Changemaker ED“U”

Tanya Sheckley is Founder and President of UP Academy, a TK-8 micro school which values innovation, empathy and strength. Tanya’s vision and mission show it’s possible to celebrate differences, challenge what’s broken in the American education system, and that all children can receive a rigorous, well rounded education. She is an “Edupreneur”,  Author of Rebel Educator: Create Classrooms Where Ima...

Peter Gray is a research professor of psychology and neuroscience at Boston College. His recent research focuses on the role of play in human evolution and how children educate themselves through play and exploration, when they are free to do so. He has expanded on these ideas in his book, Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Bet...

Meet Michael Strong who is one of the most experienced designers of innovative schools in the US. He has created a school for highly gifted children, a charter school in a low performing region in the US that was ranked in the 36th best public school in the US, and the Montessori high school model for the largest Montessori network in the US.  He is currently leading The Socratic Experience, a vir...

Meet Mia Howard who is a Managing Partner at NewSchools Venture Fund. In her role, she leads the Innovative Schools investment area, which supports educators with bold new visions for schools that embrace an expanded definition of success, equity, and innovation.  Prior to joining NewSchools, Mia was the Founding Partner of Schools and Talent at The Opportunity Trust. Before that, Mia was Founder...

Meet Manisha Snoyer, a “teacherpreneur” and the CEO and co-founder of Modulo, a curated online community for homeschooling families, facilitated by experienced educators and certified child life specialists. Over the last 20 years, Manisha has taught over 2,000 children in 3 countries in private school, public school and as a tutor. She’s passionate about making a more inclusive educational system...

Meet Steve Buzzard, a passionate entrepreneur who loves to do many things. He is in his 27th year of teaching P.E. and being an athletic director. He is the Founder and Director of Buzzardball Youth Basketball which consists of a Summer Camp (27 years), Winter League (17 years), and Summer League (3 years). He is also a DJ and Auctioneer and has enjoyed that way of life for nearly 20 years. He als...

David starts with a guided practice to bring you to a state of peace and calm and he asks you to be open to hear what inner discipline means.  David shares that he has a different way of thinking about discipline. He asks that you don’t think about it in the traditional sense of someone making you do something, but rather to look at it as the discipline you have within you to be the captain of you...

Don Soifer is Chief Executive Officer of the National Microschooling Center, America’s comprehensive resource center, movement-builder and authority for the most exciting new education movement in a generation. He co-created and co-directed the Southern Nevada Urban Micro Academy, the nation’s first public–private partnership microschool with the City of North Las Vegas, delivering unprecedented a...

David starts with a guided practice to bring you to a state of peace and calm and he asks you to take this opportunity to just be while you listen today. From this space of calm, he asks you to see from a more expansive perspective and get out of our narrow view of opinions and being right or wrong.  David then shares the main part of the episode and the importance of disrupting with love instead...

Meet Serj, Founder & CEO of City as a School, pre-building infrastructure for a new education system fit for the 21st century. A technologist with an activist stance.   Serj is fascinating to listen to and recently is working on City as a School which is similar to Outschool but with a great twist in that they help you build industry skills by creating a portfolio that gets you hired. They are...

In this solo episode, I share the story of how a flat tire on the highway with my young children on a 100+ degree summer day taught me to lean into the discomfort of building new belief systems and reminded me that sometimes our worst fears are an opportunity to discover infinite possibilities. I also remind my listeners that there really is no such thing as good and bad.

Adam is the co-founder of Point B, which is a startup tech platform that helps young people find purpose and exposure to post secondary options. He has spent his career building organizations that provide young people with life-changing opportunities. Adam founded and led Marshall Street Initiatives , which now serves over 100,000 students per year through teacher certification , leadership develo...

David speaks to the power of expressing your voice. He leads listeners in a guided process asking them to inquire about times when you feel that you are not fully expressing your voice. As we lean into our authentic changemaker selves, it is critical that we share our voice loud and proud!  He recommends that once you become aware of the block that you have, then you can begin to take small steps...

David speaks with Matt Beaudreau who is a Keynote Speaker, Consultant, and Coach to organizations around the world, Matt has a reputation as a provocative thought leader in educational and personal development practices. He is a two-time featured TEDx speaker having spoken to over 250,000 people across the world. In 2017, Matt founded Acton Academy Placer Schools; schools that utilize the Socratic...

David speaks to the power of expressing your deepest truths through what you create in this world. His guests are reflections of a vision they held within themselves for a better education system, and the courage they had to go out and create it. He starts by asking the question: what makes you, you? What is your unique emanation that wants to express through you? What dream have you deferred or h...

Scott Bess is the Founder and former CEO of Purdue Polytechnic High Schools, which has quadrupled the annual number of underrepresented minority students from Indianapolis who attend Purdue University. Prior, Scott was President of Goodwill Education and developed the Excel Center to create opportunities for high school dropouts to attain a high school diploma, which now serves over 9,000 students...

David begins today’s episode with a short guided practice to get you centered as he hopes that you can listen from your heart today. He shares his experience navigating change from the limitations of fear vs. the expansion of your heart. He speaks to the importance of locating where you are coming from with your changemaking goals. If you are coming from a place of fear, you will create more suffe...

David speaks with Jethro Jones who is a national award-winning former school leader, podcaster, and author of the books How to be a Transformative Principal and SchoolX: How principals can design a transformative school experience for the people right in front of them! He is also founder of the BE Podcast Network, the best educational podcast network out there. Jethro currently consults school lea...

David took a courageous step to re-release an episode from his previous podcast. Please forgive the audio quality. The message is so raw and authentic that David is asking that you feel his words, despite the audio distractions. This was a powerful moment in David’s life where he publicly shared a traumatic experience from his childhood around abuse and abandonment. He held this shame and fear wit...

In this solo episode, David shares his vision for Changemaker ED”U”. He describes his process for coming to this place of clarity around moving in the direction of building an education changemaker hub. In the process he shares powerful advice about how to find your calling for creating change in the education space. What wants to come through you? Don’t let the limitations of the egoic mind talk...

In today’s episode, David has a great conversation with Danielle Nuhfer who believes that “well schools will change the world.” And part of how this change will happen is through educators, school leaders, and school systems prioritizing mindfulness and self-care.    We discuss what inspired her to start the Teaching Well which is dedicated to helping schools increase teacher retention and student...

David starts this solo episode by inviting you to pause and take a breath with him and be in gratitude for your own growth journey.    This episode focuses on trust within yourself. We have been taught to not trust ourselves, and trust things on the outside. We are not taught to trust that deep knowing within ourselves. We are constantly searching for external validation from our boss or coach, or...

David has a great conversation with Dr. Tyler Hester who is currently the founder of Educators Thriving and also a vice principal in Richmond, CA. Previously, Tyler worked for the U.S. Department of Education, the Obama presidential campaign, was a classroom teacher, and a leader at Teach for America. Tyler has an undergraduate degree from Stanford, a Masters from Cambridge, and a Doctorate from H...

David starts this solo episode by inviting you to pause and take a breath with him and envision your happy place to bring calm and peace to your day. This helps you calm your mind, body, and spirit.    This episode focuses on self awareness from an emotional intelligence and mindfulness perspective. From a mindfulness lens, connect with that part of you that is limitless and boundless and live you...

Lindsay Kobolt currently serves as the Director of Counseling and Community Well-Being at Pembroke Hill School in Kansas City Missouri. Lindsay is passionate about advocating for well-being initiatives in school systems. When the challenges of parenting, being an educator and striving for excellence became overwhelming, Lindsay found her way to mindfulness.   David and Lindsay have a great convers...