EDUP Xcelerated Excellence

Our guests, Dr. Joe Sallustio and Elvin Freytes are co-founders and hosts of The EdUP Experience podcast, America's leading platform for higher education insights, featuring interviews with prominent global leaders. Joe stands out as a leading expert and influential voice in the world of higher education. His unique blend of experience across operations, finance, and academics positions him as a r...

Our guest, Joel Nomdarkham , is a dynamic marketing strategist with a gift for transforming both personal brands and corporate identities into powerful, market-ready forces. With nearly a decade of experience, Joel has carved a unique niche at the intersection of personal branding, corporate marketing, and social impact—helping professionals and organizations alike unlock their full potential. Joe...

Our podcast Turn ONE! In just one year, episodes havebeen heard around the globe and the EDUP Xcelerated Excellence community continues to grow. We are member of the nation’s largest podcast network dedicated to thefield of education, EDUP The Experience . At EDUP Xcelerated Excellence, educators, entrepreneurs,researchers, advocates, and policy makers are welcome to share their talents, resources...

Our Guest, Devin Rankin, is Marketing and Community Relations Coordinator for Profound Gentlemen and Founder of Rankin Legacy Ventures .   Devin is a versatile community specialist with a strong background in education, non-profit management, and youth development. His Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Winston-Salem State University laid the foundation for a career dedicated to empo...

Our guest, Dr. Fred A. Bonner, II , is Professor and Endowed Chair in Educational Leadership and Counseling and Founding Executive Director and Chief Scientist of the Minority Achievement, Creativity and High-Ability (MACH-III) Center at PrairieView A&M University .  He is formerly the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Endowed Chair in Education in the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University an...

Our guest, JAKE Small , is a justice-driven researcher, education equity consultant, and public speaker. He believes that high-quality public education is always a worthwhile pursuit andis passionate about advancing high-quality education for all children. JAKE is a TEDx speaker and the author of FOR EVERY BLACK BOY, a poetry book amplifying his research on the mattering of Black boys as a tool fo...

Our guest, Aashna Khurana , is a PhD student at The Carolyn A. and Peter S. Lynch School of Education and Human Development , Boston College .  Aashna is a contributor to the 2025 ICSEI Dialogic. She shares her insights on “Systems Change Efforts for Inclusive Education: Lessons from Effective Districts (AUDIO).” This Inspirational Short was recorded during the 2025 International Congress for Scho...

Our guest, Dr. Rosa Rivera-McCutchen , is an educator with over 20 years of experience working in NYC public schools and higher education settings. A first-generation college graduate, Dr. Rivera-McCutchen’s research, teaching, and activism areinformed by her experiences and center on achieving racial equity through what she calls Radical Care. Her book, Radical Care: Leading for Justice in Urban...

Our guest, Brent Miller , is a highly respected Senior Architect and Managing Principal at HED , one of the oldest and largest integrated architecture-engineering design firms in the United States. His work focuses on developing Student Life projects that integrate innovative “learning spaces” within the campus environment, fostering connections between people and places. Brent's notable proje...

Our guests, Dr. Micia Mosely , Founder and Director of the Black Teacher Project , advances the mission of creating opportunities for Black teachers to see schools as places of liberated learning. In developing leaders, she explains that leadership is not about a title nor more work. Leadership development is one condition that positively impact teacher effectiveness and retention. Dr. Mosley prof...

Our guests, Cheryl Delk-Le Good , Executive Director of EnglishUSA , and Dr. Adil Bentahar , Associate Professor at the University of Delaware (UD), explore the world of English language learning for international students. They focus on English learning nationally and on university campuses. Cheryl shares her experiences in various leadership positions, highlighting the importance of the big pict...

Our guest, Evalyn Gleason , is senior program manager for TEACHNY.  TEACHNY is a state-level subsidiary of TEACH.org . The organization has extended its annual impact goal by registering more than55,000 prospective teachers on its platform.   Evalyn shares the how TEACHNY is collaborating with the New York State Education Department (NYSED) and educator preparation programs (EPPs) across the state...

