The Future of Smart

In the final episode of Season 2, we are joined by Dr. Temple Lovelace, executive director of Assessment for Good, and Dr. Susan Lyons, co-founder and executive director of Women in Measurement. They are colleagues and leaders in the field of educational measurement, challenging fundamental assumptions that underpin how our dominant education system values, designs and uses assessments. Join us fo...

In this episode of the Future of Smart podcast, host Ulcca Joshi Hansen speaks with Jamie Allison, executive director of the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, which collaborates with partners whose work provides access and opportunity, building a more equitable community in the Bay Area. Their conversation explores the ideological shifts that have led the fund to engage in interest-based partnerships wi...

In this week’s episode, Ulcca speaks with Mia Howard, managing partner and leader of Innovative Schools at NewSchools Venture Fund. Mia and Ulcca explore the work being done by a new generation of school leaders who are dedicated to building more human-centered programs that embrace expanded definitions of success, equity and innovation. Learn about the ways in which Mia and her team are learning...

Ulcca and Jenny Curtin, Director of Education at the Barr Foundation, explore the innovative approaches and human-centered design principles that are transforming education. Gain insights into how these efforts are ensuring that every student not only completes their high school journey successfully but also becomes an active and engaged member of their community. The Barr Foundation envisions hig...

In this episode, Ulcca Joshi Hansen interviews Laurie Gagnon, Program Director for CompetencyWorks at the Aurora Institute. They discuss competency-based approaches to education that organize learning around demonstrated skills and knowledge rather than lockstep grade-level standards. Gagnon explains how competency models better account for individual development and allow more flexibility in how...

This week’s guest is world-renowned animal rights advocate and autism spokesperson, Dr. Temple Grandin. Having spent her career exercising her skills in service of humane animal treatment in the livestock industry, Dr. Grandin is becoming increasingly engaged in educating communities about the need to recognize and support diverse kinds of minds within our education system. Join us for a conversat...

Join us for a special conversation between civil rights icon Dr. Bernard Lafayette, Jr., and LaShawn Routé Chatmon, executive director of the National Equity Project. In this intimate chat held prior to their 2023 EdFunders conference plenary session, they explore lessons from America’s civil rights movement and their relevance at a moment when many of the hard-won rights of that era feel under si...

In this episode of the Future of Smart podcast, host Ulcca Joshi Hansen speaks with Christina Engel and Tiffany Johnson of Magic Cabinet, a philanthropic organization that seeks to shift power dynamics in philanthropy by championing community-driven grantmaking. Engel and Johnson explain how Magic Cabinet centers community voice, builds trust, and creates the conditions for nonprofits to define su...

In this thought-provoking episode of the Future of Smart podcast, guest Nicole Lynn Lewis, founder of Generation Hope, shares her personal journey from being a pregnant teenager to a college graduate and a change-maker. She discusses the societal biases and stereotypes that often limit the potential of teen and student parents, particularly within communities of color. Highlighting her organizatio...

In this episode of the Future of Smart podcast, host Ulcca Joshi Hansen interviews Alexandra Bernadotte, founder of Beyond 12, a tech-enabled nonprofit that supports students in navigating the complex higher education ecosystem. Bernadotte shares her own experiences as a first-generation college student and discusses how Beyond 12 leverages technology to enable a human-centered approach to mentori...

We launch Season 2 in conversation with Bill Milliken, founder of Communities in Schools, and author of “The Last Dropout: A Model for Creating Educational Equity.” Public schools failed to meet Bill’s needs as a young person and a learner, instilling in him a sense of worthlessness. An adult volunteer who wouldn’t give up on him enabled him to believe in himself and in the power of his belief tha...

This conversation between Nicole Rodriguez Leach and podcast host Dr. Ulcca Joshi Hansen, chief program officer, explores the personal and career paths that led Nicole to her new position, her insights into education philanthropy, what to look forward to at the conference, and more. Learn More about Grantmakers for Education: Click here If you are new to this podcast, we suggest listening to episo...

