Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Young-Lira.
Hi Heather, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
The Lost Pines Learning Collective (LPLC) connects Bastrop-area families with the education, enrichment, and therapeutic resources they need. Our aim is to help create a collaborative, sustainable education ecosystem that makes quality education-related resources accessible here in Bastrop and surrounding counties.
I’m Heather Young-Lira, and I founded The Lost Pines Learning Collective in 2023 as both a mother and an advocate. My son is neurodivergent, diagnosed on the spectrum with ADHD and dyslexia. Our family’s own search for quality education resources has revealed both incredible strengths and notable gaps in our community.
Many excellent professionals and organizations in our area operate in isolation, and struggle to stay afloat. This has left families like mine piecing together options – or losing the ones we find too soon. And I wanted to help.
What began as an Excel spreadsheet of personal resources I shared with friends has grown into something much bigger. Friends asked for copies, then their friends asked too. To meet demand, I built a website and published a free quarterly Community Resource Guide for download. And now that resource is a fully digital guide with more than 200 listings.
Today, LPLC is a hub where families, professionals, and educators know they can go to find resources, collaborate and create new programs and partnerships. We are all working to strengthen the Bastrop education ecosystem and to make learning more innovative, accessible, and sustainable for everyone involved.
In just two and a half years, we’ve shown our ability to listen, respond, and innovate:
– The Community Resource Guide: First release went out to 29 families in the community in August 2023, and now we have a subscriber base of more than 800.
– Coach Roger’s Swim Program: Expanded from a 2023 Pilot of 40 swimmers to 48 classes serving more than 180 families in 2025.
– Schoolhouse Weekly Homeschool Co-op: A 10-week pilot program in Fall of 2024 with 8 families and 11 learners inspired four moms to create new ongoing education programs, multiplying our impact 5-fold.
– Annual Education Fair: In January 2025 at our inaugural event, we connected 11 providers with 200+ attendees, and we are currently planning our second fair taking place end of January 2026. We intend to expand into quarterly events as well.
– Provider Support: We are currently delivering one-on-one business planning and sustainability support for local education, enrichment, and therapeutic professionals to help guide them and keep them growing and serving Bastrop and surrounding counties.
Most recently, I was awarded the VELA Micro-grant, accelerating the launch of a first-of-its-kind free Curriculum Library in Bastrop County serving homeschool families and families considering homeschool in the future.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road hasn’t been smooth, but it’s been deeply intentional. One of the biggest challenges has been building something new without a clear roadmap. I’ve always had a clear vision for what the Lost Pines Learning Collective can become, but how we get there has required flexibility.
We have responded along our path to real factors like financial capacity, the evolving needs of local families, and the availability of educators and professionals who are often already stretched thin. That means the order of operations isn’t always obvious, and I’ve learned to build in phases rather than force a fixed plan.
Our swim program, for instance, had a successful pilot and strong demand, but finding the right space has taken several iterations. Each season has brought higher quality, better sustainability, and maintained accessibility. Rather than rushing an expansion and passing all costs on to families, we are choosing to let the program mature responsibly.
The same has been true for our curriculum library project. Recent grant funding has allowed us to move forward with plans for a multi-use space that will serve both families as well as education & therapeutic professionals. But I am intentional about not overinvesting before the right partnerships are formally in place. That restraint has been essential to protecting our commitment to accessibility and to the community we’re building.
Finally, one of the most important balances I continually return to is my original purpose: my own family. LPLC exists because I want better options for my child, and for families like ours. Making time for my family and being an active part of the community, not just an organization serving them, keeps me grounded and aligned.
Every part of the Collective that we introduce has been shaped through careful thought, planning, and listening long before it’s shared publicly. Instead of scaling quickly, we’ve focused on refining, responding, and growing in alignment with our values and our village. That clarity has become one of LPLC’s greatest strengths as we make our way.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
The Lost Pines Learning Collective is an independent, community-rooted organization designed to connect families with high-quality educational and therapeutic resources in Bastrop and surrounding counties. We are *not* a nonprofit, and that independence is intentional. It allows us to stay nimble, respond quickly to needs, and launch practical, sustainable programs without being tied to outside agendas or rigid funding structures.
At its core, LPLC is a relationship-based model. It’s just me. When families or partners reach out, I’m the one responding. I don’t want to build a large organization or manage other people’s businesses. Instead, the Collective serves as a community partner, helping small providers grow as independent businesses until they’re ready to stand on their own. When that happens, we make space for the next wave of resources families need.
What sets LPLC apart is the blend of community-building and strategy. I bring more than 20 years of experience in marketing and advertising, where my work focused on helping businesses tell their stories to the right people, in the right places, at the right time. That background allows me to help partners grow thoughtfully, without waste, hype, or unnecessary overhead, while ensuring families can actually find and access the services available to them.
Sustainability is the throughline in everything we do. That means helping families find cost-efficient options while also ensuring that the small business owners and professionals we partner with can truly sustain their work. If providers can’t make ends meet, their services disappear — and Bastrop can’t afford that.
What I’m most proud of, brand-wise, is that LPLC is building slowly, intentionally, and with care. We’re not trying to be everything to everyone. We’re focused on strengthening the local education ecosystem one relationship, one program, and one thoughtful partnership at a time.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
At the end of the day, this work is meant to be engaging and even fun. The Collective is, in many ways, a living experiment. One that invites educators and professionals (and even parents) to explore what’s possible when they lead with curiosity and passion.
As long as we’re building sustainably, I want professionals in this space to know there *are* learners, families, and children who are actively seeking exactly what they love to teach and do. Creating the conditions for those connections to happen is one of the most energizing parts of my job.
Pricing:
- LPLC Community Resource Guide | FREE
- The Collective Quarterly Newsletter | FREE
- Education Fair | FREE for Families and Low Cost for Participants
- Business Support | Custom Partnerships
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lplcbastrop.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lplcbastrop/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lplcbastrop/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lplcbastrop
- Other: https://lplcbastrop.com/education-fair/
Image Credits
The Lost Pines Learning Collective
Founders Classical Academy
One Day Academy
