The Higher Ed Geek

People in this episode

Dr. Bridget Burns

As a trusted advisor to university presidents and policymakers, Dr. Bridget Burns is on a mission to transform the way institutions think about and take action on behalf of students.

Joel Podolny

Joel Podolny is the CEO and Co-Founder of Honor Education.

Sara Leoni

Sara Leoni is CEO and founder of Ziplines Education.

Tara Gilboa

Tara is the Executive Director of The Tech Talent Partnership.

Interviewee

Adam Braus is a polymath professional and breakout expert in the fields of organizational management, leadership, and technology. He is an avid writer, coach, and consultant. He lives in San Francisco, California's Mission district.

Interviewee

Adrienne Trier-Bieniek, Ph.D.

Adrienne Trier-Bieniek, Ph.D. is the author and editor of several books focused on pop culture including Sing Us a Song Piano Woman: Female Fans and the Music of Tori Amos (2013 Scarecrow Press), Fan Girls and Media: Consuming Culture (Rowman and Littlefield, 2015) , Feminist Theory and Pop Culture: 2nd Edition (Brill, 2019) and Gender and Pop Culture: A Text-Reader: 2nd Edition. (Brill, 2019) Her education-focused podcast, Most Popular, has grown a modest following, been a featured podcast for several platforms, and was detailed in the journal Radio Journal, a publication she has also guest-edited.

Interviewee

Amanda Gulley

As the Chief of Product and User Experience within EdPlus at Arizona State University, Amanda Gulley believes that everything we build should be tailored to the experience. Her passion for product development, data and design stems far outside her everyday job and has become a hobby that has provided her countless opportunities as an expert to learn, mentor and practice the field in all walks of life. She has been in education for almost 15 years, 11 of them within technology and product.

Interviewee

Amy Smith

Dr. Amy Smith is an educator, a strategist and a data-driven decision maker. Throughout her twenty-year long career, Amy has led transformations and initiatives for national and international organizations in higher education, event technology, engineering, publishing, and K-12 education. She has extensive experience and success in organizational development, change management, human capital management, training, process improvement, and program development. Amy currently serves as the Chief Learning Officer for StraighterLine, where she supports their mission to increase access, affordability and flexibility in the education sector.

Interviewee

Andrew Cohen

Andrew Cohen is the Founder & CEO of Brainscape. He created Brainscape to optimize the way people learn, using cognitive science. It is a web & mobile education platform that places spaced repetition at the center of the learning experience. They’ve helped millions of people improve test scores, learn languages faster, and accelerate their self-development in fields as diverse as learning guitar, becoming funnier, or defending against bullies.

Interviewee

Andrew Hsu

Andrew T. Hsu is the 23rd president and first AAPI president of the College of Charleston. He formally took office on May 16, 2019. Before joining the College, Hsu was the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at The University of Toledo, a public research university in Ohio with 21,000 students, 220 bachelor’s and master’s degree programs and 40 doctoral programs. Hsu earned his Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1986.

Aneesh Sohoni

Aneesh is Chief Executive Officer at One Million Degrees (OMD), an organization that focuses on supporting community college students with life, school, and career

Angela Virtu

Angela Virtu is a Professorial Lecturer in the IT & Analytics department at American University’s Kogod School of Business.

Interviewee

Arina Berezovsky

Arina Berezovsky earned her Bachelor’s degree from Excelsior College where she was able to earn credit for the majority of her prior coursework thanks to Excelsior’s flexible transfer credit policy. It was during this process that she first learned about the American Council on Education (ACE) and various other innovative organizations working towards ensuring students are recognized for the skills and competencies they acquire both inside and outside the classroom.

Interviewee

Ashley Flood

Ashley Flood is a manager of student success coaching at Purdue Global. With experience in success coaching and K-12 education, she is committed to putting people first to drive student success. She manages a team of eight success coaches who work with students to create success plans to help them in their academic and personal achievements at the institution. This includes helping students navigate through basic-needs insecurities that they may be facing. Her major contributions include developing comprehensive training for the coaching teams, developing processes to implement Purdue Global’s best-in-class basic-needs support, and working with the tech team to develop tools and solutions to further enable coaching.

