True leadership is the ability to bridge gaps, translate perspectives, and foster respect, ensuring that every voice—from the visible to the unseen—is valued and heard. William (Bill) Murphy is the Chief Operations Officer for Indianapolis Public Schools, where he drives operational excellence to support academic success in one of Indiana’s largest districts. He previously led Enroll Indy, served as Vice President of Louisiana Schools for IDEA Public Schools, and was Chief School Support Officer...
Mar 19, 2025•1 hr 1 min
It’s not about perfection out of the box—it’s about learning to learn and growing through the process. Dr. Donnell Butler is the Founder and President of Prelude, a nonprofit that partners with employers and schools to create work-based learning experiences, helping students from lower-income backgrounds gain professional skills, explore careers, and achieve economic freedom through paid internships. With over 20 years of experience, he has focused on improving college and career outcomes for un...
Mar 12, 2025•57 min
Well-being isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. Lea Crusey is the co-founder and Head of U.S. Expansion for WOOF, a well-being tool for students and teachers. With a career in public policy, entrepreneurship, and civic engagement, she works to expand opportunities for marginalized communities. A former Teach For America corps member, Lea has focused on improving public education, founding Allies for Educational Equity, and designing an innovative pooled giving model. She has also held leadership rol...
Mar 05, 2025•1 hr
Mohan Sivaloganathan is a founder of Harmonious Leadership, a keynote speaker, consultant, and coach. He is also known as the “Batman of Social Impact” and at night he is a hip-hop artist. Throughout his career, Mohan has supported local and national organizations in orchestrating sustainable transformation and systems change across corporate social responsibility, education, civic engagement, and philanthropy. He is passionate about breaking down the false choice between well-being and performa...
Feb 26, 2025•55 min
Niloy Gangopadhyay, is a passionate educator, and leader who for over 20 years has been addressing inequities in public education as a systems, school, and nonprofit leader. He began his career as a 2002 Teach For America corps member in San Jose, California, and now serves as TFA’s Vice President for the 35th Anniversary Summit. Previously, he led state-level initiatives for at-risk students at the Texas Education Agency and co-founded Success Preparatory Academy, a K-8 charter school in New Or...
Feb 19, 2025•1 hr 3 min
We need to create a high bar where the bar is to care about both people and performance. They are not dichotomies; they support each other . De-Lea Deane-Allen is the founder and CEO of Higher Bar Leadership LLC, dedicated to helping organizations create transformational work environments where all people can thrive. With over 20 years of experience as a teacher, school leader, and C-level executive, she specializes in leadership development, change management, and equity, driving significant im...
Feb 12, 2025•52 min
True success isn’t just about individual achievement; it’s about the collective rise of our communities. Analiza Quiroz Wolf, CEO of Women of Color Rise, coaches diverse leaders, including social entrepreneurs and C-suite executives. She recently published The Myths of Success: A Woman of Color's Guide to Leadership , drawing on research and stories from her podcast, Women of Color Rise . Analiza is a former non-profit CEO, U.S. Air Force Captain, Fulbright Scholar, and graduate of the Stakehold...
Oct 02, 2024•57 min
Summary: Language has the power to connect people, to move hearts, and to do good in the world. David Nungaray is a co-founder of Gente Empowerment Network but is actually a forever dual language teacher and principal at heart no matter what his current work title is. The children and families he worked with as an educator are one of his guiding forces in the work he continues to do in education. As a son of Mexican immigrants, a native Spanish speaker, a gay educator, and a first-generation col...
Sep 18, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Raj Thakkar is the author, Founder & CEO of Charter School Business Management (CSBM) as well as FOREsight Financial Services for Good. He is an expert on nonprofit and charter school finance and has presented countless financial best practices workshops across the country. He poured all his knowledge into the book Fiscally Secure: Prepare, Protect & Propel Your CHARTER SCHOOL with Responsible Financial Management to help people learn all the steps in handling finances properly. Raj is s...
Sep 11, 2024•48 min
We know who we are, but we get away from it. Kendrick Harris is an NYU alumnus, retired Air Force officer, and former business leader with experience in real estate law, construction, and a former lawyer. He is a business owner of the Distinguished Chef and a top-notch chef. Kendrick is sharing with us his powerful testament to resilience, self-discovery, and transformation. After time spent at NYU, where Kendrick was deeply involved in student leadership and community service with Ron, he took ...
