In The Margins

In this episode of In The Margins, Dr. Mordecai Brownlee, host of Discovering Your Mission, sits down with Jee Hang Lee, President and CEO of the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) , for a timely and unfiltered conversation on the future of community colleges, leadership, and student success. Drawing from his journey from Capitol Hill to leading one of the most influential organizati...

In this episode of In The Margins, we sit down with Dr. Michael Baston, President of Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) and recipient of the 2026 EDU Ledger Champions Award, for a timely conversation on leadership, student success, and the future of community colleges. Drawing from his journey as a first-generation college student and former public interest attorney, Baston reflects on how persona...

In this powerful episode of In The Margins, our newest content partner Dr. Mordecai Brownlee , host of Discovering Your Mission, sits down with Dr. Donna J. Nicol , Associate Dean for Personnel and Curriculum in the College of Liberal Arts at California State University Long Beach (CSULB), and author of Black Woman on Board, to explore the remarkable leadership story of Dr. Claudia Hampton – the f...

In this episode we sit down with Dr. Emelyn dela Peña, President and CEO of NADOHE , for a timely conversation on leadership, mission clarity, and sustaining equity work in a rapidly shifting higher education landscape. Drawing from her personal journey growing up in a diverse Los Angeles community, navigating loss and economic transition, and building a decades-long career across institutions lik...

In this episode, The EDU Leger is excited to present the first in a series of content from our newest podcast partner, Discovering Your Mission with Dr. Mordecai .  Tune in as Dr. Mordecai Brownlee welcomes guest Brooke DeRenzis, CEO of the National Skills Coalition, for a wide-ranging conversation on the future of work, skills-based hiring, and the evolving role of higher education in an economy...

In this episode of In The Margins, we are joined by Julian Thompson, Senior Director for Strategy Development, and Rev. Dr. Darryl Ann Lai Fang, Assistant Vice President for Transformation Support at the UNCF Institute for Capacity Building , for a deep dive into what long-term sustainability truly requires for HBCUs. As the institute approaches its 20th anniversary, Thompson and Dr. Lai Fang refl...

Meet Dr. Kyle Reyes, Vice President of Institutional Advancement and former Chief Inclusion Officer at Utah Valley University, whose work sits at the intersection of student success, cultural understanding, and leadership in politically charged times. In this episode, Reyes explores his groundbreaking framework from his book Lenses of Humanity: How Reflection, Connection, and Empathy Can Heal Our...

Only 16 percent of Native Americans hold a bachelor's degree, but one organization is rewriting that story. In this episode of In the Margins , we sit down with Sara A. LaBarge, M.S.Ed., CFRE, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Native Forward Scholars Fund, the nation's largest direct scholarship provider for Native students. A proud citizen of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and an alu...

What if community college could serve as a launchpad to the nation's top universities?   In this episode, we sit down with Nolvia Delgado, Executive Director of the Kaplan Educational Foundation (KEF), a former KEF scholar herself, to explore how the foundation's Kaplan Leadership Program helps first-generation and low-income students transfer from community colleges to some of the most prestigiou...

In this episode, Sophie Nguyen , Senior Policy Manager in the Education Policy Program at New America, joins Diverse (soon to become The EDU Ledger) to unpack the findings of Varying Degrees 2025 – the latest national survey exploring how Americans view higher education.   From her start as an intern to her current role leading research on affordability, accountability, and public opinion, Nguyen...

In this episode, Dr. Stephanie Rodriguez, Director of the STEMM Opportunity Alliance (SOA) at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), sits down in the pod to talk about STEMM education, workforce development, equity, and policy advancement.    From growing up in Indiana to earning her PhD in immunology, Rodriguez shares how a teacher's spark changed the trajectory of her li...

Today, Diverse sits down with Dr. Carrie Kisker, president of Kisker Education Consulting and director of the Center for the Study of Community Colleges , delving into the critical role of community colleges in providing social mobility for marginalized groups.    Kisker shares her journey from soccer goalkeeper to education researcher, inspired by her mentor Arthur Cohen. In conversation with Div...