Interviewee

Bill Coplin

Dr. Bill Coplin is the founder and professor of the highly successful undergraduate Policy Studies Major at Syracuse University which meets the goals of an undergraduate professional program while maintaining the integrity of a degree in the liberal arts. He is the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence at the Maxwell School and College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University. An author of 110 books and articles, many of which are in education, has taught and advised tens of thousands of undergraduates over his 50+ years of teaching.

Interviewee

Cameron Stoker

Cameron Stoker is the CEO and Co-Founder of Speechcloud. An EdTech company hellbent on changing classroom education. With an undergraduate and masters degree in Business, Cameron can be found teaching as an adjunct professor in the Marriott School of Business.

Interviewee

Carl Dawson

Carl Dawson co-founded Construct Education in 2013, a rapid growth company that provides digital learning solutions to clients across the UK, USA, Australia, and South Africa. He has shaped digital learning strategies for global entities, including the UK Cabinet Office, the Prime Minister of Israel, Qatar and Saudi Arabia's desert tech programs, and the Bank of England. He has also collaborated with universities like Oxford, Howard, Michigan, and Tennessee on academic innovation. In 2021, he became an advisor to the World Bank and IFC on digital and blended learning. Carl holds a BA in British Politics and Legislative Studies from the University of Hull and a Transformational Leaders Fellowship from Oxford. He is fluent in French and Spanish and has PRINCE2 Agile® Project Management Certifications.

Interviewee

Catherine Friday

Catherine has spent much of her career providing services to state and federal departments and regulators, ministerial councils, not-for-profits and NGOs in every state and territory in Australia, and in New Zealand. The implications of the work she does are far-reaching, delivering the best outcomes for citizens across education, health, human services, defense, transport and infrastructure, and central agencies. In particular, Catherine has spent much of her time serving public institutions that design and deliver education.

Interviewee

Chris Marshall

Chris Marshall is a senior higher education advancement professional with 20 years of alumni engagement and fundraising experience. He spent twelve years leading alumni engagement programs at two top-ranked national research universities – Lehigh University and Cornell University. Chris has five years of experience serving as an alumni relations consultant at one of the top philanthropic consulting practices in the United States - Grenzebach Glier and Associates (GG+A) where he served as Senior Vice President and Managing Director. While at GG+A, Chris led the Alumni Relations practice area and served as a consultant to over 100 clients around the world.

Interviewee

Christopher Dickson

Chris Dickson is the assistant dean for student success for College Unbound. As a student-centered college, his role is to best support students in finding their way to the center of the college. This happens through supporting students when they fall behind, to the fringes, and out of the peripheries of staff and faculty. He ensures that every student and their unique voices and talents are heard and harnessed. As a professor of pedagogy for the College Unbound Prison Education program, Dickson has redesigned its five-course sequence of class curricula and instructs these classes.

Interviewee

Christopher Guymon

Christopher Guymon is associate provost for academic programs and director of graduate studies at Utah Tech University. During his tenure, he has led the development of several online degrees; significantly increased enrollment in degrees and certificate programs; developed strategic relationships in Europe, East Asia, and South Asia; and created and executed a $2 million fundraising campaign to support students and faculty. Before joining Utah Tech in August 2020, he served at The University of Chicago as interim dean, and senior associate dean and COO.

Interviewee

Ciara Hamagishi

Ciara is currently working with Unity Technologies to develop their global university partnership strategy. Ciara has almost a decade of experience in the commercial side of education. Her expertise is within partnerships, marketing and admissions/recruitment with some niche knowledge in career services and diversity/inclusion programs. Ciara has a deep understanding of the higher ed landscape in both Canada and the US across public, private and international. She also has exposure to the EdTech/Bootcamp world. Prior to Unity she was on the leadership team of a Canadian tech bootcamp managing the global company pivot from bricks and mortar campuses to a university partnership model.

Interviewee

Curt Merlau

Curt Merlau helps education clients across the country achieve their missions, goals, and challenges. He has over nine years of experience in the education sector, ranging from teaching, outreach, data management, and sales to leadership, administration, and policy. Curt is passionate about improving educational outcomes and opportunities for students, families, and communities, especially those who face barriers and disadvantages.

