Educator Forever

When you're looking to make a change in your life, whether it's leaving the classroom or really anything else, it can feel completely overwhelming once you’ve decided to change. What do you do? You have plenty of options, but here’s what might not be obvious: having these moments is actually how we find our way to our next chapter. On today’s episode, I explain the meaning of one of my favorite ph...

Nitin Gour is the founder and CEO of Bloomster. Bloomster is a dynamic platform that empowers students by teaching over 25 essential life skills.. Nitin started Bloomster after spending two decades in the corporate world, working first in tech and then finance. Nitin came to recognize that academic success alone isn’t enough to prepare young individuals for real-life challenges. This realization i...

Jessie Slayback and Vicky Forsman are the co-founders of REALM Since launching in 2010, REALM has been pioneering an innovative educational model. They have gone through many transitions and impacted over 3,482 lives. Currently, REALM serves 150 students, ages 5 to 15, with plans to expand. In this episode, we discuss the challenges and successes of building REALM, including financial struggles an...

Howard Gardner is the Hobbs research professor of cognition and education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is a leading thinker on Education and Human Development, and has studied and written extensively about intelligence, creativity, leadership and professional ethics. A two volume of Howard's work was published in 2024 by teachers college press, the Essential Howard Gardner On Ed...

Emily Odeo-Sutton started selling on Etsy in January of 2023 and now has over 27,000 sales between her two shops. Former educator turned entrepreneur, she loves supporting new Etsy sellers on their journey to passive income with both print on demand and digital products. For this episode, Emily gives some great advice to listeners who are thinking about selling products on Etsy. Best of all, she p...

Rae Hughart is an innovative educator, speaker, and advocate for teacher wellness and professional growth. As the founder of Teachers Deserve It, she is on a mission to empower educators with sustainable strategies that enhance student success while prioritizing teacher well-being. With a background in classroom teaching, curriculum design, and leadership, Rae specializes in helping educators recl...

Katherine Hamilton is the Vice President of Programs at Ensemble Learning, where she oversees the development, implementation, and evaluation of all programmatic activities. With nearly 15 years of experience in the K-12 education space, Katherine specializes in effective teaching and learning, instructional leadership, overarching strategy to ensure equity for all student groups. In this episode,...

Nathaniel Turner is a TED speaker, author, lawyer, financial advisor, and a college and career readiness Alchemist. He is also the survivor of eight adverse childhood experiences and his challenges led him on a powerful road of self discovery, providing him the tools to show parents how to rise above childhood trials, tribulations and low societal expectations to help any child realize their hopes...

Kathleen deLaski is the founder and board chair of the Education Design Lab, which works with colleges, states, and employers to design shorter, more targeted forms of higher education. The Lab has pioneered the "micro-pathway" model with community colleges and leads work across the ecosystem to help employers look beyond college degrees to validate skills. Kathleen also founded or co-founded four...

Jesse Hartman is the co-owner of Hartman Tutoring and has over 20 years of tutoring experience. Since he started tutoring back as a student at Emory University, he has prepared students for nearly every standardized test and tutored them in every subject available. In tis episode, we discuss how Jesse sees himself as an “academic guide,” how he teaches his students learning tools that go beyond th...

In last week's episode, I talked about seeing the possibilities that are in front of you in this new year. And I think that's such an important practice for us all, to try and see all the many, or at least many of the many possibilities in front of us. So often we can start to see things in our own life so narrowly that we don't see there are so many other ways that things can be. I encourage you...

As we embark on this new year, I want you to think about what you really want. Then believe– KNOW– that this is possible. Before setting goals and making progress towards what we want to achieve, we need to really see the possibilities in front of us. So often, we talk ourselves out of doing what we want to do. I talked myself out of building Educator Forever for years. People will think I’m tryin...

