Legend Makers

In this episode of the Legend Makers Podcast, Scott Buell sits down with Peter Hostrawser, Career Internship Educator and Program Coordinator at Naperville Community Unit School District 203, and host of the Disrupt Education Podcast. Peter has spent more than 23 years in education building programs that connect students to real-world learning, career readiness, internships, entrepreneurship, and...

In this episode of the Legend Makers Podcast, Scott sits down with Leonard “Lenny The Boss” Nesmith, founder and CEO of the Kids Real Estate & Financial Literacy Academy. Lenny grew up in North Philadelphia as the youngest of 10 children in a crowded row home. His neighborhood was surrounded by violence, drugs, and pressure. But at 14 years old, he made a decision that changed his life. Instea...

In this episode of the Legend Makers Podcast , Scott Buell sits down with Dr. Jeffrey Zwiebel , a longtime K-12 education leader, former superintendent, and current EdTech strategist, to talk about leadership, technology, student wellness, and the future of education. Dr. Zwiebel brings more than three decades of experience in public education, including nine years as a superintendent in Pennsylva...

What if the future of AI literacy begins in second grade? In this episode Drone Legends founder, Scott Buell is joined by Carrie Robledo and Kim Collazo , two longtime Legend Makers who were integrating drones, robotics, coding, and STEM challenges into classrooms before these tools became mainstream. Carrie and Kim look back at their early drone work, including classroom drone grants, robotics cl...

This episode is different. Scott sits down with longtime friend Jake Zortman—someone he’s known since childhood—to unpack the origin and deeper meaning behind The Rise of the Legends . What starts as a conversation about a book quickly becomes something bigger: a discussion about how kids learn, what’s missing in education today, and why story might be the most powerful teaching tool we’ve overloo...

What happens when students learn entrepreneurship by actually building a business? In this episode of the Legend Makers Podcast , Scott Buell speaks with Yenesis Alvarez , founder of the Business Food Lab , an innovative program where students gain real-world experience by developing and operating food-based businesses. Rather than focusing on theory alone, Yenesis challenges students to take owne...

Jason Kantor is the Director of Executive Functions at InPractice Psychology in New York, a state-certified high school teacher, and a reading specialist with nearly a decade of experience supporting students with learning differences. In this episode, Jason shares his personal journey from struggling student to executive function expert, and explains why many students labeled as underperforming a...

In this episode of the Legend Makers Podcast, Scott Buell sits down with Paul Buckley , founder of Ratio Staffing , for a powerful conversation about purpose, integrity, and why the future of our society begins in preschool classrooms. Paul shares how his background in process improvement led him into the world of early childhood education. What started as helping a single preschool fix a broken h...

In this episode of the Legend Makers Podcast, Scott Buell sits down with Julia Gabor, founder of KidGrit and a longtime leader in youth development and educator support. Julia brings more than two decades of experience working with students, teachers, and school systems across the country, with a focus on helping young people develop the skills they need to thrive beyond the classroom. This conver...

In the first episode of 2026, Scott Buell sits down with Sunaina Talwar , former educator, instructional leader, and lifelong advocate for student confidence and purpose. Sunaina’s story is deeply personal. As a first generation student balancing two languages and two cultures, she struggled early in school. Everything changed in sixth grade when a small group of teachers took the time to truly se...

In this episode of the Legend Makers Podcast, Scott Buell speaks with Jason Allen , Executive Director of the Franklin Center for Innovation in Frankfort, Kentucky, about education, community, and what happens when students are trusted with real responsibility. Jason’s path into nonprofit and education work is unconventional. His background spans military service as a psychiatric specialist, manuf...

In this episode of the Legend Makers Podcast, Scott sits down with Sarah Schemanske, a Project Lead the Way master teacher from Ann Arbor Public Schools. With twenty years of experience across multiple grade levels, Sarah shares practical insights on building confident, curious, and collaborative learners through hands-on STEM. Highlights include: • How early STEM exposure helps students make info...

This week on the Legend Makers Podcast, Scott sits down with Tony Tegtmyer , a high school engineering and technology teacher whose path to the classroom is as remarkable as the work he does inside it. With a career that began in aerospace engineering on projects for the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station, Tony later moved into global manufacturing leadership before an unexpected pi...