Interviewee

Dave Becker

Dave is the CEO and Co-founder of CampusESP, which helps over 260 colleges support student success and student enrollment through parent engagement. Dave was formerly the SVP of Product Management at Ellucian (SunGard Higher Education), and was responsible for dozens of Higher Education solutions supporting 1,200 global customers. In his 24 years of experience in education technology, he's had the opportunity to visit and present at over 300 different colleges, campuses and conferences around the world. He also has twins in 11th grade who have not been expelled (yet). Find him on LinkedIn.

Interviewee

Dave Cormier

With 25 years of experience as teacher, researcher and author, Dave is interested in how technologies change what it means to learn and to have learned. He is currently a learning specialist for digital strategy and special projects at the Office of Open Learning at the University of Windsor in Ontario Canada.

David Marchick

David Marchick serves as Dean of the Kogod School of Business at American University.

Interviewee

Derek LaMontagne

Derek LaMontagne is a chemistry graduate student at the University of Florida. When he’s not in the lab experimenting with nanoparticles or advocating for the environment, he's rallying to save one of UF’s most precious yet overlooked resources: graduate housing. Three years ago, UF announced its plan to close and destroy Maguire Village and University Village South, two historic and beautiful graduate/family housing complexes on campus, by the summer of 2023.

Interviewee

Don Fraser

As the Education Design Lab’s Senior Vice President, Design + Innovation, Don is responsible for measuring and driving innovation and emerging programs at the Lab, as well as strengthening the Lab’s reputation as a leader in equity-based, human-centered design and the design of scalable education + workforce solutions. Don is instrumental in identifying strategic partners to amplify the Lab’s design work and associated products and building ecosystem partnerships and employer relationships.

Interviewee

Don Orth

Don Orth is a veteran educator and administrator, Don has worked in K-12 schools around the world with a focus on reimagining education. During that time, he also led research on the relationship between agile learning spaces and mobile technology. Most recently, he spent 10 years at Apple, heading their worldwide education leadership program, developing Apple’s strategy for helping education decision makers in government, K-12 schools and districts, and higher education transform learning and teaching. He holds a Masters in Education from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, a Masters in Fine Arts from Vermont College, and a Bachelors in English from Tufts University.

Interviewee

Dr. Anne Clancy

Dr. Anne Clancy is a leader in higher education and a community health advocate. She has served in the healthcare and non-profit sector for over twenty years and has been a faculty member and leader in higher education for over a decade. Anne advocates for access to high-quality, affordable, and equitable education that leads to economic growth, career attainment, and personal goal achievement. She is a leader in career

Interviewee

Dr. Elizabeth Reilley

Dr. Elizabeth Reilley is the Executive Director, AI Acceleration, with Enterprise Technology at Arizona State University. Previously at ASU, she worked in the area of Data and Analysis also within Enterprise Technology. Elizabeth has 15 years of experience in higher education working in Academic Affairs, Information Technology, and Strategy and Policy. She has a PhD in Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a BA in Philosophy and Community and Justice Studies from Guilford College.

Dr. Joseph Orgel

Dr. Joseph Orgel is a visionary with a passion for innovation and collaboration.

Interviewee

Dr. Karen Vignare

Karen Vignare, Ph.D., M.B.A, is a strategic higher education innovator leveraging emerging technologies to improve student access, success and flexibility. As Vice President of Digital Transformation for Student Success and Executive Director, for the Personalized Learning Consortium (PLC) at the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, Karen manages a US network of public research universities committed to improving student success equitably focused on enhancing teaching and learning.

Interviewee

Dr. Kaylynne Glover

Dr. Kaylynne Glover is the co-founder and Policy Director of the FAARM Project, a student-driven effort to address the graduate student mental health crisis through the creation of a Framework for Accountability in Academic Research and Mentoring. She has formerly served as the Director of Legislative Affairs for the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students and in various leadership roles at her doctoral institution, the University of Kentucky, from which she earned her PhD in Biology.