Sep 04, 2024•49 min
Why are we resting on proficiency in education? Tanji Reed Marshall CEO and Principal Consultant of Liaison Educational Partners. With more than 2 decades of experience in the classroom, district, and organization level, she has a lot of gems to share. The problem of educational inequities, and how certain groups of students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, have historically been underserved and misinformed by ineffective teaching methods. The system has too many pockets and gap...
May 30, 2024•59 min
Jacquelyn Davis is a nonprofit leader and transformative advisor to philanthropies who dedicated her life to the education sector and social impact. Her life and career are led by constant learning and curiosity. She has launched many organizations and initiatives. EDVolution, a boutique consulting she founded has worked with many national foundations – including the Gates Foundation, the Overdeck Foundation, New Schools Venture Fund, the Wallace Foundation, the Walton Foundation, the Rainwater ...
May 15, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Our belief systems are often perpetuated by the members of our community. A 1991 Vassar graduate, Diane Robinson is a filmmaker and recognized education leader with over 25 years of experience working in the US and globally, helping start and grow social enterprises. Beginning her career through Teach for America, Diane holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science, a Master of Arts in multicultural education from California State University, and a Doctor of Education Leadership from Harv...
May 08, 2024•1 hr 5 min
Being able to step back and observe what is going on around us is often an undervalued skill! Surabhi Lai is rooted in the belief that we can create a better future of work that is rooted in our humanity and collective belonging. Multi-passionate with a strong sense of curiosity, Surabhi uses empathy and strategy when she coaches job-seekers, entrepreneurs, and organizations to help them create a better work future. Surabhi is pursuing a PhD in Leadership and Change, where her research is focuse...
May 01, 2024•51 min
Good leadership requires you to always be a student! From humble beginnings in golf caddying to becoming New Mexico’s Deputy Secretary and Secretary of Education under Gov. Susana Martinez (R) from 2016-2019, Christopher Ruszkowski is a social studies teacher by trade, recently appointed Distinguished Policy Fellow at the Hoover Institution. Having spent a year in South Africa, Christopher trained as a teacher, spending his first years first in and last out in the school, taking his responsibili...
Apr 24, 2024•1 hr
Sharing our stories and spending time with each other can prolong our lives! Bryan Setser is a seasoned executive edupreneur with three decades of results in K-12, higher education, non-profit, and for-profit organizations. His expertise equips leaders, teams, and organizations with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to be ready for any future. Having worked as a teacher, principal, and even as the inaugural Chief Quality Officer at the Baldrige Award-winning Iredell-Statesville district, B...
Apr 17, 2024•1 hr 10 min
You can be both a happy human and a strong one! Mike Montoya is the CEO and Founder of Stronger Consulting. A 30-year education sector veteran, Mike is an expert in helping organizations design, manage, and improve educational programs for young people. Mike’s identity as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and a person of color has shaped his entrepreneurial journey, as he educates non-profit organizations to act strategically on behalf of children. Mike grew up feeling the stress in an ultra-cons...
Apr 10, 2024•39 min
How you internalize racism can destroy your sense of self. Daniel Anello is a member of the Pahara-Aspen Education Fellowship Summer 2016 cohort and the Leadership Greater Chicago 2019 cohort. He was named to the inaugural class of Presidential Leadership Scholars and he is a Board member of Chicago Urban League and Cleveland Avenue Foundation for Education. He has served as Chief Executive Officer of Kids First Chicago since 2015, and he is supporting parent-led and data-informed change within ...
Apr 03, 2024•55 min
Be open to life and to things that come your way! The oldest child of a Philippine immigrant family to the USA, Grace Cruz graduated from NYU and began a career in teaching. Grace currently works in consulting with the Centre for Powerful Public Schools in LA, intending to improve teaching and learning. Grace’s Philippine values and culture have a massive impact on the way she lives life, including how she leads in education. With a focus on community as well as individual contributions, Grace b...
Mar 27, 2024•53 min
"Life is so much bigger than black and white - it's full of colors.” Dr. Rob Carpenter is a UCLA faculty member, author, speaker, and filmmaker who specializes in mass communication, rhetoric, and leadership. He has published many scholarly articles and books, including "The 48 Laws of Happiness." Rob shares how he saw life from multiple perspectives at an early age - ethnic, geographic, and social. His diverse career choices, from politics to film, television, startups, and education, have made...
