Changemaker ED“U”

In this episode, I reconnect with my former Stanford classmate, Mike Taubman , nearly 20 years after our graduate school days. Mike has spent his career teaching English and later pioneering purpose and career exploration programs for high school students in Newark, New Jersey. Most recently, he’s been at the forefront of bringing AI literacy into the classroom . Mike introduces his innovative AI...

In this episode, David sits down with Peter Stiepleman—former superintendent of one of Missouri’s largest school districts, leadership advisor, podcast host, and author of Serving as a Lead Learner: Powerful Reflections from America’s Superintendents Peter shares his unconventional path from working at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid to becoming a bilingual teacher in Oakland, California, and eventuall...

In this inspiring conversation, David sits down with Lily Jones, founder of Educator Forever and a former classroom teacher who transformed her passion for teaching into a thriving business that empowers educators worldwide. Lily shares her journey from teaching kindergarten and first grade in Oakland to building curriculum for major education organizations, and eventually launching Educator Forev...

In this heartfelt and inspiring conversation, David sits down with Bonnie LePage — founder of The Maker, marketing, branding, and AI company — to talk about the power of storytelling, the courage to follow your intuition, and the importance of taking a leap of faith with your calling.  Bonnie shares her remarkable journey: from growing up in South Africa and adapting to a new life in the Midwest,...

In this powerful episode, David K. Richards sits down with Dr. Yazmene “Dr. Yaz” Thomas, an inspiring educator, coach, and Founder of Uhuru Pathways , a groundbreaking microschool serving teens and adults through an accelerated, trauma-informed high school diploma program. A late-night scroll led Dr. Yaz to discover Changemaker Microschools—and what followed was a rapid-fire connection and a clear...

In this vibrant, soul-led conversation, David K. Richards, CEO of Changemaker Education, sits down with microschool Founder Christina “Pip” Pipkin, who’s launching a Changemaker Partner Microschool, the F.A.Y.E. Learning Center in Houston, Texas. As the first founder featured on the podcast, Pip shares her journey from classroom teacher and EdTech leader to becoming the architect of a personalized...

In this heart-centered and deeply inspiring conversation, Joy Meserve and David K. Richards dive into the journey of becoming a changemaker through microschool leadership. They explore personal transformation, intuitive decision-making, and redefining success outside the traditional 9–5 mold. With honesty, humor, and decades of collective leadership experience, they share how embracing autonomy an...

David had a great conversation with Christina Dougay who is the founder of Practical Education and Knowledge LLC (P.E.A.K.) a microschool in Houston, Texas. With a background in both education and the mental health sector, she brings a unique perspective to creating safe, supportive, and engaging learning environments for children. Driven by a desire to find an alternative to traditional public ed...

David had a great conversation with Don Soifer who is the CEO of the National Microschooling Center.  They discussed the recent report just released from the National Microschooling Center that illuminates important data about microschools like what percentage are private, public, what types of students microschools serve, facilities, types of models, and so much more!  We get to be one of the fir...

David had a great conversation with Raphael Gang who is a Program Officer at the Stand Together Trust (STT) where he makes investments focused on supporting a dynamic education marketplace for families, educators, and entrepreneurs. Prior to joining STT, he worked at 4.0 Schools, a nonprofit national incubator for early-stage education impact ventures, where he coached education entrepreneurs and...

Enjoy this episode with Tyler Thigpen who is co-founder and CEO of The Forest School: An Acton Academy in Georgia, The Forest School Online, and the Institute for Self-Directed Learning. He also serves as Academic Director at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. A Georgia native, Tyler has worked across public, private, and charter schools, as well as national nonprofits...

David shared the relaunch of the podcast focusing on all things microschools and the vision going forward as follows.  This is a podcast about all things microschools. It will share the nuts and bolts of opening and running a successful microschool. He will share leadership development tips and tricks. He will share how to embody an entrepreneurship mindset. He wants this podcast to help anyone in...

David shares his wisdom today about what happens when you feel inspired from the depths of your soul to create change and be the best version of yourself. He asks you to clarify the change you want to create, and see where fear is holding you back. David shares that when you are following your soul’s calling, it is typically those that are closest to you that project their fears onto you and unint...

David has a great conversation with Elana Feinberg. They discuss the current trends in education, what Elana is seeing in schools that she thinks more people should be doing, and reforming the inside or outside of the system. You will hear great advice from Elana about problems with implementation and some of the unique ways that great schools across the country are creating innovative change for...

One Stone, co-founded by Teresa Poppen, revolutionizes education by empowering students to take charge of their learning journey. Initially focusing on experiential service, One Stone evolved into Lab 51, a student-driven school fostering real-world impact and self-discovery. At One Stone, students drive the organization's direction, with student-majority boards ensuring their voices shape its act...

In this solo episode, David shares his own experiences with letting life show him the way. He talks about various experiences from his own life where he was in resistance to something that he knew to be true.  Throughout the episode, David talks about ways you can be aware of the truth and take one step at a time to move toward it.  This simple concept of listening to the truth that life is showin...

Are you curious about finding magic in the Middle School experience? If so, join David and Chris as they discuss all the ups and downs, ins and outs, challenges and most importantly, the opportunities for parents and educators with these middle years!  In this engaging episode, David delves into a thought-provoking conversation with Chris Balme, an esteemed education expert and the author of "Find...

David shares a simple message in today’s episode.  After doing a short guided practice, David asks us to let love guide the way. He shares his own personal journey of believing that talking about love was “soft”, and how he now believes the opposite. You can hear more about how he debunks that myth.  David also talks about how it all starts with loving yourself.  Take the moments in your day to no...

Amar Kumar, founder and CEO of Chipotle Learning, shared insights on the transformative potential of micro schools in a conversation with David. Having worked in online education, Kumar recognized the limitations of solitary online learning, acknowledging the importance of social interaction and support in education. This realization led to the creation of Kai Pod, a hybrid model combining online...

David shares a simple message in today’s episode.  Give yourself permission to be playful and childlike - not childish but be free and have fun like a child. Laugh a little. Don’t take everything so seriously.  He asks you just to try it and see how your day goes!  Stay tuned for an announcement about David’s latest program and some new structures for the podcast!

In today’s episode, Mary Jo and David continue discussing their exciting announcement about launching Pathfinder, a program to support others who are inspired to open a school, program or learning center, and need the guidance and structure to achieve their dream.  Listen to hear some tips and tricks from David and Mary Jo to move closer to your dream of opening a school or supporting others who a...

In today’s episode, Mary Jo and David share their exciting announcement about launching Pathfinder, a program to support others who are inspired to open a school, program or learning center, and need the guidance and structure to achieve their dream.  Listen to hear some tips and tricks from David and Mary Jo to move closer to your dream of opening a school or supporting others who are committed t...

We are all born with a strong intuition. But at around 7 years old, we begin to lose this and start becoming conditioned to the outside world telling us what is right or wrong, good or bad. Today, I discuss the basics of following your intuition as a leader. Launching this podcast brings me right back to being 8 years old and knowing I wanted to be some sort of host. At that time, I wanted to be a...

David shares his end of year reflections and his gratitude for all of you who have listened over the year. He also shares so recommendations for how to finish out the year including getting some rest during this time of year.

Meet Anita Lennon who was born and raised in Hungary. She came to the United States alone when she was 21.  She went to college, then law school and she became a lawyer.  Anita has been working on Wall Street since then as a compliance consultant to brokerage firms.  Around 2016, she realized that she feels much more fulfilled when she is giving personal advice and helping people. Anita completed...