Interviewee

Dr. Perry LaRoque

Dr. LaRoque is the founder and president of Mansfield Hall, an innovative residential college support program for diverse learners. He earned his doctorate in special education from the University of Wisconsin and has served in a variety of leadership roles serving at-risk youth and people with disabilities. Before returning for his doctoral work, Dr. LaRoque worked in an assisted-living care facility for adults with intellectual disabilities and taught special education in several public schools.

Dr. Raye Mahlberg

Dr. Mahlberg, with 20+ years in higher education, is a dedicated leader focused on student success.

Dr. Sara Haviland

Sara Haviland is a Senior Measurement Scientist at the ETS Research Institute

The Host

Dustin Ramsdell

Dustin Ramsdell is a leading content creator and influencer in the Higher EdTech space, and the host of Higher Ed Geek.

Eloy Ortiz Oakley

Eloy Ortiz Oakley is an experienced and nationally recognized higher education leader and a champion for equity in higher education.

Interviewee

Eva Rios-Lleverino

Eva Rios-Lleverino has been with Capital IDEA since its launch in 1998. She plays an instrumental role in leading the organization’s programmatic operations and administration. Eva has more than 25 years of experience in the higher education and nonprofit sectors. She was selected as a McBee Fellow by the Austin Area Research Organization in 2014, and was named an Emerging Leader in 2012 through the Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders’ Leadership Program. She is a 2007 graduate of the Hispanic Austin Leadership Class and a 2004 recipient of the Austin Business Journal’s “Rising Star Award.” She holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Texas A&M International University. Her passion for Capital IDEA’s mission is centered on a desire to provide opportunities for people to have a better future and to see lives changed forever

Interviewee

Geoffrey Roche

Geoffrey M. Roche, MPA, is the son of a nurse, healthcare expert, diversity advocate, and education enthusiast, presently serving as the inaugural Director of Workforce Development at Siemens Healthineers and National Healthcare Practice Executive Advisor at Core Education PBC. He has over nine years of experience in hospital administration and has held leadership positions at various universities in the United States. Roche is an Adjunct Instructor of Health Administration and serves on multiple boards and committees including the United Way of Lebanon County and United Way of Pennsylvania, and Patient Safety Committee for WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital. He holds a Master of Science degree in Management and Leadership, a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, and several certificates in healthcare management and leadership. In 2022, Roche was nominated to the Forbes Business Council for his national level work.

Interviewee

Greg Clayton

As President of Enrollment Management Services, Greg leads the entire managed services division of EducationDynamics. This includes a full suite of agency marketing services, enrollment management services, consulting, and research services. Greg has 30 years of experience in the higher education technology space.

Interviewee

Guillermo Elizondo

Guillermo Elizondo is a computer science engineer who is passionate about using technology to make a positive impact on society. At the age of 17, he created his first online education app. In 2012, while attending Tecnológico de Monterrey, he co-founded Territorium with Gerardo Saenz. Territorium connects education, experience, and employability to help people achieve their career goals. Territorium's AI-powered toolkit, LifeJourney, uses personalized assessments and a 1EdTech-certified comprehensive learning record (CLR) to provide customized employability readiness opportunities that lead to best-fit jobs.

Interviewee

Jacquelyn Witchko

Jackie Witchko leads the PeopleAdmin product team, managing product roadmap and innovations. Jackie has 8+ years in the EdTech space combined with experiences in the financial services industry managing multi-product portfolios.

Interviewee

Jared Stein

Jared Stein helps the world’s best ed tech startups make a positive impact on the world, faster. In our increasingly complex world, education needs ed tech more than ever — to make difficult things simpler and seemingly impossible things achievable for teachers, students, staff, and families. To do this, he leverages 12+ years as a leader in online and blended education at US universities. More importantly, Jared brings knowledge and experiences from 11+ years inside Instructure, one of the world’s most successful ed tech startups, from Series B through 2 IPOs.