Mar 20, 2024•51 min
Tomorrow is not promised! Akinwole Garrett (Aki) is an accomplished senior strategy and business development executive with over fifteen years of data driven corporate development, business development, strategy and management experience at the intersection of technology, media and telecommunications. He sits on the Fuqua Minority Alumni Advisory Board at Duke University, the Board of Trustees of The Shipley School and is a founding General Partner of Sankofa Family Ventures, a family office com...
Mar 13, 2024•55 min
Don’t be boring! Taylor Delhagen started his early visits to the principal's office after being expelled from classes. Now he is a doctoral candidate at Boston College’s Lynch School of Education, where his studies are focused on leadership, equity, and the internationalization of higher education. He started his teaching journey in 2006 in NYC with Teach For America. After finishing his two-year commitment, Taylor was hooked and decided to stay in the classroom. He shares amazing and refreshing...
Mar 06, 2024•1 hr
How to be a misfit that could fit into a lot of different places? Brandon White is an educator, emcee, podcaster, and poet. He is a former middle school ELA and Restorative Practices educator for the Rochester City School District and has worked for seven years as a servant leader intern and site coordinator for Freedom Schools Summer Literacy Programs in Rochester, NY. For seven years he worked as an ELA Specialist for UnboundEd, and currently, he serves as a consultant and professional develop...
Feb 28, 2024•1 hr 20 min
Jen Chau Fontan, a certified somatic coach, works towards helping people recreate the spaciousness that they already have. Living in Westchester, NY, after working within NYC nonprofits in management and talent/HR positions, Jen Chau Fontan transitioned into full-time coaching as an executive coach to senior leaders of progressive sector organizations through The Management Center, where she serves as an adjunct coach today. Jen created her practice, JCF Coaching, in 2018. Jen shares how she had...
Feb 21, 2024•41 min
We need to think more about living with intention and growing old gracefully. Risa Morimoto is the Founder and CEO of Modern Aging and Dream Retirement in Mexico. She focuses on holistic health practices and lifestyles to optimize longevity for people in midlife. She is also an award-winning TV and documentary producer/director. She has directed over 200 episodes of House Hunters International and other programs for HGTV, Animal Planet, A&E, Hulu and others. In our society, we are not creati...
Feb 14, 2024•56 min
There is power in living life in community; no one is superhuman. Mary Rice-Boothe, Ed.D., currently serves as Executive Director, Curriculum Development and Equity at the NYC Leadership Academy. She has had the opportunity to partner with school systems across the country to support them in implementing their equity policies, as well as supporting the development of equity-focused resources for district-level leaders looking to name and dismantle the inequitable practices they are seeing at the...
Feb 07, 2024•51 min
Leadership can be a lonely place, especially for folks of color. Ron Summers is the CEO of a non-profit focused on providing equitable access to careers in technology. He is a leader with a vision of guaranteeing every K-12 student access to computer science and computational thinking. Ron has dedicated his life to advancing CS exposure, access, and inclusion for Black, brown, and female students and he shares his leadership experience, especially for people of color, and emphasizes the importan...
Jan 31, 2024•59 min
Everybody deserves to walk down the street and feel safe. James Solomon represents downtown Jersey City as the Ward E Councilperson. As a dad, a cancer survivor, a teacher, and someone who leads from the outside, James is committed to making Jersey City a place that supports ALL families, not just the well-connected. City government is directly connected to people, and helping them is key to making the world a better place. The lesson, or the value that matters most, is always putting family fir...
Jan 24, 2024•50 min
Each person is the director of his or her own life, and even in the face of the most challenging obstacles, is capable of shaping and painting an extraordinary life. Catapulting us on a journey of perseverance and resilience is Joselyn Martinez, a NYC-based business consultant and certified neuro coach specializing in entrepreneurship. A spokesperson for personal tragedy, she shares with us the challenge of solving the mystery of her father’s murder, as well as her success in entertainment and m...
Jan 17, 2024•46 min
Stories are the threads that weave the fabric of our identities, embracing our cultural roots, shaping our resilience, and illuminating the transformative power within us all. Rudy Valdez, a two-time Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, shares his remarkable journey, triumphing over adversities such as homelessness while underlining the underlying value of embracing one’s cultural heritage and identity. His success isn’t just about luck or money: it’s about love, passion, and a strong cultural backgrou...
Jan 10, 2024•1 hr 1 min