In this honest and intimate episode, we celebrate 2025 Arthur Ashe Jr. Male Sports Scholar of the Year Jayo Adegboyo from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). His story highlights the power of networking, persistence, and interdisciplinary learning.   As a first-generation pre-med student, Jayo shares enthusiastically about the Meyerhoff Scholars program and its support for student...

In this inspiring episode, we celebrate 2025 Arthur Ashe Jr. Female Sports Scholar of the Year Jaida Ross from the University of Oregon. This conversation explores her journey from a small Oregon town to the Olympic stage, highlighting her excellence in academics, athletics, and community service.   Jaida shares her path from discovering shot put in middle school to competing at the 2024 Paris Oly...

In today's episode, we sit down with Ruthe Farmer, founder and CEO of the Last Mile Education Fund, for a powerful conversation about unlocking opportunity in STEM education.    This discussion focuses on the Last Mile's mission to support students in the final stretch of their degrees—especially those in high-demand fields like cybersecurity. Farmer also describes how the fund provides crucial su...

In this inspiring episode we engage with Dr. Walter G. Bumphus, the outgoing president and CEO of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), as he prepares to conclude his transformative 15-year tenure at the end of 2025. This candid conversation highlights his remarkable journey in higher education, from his early days at Murray State University alongside future community college lead...

In today's episode, we sit down with Dr. Marilyn Sanders Mobley, a distinguished scholar, author, and academic leader. As founder of the African American Studies program at George Mason University and former Vice President for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity at Case Western Reserve University, Mobley has spent decades shaping conversations on race, gender, and social justice — now serv...

In this episode we feature author and creator of the un/HUSH Framework, Dr. Marlee Bunch, to discuss the development of her framework for dealing with the challenges of implementing diverse narratives in today's educational settings.   Bunch shares how her experiences as an educator in diverse, low-income schools led her to pursue a doctorate focused on the oral histories of Black female educators...

In this episode, we welcome Dr. George A. Pruitt, Thomas Edison State University president emeritus, for a thought-provoking discussion highlighting the past, present, and future of the civil rights movement, the importance of celebrating diverse histories, and the ongoing struggle for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in higher education and beyond. Pruitt also offers a glimpse into his new...

Meet Dr. Susan R. Burns , president of the University of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx, New York City. A first-generation college graduate herself, Burns is leading the university into the future of what higher ed should look like — an authentic, high-quality education for students of all backgrounds. Under Burns' leadership since 2021, the Mount is a Hispanic-and-minority-serving institution. ...

In this episode, we sit down for an insightful conversation with Sarita E. Brown (president) and Deborah A. Santiago (CEO) of Excelencia in Education. Together, they discuss the organization's mission and its transformative journey over the past two decades.   As co-founders, Brown and Santiago reflect on their decision to create Excelencia with a vision to amplify the Latinx voice in higher educa...

In this episode we welcome Dr. Angel Pérez, CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC).    Listen in as Pérez and Diverse host Ralph Newell delve into the potential implications of the 2024 election on federal education policies, focusing on the challenges faced by underrepresented students. Pérez emphasizes the critical need for equitable access to higher education,...

In this episode, we share a replay of the October 8th roundtable discussion "Justice for Marcus Garvey." Presented by Broadleaf Books, in partnership with the African American Literary Book Club, The Harlem Writers Guild, and Diverse, this discussion is a tribute to and a rallying cry for one of the preeminent champions of Black pride and self-determination. Join Marcus Garvey's son, Dr. Julius Ga...

Created in 2005 by Excelencia in Education, Examples of Excelencia is a national initiative that identifies and promotes evidence-based practices improving Latinx student success in higher education.  This year, Project upGRADS at California State University (CSU) Fullerton was chosen as the Example of Excelencia at the graduate level. In this episode, we welcome CSU Fullerton's Dr. Volker Janssen...

In this episode we sit down with Michael Heim, the Director of Migrant Education Student Access & Support (MESAS) at Washington State University Pullman (WSU).  Heim has overseen both the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) and the High School Equivalency Program (HEP) at WSU for seven years. Under his leadership, WSU CAMP has been selected as this year's Example of Excelencia at the baccala...