Interviewee

Jay Rathell

Jay Rathell is the founder of Yamaro83, a company specializing in tailored digital marketing solutions for educational institutions. After experiencing a city council race firsthand and working at a vocational school, he discovered the importance of effective messaging and its impact on audience engagement. Yamaro83 focuses on personalized student approaches, helping schools communicate their message efficiently to boost enrollment and overall success.

Interviewee

Jennifer King

Dr. Jennifer King is a formerly tenured professor, academic dean and author who has been in higher education for more than two decades. Prior to joining Bisk in 2018, she served more than a decade as associate professor and assistant dean for Florida Southern College. More recently, she ran a consulting practice centered around education technology. She earned her PhD in Instructional Technology and Educational Tests & Measurement from University of South Florida College of Education and an undergrad from New York University. Her doctorate has made her a thought leader in online and remote instruction and learning.

Interviewee

Jennifer Ramsdell

Jennifer Ramsdell is a student affairs educator whose background includes academic advising, campus leadership programming, orientation, and student activities. Jenn is also passionate about women’s leadership and social justice in education. She is an avid reader, coffee drinker, and nature enthusiast. Jenn currently lives in Historic New Castle, Delaware and is a proud stay at home mom to her daughter Ellie.

Interviewee

Jessica James

Jessica James, M.S.Ed., is the Assistant Director of Orientation and Student Activities at Concordia University Irvine. She received her B.A. in Communication Studies from Concordia in 2019. During her time at Concordia, her passion for higher education grew as she served in various student leadership roles. In her senior year, she served as Student Body President before working with WinShape Camps for the summer.

Interviewee

Josh Apter

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Josh Apter attended NYU’s Graduate Film program which enabled him over the years to have worked in all areas of filmmaking, from location sound recording on numerous feature films, to videographer and film editor. Josh then founded Padcaster to enable consumers to conveniently and easily realize their creative vision. Padcaster’s customers include some of the world’s most well known news corporations, professional service firms, government agencies, television news stations, journalists, reporters, schools, and filmmakers.

Interviewee

Juanita Soranno

Juanita Soranno’s career spans over a decade of experience at the intersection of technology, finance, and social impact. As a leader in the education technology sector, she has had the privilege of driving significant initiatives that leverage technology for social good, transcending traditional educational boundaries and touching lives across the globe. Holding an MBA with a specialization in Technology & Innovation Management from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, Juanita’s journey has been marked by a commitment to sustainable growth through innovation.

Interviewee

Julie Lammers

For nearly 20 years, Julie Lammers has been an advocate for equity in education, work-based learning, the environment, and welfare issues. Julie serves as Senior Vice President, Advocacy and Corporate Social Responsibility at American Student Assistance (ASA), where her work focuses on career-based learning. Julie oversees the Education and Career Planning Division of ASA, which provides direct college and career-based services to kids through in-school programing and community-based centers.

Kaitlin Dumont

Kaitlin Dumont’s expertise lies at the intersection of higher education and workforce learning.

Kat Liendgens

Kat Liendgens has been the CEO of Hannon Hill since 2011.

Interviewee

Kate Colbert

A former higher-education insider and current world-renowned marketing expert, Kate Colbert develops college-and-university brand stories that are meaningful to the prospective student and measurable on the institutional balance sheet. She has overseen brand and enrollment marketing, public relations, and alumni relations at two Chicago-area graduate schools. She authored the 2018 bestselling book Think Like a Marketer: How a Shift in Mindset Can Change Everything for Your Business. She has also served as a faculty member at Illinois State University, the College of Lake County, Loyola University Chicago, and Lake Forest Graduate School of Management.

Interviewee

Katie Watts

Kate Watts is the Executive Director of Advancing Women in Tech (AWIT) where she develops an industry-leading upskilling content curriculum for women and underrepresented people in tech. Kate brings more than a decade of higher education experience and connections to AWIT’s Institute for Career Acceleration which includes skills-based workshops and courses for its members across the globe to accelerate their careers. Prior to AWIT, Kate held a series of higher education and advocacy roles with the State of Tennessee, Tennessee SCORE, and The Tennessee College Access and Success Network.

