Kalimah Fergus Ayele
Head of Campus
The Winchendon School
 
Quote of the Podcast:
"Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it."
--- Marian Wright Edelman, Former president and the Children's Defense Fund
 
Introduction of Guest BIO –
Kalimah Fergus Ayele is the Head of NYC Campus for The Winchendon School, an oasis in the heart of Manhattan where students are guided through real-world learning to connect with their passion through a unique city-wide field study program. Her experience in schools started as a Peace Corps Volunteer where she taught Chemistry in East Africa and over her 30 year career, she has taught in 5 countries. She earned her bachelor's degree in Chemistry at Stanford University and masters degrees at Teachers College Columbia University, including an Ed M in Organization Leadership through the Klingenstein program. A native of Brooklyn, NY, Kalimah Fergus Ayele has always been committed to building thriving, inclusive communities where participants experience a sense of belonging and have the opportunity to build the necessary tools to design and create a more equitable world.
 
Interview
Agents of Change: Leaders/Innovators

•  30,000 Ft. View – Why do we, as a society invest in education?
• What drew you to education?
• innovative schools and using design thinking techniques to "design for belonging" in school communities.
• What are the biggest challenges to you?
• What would you like decision-makers to know?

Podcast/book shoutouts
Shout out to "The Management Center" a training program that helps organization design and implement equitable management systems;
"The Landscape Model for Learning"
"What School Could Be"
for their commitment to moving the conversation about innovation in education forward.
 
Education Perspectives is edited by Shashank P
Intro and Outro by Dynamix Productions
​

Adam Smith
Founder and Lead Education Consultant
Smith Education Consultants
 
Quote of the Podcast:
We all do better, when we all do better - Senator Paul Wellstone
 
Introduction of Guest BIO –
Adam A. Smith is a first-generation college graduate who has dedicated his almost three-decade career to ensuring college access and success for all Americans. He served as the founding Director of the TRIO Upward Bound program at Rock Valley College and later as the college’s Dean of Students. He taught both undergraduate and graduate level courses at Judson University in Elgin, Illinois, and was appointed to serve as the City of Rockford’s (IL) “Education Czar” to former mayor Lawrence J. Morrissey. Adam worked at Metropolitan State University as Director of Multicultural, American Indian and Retention Services, The University of Alabama as Director of Undergraduate Academic Advising and Student Success and at The University of Akron as Assistant Vice President of Student Success. He also has undergraduate admissions experience from his time at The University of Tennessee. Smith currently works at the University of Kentucky as Executive Director for University Academic Advising and has a vibrant public speaking and educational consulting firm, Smith Education Associates, LLC and is the host of The Get Uncomfortable podcast and is represented by the Institute of Democratic Education & Culture, “SpeakOut”, the nation’s only social justice speaker agency. Adam has built successful coalitions and initiatives that have transformed high school graduation rates, college enrollment and success for students throughout the nation.
Interview
Agents of Change: Leaders/Innovators

•  30,000 Ft. View – Why do we, as a society invest in education?
• What drew you to education?
• Higher education.
• College students since the return for lock down,
• Student success, student mental health and well-being,
• The impact of anti-DEI legislation on student success and belonging
• What are the biggest challenges to you?
• What would you like decision-makers to know?

Podcast/book shoutouts
The Get Uncomfortable Podcast, Smith Education Associates, LLC,
SpeakOut - The Institute for Democratic Education and Culture
 
Education Perspectives is edited by Shashank P
Intro and Outro by Dynamix Productions

Mariam Lee
Interventionist Specialist/MTSS Lead
 
Quote of the Podcast:  
Education is a passport to freedom and the means to unlock the globe.- Oprah Winfrey
 
Introduction of Guest BIO –  
Mariam Lee has been making an impact in education for the past 15 years. She has taught K-5 for 10 years in a title 1 school and made the switch during the 2020 pandemic into intervention. The past 5 years, her focus has been as a reading and math K-5 interventionist as well as MTSS Lead. She knew that she was called to teach, inspire, and attempt to close the academic and social and emotional learning gap even more so in both the all girls and all boys STEM schools.
 
Interview
Agents of Change: Leaders/Innovators
●        30,000 Ft. View – Why do we, as a society invest in education?
●       What drew you to education?
●       mental health of teachers/mentoring
●       What are the biggest challenges to you?
●       What would you like decision-makers to know?
 
