AmericaSpeaks works to identify and create new governance mechanisms, and to design citizen engagement processes that combine face-to-face deliberation and electronic technology in order to support democracy.
From December 1999 to July 2000, Lukensmeyer served as the interim Executive Director of Washington DC Mayor Anthony Williams' initiative to engage residents in the public policy process.
Three thousand citizens developed shared priorities for the District and their conclusions were directly reflected in the city's Fiscal Year 2001 budget and strategic plan.
While serving, Lukensmeyer managed the operations of twenty eight state agencies and over 200 boards and commissions that comprised 55,000 employees and a $23 billion annual budget.
Lukensmeyer spearheaded the modernization of the state of Ohio's bureaucracy, which included measures such as: creative approaches to systems design, professional development, human resource and crisis management, and innovative problem solving and communication.
She ensured that systematic thinking was part of the White House's work on internal management issues and she was also heavily involved in government-wide reform.
In addition to contributing to the NPR's analysis of training, performance agreements, and community empowerment, Lukensmeyer designed the work processes for cross-cutting teams including information technology, budgeting, and partnerships between state and local governments.
Her consulting projects have centered around areas such as creating partnerships between public and private organizations, education reform, the transformation and revitalization of bureaucratic systems, and planning processes to integrate corporate strategy, structures, and human resources.
For example, Lukensmeyer led the team that designed and facilitated the Cleveland Education Summit which was a community-wide effort representing ten stakeholder groups including parents, teachers, students, administrators, elected officials, and corporations.
With all of the listed organizations, Lukensmeyer took a lead role in developing a strategic direction for the agency, identifying performance measures, and committing to an implementation schedule with deadlines and milestones.
From 1997 to 1999, Lukensmeyer was the executive director of Americans Discuss Social Security (ADSS), a $12.5 million project of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
ADSS engaged and informed more than 45,000 Americans who reflected the country's population with respect to age, income, gender, rural or urban residence, and ethno-racial background.
Lukensmeyer has a doctorate in organizational behavior from Case Western Reserve University and post-graduate training at the internationally known Gestalt Institute of Cleveland.