Interviewee

Katy Kappler

Katy Kappler has 20 years of successes and lessons learned designing, building, and launching enterprise technology solutions. She is passionate about experiences that connect individuals more deeply with the world around them, and is dedicated to finding solutions that extend access to high quality education for everyone. Katy’s experience working with both startups and established corporations has provided her valuable perspectives on building and leading teams, motivating and engaging employees, and navigating the fields of education and technology.

Katy Oliveira

Katy Oliveira is a creative and strategic senior content marketer with experience producing resonant content experiences in multiple media formats.

Kayvon Touran

Kayvon Touran has spent his entire career working in early stage technology startups.

Interviewee

Kelvin Bently, Ph.D.

Kelvin Bentley has over 22 years of experience leading online learning initiatives as an administrator and consultant for two- and four-year colleges and universities and K-12 and for-profit organizations. Kelvin currently serves as the managing consultant of WGU Labs, the nonprofit EdTech consulting, incubation, research, and design arm of Western Governors University that identifies and supports scalable solutions that address the biggest challenges in education today.

Kevin Harrington

Kevin Harrington co-founded Rize Education in 2019.

Interviewee

Krista Klein

Krista Klein is a lifelong learner, educator, scholar, and mother dedicated to supporting other women-identified folks who are navigating major transitions in their personal and professional lives. Throughout her nearly 20 years of leadership experience, several anticipated and unanticipated changes led her to study, practice, and collaborate with others on how to put together the pieces of the complex mosaic of life.

Interviewee

Lisa Keegan

Lisa Keegan is vice president for student enrollment, engagement, and success at Bucknell University, where she leads a highly collaborative team of student affairs, admissions and financial aid professionals. Since Keegan joined Bucknell in July 2020, the University has seen record level application pools and has admitted the largest and most diverse first-year classes in its history.

Interviewee

Lucas Delproire

Lucas Delproire studied educational leadership at Yale Graduate School, taught in K12 schools, founded a K12 college guidance platform, and sold into Higher Ed as an account executive. He recently moved from Philly to Chicago where his wife is an MBA candidate at University of Chicago Booth. He has a pug named Boromir.

Interviewee

Mark McNasby

Mark McNasby is an accomplished entrepreneur and the CEO and co-founder of Ivy.ai. With over 20 years of experience in the technology industry, McNasby is a respected figure in the artificial intelligence field and has played a pivotal role in shaping the conversation around chatbots. His vision is to create a platform that not only helps businesses and institutions improve communication with their stakeholders but also helps them navigate the complexities of education, healthcare, and more.

Interviewee

Matt Tower

Matt's journey started at an early bootcamp, called Fullbridge, which focused on helping students build general business skills. From there, he joined Cengage's technology strategy team, eventually becoming a product manager to help the company pivot to its "Unlimited" subscription service for courseware. Prior to his current role running the EdTech Thoughts newsletter, Matt worked at SEI Ventures and Workshop Venture Partners, which focused on working with entrepreneurs in the EdTech space.

Meghan Grace

Dr. Meghan Grace is a passionate researcher, consultant, and speaker.

Interviewee

Michael D. Smith

Michael D. Smith is J. Erik Jonsson Professor of Information Technology and Marketing at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College of Public Policy and Management. Smith is coauthor of the book Streaming, Sharing, Stealing: Big Data and the Future of Entertainment (MIT Press).

Michael Horn

Michael Horn is the co-founder of and a distinguished fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation.

Mike Marriner

For over 15 years, Mike has developed a range of media and education partnerships that distribute Roadtrip Nation content.

Interviewee

Mike Tringe

Mike Tringe is the co-founder and CEO of CreatorUp, where companies get digital content made easily. Mike has worked for 20 years in education and entertainment at top companies including Creative Artists Agency and National Geographic Films. He earned his MFA from USC School of Cinematic Arts and a BA in History and Science from Harvard University. CreatorUp is transforming the way digital content is created and purchased - its unique "Studio as a Service" platform allows organizations of all sizes around the world to create animated, live-action, immersive XR, live-streamed, and generative AI content at scale by combining a proprietary GenAI application with a global network of talented creative professionals.