Podcast/book shoutouts
 Abbott Elementary
Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott
​

​PODCAST Season 3 EPISODE 10
 
Barbara Smith
Author, Consultant
 
Quote of the Podcast:  
 "Show me your budget and I'll tell you what you value" Joe Biden, pre-VP
 
Introduction of Guest BIO –  
Barbara Smith is a passionate educator who challenges the boundaries of "sameness" in schools. Smith's background includes over forty years in public, charter, independent and international schools. Barbara has started three schools and has been a teacher, principal, consultant, trustee, and teacher educator at OISE, McGill and the University of Saskatchewan teaching faculties and graduate schools. She has published many books through Rowman & Littlefield and Brill Publishers.
Interview
Agents of Change: Leaders/Innovators
●        30,000 Ft. View – Why do we, as a society invest in education?
●       What drew you to education?
●       students in responsible roles -
●       and how such experiences can help shape positive school cultures
●       What are the biggest challenges to you?
●       What would you like decision-makers to know?
Podcast/book shoutouts
 
Education Perspectives is edited by Shashank P
Intro and Outro by Dynamix Productions
 
 

PODCAST Season 4 EPISODE 1 
Jose Moreno
CEO
Neulight 

Quote of the Podcast: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” - Wayne Gretzky  

Introduction of Guest BIO –  
Jose Moreno graduated from Harvey Mudd College and began his tech career at Microsoft, working on services for over 500 million users. At Netflix, he contributed to features like "skip credits" and led the Account Sharing initiative, adding over 40 million new subscribers. As founder and CEO of Neulight, Jose now focuses on transforming education through technology. His company’s product, IntelliTier, leverages AI to empower educators to provide personalized student support, aiming to make a positive impact in education. 

​Interview 
Agents of Change: Leaders/Innovators 

•  30,000 Ft. View – Why do we, as a society invest in education? 
• What drew you to education? 
• - The transformative potential of AI in personalizing education 
  - Applying big tech insights to solve educational challenges 
  - Innovative approaches to student support systems 
  - Balancing technology integration with soft skills development 
• What are the biggest challenges to you? 
• What would you like decision-makers to know? 

Podcast/book shoutouts 
Also, can you use this link for our website:
https://www.neulight.io/?utm_source=educationperspectives&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcasttour&utm_id=11 
Other relevant links are:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jose-neulight/ 
https://www.linkedin.com/company/Neulight 
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559694274342 

S3 Ep8 Leonard Cassuto,
              Professor, Fordham University

Intro Guest Bio
Leonard Cassuto wears many hats.  He's a professor of American literature at Fordham University, a well-known voice of reform in the graduate school world, and--encompassing all of these--he's a writer.  He has written or edited ten books on subjects such as race and slavery, detective stories, and of course graduate education. As a scholar and journalist, Len has written about science, music, and even sports.  In more than a decade as a columnist on graduate education for The Chronicle of Higher Education ("The Graduate Adviser"), he has helped graduate schools think about how to change to meet the needs of changing students during exigent times.  Len's newest book, Academic Writing as if Readers Matter, takes in all of these pursuits.  It's a pithy and witty handbook filled with advice and examples from across the arts and sciences--and it's also a hortatory call for academic writing that will build community with different kinds of readers, to serve the public good. 

Support the show
Education Perspectives is edited by Shashank P athttps://www.fiverr.com/saiinovation?source=inbox
Intro and Outro by Dynamix Productions

​PODCAST Season 3 EPISODE 7
 
Kristi Baird
Executive Director
Compass Community Schools
 
Quote of the Podcast:
 
"Each one of us can make a difference. Together we can make change." Barbara Mikulski
 
Introduction of Guest BIO –
Kristi Baird has more than 25 years of experience molding young minds in Memphis. She has remained a pillar in the local education community, serving in various roles throughout her career, including teacher, guidance counselor, vice principal, principal, assistant superintendent, superintendent, and executive director. She is now the founder and executive director of Compass Community Schools, a network of charter schools in Memphis, Tennessee. Prior to forming Compass Community Schools, Kristi held several positions within the Catholic Diocese of Memphis. She began her work in Catholic schools in the Jubilee Catholic Schools network, known as the Miracle in Memphis, where she was a teacher and then moved into leadership roles. She was serving as superintendent of Jubilee when then Bishop Martin Holly announced the closing of Jubilee. Kristi went on to found and lead Compass Community Schools, which opened to serve students displaced by the closing of Jubilee. Kristi holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Memphis and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Christian Brothers University. Kristi is a mother and educator and approaches her work in education from both perspectives.
 
Interview
Agents of Change: Leaders/Innovators

•  30,000 Ft. View – Why do we, as a society invest in education?
• What drew you to education?
• Compass's work to reduce chronic absenteeism across our network of six schools (reducing our rate from 33% in 22-23 school year to 20% in the 23-24 school year)
• Compass Community Schools’ service learning model -Compass serves a high Multi Language Learners (MLL) population. About 68% of Compass students have a home language other than English.
• What are the biggest challenges to you?
• What would you like decision-makers to know?