This episode of the Legend Makers Podcast features Jeffrey Riley, former Massachusetts Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education and current leader at Day of AI , a nonprofit launched out of MIT. After more than three decades in public education, Jeff believes AI can usher in a new era of learning if schools use it wisely and protect what must remain human in the classroom. Scott and Jeff...

In this inspiring episode of The Legend Makers Podcast , host Scott Buell sits down with Sadaf Siddiqi , a passionate biology teacher at Birla High School in Kolkata, India, whose warmth, humor, and philosophy on teaching remind us that education is as much about the heart as it is about the mind. A self-described introvert who believes that “when one teaches, two learn,” Sadaf shares her journey...

In this inspiring episode of the Legend Makers Podcast , Scott Buell sits down with Todd LaVogue , an award-winning educator from Palm Beach County, Florida, whose classroom looks more like an innovation lab than a traditional middle-school setting. Todd was named one of Microsoft’s 15 Most Innovative Educators in America and represented the U.S. at Microsoft’s Global Education Forum in Prague, fi...

In this episode of the Legend Makers Podcast , host Scott Buell talks with Dr. Jacie Maslyk , a nationally recognized educator, author, and consultant who has spent nearly three decades helping schools transform learning through creativity, collaboration, and hands-on experiences. Dr. Maslyk shares her journey from classroom teacher to instructional coach, reflecting on the moments that shaped her...

In this episode of the Legend Makers Podcast , Scott Buell talks with Trisha Adami , a K–5 Design Thinking teacher from West Chester, Pennsylvania, and the self-published author behind a heartfelt series inspired by her daughter, Snow . Trisha shares Snow’s medical journey and how a simple question—“Do princesses have surgery?”—sparked books that help children facing hospitals and procedures feel...

Season 3, Episode 2 of the Legend Makers Podcast features Wendy Albert, Vice President of WiCyS Houston and Founder/CEO of Onyx Cyber . Wendy is a cybersecurity expert, doctoral candidate, and community leader with a mission to expand access to technology and empower underrepresented voices in tech. In this conversation with host Scott Buell, Wendy shares her journey from defense contracting in Vi...

Season 3 of the Legend Makers Podcast kicks off with a powerful back-to-school episode featuring Kevin Abt, a former agriculture teacher turned career tech evangelist. Kevin is the VP of HR at one of the largest career tech school networks in the country, serving over 18,000 students across four campuses in Southwest Ohio. In this conversation, Scott and Kevin dive into the real-world shift happen...

In this episode of Legend Makers , meet Omar Delgado , a former history teacher turned media powerhouse at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami. Omar’s journey from coaching basketball to leading the #1 high school broadcast journalism program in the country is nothing short of epic—and it started with rejection. When a rival teacher refused to help him, Omar didn’t get discouraged. He got fo...

How does a former baseball coach and school security guard become one of the nation’s leading voices in educational innovation? In this inspiring episode of the Legend Makers Podcast, Scott sits down with Steve Iglesias, Director of Innovation and Technology at Doral Academy in Doral, Florida. Broadcasting live from his cutting-edge innovation lab, Steve shares his unlikely journey into education,...

In this episode of the Legend Makers Podcast, Scott sits down with Amy Parks, Innovation Lab teacher at Forts Ferry Elementary in North Colonie, New York. Amy shares her journey from gifted education to leading a hands-on, curiosity-driven STEM program — one that’s transforming how young learners experience school. Together, Scott and Amy talk about the power of unstructured play, the importance o...

In this episode of the Legend Makers Podcast, we sit down with Mark Edwards , Assistant Superintendent at Reading Community Schools in Ohio, to unpack what it really means to educate the whole child —and why now is the time to reimagine what success looks like in school. With 22+ years in education, Mark has worn nearly every hat there is: teacher, communicator, curriculum leader, tech manager, HR...

In this inspiring episode of the Legend Makers Podcast , Scott sits down with Patty Maffei , an interventionist and STEM trailblazer at Real Learning Academy in Austin, Texas. Patty didn’t take the traditional path to education—her journey includes a career in banking, raising five kids, and returning to college alongside her son before diving into the classroom. Patty shares how her love for lear...