Interviewee

Nick Dazé

Nick Dazé is the co-founder and CEO of Heirloom, which builds no-code tools allowing schools and employers to tokenize credentials on the blockchain. Before co-founding Heirloom, he co-founded PocketList and was an early team member at tech companies such as Faraday Future ($FFIE), Fullscreen (acquired by AT&T), and Bit Kitchen (acquired by Medium as Knowable).

Nicole Baldassarre

Nicole Baldassarre is the Strategic Activator at Beyond Academics.

Phil Hill

Phil Hill has been a market analyst and consultant in EdTech for over two decades.

Interviewee

Rafael Castañeda

With more than 20 years in the postsecondary arena, Rafael has focused on workforce strategies that build programmatic pathways for unemployed and underemployed students from underserved populations. Before joining MedCerts, Rafael was the Chief Academic Officer and Dean of Education at CBD College, a private two-year allied health college in Los Angeles. He also served as a strategy and innovation leader for Jobs for the Future (JFF) crafting connections between postsecondary actors and thought leaders.

Rasheed Behrooznia

Rasheed Behrooznia is the Senior Vice President and GM of Campus ID and Commerce for Transact Campus.

Interviewee

Rebecca Agostino

Rebecca Agostino is a VP of Learning at Multiverse, where she leads the learning team in building the curriculum and delivery model. While at Multiverse, she has helped create new talent development programs, like AI Jumpstart, to ensure apprentices have access to the skills they need in the future of work.

Interviewee

Robert Li

Robert Li is the co-founder and owner of University FM, the higher ed podcast production company. His journey in audio storytelling began as a DJ at University of Michigan’s radio station. He now partners with educational institutions to create podcast shows that serve their strategic goals and resonate with target listeners. These institutions include UC Berkeley, Howard University, and Middlebury College. The through line is his dedication to elevating the voices within institutions.

Interviewee

Russell Perkins

Russell joined PeakSpan Capital in 2022. Prior to joining PeakSpan, Russell sourced and advised growth stage technology companies on M&A and capital raises as a member of the Investment Banking team at Vista Point Advisors, covering vertically focused SaaS and internet businesses. Before Vista Point, Russell began his career in the Investment Banking Division of Financial Technology Partners.

Interviewee

Ryan Craig

Ryan Craig is a Managing Director at Achieve Partners. Ryan’s commentary on where the puck is going in education and workforce regularly appears in the biweekly Gap Letter, Forbes, and Inside Higher Education. He is the author of A New U: Faster + Cheaper Alternatives to College (2018), which describes the critical importance of last-mile training and the emergence of bootcamps, income share programs, staffing and apprenticeship models as preferred pathways to good first digital jobs and was named in the Wall Street Journal as one the Books of the Year for 2018. Ryan’s first book was College Disrupted

Interviewee

Sanket Merchant

Sanket has worked with growth-stage technology businesses his whole career and has been a partner to over a dozen portfolio companies at PeakSpan. He leads PeakSpan’s EdTech (including L&D), HR Tech, and IT/Infrastructure investment themes. Of note, he has led investments in and currently sits on the Board of Directors at several relevant EdTech/HR Tech scale-ups, including Bongo (AI-powered video assessments), Epignosis (high-velocity LMS), Fuel50 (Enterprise internal mobility and AI talent marketplace), among others. Before joining PeakSpan, Sanket worked in the Technology, Media, and Telecom Group at Houlihan Lokey (NYSE: HLI), where he spent almost four years supporting B2B software businesses through M&A and capital markets transactions. Sanket holds a B.B.A. in Finance with a minor in Economics from the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder (Go Buffs!). Sanket lives in the Bay Area with his wife and is the father of toddler twin boys – hands down the best job (or responsibility) in the world!

Interviewee

Sharon Butler

As Executive Vice President of Global Education at Flywire, Sharon brings over 20 years of experience in sales and customer success and currently leads the global sales and account management teams across ten offices globally for Flywire’s Education vertical. Sharon has been a pioneer in the education payment space and helped to evangelize on a global scale the importance of the student payment experience and choice for education-based payments.

Shawn Boom

Shawn Boom currently serves as the CEO of Labster.