Podcast/book shoutouts
Books I read this summer: The Way of the Shepherd and The Classroom Management Secret: and 45 Other Keys to a Well Behaved Class Currently Rereading: Walk the Walk Currently Reading: Good to Great and The Devil at His Elbow
 
Education Perspectives is edited by Shashank P
Intro and Outro by Dynamix Productions
 
 

PODCAST Season 3 EPISODE 3 

Kevin Dahill-Fuchel 
Executive Director 
Counseling In Schools 
 Quote of the Podcast:  

Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality. – Jonas Salk  

Introduction of Guest BIO –  
​A leader in school-based social work programming, Kevin has more than 30 years of experience in working with children, families and school staff. Kevin joined Counseling in Schools (CIS), in 1993 as a Counselor and advanced to become a Supervisor, Trainer & Manager. Through his 31-year career at CIS, Kevin has led the process to evolve CIS’ service reach beyond counseling services to include a multi-dimensional and strength-based menu of services that support an entire school community. As a result, he became the first Executive Director of Counseling In Schools succeeding the Founder, Cindy Jurow in 2012. In his current role, Kevin is committed to developing a team leadership model within the organization that embodies the non-oppressive, collaborative systems that are needed to effectively take on the complex challenges routinely faced in schools by children, families, teachers and administrators. Kevin’s outstanding work has been acknowledged through accolades including the Commitment to Hope Award, Massachusetts Commonwealth Award, the West Side Chamber of Commerce Award, and Hunter College’s Jacob Goldfiend Award. Prior to joining CIS, he worked at the Sojourner House Family Shelter in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Kevin is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who earned his degree from the Hunter College School of Social Work. 
Interview 
Agents of Change: Leaders/Innovators 

•  30, a 000 Ft. View – Why so we, as society invest in education? 
  

• What drew you to education? 
  

• School's as centers of healing 
  

• Defining types of crisis that impact schools, and levels of preparedness for each  
  

• NYC's Community Schools Initiative as critical education reform 
  

• What are the biggest challenges to you? 
  

• What would you like decision makers to know? 
  

Podcast/book shoutouts 
Shawn Ginwright, author of Hope and Healing in Urban Education - member of the CIS Advisory Council 
 
Education Perspectives is edited by Shashank P at https://www.fiverr.com/saiinovation?source=inbox 
Intro and Outro by Dynamix Productions 

PODCAST Season 3 EPISODE 5 
 
Tom Haggard 
VP, Educate NKY 

Quote of the Podcast:  

"Fill your mind with truth, your heart with love and your life with service." 

Introduction of Guest BIO –  
From working with youth in Covington as a teen to his new position as vice president of EducateNKY, Tom Haggard has assumed increasing responsibility in collective impact, advocacy and community engagement. EducateNKY was launched by the OneNKY Alliance to address systemic change in education in Northern Kentucky, with an initial focus on communities with high socioeconomic needs. Recently, Haggard successfully led five community leader stakeholder groups to a consensus on key priorities in the education pipeline. Previously, Haggard served as director of the Kentucky Out-of-School Alliance, a nonprofit public awareness/advocacy organization focused on quality after-school and summer learning programs. He is a graduate of Leadership Northern Kentucky and a recipient of the Next Generation Leader Award in Education/Workforce, in addition to being recognized as a Forty Under 40 honoree. In 2020, Haggard was elected to the Covington Board of Education where he serves as chair.  
 Interview :
Agents of Change: Leaders/Innovators 

•  30,  000 Ft. View – Why so we, as society invest in education? 
• ​What drew you to education? 
• Collective Impact  
• Community Engagement in Education 
• What are the biggest challenges to you?
  
• What would you like decision makers to know? 

​Podcast/book shoutouts 
Abbott Elementary 

Cindy Lawrence 
Executive Director 
MoMath 
Quote of the Podcast:  
A lot things seem impossible…until you do them. 
Introduction of Guest BIO –  
​Cindy Lawrence is the Executive Director and CEO of the National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath). She began her career as a CPA before transitioning to education, where she developed curriculum and taught students globally. Lawrence has been instrumental in creating and directing a math program for gifted students and played a key role in establishing MoMath. Since becoming CEO in 2015, she has focused on changing public perceptions of math, enhancing math education, and overseeing museum operations. Under her leadership, MoMath has attracted over a million visitors and engaged audiences worldwide. Lawrence is also a sought-after speaker and consultant in math education. 
Interview 
Agents of Change: Leaders/Innovators 

• 30, a 000 Ft. View – Why so we, as society invest in education? 
• What drew you to education? 
• Everyone can enjoy math 
• MoMath Museum 
• What are the biggest challenges to you? 
• What would you like decision makers to know? 

Podcast/book shoutouts 
https://momath.org/
Support the show
Education Perspectives is edited by Shashank P athttps://www.fiverr.com/saiinovation?source=inbox
Intro and Outro by Dynamix Productions