Dr. Bibi Pirayesh is a learning specialist and educational therapist who has been in private practice for over 15 years. works with children in grades one through 12, and covers a wide range of learning difficulties, including dyslexia, ADHD and spectrum disorders. While the emphasis of her work is on remediating learning disabilities in a one on one setting, she is also a sought after speaker and...

Khiana Wheeler leveraged her 15-year career in banking to seamlessly transition into education, bringing strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills to her role as a middle school science teacher. Passionate about creating meaningful learning experiences, she pivoted to curriculum writing and instructional design, where she applies her unique blend of industry and teaching expert...

Cynthia Rapaido is a highly accomplished educator with over 30 years of experience in K-12 education. She’s spent time as a high school principal, assistant principal and teacher, and went on to do work many roles in higher education. With so much experience built up over the years, she recently put the lessons she learned into her book, “Step Up Your School Leadership Game.” In our discussion, Cy...

Dr Jewel White Williams has a doctorate in health sciences and certifications as a health education specialist, certified nursing assistant and EMT with over 22 years of experience as an English teacher and school administrator, Dr Jewel has a passion for both education and wellness. She blends her expertise in health sciences and education to empower communities fostering impactful wellness and s...

As 2024 comes to a close it's a great time to reflect on what's this year been like for you. Often, as we head into the new year, we can get so forward thinking into the goals we hope to accomplish and the New Year's resolutions and all the things for the new year, but before we do that, let's think about this year. Let's really take a moment to reflect.  In this episode, I go through several...

Kayla Coburn is a children's book author and the founder of Inclusion Starts Now. She has worked in education since 2010 and is now a parent of two kids figuring out strategies to raise inclusive kids. She works as an inclusion specialist to support families and schools on best inclusive practices. In this episode, Kayla shared her educational background, her transition to teaching gymnastics and...

Bobby Donohue is the founder of Planet Bonehead, an innovative educational platform that revolutionizes the way climate change is taught in schools. With over 15 years of experience in educational content development, Bobby is dedicated to providing teachers with the knowledge resources and support they need to effectively educate young learners about environmental issues. His work focuses on empo...

In this episode, I talk about strategies for overcoming burnout and how to shift from burnout to balance. I get into the importance of recognizing possibilities, setting boundaries, and prioritizing tasks. I want teachers to consider alternative careers or flexible roles within education, weighing constraints like salary and childcare. You need to prioritize self-care rituals and delegating tasks...

Bryson Tarbet is a passionate advocate for inclusive music education, as well as a business owner and podcaster. He started his career as a pre-K to sixth grade general music teacher and during his tenure as an educator, Bryson spent a transformative year as part of an elementary school intervention team where he discovered his passion for working with students with disabilities. Drawing from this...

Laura C. Chávez-Moreno is an award-winning researcher, qualitative social scientist, and assistant professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, in the Departments of Chicana/o and Central American Studies and Education. She is the author of “How Schools Make Race: Teaching Latinx Racialization in America"(Harvard Education Press, 2024). In this episode Chávez-Moreno discusses her journe...

Setbacks are inevitable, but they don’t have to be as bad as they feel. They don’t have to be negative. They can be so many things, including growth opportunities. When we start new career journeys, we can be so focused on success. But the road to success is not often linear. As we find our way forward, the path can be filled with setbacks. It can be “make it or break it” when you start to experie...

For this episode I talk to Matt McGee, founder of MRM Education, a tutoring and college admissions consultancy that promotes academic curiosity, mental health, and confidence in students. With over a decade of experience as an admissions specialist, consultant and tutor, his intensive mentorship method has helped hundreds of students raise their grades and gain admission to Ivy Plus schools. Matt’...

In this episode, I share my journey of going from kindergarten teacher to entrepreneur, detailing five stages of my career. It's a story that starts with the birth of my daughter and ends with me having to hire employees for my growing business. While Educator Forever is still growing, it was fun to look back at the beginning of it all. For all links and resources mentioned in this episode, head t...