Sophie Smith

Sophie Smith is the founder and CEO of College Contact which serves the 75% of college applicants who apply alone every year.

Interviewee

Terah Crews

Terah is the CEO of ReUp Education, the national leader in serving the 41M Americans with some college no credential (SCNC). ReUp pioneered the SCNC space 8 years ago at its founding. It is now leading the industry in supporting even more SCNC learners through innovative new technology and state government partnerships to get more people back to school and on to a better life and a more prosperous economy.

Interviewee

Terrence Cummings

Terrence Cummings is the Chief Opportunity Officer at Guild, where he is accountable for driving economic mobility for Guild's learners, members, and employees. He previously served as the company's Senior Vice President of Member Services and Strategy, and before that led the company's employer partnerships teams. Prior to Guild, Terrence led product, marketing, partnerships, engineering, and analytics teams across a range of startup companies, and was previously a consultant at McKinsey & Company. He holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Colorado.

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The Higher Ed Geek

Episode 224: Redefining Access and Flexibility in Higher Ed

Episode 223: The Future of Work & Apprenticeships as a Pathway to Prosperity

Episode 222: The Abundant University - A Vision for the Digital Era of Higher Ed

Episode 221: From Scholar to Citizen: Reimagining Higher Ed's Purpose

Episode 220: Navigating the Apprenticeship Revolution: A New Path for Higher Ed

Episode 219: LIVE from THE Student Success - Personalized Support for Adult Learners

Episode 218: Day Kibilds on Talking About Podcasting Tactics

Episode 217: Arina Berezovsky on Flexible College and Work Pathways

Episode 216: Nick Dazé on Modernizing Identity Management in Higher Ed

Episode 215: Josh Apter on Padcaster and Teaching Students Content Creation

Ep. 214: Jaime Hunt with Confessions from Her Journey into Podcasting

Ep. 213: Dr. Adrienne Trier-Bieniek on Creating Audio Learning Content

Ep. 212: Andrew Cohen on Successful Studying through Spaced Repetition

Ep. 211: Adam Braus on Disrupting Higher Ed Accreditation

Ep. 210: Terrence Cummings on Enhancing Opportunities for Economic Mobility

Ep. 209: Marcie Glenn on Amplifying Higher Ed Staff Recruitment

Ep. 208: Curt Merlau on Achieving Student Success Through Data Integration

Ep. 207: The Digital First Strategic Plan, Part 3: Dr. Josie Ahlquist on Student Community Building

Ep. 206: The Digital First Strategic Plan, Part 2: Eric Hazen on Marketing and Communications

Ep. 205: The Digital First Strategic Plan, Part 1: Jessica James on Orientation & Student Engagement

Ep. 204: President Andrew Hsu on the Modern College Presidency

People in this episode

Dr. Bridget Burns

Joel Podolny

Sara Leoni

Tara Gilboa

Adam Braus

Adrienne Trier-Bieniek, Ph.D.

Amanda Gulley

Amy Smith

Andrew Cohen

Andrew Hsu

Aneesh Sohoni

Angela Virtu

Arina Berezovsky

Ashley Flood

Bill Coplin

Cameron Stoker

Carl Dawson

Catherine Friday

Chris Marshall

Christopher Dickson

Christopher Guymon

Ciara Hamagishi

Curt Merlau

Dave Becker

Dave Cormier

David Marchick

Derek LaMontagne

Don Fraser

Don Orth

Dr. Anne Clancy

Dr. Elizabeth Reilley

Dr. Joseph Orgel

Dr. Karen Vignare

Dr. Kaylynne Glover

Dr. Perry LaRoque

Dr. Raye Mahlberg

Dr. Sara Haviland

Dustin Ramsdell

Eloy Ortiz Oakley

Eva Rios-Lleverino

Geoffrey Roche

Greg Clayton

Guillermo Elizondo

Jacquelyn Witchko

Jared Stein

Jay Rathell

Jennifer King

Jennifer Ramsdell

Jessica James

Josh Apter

Juanita Soranno

Julie Lammers

Kaitlin Dumont

Kat Liendgens

Kate Colbert

Katie Watts