Our guest, Dr. Monika Williams Shealey, is Dean of Temple University's College of Education and Human Development (CEHD). Dr. Shealey has the distinction of being the first female dean in history of the College of Education and Human Development. Monika shares how the CEHD and Temple are committed to impact and working in partnership with the City of Philadelphia and its communities. Monika shares...

Our Guest, Sharif El-Mekki , is founder and CEO of the Center for Black Educator Development in Philadelphia, PA. Sharif explains the mission of the center to rebuild theBlack educator pipeline. He stresses the importance of attending to the social-political context of the profession. Three pillars undergird the center’s work steeped in community to build while leading. The pillars arepolicy and a...

Our Guest is ⁠Richard Blank⁠ . He is a native of Philadelphia, PA and CEO of ⁠Costa Rica’s Call Center.⁠ Richard shares the ingredients for supporting and preparing call center representatives for high-impact engagement with clients. He addresses the role of AI in call center productivity and the role of empathy as an effective tool in human interaction. He shares how developing community and enga...

Our guest, Dr. Carlota Ocampo , is Provost of Trinity Washington University . She describes Trinity as a unicorn, the nation’s first Catholic liberal arts college for women that is a minority serving institution (MSI). She is a graduate of Howard University.   She shares how faculty are prepared for actively engaged pedagogy in support of post-graduation outcomes for student success. Dr. Ocampo ex...

Our guest, Emily Hellstrom , is Director of Strategy and External Affairs and co-founder for the Literacy Academy Collective (LAC). Emily shares her literacy story and the approach taken by LAC to support struggling readers. She explains how the organization also supports teachers to improve their skills and the learning trajectory for struggling readers in their classrooms.   The Goal of the Lite...

Our guest, Naomi Peña , is Director of Community Engagement and co-founder for the Literacy AcademyCollective .   Naomi shares her experiences as a parent and an advocate to assistant families with children struggling in reading.  She explains the origins of the Literacy Academy Collective via a competitive proposal process.   Working with families, describes how outreach and emotional support are...

Our Guest, Dr. Chezare A. Warren , is Associate Professor of education policy with a secondary faculty appointment in the department of teaching and learning at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College .   He addresses the role of empath and the counterbalance of false empathy as jumping off point for greater equity in schools. In doing so, he elevates the importance of interpersonal relationships...

Our guest, Dr. Sara Platt, is Assistant Dean, Director of Assessment and Accreditation and an Assistant Professor of Special Education at the University of Mississippi ’s School of Education. University . She explains that Ole Miss is home to the largest, public education preparation program in the state of Mississippi.   Sara explains how CAEP standard number one for content and pedagogical knowl...

Our guests are Drs. LaVada Taylor  and Nancy Grim are Dean and Professor, respectively, at Chicago State University (CSU). Both are with the School of Education .   For this Inspirational Short recorded during the fall 2024 CAEPCon convening in Arlington, VA.  Dean Taylor shares that Chicago State University is as a gem and is the only predominantly Black colleges across five states in the Midwest...

Our guest, Dr. Costonzo Bryant-Martin is Assistant Professor of Education and Director of the Call Me MiSTER Program at South Carolina State University (SCSU).   For this Inspirational Short recorded during the fall 2024 CAEPCon convening in Arlington, VA, Costonzo describes the unique SCSU student experience, explaining that students are transformed through a family-oriented approach. He is also...

Our guest, Dr. Mark LaCelle-Peterson , is a founding team member and President of the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP) .   Mark addresses the founding of AAQEP, responding to a demand for greater flexibility and innovation in education accreditation and an examination of quality in context.   A cornerstone of AAQEP’s focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)...

Our guest, Dr. Christopher (Chris) A. Koch, is President of the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) . The council is comprised of more than 550 member institutions. This episode is part one in a two-part series on Leading Equity and Effectiveness in Education Preparation through Accreditation. Dr. Koch discusses how CAEP and its standards for accreditation are resources fo...

Guest, Dr. Lynn M. Gangone , is President and CEO of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). Dr. Gangone recounts her legacy at AACTE and the association’s leadership in and impact on educator preparation. She shares insights into her association leadership and the inner workings of principled, yet apolitical leadership. 
 She discusses the significance of AACTE’s motto...