Our Story

Lighthouse Technology Associates (LTA) has always been about engagement, communication and collaboration.

Robert Leming founded Lighthouse Technology Associates in 2001. In 2006 LTA took on the American Friends Service Committee as a client, creating what has evolved into the Meeting Design and Production unit, a division of the IT department devoted to facilitating effective meetings and promoting communication, collaboration, and engagement.

LTA team member Kate Beale was involved in traditional documentation from the outset. As the team coordinated a series of technology rollouts, the need for more engaging documentation emerged. Kate apprenticed with AFCS’s in-house Instructional Learning Designer, became proficient in producing training videos, and began exploring new platforms and formats to deliver content more effectively.

It became increasingly clear that including elements of storytelling made learning fun, and helped training stick. Kate has worked with units including Governance, Human Resources, Development, Finance, and Strategic Planning to create effective and engaging training materials.

As Kate’s skillset evolved, her interest in digital storytelling grew. She circulated a white paper on strategic storytelling and began working on an initiative to connect videographers and storytellers throughout the organization. As an outgrowth of that work, our services have expanded to include liaising with programs around the world to use multimedia to tell more impactful stories about their work.

LTA is now setting out to leverage the skills and lessons we have learned at the AFSC to the benefit of other better world companies and NGOs.

Want to see more samples of our work or talk about how we can support yours? Check out the Our Services section of this site or drop us a line!

Prior, Robert was the first Information Technology Manager at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, serving for six years starting in 1990. During his tenure at the PMA, Robert’s team:

• Re-cabled the entire Museum, and installed one of the first fiber optic backbones in Philadelphia.

• Moved the PMA from the mini-computer to the networked, desktop computer era.

• Introduced a series of integrated business applications that included:

o   Fundraising, Membership, Ticketing, Financials, HR. and Retail and Inventory for the Museum Shop

• Developed, grew, and helped brand and market the first version of PhilaMuseum.org.

• Researched, vetted, purchased and supported a Pilot for an Art Collection Management System in partnership with the Curatorial and Registrar Departments at the PMA.

o   This Pilot catalogued a collection of over 200,000 prints & drawings, and provided a template for the PMA to utilize Information Technology to catalogue and track the entire PMA Collection.

 While at the PMA Robert also served as the Treasurer and President of the Museum Computer Network (MCN.edu) a global professional association to help advance the work.

 Like to know more? Drop us a line!