds over time. Fixed-fee projects work when the outcome has a clear finish line.
About
Why I can do this work.
I've built operations from zero at a 501(c)(3), a 501(c)(4), and a charter school. I've led operations at BASIS Texas Charter Schools, and I serve as Board Vice Chair of a Texas public charter school. Before any of that: ten-plus years in the U.S. Marine Corps — Chief of Staff, Installation Operations, EOC Director.
The pattern has been the same across every one of those roles: take a high-stakes operation, find where it's quietly breaking, and fix it before it costs anyone their mission. I keep the roster small — a handful of active clients at any time — so the work you get is real, and the attention is not split.
“Mr. Get It Done.”
I wrote From Chaos to Clarity: Mastering the Five Operational Roles (available on Amazon) about exactly this framework.
Credentials
Doctor of Business Administration · Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership) · MS Homeland Security (Disaster Management) · Lean Six Sigma Black Belt · Scrum Master · COO Certification · Nonprofit Management Certificate
Service-disabled veteran (30%+) · reduced rates available for veteran-serving organizations.
FAQ
Questions you're probably asking.
The next twelve months are going to happen either way.
Thirty minutes to find out whether I'm the right person to help you steer them. No pitch, no pressure — and if I'm not a fit, I'll tell you who might be.
Or write directly to dameon.lutz@gmail.com.