We don’t often equate “leadership” with the words:  rest, reflect, heal , and  dream . Dr. Gislaine Ngounou does. Join us for a conversation that covers the gamut from how her personal identity informs her commitment and approach to educational transformation; generational perspectives on social change; the limits of philanthropy; and – perhaps most importantly – reflections on what kind of an anc...

“Look for the helpers” - this reminder is one of the many gifts offered to us by the children’s television personality Mister Rogers. Fred Rogers believed that a vision of peace is not just the absence of war or conflict; it requires building new ways of being grounded in love and compassion. He invited children and their adults to consider that they were part of building this kinder, more compass...

Our guest today is Kenji Treanor, Vice President of Strategy, Partnerships at the Stuart Foundation and a leader deeply deeply committed to building contexts in which young people can thrive. Kenji shares with us his personal journey into philanthropy, his thoughts on human flourishing, the role of philanthropy as an enabler rather than a driver of new educational policies and approaches, and how...

Recorded during this year's Grantmakers for Education Annual Conference, Elizabeth (Liz) Thompson of The CAFE Group and The 1954 Project moderates a panel of Black leaders, Jamyle Cannon, Sharif El-Mekki and Saamra Mekuria-Grillo, who share the dreams they hold for the future and the essential role philanthropy must play in making their vision a reality. Relevant Links https://www.edfunders.org/ev...

A plenary discussion moderated by Ulcca Joshi Hansen during the Grantmakers for Education Annual Conference with Pamela Cantor of Turnaround for Children, Bob Hughes of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and James Shelton, former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, will draw on their vast experience in educational equity to share their visions for an education system that can truly...

How colleges and universities evaluate applicants and how they structure the post-secondary learning experience tethers K-12 to many practices that work against the shift to more human-centered approaches. In this episode we’re going to learn about how one post-secondary program is working to revolutionize the idea of the "honors college.” The Honors Living and Learning Community at Rutgers Newark...

In setting up schools as the heart of our education system we privileged a specific kind of learning - academic learning. We also privileged formal learning over the kinds of informal learning that most of us engage in every day. Human development is sparked by experiences and relationships that can and should exist an all parts of our communities and lives. Join us for a conversation about how ce...

Adolescence is a historically misunderstood and maligned period of human development. Dr. Mary Helen Immodino-Yang shares findings from her research of adolescents that demonstrate the enormous opportunity we have during this stage of life to change the trajectory of young people’s lives. Not only can the right sets of experiences mitigate the impact of any earlier trauma or deprivation, the openn...

What can we learn about design principles from schools and districts that pivoted more successfully during the COVID pandemic? In what ways do these design principles help us better respond to the holistic needs of young people, educators and communities? Hear insights Andy Calkins and Nicole Allard from the "What Made Them So Prepared Project," a collaborative project among 9 organizations leadin...

Ulcca is joined by Google's former Chief Education Evangelist, Jaime Casap. Jaime discusses his vision for how technology will continue to impact education and how funders can help students prepare for their future working alongside technology. If you are new to this podcast, we suggest listening to episodes 2-4 to build a foundation for the concepts and principles we'll keep returning to on the F...

In today’s episode, Ulcca speaks with Deanna James, president of the St. Croix Foundation for Community Development, about the foundation's approach to transforming local ecosystems through radical partnership and grantmaking on the island of St. Croix. Relevant Links Philanthropy and Race in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Deanna James, 2020 Cracking the Code: Making the Case for a Comprehensive Policy...

EdFunder’s Chief Program Officer Dr. Ulcca Joshi Hansen speaks with Dr. Michelle Fine, CUNY graduate professor. They explore the topic of democratizing data and evidence. What does it look like when we step outside our typical worldview to design and engage in the process of research differently? Relevant Links: The Public Science Project at the Graduate Center The Essentials of Critical Participa...

EdFunders' Dr. Ulcca Joshi Hansen will speak with Dr. Pamela Cantor, founder and senior science advisor for Turnaround for Children, about new research into youth and adolescent development and what that means for creating learning contexts that truly support and nurture the whole child. Funders have a critical role in supporting educators to develop the skills to create such contexts and developm...