In this episode of Educating to Be Human, Lisa speaks with Stephen Ritz, founder of the Green Bronx Machine, about how we can transform education by returning to the most essential teacher of all: food. What if learning began not with a textbook, but with a seed? Stephen's journey - from a South Bronx classroom to a global network of edible education- reveals how growing food in schools can ignite curiosity, connect students to nature, and make learning deeply tangible. His work in communities f...
Jun 24, 2025•37 min•Season 2Ep. 3
In this episode of Educating to be Human, Lisa speaks with Atman Smith, founder of the Holistic Life Foundation, about the transformative power of bringing mindfulness, yoga, and meditation into not just schools, but also rehab centers and senior living centers. What began as a personal journey in search of deeper meaning evolved into a community-led program in West Baltimore—one of the most underserved and over-policed neighborhoods in the U.S.—focused on healing and self-regulation. Atman shar...
Jun 10, 2025•37 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Welcome to Season 2 of Educating to Be Human! In this premiere episode, host Lisa Petrides speaks with Wendy Millet— co-founder of Gallop Ventures, and Director of TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation. Together, Lisa and Wendy explore what it means to learn in a way that engages both body and mind, restores connection with nature, and builds the kind of presence that can’t be faked. Informed by a deep connection with the natural world, Wendy seeks to share nature’s insights about complexity, inte...
May 27, 2025•38 min•Season 2Ep. 1
In Season 1 of Educating to Be Human, we asked questions—about creativity and curiosity, change and adaptation, empathy and self-worth. We spoke with changemakers in classrooms, communities, and prisons, all committed to reimagining education as a powerful lever for transformation. In this special bonus episode, host Lisa Petrides looks back at the voices and ideas that shaped our first season—and shares a glimpse of what’s ahead in Season 2. New stories, deeper questions, and continued explorat...
Apr 15, 2025•10 min
Welcome to Episode 10, the Season 1 finale of Educating to Be Human. Host Lisa Petrides sits down with Jody Lewen, President of Mt. Tamalpais College at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (formerly San Quentin Prison), the first accredited independent 2-year liberal arts college dedicated to incarcerated students. A visionary leader and tireless advocate for equitable access to education, Jody has spent over 20 years expanding higher education opportunities for incarcerated students. Her work at ...
Dec 10, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 10
In this episode of Educating to Be Human, Lisa is joined by Julius Cave, Regional Director of the Leading Men Fellowship, a program of The Literacy Lab. In a field where Black men make up only 1.3% of the teaching workforce, the Leading Men Fellowship is tackling this disparity head-on by recruiting young men of color to serve as pre-K educators. This initiative not only reimagines representation in early education but also transforms the classroom experience for students in historically margina...
Nov 26, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 9
In this episode of Educating to Be Human, Sara Goldrick-Rab, author of Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream , joins us to explore the critical issues of housing and food insecurity faced by young people in college. A senior fellow at Education Northwest and adjunct professor at the Community College of Philadelphia, Sara brings insight into how students are being underserved by the very system meant to support their educational journey. We delve ...
Nov 12, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 8
In this episode of Educating to Be Human, Lisa is joined by Mihalis Eleftheriou, the creator of Language Transfer and the Thinking Method —a free, online language learning platform with a radical approach to language acquisition. Language Transfer challenges conventional methods of language learning, aiming not only to teach but to transform how we think and make connections. In this conversation, Mihalis shares his journey, beginning with his own multicultural upbringing and early language enco...
Oct 29, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 7
In this episode of Educating to Be Human, Lisa is joined by Chris Miller, the co-founder of Life Plays, an organization that uses improvisation as a tool to cultivate leadership, creativity, and innovation. Together, they dive into the power of improv, not just as a performance technique but as a valuable life skill that can enhance how we work, lead, and connect with others. By tapping into our natural creativity and learning to embrace uncertainty, improv unlocks a mindset of openness and poss...
Oct 15, 2024•24 min•Season 1Ep. 6
In this episode of Educating to Be Human, we begin the second arc of our inaugural season by exploring one of the most essential aspects of being human—our boundless curiosity and extraordinary creativity. Lisa talks with Nina Barbuto, founder and executive director of Assemble, a nonprofit organization in Pittsburgh that serves as a community space for arts and technology education. More than just a makerspace, Assemble is a place where education and community intersect, fostering innovation an...
Oct 01, 2024•29 min•Season 1Ep. 5
In this episode of Educating to be Human, Lisa speaks with Joel Westheimer, a professor of education at the University of Ottawa, author of "What Kind of Citizen? Educating Our Children for the Common Good", and a leading voice on democracy and civic education. As democratic societies face increasing global challenges as well as radically diminishing commitments to the notion of democracy internally, this episode explores how schools can play a pivotal role in fostering democratic values, civic ...
Sep 17, 2024•44 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Lisa speaks with Ruth Mostern, Professor of History and Director of the World History Center at the University of Pittsburgh, to talk about the significance of place and space in the historical understanding of ourselves and our environments. Through her groundbreaking project, the World Historical Gazetteer, Ruth enables historians and the public alike to visualize and contextualize historical events and relationships geographically, transforming static history into dynamic, place-based storyte...
Sep 03, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 3
"There's more to me than you can see" It is only human to hide behind a mask. In this episode, Lisa speaks with Ashanti Branch, Educator, Mentor and Founder of the Ever Forward Club, who has spent decades mentoring young men of color, building trust, and bringing confidence and empathy into their lives to help them achieve their true potential. Through his more recent project, the Million Mask Movement, we learn how sharing “our masks” help us to gather a deeper understanding of ourselves, other...
Aug 20, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 2
In our premiere episode of Educating to be Human, Lisa Petrides speaks with Erin O'Connell, a university classics professor, who has used her expertise over the years as a teacher of Ancient Greek and Ancient Greek culture to delve into the world of Monsters, how we define them, where we can find them, not just under our beds, and the perspective they bring us in thinking about being human in today's world. Erin O’Connell’s academic background is in Classics and Comparative Literature, teaching ...
Aug 06, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Listen to the trailer for our new bi-weekly podcast, Educating to Be Human, created by ISKME (Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education) and hosted by Lisa Petrides, CEO and Founder. "Educating to Be Human" explores what it means to be human at the intersection of education, technology and culture. In each episode, Lisa speaks with people who, through their passion and commitment, are creating transformative change in education. In Season 1, Lisa dives into the fundamental que...
Aug 02, 2024•1 min
